More Will Be Given

August 30, 2008

Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Matthew 25:29

Piety

O Lord Christ, who became poor that we might be rich,
deliver us from a comfortable conscience if we believe or intend
that others should be poor that we might be rich;
for in God's economy,
no one is expendable.
Grant us instead the riches of love.
© World Alliance of Reformed Churches

Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/083008.shtml

The Notes to the NAB remind us that the theme of yesterday continues in this reading from the Letter of Paul to the people in Corinth: “True wisdom and power are to be found paradoxically where one would least expect them, in the place of their apparent negation. To human eyes the crucified Christ symbolizes impotence and absurdity.”

Boasting in the sense that Paul uses the term reminds us of the sins of Adam, Cain, and Judas. Such an act is the most radical sin, the claim to autonomy on the part of a creature, the illusion that we live and are saved by our own resources, not God’s. “Boasting in the Lord,” on the other hand, is the acknowledgment that we live only from God and for God.

The success of the servants in managing their master’s money is not done for their own benefit. They turn over all of the fruits of their labors back to the master. Not a tithe (tenth). Not half. But everything they have accomplished is offered back to the master. In return, they are invited to share the master’s happiness, prosperity, and goodness. These servants used all the talents that they were offered and used them for the benefit of the master and the community.

So the real questions posed by this Gospel story is what do these servants possess? What does the story of their commercial success represent? Is this Gospel passage encouraging us to be successful in the economic marketplace? How would such an idea square with the preferential option for the poor that the Nazareth Manifesto outlines?

The success of the servants refers to their fidelity and obedience to what their master wants of them. They have “knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” and act accordingly. They know that their master seeks their obedience. They know that their master seeks their service.

They are rewarded with sharing the master’s joy because of this fidelity. So this is not a story about economic success…but rather obedience and humility in following the commandments.

These servants have practical “wisdom.” The NAB teaches that “God gives further understanding to one who accepts the revealed mystery; from the one who does not, he will take it away.” Wisdom again, as illustrated in Matthew 25, does not follow human standards. The third servant thought he too was doing the right thing. But instead, he hid his talents under the proverbial bushel. By failing to exercise the gifts he earned from the Lord, the third servant lost those gifts that he had.

Action

Here is a great idea…why not pay a little more for some of your favorite products in order to build a more just world economic order. That idea may not sound too wise in traditional economic and capitalistic terms. Yet the idea of “Fair Trade” is starting to make a big difference. Take coffee for instance.

According to Stanford University Center for Social Innovation, “The instability of the coffee market in recent decades plunged thousands of small-scale coffee producers in Latin America into the cycle of poverty. Enter Fair Trade, a unique business model that partners industry, farmers, and United States consumers to promote equitable trade.”

TransFair is one of twenty members of Fair-trade Labeling Organizations International (FLO), and the only third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. The organization audits transactions between US companies offering Fair Trade Certified™ products and the international suppliers from whom they source, in order to guarantee that the farmers and farm workers behind Fair Trade Certified goods were paid a fair, above-market price. In addition, annual inspections conducted by FLO ensure that strict socioeconomic development criteria are being met using increased Fair Trade revenues.

They operate a web site that helps people find Fair Trade certified products at http://www.transfairusa.org/content/WhereToBuy/. The next time you are in the market for coffee, tea or chocolate or any of the other available products, check out where you can buy some on this site.

In addition, the One World Market in Durham, NC offers a whole range of products made by hard-working families in some of the world’s poorest countries. By supporting these non-profits, you can help assure that workers get a fair wage in the local context, work in safe conditions, guarantee no child labor, and engage in environmentally and economically sustainable practices. If you can’t buy the products by visiting the store in Durham, NC, then visit their supplying merchants and buy direct from these links on this web site http://www.oneworldmarket.info/fairTrade.html.

The next time you need a gift or even something for your self, your family or your home, look for ways to make the purchase from a certified Fair Trade merchant.