Mammon or God
Luke 16:10–13
September 21, 2025
Homily at St. Oscar Romero Old Catholic Church
Jesus said: “The one who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones and the one who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and mammon.”
The Judgment of Mammon
Not polite. Not soft. Not negotiable. That is fire. That is judgment. That is a line drawn in the dust that we either step over or stand behind. Jesus calls us to extraordinary discernment. He begins with the small because the small reveals the heart. The small matters are not trivial. They are prophetic. They are revealing. They are tests of fidelity that show which master we truly serve.
Seeking Empire
Mammon is never content with the small. Mammon always seeks empire. Empire is not just money. Empire is the hunger for control. Empire whispers… Rule. Command. Conquer…Crush whoever stands in your way. Empire is in politics, business, culture and even in churches that protect their power rather than their people. Empire demands allegiance. Empire silences truth. Empire sacrifices justice for survival. And yes…we see it in the tyrannical leader of our empire…Donald Trump…a man whose career has been an exercise in empire-building whose wealth, power and influence were hoarded at the expense of others. But he is not the disease. He is a mirror. He is a symptom. The real disease is the worship of mammon and empire itself. Empire loves division. Empire loves lies. Empire convinces us that comfort is loyalty that obedience to power is morality and that the truth can wait until it is convenient.
Small Matters
Jesus begins with trustworthiness in small matters for a reason. Small actions, small choices, small betrayals…they reveal the heart. Empire is built on small betrayals. Small lies. Small compromises. Small acts of greed tolerated in silence. They multiply. They expand. They build empires that crush truth and silence the poor. America is full of people unfaithful in the small things excusing dishonesty because it serves empire because it keeps them comfortable. And it is destroying our nation…even our world.
Mammon in the Church
Even the church is not untouched. Too often, we mistake power for piety. Too often, we mistake wealth for blessing. Too often, we bow to empire…political, financial, cultural…while whispering Jesus’ name. We build towers while the poor sleep on the street. We fund ministries that protect influence while ignoring hunger and suffering. We cheer politicians as if they were messiahs forgetting that empire crucifies justice daily. Jesus sees it… “If you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth who will trust you with true wealth?” True wealth is justice, mercy, compassion and truth. Until we are faithful there, empire crucifies the Gospel all around us.
The Fruits of Mammon
Every time we bow to empire, excuse corruption or prioritize power over people…we crucify God again. Every act of silence or compromise is another nail in the cross. Empire kills. Empire blinds. Empire demands blood. And we…in our silence or complicity…hand over the hammer and nails. Look at the fruits of empire…families torn apart by greed, streets soaked in violence, refugees demonized, the poor abandoned, truth trampled under the weight of ambition, lies celebrated. Wars that consume the innocent. Immigration policies that punish the vulnerable. Attacks on LGBTQ+ rights. Climate devastation ignored. Economic inequality growing unchecked. This is not just Trump. This is the empire of the world we inhabit…policies and practices that sacrifice the vulnerable for profit, corporations that destroy lives for gain, churches that trade integrity for influence. Empire is everywhere. It wants your loyalty. It wants your soul. And it will take both if it can.
No Servant Can Serve Mammon
Jesus warns us… “No servant can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and mammon.” There is no neutrality. There is no compromise. There is no waiting for a better moment. Today, your loyalty is demanded. Today, your heart is on trial. Will you serve the fleeting, destructive power of empire, or the eternal, redeeming power of God?
Serving God Instead
To serve God is to resist empire. To serve God is to lift the poor. To serve God is to welcome the stranger. To serve God is to speak the truth when lies are profitable. To serve God is to take up the cross and follow the One who never betrays…even when the empire rages against us. To serve God is to see through the illusions of power and wealth and recognize that the kingdom of God is not built on fear, corruption or conquest…but on justice, mercy and love.
Rise Against Mammon
Jesus begins with the small because the small matters. Faithfulness in the minor, seemingly invisible acts…simply doing our best to love our neighbors…that is the soil in which the kingdom grows. If we cannot be trusted in these small things…empire will claim our hearts…and true wealth will never be ours. Empire is built on the abandonment of small moral responsibilities. It grows through our silent compromise. Rise up! Tear down the altars of empire. Stop confusing politicians, corporations, celebrities…all false masters…with God. Stop thinking power is salvation. Stop hiding behind excuses. There is only one God. Only one kingdom worth serving. Only one treasure that lasts beyond the grave. His name is not mammon. His name is not America. His name is not the king of mammon. His name is Jesus Christ, The Christ. His kingdom comes not in wealth, not in power, not in fear…but in justice, mercy and love.
The Empire of Mammon
The empire is everywhere. It seduces, enslaves, kills. But Christ is stronger. The cross stands taller than every throne. The kingdom of God cannot be shaken by human ambition. The choice is before you. You will be tested in the small things…in honesty, in generosity, in courage, in faithfulness. Will you betray your neighbor for comfort? Will you bow to power for profit? Will you let empire claim your soul? Or will you stand, even when it is unpopular, even when it costs you, even when it is dangerous…and serve the God who has given everything for you? Hear the words of Jesus again… “No servant can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and mammon.” There is no neutrality. There is no compromise. There is no waiting for a better moment. Today, your loyalty is demanded. Today, your heart is on trial. Will you serve the fleeting, destructive power of empire or the eternal, redeeming power of God?
Faithfulness Amidst Empire
Rise up! Rise from your silence. Rise from your fear. Rise from your compromise. Take up the cross. Refuse the hammer of empire. Speak the truth, even when it costs you. Lift the poor, defend the vulnerable, protect the widow and the orphan. Let your life be a witness that the kingdom of God is not built on lies, not built on greed, not built on domination…but on justice, mercy, and love. Do not walk quietly while the idols of mammon reign. Do not whisper consent while the empire crushes the poor and silences the righteous. Stand! Speak! Act! Let your faithfulness in the small matters become a fortress that no empire can topple. Let your courage in truth become a sword that cuts through every lie. Let your love for God and neighbor become a fire that consumes every idol…even the idols embodied in the king of mammon.
Choose God Over Mammon
As for me and my house, as for all who dare to follow the call of Christ…we will serve the God who is faithful, who redeems, who calls us to justice, mercy and love. We will serve the cross over the throne. We will serve God over mammon. And in that choice, the gates of empire will fall, the lies will be exposed, the poor will be lifted, the truth will shine and the kingdom of God will rise… unshakable, eternal, victorious. Stand now. Choose now. Serve God. Reject mammon. Follow the cross. And may the King of Mammon…Dopnald J. Trump…tremble at your faithfulness.
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