Money Matters - A Reflection on Luke 8:1-3




Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.

 

If I was a betting man, I’d bet that most of you listening to me have never ever given a thought to how Jesus and his apostles paid for their ministry needs. Just like most of you have never ever given a thought to how ministries such as ours get the finances to do our work. Is this not true? Now, before I say another word let me say I am not using this as an opportunity to solicit funds. Everything we do, including the Schools of Discipleship, are provided at no cost and, as a matter of principle, we never take up collections or ask for donations. 

 

Rather, I am using this as an opportunity to get us to think about those who do God’s work, because it is important that we do. There are many churches and ministries that struggle because of a lack of financial support. And the reason is because we never think about how they manage their expenses. Consider the church you go to for your weekly services. The building needs constant maintenance and cleaning. How much does it cost to maintain and clean the house you live in? So, how much more do you think it will cost to look after the upkeep of a building that is much larger?

 

The priests and pastors who shepherd us have given up everything to look after our spiritual needs. Most of them don’t have any source of income. So, how do they feed and clothe themselves? And what about missionaries who go out with the gospel message to places most of us would never think of vacationing in? How do they afford their day to day needs, much less their travel expenses? I could go on, but I hope you’re starting to realize what a big omission we might be guilty of. Let us not take those who take care of us for granted. 

 

In today’s gospel, Luke tries to get his readers to an awareness of this by talking about the people who supported Jesus’ ministry. Jesus was a traveling preacher, moving from town to town to the people, rather than staying in one place waiting for the people to come to him. He had quite an entourage with him that included his twelve apostles, but also several others. These comprised many women mentioned in this passage: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Suzanna, all of whom had experienced a mighty miracle in their lives after encountering Jesus. 

 

Luke says that these woman “provided for them out of their resources”. This shows that they weren’t hanging around Jesus just because they liked being with him, but because they wanted to be active participants in the growing of the Kingdom of God. Now here is a question you might have. Why didn’t Jesus just provide for his needs miraculously? He had already shown he could do this. Remember the coin found in the belly of a fish? (see Matthew 17:27). Or the multiplication of fish and loaves? (see Matthew 14:13-21). So, why didn’t he? Because he wanted people to participate in his mission. 

 

And when we support our churches and ministries this is what we do.


Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/8S2IPv_1yUI

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