In the 1996 movie "Multiplicity," Michael Keaton plays a man who is completely overwhelmed with his responsibilities as a husband, father, business owner and more. He finds a way to clone himself in order to better handle all his tasks. It turns out that one clone isn't enough, so he ends up making several clones --- and still can't seem to keep up with this busy life.
The movie highlights our fragmented lives. Most of us have so many roles to play. We have children, parents, employers, coaches, teachers, ministries and more to answer to in our lives. Handling all these roles and responsibilities, and handling them well, can seem overwhelming.
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus tells his followers, "No servant can serve two masters." When I read this, my first response is that it would be great to only have two masters. Most of the time, I feel like I have half a dozen.
"You cannot serve God and mammon," Jesus continues. Mammon means money, and I suppose that many of our commitments stem from a desire to secure our financial futures - certainly most work falls into this category. But it seems to me that there are other masters vying for our loyalty. Beauty, popularity and social standing are a few that appear again and again in my life.
Jesus' point, of course, is that we ought only serve one master - God. We are encouraged to turn to God with all the desires that cause us to look to these other masters, our desire for success, security, and admiration.
In today's first reading from the book of Amos, the Israelites are criticized for ignoring the poor in order to enrich themselves. "We will buy the lowly with silver," they say, "and the poor for a pair of sandals." Amos declares, "The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I forget a thing they have done!"
I don't know about you, but even though I have never tried to buy someone with silver, I have certainly ignored the neediest in my community while I was preoccupied with my own financial security. This, perhaps, is what it means to serve two masters - letting the pursuit of money distract us from the needs of others. In the end, we all suffer: the poor go unserved and our own hearts shrivel in the process.
Maybe our challenge is not to find more time and more energy for our responsibilities, but to prioritize and perhaps eliminate some of the commitments that distract us from what is most important.
For my part, I have been trying to spend time each morning asking God to direct my day, and I try to pay attention to the events of each day to discern just how God might be answering that prayer. I still get distracted - anxious, frustrated, afraid - but I also find that it gets a little easier to see and choose God's will rather than force my own agenda.
I am still far from having just one master, but I find it is a very satisfying goal to aspire to. Bill Peatman writes from Napa. |