| Lk 16, 1-13 - Jesus cautions us against no-win situations - two masters.
Jesus tells us, "You cannot serve two masters."
Traditional stepmother tales are a variation of this theme.
They tell us, "You cannot serve two mothers."
Take the story of Jane's house. The story opens with Jane's death. She leaves behind a husband and two boys - 16 and 10. The children must adjust. The husband must begin to do all the things he took for granted. Jane seemed to be the perfect wife. Her home was a shelter. She was an anchor to her husband and children.
Her husband learns to be mother as well as father. He has midnight sessions with the washer. He struggles to cook "Jane's" meals and raise her vegetables. The three of them wrap themselves in the cocoon of Jane's house. Enter Ruth. Paul, the husband, falls in love with her. She is the opposite of tiny, dark, graceful Jane. They marry.
Now Ruth must cope with Jane's house and world. The two master's problem emerges. A double bind. If she acts like Jane, the family will accuse her of usurping Jane's place. If she tries to be herself, they will rebuke her for not being Jane. A no-win situation arises. At the moment of the intolerable balance, a compromise is reached.
They move out of Jane's house with all its brooding memories. No one proposes forgetting Jane. That would be ungrateful, impossible and destructive. But they must become themselves beyond her control. They look forward to a new baby in the family, on the fruit of the new marriage. They make a new beginning on their own, with one master ideal instead of two conflicting ones.
This story is of value to us, not because of its solution, but because of its illustration of the two-master problem. Life is full of forced choices. Shall I stand on the side of freedom or of law? Is it better to use my mind or follow the movements of my heart? Should I pay more attention to the fresh idealism of the young or the measured prudence of the old? Is a long term investment to be preferred to a short term one?
In sports, should I concentrate on a good offense or a good defense? In music is my goal to allow for spontaneity or a rigid adherence to the notes? In history ought I to collect mountains of facts and let them speak for themselves? Or should I embark on a broad theory of what history means and find the events to fit my theory of what history means and find the events to fit my theory? Where is the fine line between permissiveness and restrictiveness in the training of my children?
Tensions. Conflicts. Opposing demands. Rarely is there a time in our lives when I do not have two masters demanding my attention. I need to make a distinction, however. When the choice is between matters like the issues of freedom and law, or reason and emotion, I face a tension in which I must allow for both sides to speak. These demands are not mutually exclusive.
But when I am called by God to spiritual fulfillment and at the same time tempted by materialism without God, then I must choose between the two. I cannot compromise my responsibility to God. This does not mean that I cannot pursue the means to make my life reasonably comfortable and healthy. It does mean I must not make my belly or my purse take the place of God.
This is why Jesus precedes his two-master advice with the parable of the clever manager. Jesus disapproves of the manager's cheating. But he admires the imagination and skills the man used to achieve his purpose. In this Jesus is saying that it will require imagination and creativity to handle the two-master dilemma. In solving spiritual problems we should be as clever as the manager (but not cheat, of course) in achieving spiritual goals. Learn at least this much from the world around you.
PRAYER
Jesus, save us from the foolishness of trying to serve conflicting ideals, no-win situations that will only destroy us. Give us the spiritual prudence we need to set our priorities straight so we realize that final goals should be the horizon for all temporary and time bound projects. Thus we avoid the two-master's dilemma that gets us nowhere. Amen
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