200 One Dollar Bills,
Painting by Andy Warhol (1928-1987),
Painted in 1962,
Silk Screen on canvas
© Sold Sotheby New York in 2009 for $43.8 million
200 One Dollar Bills,
Painting by Andy Warhol (1928-1987),
Painted in 1962,
Silk Screen on canvas
© Sold Sotheby New York in 2009 for $43.8 million
You cannot be the slave both of God and of money
Luke 16:9-15
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity. The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?
‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.’
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and laughed at him. He said to them, ‘You are the very ones who pass yourselves off as virtuous in people’s sight, but God knows your hearts. For what is thought highly of by men is loathsome in the sight of God.’
Reflection on the painting
Jesus continues to talk to us about money in today's reading. It is not money that Jesus condemns as such but the worship of the making of money and turning it into a false god. If we pursue money, crave money and spend all our time making money, then all other things will fall into the background: friends, family, charity, integrity and faith will all be relegated to being of secondary importance.
God and the making of money cannot coexist in us as equals. One of the two will exercise dominion over us. We have to choose which one we want that to be. If we choose God as our top priority, then the making of money should be at the service of him.
In 2009, Sotheby's New York sold this vast canvas by Andy Warhol from 1962, depicting 200 dollar bills, for $43.8 million (against a pre-sale estimate of $8-12 million). The painting is part of Warhol's famous Dollar Bill series, which marks the first instance of the artist's use of the silk-screening method. Warhol depicts and exposes the crassness of money, commercialism and materialism. About his dollar signs, Warhol said 'big-time art is big-time money', making the point that art is just a commodity. In these works Warhol prompts us to reflect on the relationship between art and wealth.
In our Gospel reading, Jesus prompts us to think about our own relationship God and wealth. Which do we consider to be more important: God or wealth? Only one can have true dominion over us.
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I think Andy Warhol’s art says more about Americans than it does about himself.
All this talk of money, all week long. All Jesus is saying is be careful how you use it and what you think about it. Our basic personalities will discern what is right or wrong, just as it does in everything else we do in this life. We know where the hypocrisy lies…or do we ?
I like your doubt Carol. We tend to think “Well, I’m alright…” which is a bit Pharassaic when you think of it…
I have been enjoying these words of Jesus Christ like never before! He astonishes and confuses us at times and other times makes us clap with glee! Sometimes I feel the penetration of light that makes me see my folly and at the same time know the deep love of our God…
Certainly verse 9 is an odd one that makes me wonder if something has been lost in translation though it fits with the previous verses.
I am only now beginning to gain a knowledge on investing and budgeting, etcetera, so have very much appreciated meditating with our Lord on what he spoke and means.
A book I am reading now has changed the words “net worth” to “assets under management” to help us understand that money is not tied to my worth as a child of God but I am managing my Lord’s assets for His purposes and glory. (Bob and Linda Lotich)
Yes, I am changing my perceptions of earning to learning too Michele!
I like the term “assets under management”. It reinforces the fact that I am just a steward of what God has given to me. Thank you Michele.
Others have commented on the painting so really I have nothing to add, to Anthony’s especially.
Here in the UK it is a strange time of year. We have Armistice day today, and Remembrance Sunday tomorrow. A week ago we celebrated Bonfire Night, and prior to that Hallowe’en and the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls. It is a time we can connect with all sort of things religious, spiritual and historical.
However, we are also entering the season I prefer to call Mammonmas. It differs from all the above because there is no ‘cultural’ reason for it, it is purely the festival of profit and shopping. For some, that old festival of light and redemption in a stable cold and bare is being discarded. The message Warhol was trying to put across here has been swallowed up by the very monster he was warning people about. It has crept up on us completely unawares I feel.
In this message Jesus uses words such as ‘tainted’ and ‘loathsome,’ maybe the original Aramaic meant something different- but what does it say to me? As Father Patrick says, only one can have ‘dominion’ over us.
I am newly retired, and living on a pension is bringing home the reality of how I am no longer ‘earning’ my money but ‘learning’ to manage it. Suddenly it is constant pre-occupation particularly in the financial climate we are living in. It is at the same time oddly liberating and the list of what I can give away versus the list of what I want, is getting longer, and my needs smaller.
I thank God for this new freedom, and trust that whatever comes, He will provide.
“Mammonmas” what a great coinage! (Pun intended 😀).
A friend and I were discussing this (commercialisation of Christmas) last year, and it occurred to me that, at the time of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, the place, being full of folk come to be enumerated in the census, was probably also full of people selling things, even merchants from Jerusalem might have had agents there. Delicacies and tat mixed, just like today. Also, as it was a Roman census in occupied territory, there may have been an increased military presence, with people servicing the needs of the soldiers.
The only place the angels could make their voices heard was over the sheep fields outside the town?
Wishing you a happy retirement, SfG, it is a liberation, and you may well find, as I did, that there is so much available to do during the daytime, including free stuff (kicking leaves is good this time of year, or stomping through puddles in your wellies). Don’t forget to wear purple, and a red hat! 😎
Haha- thank you Zeffi. I couldn’t pay for the pleasure I get from my morning walk! Such richness to see around my house, and people saying good morning or just a smile and a nod. It does set me up for the rest of the day.
I like your comment about the angels too, you are so right. The story of the shepherds is a wonderful metaphor, even if you don’t believe it to be literal.
Trust me, with my large family and friends close by, not to say excellent transport links, I have plenty to keep me occupied and more.
As for the poem, I can’t be doing with it- I don’t want to obsess about the changes coming in old age, rather just reflect on all the fun times and rebellious times I had when young, rather than make-up for it by acting silly now I’m ‘old.’ I take your point though. Love the pun too!
I do hope that the run up to Christmas goes well Zeffi and SFG. We have our son, partner and 75 kilo dog (Leonburger) coming down. He is a sweet dog but not a welcome guest. Hair and slobber everywhere but he’s part of the package. Little grandaughter and daughter make up the party. Who’s going to cook the Christmas day lunch? Trouble is we don’t get back from the 11:30 Mass until 12:45….
Order takeout at the closest chinese restaurant? everything else is usually closed on Christmas.
Thank you for your good wishes, Chazbo, likewise for you and your family.
Could you have a Barbeque and salads?
Sadly I don’t think that would be approved of. It’s got to be the whole works Christmas Day
Years ago kicking through plane leaves in a London park, the scent all spicey and salty, delicious.
That’s very encouraging and useful, SfG.
Enjoy your retirement SFG. I too am living on a fixed income. It is unfortunate that the Christmas season has become so commercial and so secular. Here in the U.S. we haven’t even gotten past Thanksgiving and yet we started seeing Christmas commercials right after Halloween. In my older years, I have come to appreciate the Advent season more and more. It tends to slow things down for me and to put things in the proper perspective.