Dishonest Deals
Homily on the 25th Sunday in OT (Feast of St. Matthew); 21 Sept 2025, DBTI Gym, Victorias
Do you know of an apostle of Jesus by the name of St. Matthew? Allow me to share with you today a little bit about the life story of this saintly apostle. St Matthew was known also by the name Levi, the son of Alpheus from Galilee. He was a brilliant young man and a responsible person. Since he wanted to be truly rich and live a very comfortable life, he soon got employed by the Romans as a tax collector assigned in the Jewish community living around Galilee, the same place where Jesus began his public ministry. Some experts even say he was an obsessive-compulsive person, overly concerned with the smallest details, to the extent that he could compute even the smallest penalties for delayed payment of taxes. And because he chose to work hard for the Romans who were oppressing his very own people, he was hated by his fellow Jews. Everyone in the Jewish community treated him as a public sinner and an outcast of society.
Today sad to say, we are seeing many more “Romans” and “Matthews.” There are so many of such “crocodiles of society.” They are the crooked and corrupt officials along with their favorite contractors who are conniving to get super mega rich at the expense of us, Filipino people especially the poor and the marginalized among us. They misuse public funds for “ghost projects” and huge kickbacks, amounting not only to millions and billions but even up to trillions of pesos. That is why, they can have a collection of luxury cars; their families dwell in big mansions; their kids live in extravagance day by day while they keep piles and piles of cash inside locked rooms. In the meantime the rest of us continue to suffer from flooded streets, mudslides and flashfloods caused by heavy rains and tropical depression. Many even lose their homes, their loved ones and their livelihood, because the huge budget allotted to protect and develop the lives of citizens are diverted to the pockets of some self-absorbed public and private officials.
The corruption of modern day “Romans” and “Matthews” has been plundering our nation for too long now. We really need to unite in prayer asking God to give back the power to the people to overcome this evil, purge our system, and put an end to corruption once and for all. This is precisely what St Paul had asked us in the second reading today (1 Tim 2:1-8), that prayers, supplications and petitions be offered especially for kings and all those in authority. And I am glad to be here among you, dear Bosconians, together with your very good and dedicated teachers as well as your beloved parents to pray in this Holy Mass for this urgent and important intention. And we pray that like St Matthew who was converted to Christ all of us and most importantly those guilty of “ghost projects” and huge kickbacks may be miraculously touched by the Lord to walk the path of conversion and restitution.
The first reading (Amos 8:4-7) of our Mass today is very timely. The prophet Amos actually lived in a similar context of corruption in society. One day he was chosen by God to proclaim His Word publicly in order to defend the poor and the needy, for these were being oppressed by the rich merchants who continuously and shamelessly made dishonest deals with their buyers. To those who practiced dishonest deals and corruption God said through Amos “Never will I forget a thing they have done.”
Even the Gospel we have heard today upholds honesty as the best policy. Jesus said “The person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. And the person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones.”
A few weeks ago someone shared with me a conversation that she and her siblings had with their aging mother with regard to the widespread corruption that is flooding our country. And at one moment during their lively exchange, one of the younger siblings, already married and has two kids, suddenly made a confession to her mom. She said “Mama, I want to say sorry to you because I am also guilty of ‘ghost projects.’ When I was still a student, I asked from you P500 pesos for a project we had to submit in school. But the truth is, there was really no project at all. I just wanted to buy something for myself. So, I’m sorry Mama. Please forgive me.” Then the older sibling also made her own confession saying “Mama, I am also guilty because when I was still a student, I needed to pay the amount of P200 for some school fees. But I asked from you P300 so I could pocket the rest of the P100 for myself. I’m really sorry Mama.” And their mom could only smile and nod at them.
Do you see the point? “Ghost projects” and huge kickbacks are evils that begin to corrupt young people even within our families and within our schools as early as the primary, the secondary or the tertiary levels. And so while we need to demand honesty and accountability today from our government officials, contractors, and other public servants, most importantly we need to demand the same honesty and accountability from everyone whether in the family, in the church or in the school.
Here in Don Bosco we educate the young by evangelizing and we evangelize by educating so that Bosconians may learn how to be good Christians and at the same time honest and upright citizens. For a good Christian should also be a good citizen of this world wherever he might be.
Today shortly after the Mass, you will have the grand opening of your Intramural Games. I am glad that my visit here in your school coincides with this big event. In the mind and heart of Don Bosco, education should be holistic. It should develop not only the mind but also the heart, the hands and the feet, the spirit and the soul as well. Here, Bosconians learn not only what they need to know, but also how to pray, how to relate with others, how to fix things, how to take care of creation, our common home, how to sing and dance, how to act on stage and create art, how to play musical instruments and how to engage in a variety of sports. All these help the students and trainees to grow in their relationship with God, with others, with creation and with oneself. Above all we can say that here in Don Bosco we help one another to become HOLY and HEROIC, that is, saints for the Church and heroes for the country.
To conclude, allow me to bring back the story of St Matthew whose feast we remember today. We really do not know the true motives that led Matthew to choose a profession that would alienate him from his own people and from God himself. He probably did not want to be poor and hungry like all the rest of the common people oppressed by the system. Maybe he thought that “if you cannot beat them, then join them.”
So after working as a tax collector he eventually became rich and lived a comfortable life; but we can surmise that deep within him he must have been very lonely. And despite the company of his fellow tax collectors and other outcasts and his frequent bonding with them, in his heart he felt an emptiness and void that only a Savior-Messiah could fill. He must have heard a lot about Jesus either from eavesdropping, or from his fellow tax collectors. He must have tried to listen to Jesus speak and watched him do miracles from a distance, curious about the growing popularity of this blooming prophet. It is also possible that Jesus must have passed by his post several times and looked at him with a different eye.
And so, this could explain why on that day, the moment Jesus called Matthew to come and follow him, he immediately abandoned his post, and followed Jesus. And that same evening he gave out a sumptuous dinner to celebrate his new found faith, the enthronement of Jesus in his home and in his heart as his real Saviour and King.
May our Eucharistic celebration lead us to YES to Jesus and NO to the corruption of sin. May we get to know Jesus more deeply, follow him more closely and serve him more faithfully until we become saints for the Church and heroes for the country. GiGsss!
Disclaimer: This section of the website is a personal creative writing of the author and does not necessarily reflect the official views, opinion, or policies of the Salesians of Don Bosco – Philippines South Province. For concerns on the content, style, and grammar of this piece, please contact us.
