Scene: A team wading through funding applications
James Cathcart
September 03, 2025
Add to Favourites
Listen to this daily worship
Psalm 112 (NIVUK)
1
Praise the Lord.
Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands.2
Their children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.3
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures for ever.4
Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.5
Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.6
Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
they will be remembered for ever.7
They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.8
Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.9
They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,
their righteousness endures for ever;
their horn will be lifted high in honour.10
The wicked will see and be vexed,
they will gnash their teeth and waste away;
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.
It’s a stressed scene, documents scatter the table, frowning faces look on. Tea grows cold in chipped, forgotten cups.
“If we just knew we had the money secure. Or if we had double this, triple this… we could do so much…”
Saint Augustine bursts in holding a print out of Psalm 112 and a croissant.
“Sorry there was a big queue for croissants” says Augustine.
One of the group points at the single croissant Saint Augustine is holding. “Is that all you got?”
“Ah yes, well no… I got a couple of boxes and, well, they were getting quite heavy and I was running so late so I gave them away.”
“You, gave them away? To who?”
“Whom.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s whom — to whom.”
“Well to whomsoever did you give them?”
“Oh lots of people, there were so many hungry people between here and Cafe Nero. It wasn’t difficult.”
“It wasn’t… it wasn’t difficult!”
“To find hungry people. But of course you all know that, that’s why we’re here. That’s what this project is all about. Now who’s hungry?”
A timid hand shoots up from an especially exhausted team member.
“Ah good, here’s a croissant!” Saint Augustine hands the croissant over to her.
“Well Augustine, now that you’ve finished your… somewhat unsuccessful coffee run…”
“Oh yes the coffees… well there were a great many thirsty too, and cold. It wasn’t difficult to find homes for all of them.”
“Alright, alright. So what’s your contribution to the meeting?”
“Well it’s this, this obsession we have with gold.”
“Pardon me?”
“You know, all these funds, the gold you were spending days and nights trying to scrounge up.”
“Um, okay…”
“You were trying to flee with gold; flee from gold instead. Let your heart flee from it, and your use of it need have no worries. Do without greed, don't do without concern
for others. There's something you can do with gold, if you're its master, not its slave. If you're the master of gold, you can do good with it; if you're its slave, it can do evil with you.” *
“Right…”
“In this matter, if you don't want to be a slave, be a runaway.” *
“Runaways…?”
“You are not, after all, running away aimlessly, or so letting go of something that you don't get hold of something else. So, pursue justice, faith, godliness, charity…” *
“Runaways, I like that…” says one team member, wiping flakes of croissant from her blazer.
* The lines with asterisks are quotes from Saint Augustine Sermon 177, as translated by Edmund Hill, O.P. in The Works of Saint Augustine, A Translation for the 21st Century, New City Press.
Prayer:
Dear God
May we be runaways
runaway successes of grace
running away from gold rather than towards it.
Help us run towards justice, faith, and charity.
Amen.
Login to comment.