Gospel: Lk. 16, 1 – 13
Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ Then to another the steward said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ The steward said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.”
Homily
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In the gospel reading given to us for our meditation this Sunday, Jesus tells the story of the unjust steward who is about to be dismissed for squandering his employer’s property. The unjust steward however thinks about his future; what he knows he cannot and what he wants to do; “I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.” The unjust steward then devises a plan to ensure that his future will be secured. He called in his master’s debtors and ensured that their promissory notes showed less than was actually owed. The master commends the unjust steward for acting to secure his future. “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”
It is important to understand that this parable does not give a license for unjust or sinful action in order to secure the future. This parable does not legitimize so called “white lies” or actions which are sinful but which as we say “do not hurt anyone”. The only thing that is validated in this story is the astuteness of the steward in securing his future.
My parents urged me to study and to excel so that I could have a bright future. They were thinking of course of my earthly future. As disciples of Jesus we all know however that beyond our earthly future is our eternal future. We are much more adept however in securing our earthly future than in acting to secure our eternal future and at times we gain a bright earthly future at the expense of our eternal future. No wonder the words of the Gospel; “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”
The problem of course is the value which we place on eternity. The unjust steward knew what was of value to him and he acted on it. If happiness in eternity is of value to us, then we put things in place to achieve it. The lives of the saints show the truth of this statement. St. Francis renounced his inheritance and divested himself of all that he got from his father because eternal life was more important than the inheritance. St. Ignatius of Loyola gave up the life of the army to win converts for Christ; St. Elizabeth of Hungary gave up her royal life to dedicate herself to the poor. All of these saints valued eternal life more than earthly pleasures and so did the necessary for them to secure their future. If we value eternity we too will do the necessary to obtain it.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, we thank you for reminding us of the priorities which we must have in life. You remind us that our future in eternity must be the ultimate priority. Help us to resist the temptation to make money or pleasure or status our priorities in life so that we may build relationship with you and with others and so attain eternal life with you. Help us to understand that these things though good in themselves lose their value unless they help us to be people at the service of one another. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother and your Son Jesus. Amen
