The Dishonest Steward
Lk 16: 1 – 13
25th Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Introduction
Today’s
reading presents to us a parable about a dishonest steward. This parable has
always posed an enigma to many because it seems that in the end, Jesus praises
the dishonest steward and compares him to those of the children of light.
The Gospel
1 Then he also said to his disciples,
“A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property.
2 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.’ 3 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. 4 I know what I shall do
so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their
homes.’ 5 He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the
first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 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.’ 7 Then to
another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors
of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for
eighty.’ 8 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. 9 I tell you, make friends for yourselves
with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed
into eternal dwellings. 10 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. 11 If,
therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you
with true wealth? 12 If you are not trustworthy with what
belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? 13 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 God and mammon.”
Reflection
Our
reading today is perhaps one of the more puzzling parables that Luke has
written in his gospel. It is quite puzzling because at the end of this parable,
Jesus praises the steward who is accused of fraud by his master. Perhaps, an
elaboration on the matter is needed for us to understand what Luke is trying to
drive at.
First,
it is common for rich people in those days to have stewards who normally
administer their resources. A rich man, for example, who owns a vast orchard
would normally have a steward who will oversee the operations, the sales and
collection of the orchard’s produce. It was also normal in those days that
stewards would normally profit from their task of administering their master’s
property by placing additional charges from the set price dictated by the
master. These additional charges are his and are normally known to the
master. So the steward, in administering
his master’s properties and resources makes sure that his master makes a profit
while at the same time also making a profit himself by means of these
additional charges.
In
our parable, when the steward knew that he would be terminated by his master,
he called those who owed his master one by one and told them to reduce the
amount of their debt. The amount that was supposedly subtracted from their debt
was presumably the additional charges the steward has added, which were legally
his. So when the steward told one debtor to reduce a debt of 100 measures of
olive oil to just 50, the 50 that was subtracted actually belonged to the
steward as his profit from administering his master’s assets.
So
why, then, did Jesus praise this steward? Jesus praised the steward because he
was willing to lose his own share of the profits in order to gain the favor of
people who will later welcome him into their homes.
It
has to be emphasized here that the steward was willing to give away what was
rightfully his. He was giving away his wealth. Luke’s message then becomes
clear at this point: He who wants to inherit God’s kingdom must be like this
steward who had no reluctance whatsoever to give away his wealth in order to be
welcomed into God’s kingdom. Jesus then chides those whom he calls the
“children of light” who are less willing to give up their own wealth and riches
for the sake of the kingdom.
The
parable then wants us to consider this: not to be afraid of losing our wealth
for the sake of the kingdom; not to be afraid to part from something of value
in this world for the sake of earning the kingdom of God. We may indeed be
called by Jesus as children of light who are less courageous in letting go of
our wealth and riches for the sake of the kingdom; while here, on the other
hand, is a discredited steward who perhaps was not afraid to lose what he owned
in order to gain the favor of those who will welcome him into their homes in
the next phase of his career. In the end, this discredited steward teaches us
to be as decisive as he was in letting go of much earned wealth for the sake of
the kingdom of God.
Prayer
Jesus,
I can sometimes be humbled by people whom I think are not good; not knowing
that these people are actually more courageous than I am in giving away everything
they have for the sake of the kingdom. I am not as decisive as this steward
whom I have labeled as “dishonest.” Give me the decisiveness, like this
steward, to give up those things that do not help me to get to your kingdom.
Amen.
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the
surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered
the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain
Christ…” – Phil 3: 8
Comments
Post a Comment