Gospel: Lk 16:1-13 [or 16:10-13]
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 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.’ 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 God and mammon.”
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The Gospel parable challenges us to be smart in the pursuit of the Kingdom of God. Jesus uses the example of a shrewd manager in his master’s business to teach us to be wise. There is a big difference between the wise and the shrewd/smart. Many godless people are smart – like the thieves, robbers, and terrorists. In the pursuit of their selfish goals and ambitions, however, they create destruction and unhappiness in the world. Shrewdness can be transformed into wisdom, as when the manager chooses to use his money and influence to gain more friends. Jesus praises the manager’s astuteness, but not his dishonesty.
Many say, “Money is the root of evil.” Instead, Paul says, “The love of money is the root of all evils” (1 Tm 6:10). Greed is behind all evil designs. It can assume many forms: theft, robbery, hoarding of material things, using fraudulent schemes for personal gain.
Amos, the prophet of social justice (First Reading), castigates those who exploit the poor and make exorbitant profit, and who say, “We will buy the lowly for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!” Their crime calls for God’s immediate punishment.
On the other hand, Jesus proposes to his disciples to be good and trustworthy stewards: to work for an honest living, to manage money wisely to provide for the family, and to use money to help others.
We are called to live simply, that others may simply live; to be content with what we have and habitually thank God for blessings received; to be generous and share as responsible citizens of one world. St. Teresa of Kolkata says, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2018,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
