The 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 18, 2022

Luke 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.” 

We can derive a few basic conclusions from the sometimes confusing Parable of the Unjust Steward: the steward was capable of a realistic assessment of situations; he was willing to act in his own interests; he became like his master; and that he acted without restraint, as though his life depended on his success.  We are confused by the Parable because the Lord seems to approve of what the Unjust Stewart did, defrauding his employer for his own personal gain.  In fact, the Lord does not address the immorality of the steward but only his zeal in saving himself.  The point of the Parable is that, “the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”  That is, the wicked work harder to get what they want than the just do.  The righteous, too, are capable of a realistic assessment of situations; they, too, can act in their own interests; they, too, should become like their Master; and they, too, should act without restraint, as though their lives depended on their success.  If we want to save ourselves from the wrath that is to come (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1, 10).  Our situation is this: we are sinners who face grave consequences for our sins.  The consequences are severe, inescapable, and eternal.  Only the grace of God and our relentless cooperation with it can save us.  It is in our own self-interest, if for no other reason, that we must dedicate ourselves to action.  Our chief strategy in acting is to imitate the One who decides our fate.  That is, we gain his favor by acting in ways that appeal to him.  In our case, this means to give ourselves without restraint to achieving success.  The Unjust Steward worked without regard to the law in order to make himself safe.  We too must work without regard of the law — of the customs, expectations, and limitations imposed on us by those who do not want to be reminded of the consequences they will face one day.  What does this look like?  For each of us it will be different, according to our calling.  Some will spend their lives as missionaries, some as priests and religious, some of mothers and fathers, some as single people.  But all of us striving with all our hearts and ingenuity for holiness.  The Unjust Steward did not miss a trick when it came to making friends for himself.  He did not just discount the bills of the largest clients but of all of them.  We too should let no act of charity go undone.  This is the meaning of, “Make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”  We should only take care not to be taken advantage of, which will only hinder us in the long run.

“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.”  This observation seems separate from the Parable in the Reading but is related in that it speaks of dishonest persons.  It is valuable to us in that it reminds us that a person who lies is a liar.  A person who steals is a thief.  An honest person does not lie or steal.  A person’s actions, even if they seem small, reveal his or her character.  “If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?”  This also seems not connected to the parable except for the mention of dishonest wealth.  The Lord Jesus is saying here that a dishonest person can hardly expect to get into heaven.  His actions are not somehow distinct from his person.  This is pertinent to today when people will commit horrible acts and then say, “That’s not who I am.”  

“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.”  This is one of those observations with which we can all agree in principle, but which we blithely disregard in our daily lives.  We are too busy to go to Mass on Sunday; we should not do the right thing because doing it will anger or disappoint people important to me; we do mot speak up for the Church or for what is moral because we are embarrassed to do so, and so on.  But this goes back to striving single-mindedly for our own salvation.  The Unjust Steward knew that his master would find out about the discounted debts and would call him in, but he did not care.  He had himself to save.