Luke 16:1-13 or Luke 16:10-13

Amos 8:4-7

Psalm 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8

1 Timothy 2:1-8

Luke 16:1-13 or Luke 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 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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I choose you. Earthly wealth cannot claim my heart. It is passing, but you are eternal. It pleases for a moment, but you give eternal joy and lasting happiness. Move my heart to use my wealth to alleviate the sufferings of those around me.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Dishonest, but Prudent Steward: In the Gospel, Jesus has just justified his outreach to sinners and addressed “lost and found” parables to the Pharisees. With this Sunday’s parable about the dishonest steward and next Sunday’s parable about the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus is focusing his teaching on the proper use of wealth. Earlier, Jesus spoke to his disciples about a faithful and prudent steward (Luke 12:42). Here, he speaks about a dishonest, but prudent steward (Luke 16:8). Jesus does not commend the steward’s dishonesty and unfaithfulness, and, in verses 10-12, speaks about the need for his disciples to be trustworthy four times. At the same time, the dishonest steward is shrewd in how he deals with his master’s debtors and plans for his future. Jesus’ disciples can learn an important lesson from this dishonest, but prudent (shrewd) steward.

2. Takeaway from the Parable: The takeaway from the parable is not to imitate the dishonesty of the steward or to act prudently when we are sinning or doing something wrong. The key takeaway is to look at how we are using our wealth during our brief lifetime. The steward in the parable made sure to be on good terms with his master’s debtors so that they would welcome him into their earthly homes when he was fired by his master. We should administer our earthly wealth in such a way that we will be welcomed by our Father into the eternal dwelling of heaven. Earthly wealth is labeled as “dishonest” because it has a powerful ability to corrupt us if we depend and focus on it more than God. “The parable thus instructs disciples to take initiative and plan wisely so as to enter God’s kingdom. Specifically, it is concerned with the proper use of wealth (‘mammon,’ as in 16:13), which eventually fails (ekleipo) when one dies and therefore no longer retains the stewardship of one’s goods. The lesson is thus similar to Jesus’ earlier teaching about giving alms so as to be rich in God’s eyes (12:21) and store up ‘unfailing’ (anekleiptos) treasure in heaven (12:33 NRSV). A disciple who is a prudent steward will paradoxically give away wealth and remit debts, seemingly doing what the dishonest steward did but in reality enacting Jesus’ jubilee program (4:18-19; 7:41-42)” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 282).

3. One Mediator between God and Men: In the Second Reading, we read from Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. Timothy was given the task by Paul of ministering to the Church in Ephesus. Timothy needed to appoint bishops and deacons in the Church and ensure that he was teaching sound doctrine. In the passage we read as our First Reading, Paul speaks about the need to pray for the salvation of all people. Even though there are many peoples, cultures, and nations, there is only one God. Furthermore, there is only one mediator between God and humanity, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament mediation of Moses and the Levitical priests has been brought to fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Those who minister to God’s people in the Church must serve and share in the one mediation of Jesus Christ, which alone is sufficient. When we intercede for our brothers and sisters in prayer to the Father, we do so through Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me to grow in faithfulness and be a trustworthy steward of the mysteries of the Kingdom. Help me to grow in prudence as I seek to extend this Kingdom in the world around me.

Living the Word of God: How can I be more prudent in the administration of my wealth? Am I using the good things I have received from God to help the poor, advance the Kingdom of God, and create a more just society? How can I be more trustworthy?