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.
Jesus continued on his way to Jerusalem with the Twelve disciples and a crowd of his followers. Jesus gave his disciples advice about the right attitude they should have towards earthly goods and what is true wealth. He told them a parable about a rich man who heard that his manager, who was authorized to oversee his affairs and make binding contracts on his behalf, was squandering his property. Without verifying what he had heard, he decided to fire the manager and asked him to give a full accounting of his business dealings.
Before he was fired, the manager figured out a way to gain favor with his master’s tenant farmers and secure his future. He had them reduce the amounts of their promissory notes made out to the landowner. The steward acted with the authority he still had and took practical action to accomplish a specific goal. The tenant farmers did not know that the manager was about to be fired so they did not question the legality of his actions. When the landowner found out what his steward had done, he acknowledged the craftiness of his manager and commended him for it. The master and the manager were both “Children of the world.”
Jesus was not teaching His disciples to imitate the actions of the dishonest steward. The steward’s shrewd and decisive action with respect to the use of possessions is what is to be imitated in furtherance of the Kingdom. Children of the light (Christians) should be similarly resourceful in their spiritual pursuits so that when their stewardship comes to an end (death) they will be welcomed into the Kingdom. They should not focus on accumulating material wealth in this world but focus on accumulating treasures for the next (Mt. 6:19-20). Worldly resources are to be used in accordance with God’s will to lead others to eternal life.
Almighty God, help us to imitate our Lord Jesus Christ and be self-sacrificing as we live our moral obligations as children of the light. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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