Cycle C - Year I:  

22 September 2019: Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Amos 8:4-7

Second Reading:   1 Timothy 2:1-8

Gospel:  Please Read  Luke 16:1-13

Being wise and clever for the Lord!

What good example a bad person may possibly give to others?  The question seems to be a contradiction.  But then life is full of contradictions sometimes.

In the Gospel for this Sunday Our Lord Jesus tells a parable that may shake our faith, or at least puzzle us at first glance.  It may be an example of "contradiction".

Let us see why it is difficult to understand this parable.  Jesus tells a story of an employee who cheats his employer by squandering his master's property.  The master heard of this and decided to terminate his stewardship. But before losing his job, the clever employee made friends with his master's other debtors by reducing their actual debts to the master.  By doing this "cheating" the employee hopes to find favors with those he helped with their debts.  And so the master learning of what he did, did not get angry but instead praised the clever employee "because he had acted shrewdly".

.  

Certainly this is a most challenging parable. And still, it comes from Jesus' mouth Himself, so it must say something terribly important to us.   

Obviously, Jesus thought that the example of a rascal would be a perfect illustration for a spiritual lesson about the kingdom of God.  In this parable, the master praises the dishonest steward or employee not for being dishonest but for being clever and for his shrewdness.

Now, the original meaning of "shrewdness" is "foresight".  A shrewd person grasps a critical situation with resolution and foresight.  Our Lord Jesus is concerned here with something more critical than a financial crisis.  Jesus' concern is that we avert spiritual crisis through the exercise of faith and foresight.

So then, what do we make of this parable in our Christian living?

Well, the purpose of the parable is certainly not to extol those who swindle their bosses.  Rather, Jesus uses this parable to teach us the importance of acting prudently in spiritual matters, with the same tenacity that worldly persons apply in temporal matters.  In other words, if Christians would only spend as much foresight and energy to spiritual matters (which have eternal consequences) as much as they do to worldly matters (which have temporal consequences), then they would be truly better off not only in this life but also in the age to come.

To be blessed with material possessions also carries a great responsibility.  The Lord expects us to use them honestly and responsibly by putting them at God's service and the service for others, and not just for ourselves.  Because in reality we are God's servants and all that we have actually belongs to Him.  He expects us to make a good return on what He generously gives to us.  For God loves generosity and He gives liberally to those who share their gifts or blessings with others.

So then, Jesus makes clear that our hearts must either be possessed by God's love or our hearts will be possessed by the love of something else.  It is our choice in our every day life.  And we must be wise and clever, and shrewd in matters of the spirit in the acquisition of treasures that last forever.

A blessed Sunday to us all.  And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!