THE WORD
Rom 15: 14–21 / Lk 16: 1–8
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 containers 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.”
IN OTHER WORDS
I am writing this reflection bearing in mind all the scams and controversies the government is facing today, for example, the Pork Barrel Scam, a 10-billion scam wherein the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was illegally used or was allegedly pocketed by some legislators and officials who were mandated to serve the people, not themselves.
Today’s Gospel narrates the parable of the unjust steward. A steward is a person who manages another person’s property or finances. Being a steward entails trust and confidence. Unfortunately, the steward in the Gospel failed the expectations of his master so he was technically “fired” from service. Realizing that he had no other work to do, he talked with the debtors of his master and gave them promissory notes asking them to cut half or a percentage of what they owed. Some Biblical scholars interpreted this as a move by the steward to remove his “commission” from what the debtors owed to his master. With what he did, he was commended by the master for being prudent. He was commended not because he cheated but because he exercised foresight.
Citing this parable, Jesus was trying to tell his listeners that they can avert crisis and failures in life through the exercise of faith and foresight. As Christians, we are challenged by today’s Gospel to foresee the Kingdom of God as the ultimate end of this earthly life. With heaven in our minds, we can avoid committing sins. As God’s stewards, we should be ready to give an account of our lives at any time. Unlike those legislators who are linked to alleged scams, we should be good stewards of our time, finances and possessions and free ourselves from greed and possessiveness.
- Bernhard Abrazado, SVD (DWC, Calapan, Or. Mdo.)
The Word in other words 2015
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
