The WORD in Other Words by Fr Felix Ferrer SVD (Philippines) for Friday Week 31 in Ordinary Time
Gospel
Lk 16:1-8
In today‘s Gospel, Jesus is trying to tell his listeners that there is something more critical in the steward‘s situation than a simple financial crisis. Jesus has been reminding us that we can avert spiritual crisis through the exercise of faith and foresight. If Christians would only expend as much foresight and energy in spiritual matters as much as they do in earthly matters, perhaps the world would indeed be a better place.
As God‘s stewards we need to be prepared to give an account of our lives at any time. “Why did the Lord present this parable to us?” asked St. Augustine. “He surely did not approve of that cheating servant who cheated his master, stole from him and did not make it up from his own pocket. On top of that, he also did some extra stealing. He caused his master further loss, in order to prepare a little nest of quiet and security for himself after he lost his job.
Why did the Lord set this before us?” With instinctive accuracy he hit the point: “It is not because that servant cheated but because he exercised foresight for the future.”
Jesus actually shows that example is in praise for shrewdness as a quality one needs to possess when dealing with the matters of this world. It also manifests the lack of true wit of the sons of light in building God‘s Kingdom: “The people of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own kind than are the people of light.” (Lk 16:8)
Let us ask the Lord to help us to be good stewards of our time, of our finances, and possessions, free us from greed and possessiveness, and fill us with generosity towards others.
