September 22^nd 2019.  Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL   Luke 16, 1-13

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL   Luke 16,1-13

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."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The Gospel parable is a paradigm of life. It tells of an administrator who has the task of administrating the goods of his master. We too have been given many blessings and our Father in heaven wishes us to use these goods and blessings responsibly. Are we honest? Do we use our goods, blessings and talents well? In the parable, however, something surprising happens. The administrator is dishonest, so the master decides to fire him. Before being dismissed, the servant decides to court favour with others by reducing the debts that they owe his master. When the master finds out, we would expect him to be angry, but instead he praises him. How are we to understand the parable? If this master represents God the Father, then why does he praise the dishonest servant? Surely God would not approve of dishonesty of any sort? We will continue to be perplexed by this until we realise that the master is not praising the servant for his dishonesty but for his mercy! Everything that God gives us - especially the Gift of gifts which is the Holy Spirit – finds its true function in love, in mercy, in the forgiving sins. The administrator is praised by the master, not for his dishonesty, but because he has finally used the master’s assets to reduce the debts of others; he has exercised mercy. And we too must use every gift and blessing that we possess in the exercise of love and mercy. If our love is to be true, then we must use the goods we have in the service of others. Money and possessions must be totally subjected to love.

The Gospel parable is a paradigm of life. We are all administrators of the goods that we have been blessed with. Are we honest? Do we use the goods well?

The Gospel passage of this Sunday has tortured the imagination of many commentators over the centuries, resulting in a wide variety of interpretations. The parable tells of an administrator who misuses his master's assets. The master becomes aware of the servant’s dishonesty, summons him and informs him that his time of service has ended. This story is a paradigm of our existence: life is a call from God to receive so many gifts, to be blessed with talents and qualities, and the challenge to take care of the people who have been entrusted to us. All these things are riches that belong to God and we are only the custodians. One day we will be asked to report on how we managed the gifts that were bestowed on us. We may not have to answer for the whole world, but we certainly will have to answer for the things we have been given personally. In the presence of God the Father, though, how can we hope to bear scrutiny? De Profundis says: "If you consider our faults, Lord, who can survive?" (Ps 130, 3).

How are we to understand this parable? Why does the master praise the dishonest servant?

In the parable, the administrator recognizes that he does not have anything of his own to get him out of his dire situation. "I do not have the strength to work in the fields; I am too ashamed to beg”. Then a curious thing happens: he decides to manage the closing of accounts in a devious way and starts reducing the debts of others in order to court their favour. But the surprising thing is that the master praises him! How are we to understand this fact that the master praises the servant for being over generous and cancelling debts? We will continue to find this perplexing unless we focus on the fact that these goods - being of our Master, the Father of Jesus  - are administered well only in this way: by the forgiving of debts; by the cancellation of what is owed. As Jesus said to the apostles: “Receive the Holy Spirit. To those whose sins you shall forgive, they will be forgiven "(Jn 20: 22-23). All that divine providence gives us - especially the Gift of gifts which is the Holy Spirit – finds its true function in love, in being merciful, in forgiving sins. The administrator is praised by the master when he uses the master’s assets to reduce the debts of others, when he exercises mercy. Before that, in previous years, the administrator evidently did not exercise mercy in this way. Only the goods that we use for love are really used. If they are not used for love they are wasted.

If we are to love, then we must use the goods we have in the service of others. Money and possessions must be totally subjected to love.

Now we can understand the words of Jesus: "I say to you: make yourselves friends with dishonest wealth, for when it fails, you will be welcomed to eternal dwellings". We enter paradise when we have used what we possess according to the dictates of love. All the wealth that we have in reality is not ours, but belongs to God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “The ownership of something good makes him who possesses it a manager of providence" (n. 2404). We have two choices: either we live as responsible administrators, using the goods of this world charitably, or we live as masters of things. Every single act of true charity requires self-giving, generosity. To love we must renounce possessiveness. "You cannot serve God and wealth". It is as simple as that. If to serve God is to love, then money must be submitted to love. This is good administration of the goods that have been bestowed upon us.