LUKE 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 kors 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.”

Reflection

Commendation for dishonesty: In the ancient world, rich men were few, while peasants were many. Upon hearing about a rich man whose steward has been squandering his master’s money, the peasant audience would side with the steward; he is about to lose his job and takes matters into his own hands.

The master’s response is unexpected: He commends the steward for his wrongdoing because he has acted wisely. All of a sudden the presupposition that the master is a bad man is reversed, just as the presupposition that the steward was a good man had been reversed when he began to act like his master. The parable suddenly turns the world upside down!

The rich man was considered to have power and, because of his power, the capacity to execute justice. His steward was squandering his property; with his power he could justly fire the steward. By praising his dishonest steward, however, he forfeits his power. In so doing, he becomes vulnerable. In the kingdom of God masters and stewards do not get even with each other; they are vulnerable to each other.

The parable does not foster or condone dishonesty. The master praises his dishonest steward for his prudence, for looking ahead and planning appropriately. The steward was finally functioning as a steward and managing his master’s affairs.

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