The Parable of the dishonest steward

Today’s Gospel reading is a sort of enigma for Catholics because of what our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us in this parable, which is a lesson that we ought to learn in real life. You can read in Luke 16:1-13.

“1[Jesus] said to his disciples. “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. 2 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. 4 I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes. 5 He called in his master’s debtors one by one.

To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master? 6 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.’ 7 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.’ 8 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. 9 I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

10 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. 11 If, therefore you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12 If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? 13 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 God and mammon.”

*  *  *

One of my favorite advertising slogans came from that luxury watch called Patek Philippe and their ad goes like this, “You do not really own this watch…you just keep it for the next generation.” This is especially true to whatever things God has blessed our family or us. You may own a piece of land, a house or a car and, yes, a luxury watch. But when you kick the proverbial bucket…you cannot bring these things with you. If you have a family your wife or your children will inherit your land, your car and, yes, your watch. This is what the Lord meant that we are mere stewards on this earth because we merely hold it for the next generation who comes after us.

I’m sure that you maybe wondering whether our Lord Jesus Christ embraced this form of dishonesty by praising the dishonest steward? Actually, it is not the dishonesty that our Lord is talking about here; rather it is the prudence of the dishonest steward when faced with the problem of his being fired from his job. Call him creative if you wish. But it was better that he did what he did and unwittingly shared his master’s wealth.

The dishonest steward literally fooled his master by giving his debtors a favor by giving them back part of their promissory notes less than what they owe his master. In the end, the dishonest steward was able to do the debtors a favor, which someday he could collect from them because they now owe a debt of gratitude to the dishonest steward.

In today’s gospel our Lord Jesus Christ taught us“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.” Didn’t we say that this parable is still as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago? Prudence is important for all Catholics, to build treasures not of this earth that can decay, but rather the inexhaustible ones in heaven.

Speaking of dishonest wealth, the Filipino people are in the midst of the greatest scandal ever slammed in their faces with the P10-billion scam perpetrated by Janet Lim Napoles and many senators and congressmen. To be totally frank about it…as a columnist I have been writing about the evils of the Pork Barrel for more than 10years now. Especially in the Year 2003 when then Rep. Clavel Asas Martinez figured in her own little P10-million scam that still has to be tried in the Sandiganbayan. Somehow, that case never triggered any indignation by Cebuanos much more from the Filipino people.

But now, the entire nation is indignant about this story of dishonest wealth by our political elite and I attribute this to the intercession of our Blessed Virgin Mary, our Immaculate Mother where last June 8th, the entire Catholic Clergy consecrated the Philippines into her Immaculate Heart. In less than three months the nation was awakened by the evils of the Pork Barrel, plus the fact that this is perpetrated by people whom we call “honorable.”

*  *  *

Email: [email protected]