Word to the Wise
Sunday, September 22, 2013 - 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
[Amos 8:4-7; 1 Tim 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13]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.
A good story with a clever rogue will always find an attentive audience. It is important to understand how this story "works." When the rogue steward leaves the office of the boss, he has sometime before the debtors find out about his dismissal. So, he goes and reduces the amount owed by each debtor. The result is that he makes friends with them and, at the same time, makes the boss look good to the debtors. In a society where "honor" is an extremely important value, the boss can't repudiate the actions of the rogue steward without losing face! So, everyone benefits! The debtors pay less, the rogue has friends to help him when he loses his job, and the boss gets a good reputation! It is this "prudence" that is commended by Jesus, not the dishonest reduction of the debts! [Consider the recent action of United Airlines deciding to honor the tickets bought at ridiculously low prices because of a computer glitch!]
There is a lot of irony here because Jesus points out that people like this rogue steward seem to know a good opportunity when they see one, and the "children of light" seem oblivious to the opportunity being offered to them by Jesus! The story of the rogue steward is followed by a series of statements about honesty/dishonesty which may or may not bear on the story itself. However, one may go back to the first scripture from Amos and have one's ears seared by what he says about dishonest dealings! The contrast with Jesus' story allows us to keep things in perspective! AMEN