Word to the Wise
Friday, November 8, 2019 - Friday in the 31th Week in Ordinary Time
[Phil 3:17-4:1 and Luke 16:1-8]"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 the children of light." [Luke]
Almost every year, when this parable appears in the lectionary, I will get a communication from someone who thinks that Jesus is praising dishonesty. He is not. He is praising those who use their resources wisely with an ultimate goal in mind. Furthermore, to understand this parable properly, we have to abandon our western notions of how things are done and enter the Middle Eastern mindset of a tenant farmer in Jesus' time (or any other time) and the culture of "honor."
The dishonest steward knows he is going to be fired. However, the tenant farmers don't know this. So, acting as the agent for the master, he goes and gets the debts of the tenant farmers reduced. This puts the farmers in HIS debt. So when he is fired, the farmers will have to take good care of him. At the same time, when the master finds out about this chicanery, he will be reluctant to reinstate the original contracts because he would lose the "honor" he has gained from the reduced contracts!
The Gospel According to Luke has other instances of people who fail to make use of their worldly goods to increase in what matters to God. The Dishonest Steward, in his circumstances, acted prudently. Jesus seems to wish the children of light would do the same for the sake of the kingdom. Prudence is praised, not dishonesty, but, as the saying goes, "You have to give the devil his due." He acted prudently. So should we. AMEN