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He also said to His disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, "What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.' So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."
- Luke 16:1-9
Yesterday, we read that Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." Then Jesus told two parables which we read in Tuesday's reading: one of the lost sheep and the other of the necklace. See I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." ' And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry. Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "
He also said to His disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, "What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.' So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home." My study bible notes of today's entire reading that a steward is responsible for managing his master's property and looking after the welfare of his master's servants. It says that the point of this parable is that the unrighteous are better at using money to make friends in the world than believers are at using money to make friends for the Kingdom of God. This is accomplished by spending it on the needy. At death -- "when you fail" -- the needy will welcome their benefactors into the everlasting home.
I think it's important to remember that Jesus is still addressing the criticisms of the scribes and Pharisees, but now He's speaking to His own disciples. He has spoken so far three parables: the first two told of the great love of God the Father, and the rejoicing in in heaven over one lost sinner. The third told us about how our joy must also be when sinners find the gospel message, and join in this joy and love. The parable of the Prodigal Son (yesterday's reading) is a beautiful illustration both of God's love, but also addresses that "older brother" who is perhaps in the role of the Pharisees and scribes who criticize that Jesus eats with sinners. It's a hint about jealousy there in the story. But today's reading takes another sort of turn, telling us about helping those who owe us. Let's assume that, as in other examples throughout the gospels, this story of debts is really about sins. That is, there are those whose imperfect lives somehow make them indebted. Jesus uses "debts" as an analogy for sins in the Lord's Prayer, when He teaches us to pray, " Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us." What we could say, therefore, is that this is a message to the righteous (or perhaps we could even say the "self-righteous") about forgiveness and mercy. It may be a teaching to His own disciples about forgiveness of sins in the Church, in contrast to the Pharisees. It's a kind of message that gives us a hint of the great joy in heaven that also arises from forgiveness, from the showing of mercy. This steward in the end is praised by his master (whom we can presume is God the Father) for dealing shrewdly with those who owed the master. Perhaps our own forgiveness is a kind of shrewd dealing, in which we come to understand that we all need some kind of forgiveness, and that peace is better than strife. Whichever way we look at the parable, a traditional interpretation such as my study bible gives us, or the idea that our own forgiveness and mercy somehow stores up treasures and joy in an everlasting home, let us understand that this sort of "shrewd dealing" is the kind of bargain that our Creator likes for us to make. Let us consider our welcome in an everlasting home when we are able to do such a bargain of blessings, of mercy. Ultimately, it's the master who decides what He prefers.
