The Children of this World, and the Children of the Light, the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time–Year C

My Sisters and Brothers:

In today’s Gospel, Jesus actually invites us to learn a lesson from those who are solely motivated by the “things of the world.”  And so we are presented with the “Parable of the Dishonest Steward” in which Jesus tells his followers they “cannot serve both God and mammon” (see Luke 16:1-13).

Usually when Jesus used parables and spoke of “masters,” “owners,” “rulers,” or “lords,” he was metaphorically speaking about God the Father.  The “stewards,” the “servants,” the “slaves,” and the “hired workers” were most often likened to those who were supposed to be his faithful disciples.  With this in mind, we might find ourselves confused by today’s parable. After all, the steward had squandered his master’s property, and then he seemed to cheat him of what others had owed him.  About this, Jesus said “the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.”  Huh?

 

In order to interpret the parable, it’s helpful to understand standard commercial practices of that time.  In those days, when a servant went about collecting his master’s debts, and in order to enrich himself, he usually would have charged the debtors excessive additional fees.  This was a common practice, and everyone from the master to the debtor expected it to be done.  Those who listened to Jesus tell this story would have known the “dishonest steward” had shrewdly eliminated those additional fees in order to simply charge the debtors what was due to the master alone.  Doing thus, the steward would have ingratiated himself to those debtors from whom he hoped to find favor in the future. From a “worldly perspective,” this would have been very wise “business as usual,” but from a “spiritual perspective” the steward’s conniving would have served no purpose at all!  Jesus’ point was that his disciples needed to be just as intent on spiritual things as worldly people were on theirs.  He also made it clear his disciples would be held to “other worldly” and eternal standards.

I believe the central statement of this parable then is found in Jesus’ words “the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light” (see verse 8b).  This actually was an admonition for those “children of the light.”  Jesus desired to make a distinction, while drawing a kind of parallel, between worldly and spiritual ways of doing things.  In a sense then, Jesus taught that spiritual people must similarly have determined goals, but as “the children of the light,” must always keep their eyes focused on things eternal.  This is why Jesus proclaimed “no servant can serve two masters . . . because he or she will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other . . . he or she cannot serve both God and mammon” (see verse 13).

     

Therefore my friends let us not neglect the “things of the world” for which we must be responsible; at the same time, may we always keep our focus on spiritual realities and things eternal.  And serving God in this life, may we never limit ourselves to “worldly perspectives and to business as usual!”

Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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