Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope
and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 489
Lectionary: 489
I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters,
that you yourselves are full of goodness,
filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.
But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you,
because of the grace given me by God
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles
in performing the priestly service of the Gospel of God,
so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable,
sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast in what pertains to God.
For I will not dare to speak of anything
except what Christ has accomplished through me
to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,
by the power of signs and wonders,
by the power of the Spirit of God,
so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum
I have finished preaching the Gospel of Christ.
Thus I aspire to proclaim the Gospel
not where Christ has already been named,
so that I do not build on another's foundation,
but as it is written:
Those who have never been told of him shall see,
and those who have never heard of him shall understand.
that you yourselves are full of goodness,
filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.
But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you,
because of the grace given me by God
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles
in performing the priestly service of the Gospel of God,
so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable,
sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast in what pertains to God.
For I will not dare to speak of anything
except what Christ has accomplished through me
to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,
by the power of signs and wonders,
by the power of the Spirit of God,
so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum
I have finished preaching the Gospel of Christ.
Thus I aspire to proclaim the Gospel
not where Christ has already been named,
so that I do not build on another's foundation,
but as it is written:
Those who have never been told of him shall see,
and those who have never heard of him shall understand.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4
R. (see 2b) The
Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Alleluia1 JN 2:5
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 16:1-8
Jesus said to his disciples, "A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
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.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.'
He called in his master's debtors one by one.
To the first he said, 'How much do you owe my master?'
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.'
Then to another he said, 'And you, how much do you owe?'
He replied, 'One hundred measures of wheat.'
He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.'
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."
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
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.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.'
He called in his master's debtors one by one.
To the first he said, 'How much do you owe my master?'
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.'
Then to another he said, 'And you, how much do you owe?'
He replied, 'One hundred measures of wheat.'
He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.'
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."
Meditation: The necessity of prudent
foresight
Do you make good use of your money and possessions?
Jesus seemed to praise a steward (a manager entrusted with his master's goods)
who misused his employer's money. What did the steward do that made Jesus
praise him? The steward was responsible for managing his wealthy landowner's
property. The steward very likely overcharged his master's tenants for their
use of the land and kept more than his fair share of the profit. When the
landowner discovered the steward's dishonest practice he immediately removed
him from his job, leaving him penniless and ashamed to beg or do manual
work.
The necessity of prudent foresight to avert
disaster
Before news of his dismissal became public knowledge, the shrewd steward struck a deal with his master's debtors. In discounting their debts he probably was giving up his generous commission. Such a deal won him great favor with the debtors. Since the steward acted as the landowner's agent, such a deal made his master look very generous and forgiving towards those who owned him money. Surely everyone would praise such a generous landowner as the town hero! Since the master could not undo the steward's cancellation of the debts without losing face and making his debtors resent him, he praised the steward for outwitting him and making him appear as a generous and merciful landowner.
Before news of his dismissal became public knowledge, the shrewd steward struck a deal with his master's debtors. In discounting their debts he probably was giving up his generous commission. Such a deal won him great favor with the debtors. Since the steward acted as the landowner's agent, such a deal made his master look very generous and forgiving towards those who owned him money. Surely everyone would praise such a generous landowner as the town hero! Since the master could not undo the steward's cancellation of the debts without losing face and making his debtors resent him, he praised the steward for outwitting him and making him appear as a generous and merciful landowner.
Jesus obviously thought that the example of a very
clever steward would be a perfect illustration for a spiritual lesson about God
and how God treats those who belong to his kingdom. What's the point of Jesus'
parable? The dishonest steward is commended not for mishandling his master's
wealth, but for his shrewd provision in averting personal disaster and in
securing his future livelihood. The original meaning of "shrewdness"
is "foresight". A shrewd person grasps a critical situation with
resolution, foresight, and the determination to avoid serious loss or
disaster.
Faith and prudent foresight can save us from
moral and spiritual disaster
Jesus is concerned here with something more critical than a financial or economic crisis. His concern is that we avert spiritual crisis and personal moral disaster through the exercise of faith and foresight. If Christians would only expend as much foresight and energy to spiritual matters, which have eternal consequences, as they do to earthly matters which have temporal consequences, then they would be truly better off, both in this life and in the age to come.
Jesus is concerned here with something more critical than a financial or economic crisis. His concern is that we avert spiritual crisis and personal moral disaster through the exercise of faith and foresight. If Christians would only expend as much foresight and energy to spiritual matters, which have eternal consequences, as they do to earthly matters which have temporal consequences, then they would be truly better off, both in this life and in the age to come.
God loves good stewardship and generosity
Ambrose, a 4th century bishop said: The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns which last forever. True wealth consists not in what we keep but in what we give away. Possessions are a great responsibility. The Lord expects us to use them honestly and responsibly and to put them at his service and the service of others. We belong to God and all that we have is his as well. He expects us to make a good return on what he gives us.
Ambrose, a 4th century bishop said: The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns which last forever. True wealth consists not in what we keep but in what we give away. Possessions are a great responsibility. The Lord expects us to use them honestly and responsibly and to put them at his service and the service of others. We belong to God and all that we have is his as well. He expects us to make a good return on what he gives us.
God loves generosity and he gives liberally to those
who share his gifts with others. The Pharisees, however, had little room for
God or others in their hearts. The Gospel says they were lovers of money (Luke
16:14). Love of money and wealth crowd out love of God and love of neighbor.
Jesus makes clear that our hearts must either be possessed by God's love or our
hearts will be possessed by the love of something else. What do you most
treasure in your heart?
"Lord Jesus, all that I have is a gift from you.
May I love you freely and generously with all that I possess. Help me to be a
wise and faithful steward of the resources you put at my disposal, including
the use of my time, money, and possessions."
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Jesus recommends the foresight, prudence,
and ingenuity of the steward, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Why did the Lord Jesus Christ present this
parable to us? He surely did not approve of that cheat of a servant who cheated
his master, stole from him and did not make it up from his own pocket. On top
of that, he also did some extra pilfering. He caused his master further loss,
in order to prepare a little nest of quiet and security for himself after he
lost his job. Why did the Lord set this before us? It is not because that
servant cheated but because he exercised foresight for the future. When even a
cheat is praised for his ingenuity, Christians who make no such provision
blush. I mean, this is what he added, 'Behold, the children of this age are
more prudent than the children of light.' They perpetrate frauds in order to
secure their future. In what life, after all, did that steward insure himself
like that? What one was he going to quit when he bowed to his master's decision?
He was insuring himself for a life that was going to end. Would you not insure
yourself for eternal life?" (excerpt
from 359A.10.)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, LUKE 16:1-8
(Romans 15:14-21; Psalm 98)
(Romans 15:14-21; Psalm 98)
KEY VERSE: "For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light" (v 8).
TO KNOW: In the Parable of the Dishonest Steward, Jesus contrasted the apparent indifference of the children of the kingdom of God with worldly people who shrewdly planned for their future. In the story, a steward had mismanaged his master's funds and was faced with loss of employment. The steward was unused to physical labor and he was too proud to beg. So he devised a scheme whereby he cancelled his exorbitant commission hence reducing the amount owed by the debtors. Thus he ingratiated himself to both debtor and master. Jesus praised the enterprising steward for acting prudently. He was not encouraging dishonesty, but challenging his own disciples to be as resourceful in their pursuit of the kingdom as were those who acted without the light of the Holy Spirit to guide them.
TO LOVE: Am I honest in all my business dealings?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to use my resources for building your kingdom on earth.
Memorial of Saint Leo the Great,
pope and doctor of the Church
Leo the Great was Pope from 440 to 461 during the time of the invasion of Attila the Hun. When Attila marched on Rome, Pope Leo went out to meet him and pleaded for the army to leave. As Leo spoke, Attila saw a vision of a man in priestly robes, carrying a sword, and threatening to kill the invader if he did not obey the pope. As Leo had a great devotion to Saint Peter, it is generally believed Peter was the visionary opponent to the Huns. When Genseric invaded Rome, Pope Leo's sanctity and eloquence saved the city again. Pope Leo called the Council of Chalcedon to condemn heresies of the day: Nestorianism, Monophysitism, Manichaeism, and Pelagianism. He wrote letters and sermons, many of which survive today. It is for these writings that Leo was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1574.
NOTE: Nestorianism is the doctrine emphasizing the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus. It was advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople (428–431).
Monophysitism is the position that, after the union of the divine and the human in the Incarnation, Jesus Christ, the incarnation of the eternal Son or Word (Logos) of God, had only a single "nature" which was either divine or a synthesis of divine and human
Manichaeism was a major religion founded by the Iranian prophet Mani who taught a dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness.
Pelagianism is the belief that original sin did not taint human nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without Divine aid.
Friday 10
November 2017
St Leo The Great. Day of penance.
Romans 15:14-21. Psalm 97(98):1-4. Luke
16:1-8.
The Lord has revealed to the nations his
saving power — Psalm 97(98):1-4.
Christ is my peace.
I once heard it said that we would do for money what
we would not do for love. It struck me at the time that it is often true. If
there is a dollar in it for us, we will often make the extra effort required.
Christ’s way is the way of love. As his follower I want to answer his stronger
call. I will do for love what is required of me without looking for payment of
any sort except the knowledge of walking in the Master’s footsteps.
It is a road less travelled, and I will often find
myself at odds with others who walk a different way. I may be misunderstood. I
will find security not in insurance policies, not in stocks or shares, but in
following ever more closely my companion on the journey, Christ, who walks
before me.
POPE ST. LEO THE GREAT
Nov. 10 is the Roman Catholic Church’s liturgical
memorial of the fifth-century Pope Saint Leo I, known as “St. Leo the Great,”
whose involvement in the fourth ecumenical council helped prevent the spread of
error on Christ's divine and human natures.
St. Leo intervened for the safety of the Church in the West as well, persuading Attila the Hun to turn back from Rome.
Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians also maintain a devotion to the memory of Pope St. Leo the Great. Churches of the Byzantine tradition celebrate his feast day on Feb. 18.
“As the nickname soon attributed to him by tradition suggests,” Pope Benedict XVI said in a 2008 general audience on the saint, “he was truly one of the greatest pontiffs to have honoured the Roman See and made a very important contribution to strengthening its authority and prestige.”
Leo’s origins are obscure and his date of birth unknown. His ancestors are said to have come from Tuscany, though the future pope may have been born in that region or in Rome itself. He became a deacon in Rome in approximately 430, during the pontificate of Pope Celestine I.
During this time, central authority was beginning to decline in the Western portion of the Roman Empire. At some point between 432 and 440, during the reign of Pope St. Celestine’s successor Pope Sixtus III, the Roman Emperor Valentinian III commissioned Leo to travel to the region of Gaul and settle a dispute between military and civil officials.
Pope Sixtus III died in 440 and, like his predecessor Celestine, was canonized as a saint. Leo, away on his diplomatic mission at the time of the Pope’s death, was chosen to be the next Bishop of Rome. Reigning for over two decades, he sought to preserve the unity of the Church in its profession of faith, and to ensure the safety of his people against frequent barbarian invasions.
Leo used his authority, in both doctrinal and disciplinary matters, against a number of heresies troubling the Western church – including Pelagianism (involving the denial of Original Sin) and Manichaeanism (a gnostic system that saw matter as evil). In this same period, many Eastern Christians had begun arguing about the relationship between Jesus’ humanity and divinity.
As early as 445, Leo had intervened in this dispute in the East, which threatened to split the churches of Alexandria and Constantinople. Its eventual resolution was, in fact, rejected in some quarters – leading to the present-day split between Eastern Orthodoxy and the so-called “non-Chalcedonian churches” which accept only three ecumenical councils.
As the fifth-century Christological controversy continued, the Pope urged the gathering of an ecumenical council to resolve the matter. At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Pope’s teaching was received as authoritative by the Eastern bishops, who proclaimed: “Peter has spoken through the mouth of Leo.”
Leo’s teaching confirmed that Christ’s eternal divine personhood and nature did not absorb or negate the human nature that he assumed in time through the Incarnation. Instead, “the proper character of both natures was maintained and came together in a single person.”
“So without leaving his Father's glory behind, the Son of God comes down from his heavenly throne and enters the depths of our world,” the Pope taught. “Whilst remaining pre-existent, he begins to exist in time. The Lord of the universe veiled his measureless majesty and took on a servant's form. The God who knew no suffering did not despise becoming a suffering man, and, deathless as he is, to be subject to the laws of death.”
In 452, one year after the Council of Chalcedon, Pope Leo led a delegation which successfully negotiated with the barbarian king Attila to prevent an invasion of Rome. When the Vandal leader Genseric occupied Rome in 455, the Pope confronted him, unarmed, and obtained a guarantee of safety for many of the city’s inhabitants and the churches to which they had fled.
Pope St. Leo the Great died on Nov. 10, 461. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIV in 1754. A large collection of his writings and sermons survives, and can be read in translation today.
St. Leo intervened for the safety of the Church in the West as well, persuading Attila the Hun to turn back from Rome.
Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians also maintain a devotion to the memory of Pope St. Leo the Great. Churches of the Byzantine tradition celebrate his feast day on Feb. 18.
“As the nickname soon attributed to him by tradition suggests,” Pope Benedict XVI said in a 2008 general audience on the saint, “he was truly one of the greatest pontiffs to have honoured the Roman See and made a very important contribution to strengthening its authority and prestige.”
Leo’s origins are obscure and his date of birth unknown. His ancestors are said to have come from Tuscany, though the future pope may have been born in that region or in Rome itself. He became a deacon in Rome in approximately 430, during the pontificate of Pope Celestine I.
During this time, central authority was beginning to decline in the Western portion of the Roman Empire. At some point between 432 and 440, during the reign of Pope St. Celestine’s successor Pope Sixtus III, the Roman Emperor Valentinian III commissioned Leo to travel to the region of Gaul and settle a dispute between military and civil officials.
Pope Sixtus III died in 440 and, like his predecessor Celestine, was canonized as a saint. Leo, away on his diplomatic mission at the time of the Pope’s death, was chosen to be the next Bishop of Rome. Reigning for over two decades, he sought to preserve the unity of the Church in its profession of faith, and to ensure the safety of his people against frequent barbarian invasions.
Leo used his authority, in both doctrinal and disciplinary matters, against a number of heresies troubling the Western church – including Pelagianism (involving the denial of Original Sin) and Manichaeanism (a gnostic system that saw matter as evil). In this same period, many Eastern Christians had begun arguing about the relationship between Jesus’ humanity and divinity.
As early as 445, Leo had intervened in this dispute in the East, which threatened to split the churches of Alexandria and Constantinople. Its eventual resolution was, in fact, rejected in some quarters – leading to the present-day split between Eastern Orthodoxy and the so-called “non-Chalcedonian churches” which accept only three ecumenical councils.
As the fifth-century Christological controversy continued, the Pope urged the gathering of an ecumenical council to resolve the matter. At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Pope’s teaching was received as authoritative by the Eastern bishops, who proclaimed: “Peter has spoken through the mouth of Leo.”
Leo’s teaching confirmed that Christ’s eternal divine personhood and nature did not absorb or negate the human nature that he assumed in time through the Incarnation. Instead, “the proper character of both natures was maintained and came together in a single person.”
“So without leaving his Father's glory behind, the Son of God comes down from his heavenly throne and enters the depths of our world,” the Pope taught. “Whilst remaining pre-existent, he begins to exist in time. The Lord of the universe veiled his measureless majesty and took on a servant's form. The God who knew no suffering did not despise becoming a suffering man, and, deathless as he is, to be subject to the laws of death.”
In 452, one year after the Council of Chalcedon, Pope Leo led a delegation which successfully negotiated with the barbarian king Attila to prevent an invasion of Rome. When the Vandal leader Genseric occupied Rome in 455, the Pope confronted him, unarmed, and obtained a guarantee of safety for many of the city’s inhabitants and the churches to which they had fled.
Pope St. Leo the Great died on Nov. 10, 461. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIV in 1754. A large collection of his writings and sermons survives, and can be read in translation today.
LECTIO DIVINA: LUKE 16,1-8
Lectio Divina:
Friday, November 10, 2017
Ordinary
Time
1) Opening prayer
God of power and mercy,
only with your help
can we offer you fitting service and praise.
May we live the faith we profess
and trust your promise of eternal life.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
only with your help
can we offer you fitting service and praise.
May we live the faith we profess
and trust your promise of eternal life.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel reading - Luke 16:1-8
Jesus said to His disciples, "There
was a rich man and he had a steward who was denounced to him for being wasteful
with his property. He called for the man and said, ‘What is this I hear about
you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my
steward any longer.’
Then the steward said to himself, ‘Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.’
Then he called his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ‘One hundred measures of oil,’ he said. The steward said, ‘Here, take your bond; sit down and quickly write fifty.’ To another he said, ‘And you, sir, how much do you owe?’ ‘One hundred measures of wheat,’ he said. The steward said, ‘Here, take your bond and write eighty.’
Then the steward said to himself, ‘Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.’
Then he called his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ‘One hundred measures of oil,’ he said. The steward said, ‘Here, take your bond; sit down and quickly write fifty.’ To another he said, ‘And you, sir, how much do you owe?’ ‘One hundred measures of wheat,’ he said. The steward said, ‘Here, take your bond and write eighty.’
The master praised the dishonest steward
for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing
with their own kind than are the children of light.”
3) Reflection
• Today the Gospel presents a parable
that concerns the administration of goods which is found only in Luke’s Gospel.
It is called the parable of the dishonest steward. It is a disconcerting
parable. Luke says: “The master praised the dishonest steward for his
astuteness”. The master is Jesus Himself and not the administrator or steward.
How is that Jesus praises a corrupt employee?
• Luke 16, 1-2: The steward is threatened to lose his job. “There was a rich man and he had a steward, who was denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship, because you are not to be my steward any more”. This example, taken from the world of business and work, speaks for itself. It refers to the existing corruption. The master discovers the corruption and decides to send away the dishonest steward. The steward, unexpectedly finds himself in an emergency situation and is obliged by the unforeseen circumstances to find a way out in order to survive. When God becomes present in the life of a person, everything unexpectedly changes and the person finds himself/herself in an emergency situation. The person has to take a decision and find a way out.
• Luke 16, 3-4: What to do? Which is the way out? “Then the steward said to himself, Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed”. He begins to reflect to find a way out. He analyzes, one by one, the possible alternatives: to dig or work the land in order to survive, he feels that he does not have the strength to do this, and to beg, he would feel ashamed. Calculating the possible alternativeshe says, “Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes”. It is a question of trying to guarantee his future. The steward acts consistently with his way of thinking and living.
• Luke 16, 5-7: Execution of the solution he found. “Then he called his master’s debtors, one by one, and said to the first one: How much do you owe my master? One hundred measures of oil, he said. The steward said, ‘Here, take your bond, sit down and quickly write fifty. Then he said to another one, and you, sir, how much do you owe? ‘One hundred measures of wheat’, he answered. The steward said, ‘Here take your bond and write eighty”. In his total lack of ethics the steward was consistent. The criteria of his actions are not honesty and justice, nor the good of the master on whom he depends to live and to survive, but his own interest. He wants to have the guarantee that there will be someone who will receive him in his house.
• Luke 16, 1-2: The steward is threatened to lose his job. “There was a rich man and he had a steward, who was denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship, because you are not to be my steward any more”. This example, taken from the world of business and work, speaks for itself. It refers to the existing corruption. The master discovers the corruption and decides to send away the dishonest steward. The steward, unexpectedly finds himself in an emergency situation and is obliged by the unforeseen circumstances to find a way out in order to survive. When God becomes present in the life of a person, everything unexpectedly changes and the person finds himself/herself in an emergency situation. The person has to take a decision and find a way out.
• Luke 16, 3-4: What to do? Which is the way out? “Then the steward said to himself, Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed”. He begins to reflect to find a way out. He analyzes, one by one, the possible alternatives: to dig or work the land in order to survive, he feels that he does not have the strength to do this, and to beg, he would feel ashamed. Calculating the possible alternativeshe says, “Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes”. It is a question of trying to guarantee his future. The steward acts consistently with his way of thinking and living.
• Luke 16, 5-7: Execution of the solution he found. “Then he called his master’s debtors, one by one, and said to the first one: How much do you owe my master? One hundred measures of oil, he said. The steward said, ‘Here, take your bond, sit down and quickly write fifty. Then he said to another one, and you, sir, how much do you owe? ‘One hundred measures of wheat’, he answered. The steward said, ‘Here take your bond and write eighty”. In his total lack of ethics the steward was consistent. The criteria of his actions are not honesty and justice, nor the good of the master on whom he depends to live and to survive, but his own interest. He wants to have the guarantee that there will be someone who will receive him in his house.
• Luke 16, 8: The Master praises the
dishonest steward. This is the disconcerting conclusion. “The Master praises
the dishonest steward for his astuteness: For the children of this world are
more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light”. The
word Master or Lord indicates Jesus and not the rich man. The latter would
never praise a dishonest employee working for Him in service, and now he robs
even more, with 50 measures of oil and 20 sacks of wheat! In the parable, the
one who extends the praise is Jesus. He certainly does not praise the theft but
the spirit of the steward. He knew how to calculate things well and finds
a way out when he unexpectedly finds himself without a job. In this way the
children of this world know how to be experts in their own things. In the same
way, the children of light should learn from them to be experts in the solution
to their problems using the criteria of the Kingdom and not the criteria of
this world. “Be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves” (Mt 10, 16).
4) Personal questions
• Am I consistent in thought and action?
• Which criteria do I use in the
solution of my problems?
5) Concluding prayer
One thing I ask of Yahweh, one thing I
seek:
to dwell in Yahweh's house all the days of my life,
to enjoy the sweetness of Yahweh,
to seek out His temple. (Ps 27,4)
to dwell in Yahweh's house all the days of my life,
to enjoy the sweetness of Yahweh,
to seek out His temple. (Ps 27,4)
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