November 7, 2025
Friday of the Thirty-first
Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 489
Reading
I
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.
Responsorial
Psalm
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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110725.cfm
Commentary on Romans 15:14-21
We begin today the
reading of the epilogue to Paul’s rather long letter. As he comes to the
end of his message, he makes some general remarks about issues touching on his
evangelising work.
He begins by
saying that he is sure they will understand the reason for his writing to them
even though the Roman church is not one founded by him, and even though they
are:
…full of
goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.
But he wants to
refresh their memories on a few points. Does this mean that he had
written to them earlier, or that he is just referring to general points of
Christian teaching known to all?
He reminds them
that he had been given a special grace to proclaim the gospel of Christ Jesus
to the Gentiles, so that they:
…may be
acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
He always sees
this as his special calling. He sees this apostolic calling almost as a
liturgical function in which the offerings are those people whom he has brought
to Christ and offers to God. Paul’s priestly function differed from that
of the levitical priesthood which involved sacrifices in the Temple.
Paul’s apostolate was to bring Gentiles into the Christian family through
preaching the gospel and making the gentile churches an offering in Christ to
God.
He then reminds
the Romans of what he has achieved:
In Christ
Jesus, then, I have reason to boast of my work for God.
He is not
bragging, for he knows that all he has done has been done through the power of
Christ working in and through him:
For I will not
be so bold as to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through
me to win obedience from the gentiles, by word and deed, by the power of signs
and wonders, by the power of the Spirit…
Some of these
‘signs and wonders’ are described in the Acts of the Apostles. Paul was not the
only evangelist and there were, of course, all those who consolidated the work
which he began in each place.
His evangelising
extended all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum—these were the two extremes of
his missionary journeys at the time of writing this Letter. Jerusalem was
the home of the Mother Church, from where the preaching of the gospel
originated. It is not certain whether he actually entered Illyricum
because there is no mention in Acts of Paul being there. Illyricum was at
this time a Roman province, north of Macedonia (where Paul certainly had gone)
in what is now Albania and the former Yugoslavia.
In saying that he
has “fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ” in the eastern Mediterranean does
not mean that evangelising work has been completed, but only that he has
fulfilled his personal mandate which will, of course, have to be continued by
the new Christians resident in each place.
He mentions
another principle which he strictly observed. He only preached the gospel
in places where it had not been already preached:
I make it my
ambition to proclaim the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, so
that I do not build on someone else’s foundation…
We know that there
were other evangelisers and they are mentioned by Paul in his letters.
Paul was guided by a saying from the prophet Isaiah:
…for that which
had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they
shall contemplate.
(Is 52:15)
It is something
that we might seriously reflect on in our own Church and in our own parishes
today. We would have to admit that a great deal, if not nearly all, of
our pastoral energies are directed at the already converted. Yet there
are growing numbers of people even in so-called “Catholic” countries who have never
heard the gospel proclaimed. And, as Paul says earlier in this Letter:
But how are
they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe
in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone
to proclaim him? (Rom
10:14)
We too could
reflect profitably on some of Paul’s words in today’s reading. We too have been
called to be evangelists, to share the gospel message with others. Whatever we
accomplish in bringing others to Christ will be his work and not ours alone.
Yet we may be the necessary instruments he needs to use. As well, there are
places and people which will never hear the gospel message unless we speak and
act. It may even be in our home, in our working place or with our
friends. Let us not deprive them of this grace which could transform
their lives.
Two questions we
might ask are: How many adults are baptised in our parish every year? How
many ‘lapsed’ members have been brought back in the past year?
Comments Off
Commentary on Luke 16:1-8
After the three
wonderful parables about God’s mercy and longing for the reconciliation of the
sinner, Luke swings back again in chapter 16 with two parables and related
teaching about our use of material possessions, and he puts some of the
responsibility for our salvation back on ourselves.
The first is a
story about a rather dishonest steward or manager. His responsibilities were to
handle all the business affairs of his employer. However, he had been
mishandling his employer’s funds and was about to be fired. In this context,
one may also think of the prodigal son who utterly wasted the inheritance his
loving father had given him.
Immediately the
steward begins to think of his future. He does not have the strength to do
manual labour, and to go begging would be a terrible loss of face. So he thinks
of a strategy by which he calls in all his employer’s debtors and reduces the
amounts they owe.
The debts incurred
were considerable. One hundred measures of olive oil was equivalent to about
800 gallons or the yield of 450 olive trees. One hundred measures of wheat was
equal to about 1,000 bushels or the yield of 100 acres. Very few farmers would
have had anything like that kind of land in Jesus’ time.
By doing this
favour, the steward hopes to be able to find alternative employment with one of
them. Surprisingly, his employer, far from being angry, praises the
farsightedness of his corrupt steward.
Some commentators
question whether the steward was actually acting dishonestly. Was he actually
denying his employer money which he was really owed, or was he rather writing
off the ‘commission’ which he was usuriously charging, thus inflating the
proper amount owed? The Mosaic law forbade taking interest on loans from fellow
Jews, so one way of getting round this was to overcharge debtors. By reducing
the debts to the proper level, the steward was correcting an injustice and, at
the same time, making these debtors favourably disposed towards him. Whatever
the interpretation, the point Jesus is making is the same: the steward acted
with shrewdness and intelligence to guarantee his future.
Jesus concludes by
pointing out that the worldly (“the children of this age”) are far more astute
in providing for their future than are those who are regarded as spiritual
(”the children of light)”. Jesus is in no way condoning the steward’s dishonest
and corrupt behaviour. What he does praise is his clear-sighted preparation for
his future.
The lesson for us
should also be clear. If a man can do that for his earthly career, what about
our future in the life to come? If we want to guarantee our future life with
God then we, too, need to take the necessary steps. Those steps are clearly
laid out in the Gospel. In general, they involve a life which is built on truth
and integrity, and on love, compassion and justice with regard to the people
around us. Our task is to work with God in making his will our own and in
building up the Kingdom. If we do this on a daily basis, then we have nothing
to worry about and our future is assured.
Comments Off
https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o1316g/
Friday,
November 7, 2025
Ordinary Time
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, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
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.’
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.”
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 alternative she 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).
Personal questions
•
Am I consistent in thought and action?
•
Which criteria do I use in the solution of my
problems?
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)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét