Today’s Gospel of the Parable of the Dishonest Steward is perhaps one of the most difficult to explain. Why does the master praise the steward’s cunning? And why is the steward “prudent” in the eyes of the master? There are three interrelated points that might be worth considering.
The first is that the parable itself reminds the listeners that we will render an account to God. At the end of our lives, we will stand before God who will ask for an audit of our lives. Have we abused the treasures He gave us, or did we use them to do His will? Have we lived our lives in obedience to the master, or have we lived our lives in obedience to wealth and pleasures? The Gospel ends just before telling us the Pharisees loved wealth and scoffed at Christ’s parables (v.14). They have forgotten that they will be the first ones to be judged by God.
The second point follows the first. Namely, that we must be prepared for judgment. We will be judged when we die – that is a fact of faith. Thus it follows that we have to be prepared so that we are not scrambling at the last minute of our lives to do the Lord’s will. The steward’s response and panic are meant to disgust us. No one would entrust their treasures to such a man, and yet even though he gets the job done it is through dishonest means. The parable encourages us to be alert, knowing that the Lord can call us to render our own account without warning.
Whereas the first point discusses the fact that we will be judged and the second point urges us to be ready, the third point discusses God Himself. The parable shows him to be a just master. The master is just when he asks the steward to present a report.
But this parable follows right after the Prodigal Son where Jesus tells us about the mercy of the Father. In fact, the two parables cannot be seen as exclusive or somehow in competition but complementary and as foils. Jesus reveals the Father’s mercy to us. He keeps watch for us to “come into ourselves” and return to Him, seeking His goodness again. But at the same time, we cannot presume on His mercy. God will indeed receive us again if we turn back to Him with all our heart, but we must still be prepared to render an account to Him. But it is an account where we must be honest to God and ourselves, for God is indeed our Father but He is also our master.
Joseph Yuson – St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta
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