By Colleen O’Sullivan
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. (Romans 15:20-21)
“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.” (Luke 16:8)
Piety
O Lord, may I use whatever wisdom you’ve given me to further your
Kingdom, not mine.
Study
Shrewdly. Wisely. Astutely.
Cleverly. Prudently. All adverbs used in different translations of
today’s Gospel to summarize how the chief steward deals with the unfortunate
discovery of either his dishonesty or his lack of management skills.
The first thing we’re told about him is that he has squandered his
employer’s wealth. He isn’t a good
caretaker and he’s about to lose his job.
We can almost reach out and take hold of his fear. He’s not a young twenty-something with a long
earnings future ahead of him. Who’s
going to hire him? He can’t go out and
do manual labor; he’s not strong enough.
He doesn’t want to become a beggar; that’s below him.
“What to do? What to do?” He
frets. Then, he comes up with the answer! He summons each person owing a debt to the master
of the household. As they show up, he
offers to tear up their promissory notes and let them write new ones for
smaller amounts. One by one, the various
debtors take him up on it. He’s smiling
inside, because now he has many homes to go to in his days of unemployment.
He’s nothing more than an utter scoundrel! So how could the master commend him as
shrewd, wise, astute, clever or prudent?
Because he is! Granted, in this
instance, he’s only looking after his self-interests, but for someone about to
be shown the door, he’s taken care of his future pretty well. He’s got a plan. A number of people now owe him favors and
he’ll never be out on the streets.
Jesus knows we’re all pretty good about having a plan for getting
through this life. Hopefully, it doesn’t
involve putting others in our debt. Maybe
it’s only as far-reaching as how to pay this week’s bills. Perhaps it’s how to get your children through
school and launched out into the world.
It might be your long-term plan for funding your retirement. Whatever, we’re full of objectives and ways
to survive on this earth.
Jesus simply wishes that we, “the children of light,” would be just as
intentional about our faith and spiritual lives. Look at the apostle Paul. In today’s first reading from this final
section of his letter to the Romans, he talks about the plan he’s used as a
guide all throughout his days as a missionary for Christ. Jesus gave him the opportunity to preach to
the Gentiles. Paul has run with it, always
with the goal that “those who have
never been told of him shall see, and those who have never heard of him shall
understand.”
Action
What
we’re not intentional about is often the very thing that falls by the
wayside. Jesus knows that. If we’re honest with ourselves, we know it,
too.
Thinking
about Paul’s life, when was the last time you intentionally set out to make a
friend for Christ? When was the last
time you put planning and effort into being a friend for Christ? When was the last time you brought a friend
to Christ?
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