All the goods of the earth are destined for all men and women, present and future. The accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few to the detriment of those who don’t even have a decent roof on their heads is a scandal. It is sinful. Does this justify a class war, where the many who are poor rise up in arms against the few who are rich so that a new regime could be established where there will be no rich or poor, but only yesterday’s poor enjoying today’s spoils of war? In the Gospel reading for the 25th Sunday (OT — C), the Lord gives a wake up call to Christians — to those who pray "let your kingdom come" — to be more creative in their faith so as to "save the face" of God who is blasphemed in the way the poor is dispossessed by those who are already rich. The God who is dishonored thus, is also the one who through the prophet Amos denounces the greed of those who want to accumulate more wealth even at the expense of others.
Relevant Articles
- The Servant of the Word
- The Administration of Goods: Christian Principles 101
- Being A Crafy Steward
- Dealing with the Mammon of Iniquity (Luke 16:1-13)
Guide to the Reading of Luke 16:1-15
1. Read Luke 16:1-15 carefully. It can be divided into three sections:
16:1-8: The parable of the steward
16:9-13: Applications of the parable
16:14-15: The reaction of the Pharisees and Jesus’ response.
During your first reading of the parable, make a list of the statements that create difficulties.
2. Read the section a second time, but with the following ideas in mind:
a) Read the parable in the light of the value of honor and prestige. The master of the steward lost face before his friends when it was reported to him that his steward has been dishonest. He lost face in two ways: he has now the reputation of being a fool (he is habitually fooled by his dishonest steward), and being a fool, his business is going to ruin. Threatened with unemployment, the manager saves the face of his master, first by giving impression that his master is generous to his creditors, and second, the generosity itself gives the impression that the business is going well. It is thus that the master praised his servant.
b) Keeping in mind the above interpretation, the applications of the parable in vv. 9-13 are easily understood so long as you understand "dishonest wealth/wealth of iniquity" as a semitism that means "wealth that leads one to wickedness" and not wealth as a product of wickedness. Jesus (the "Lord") praises the men of the world who are prudent in their worldly affairs as against Christians who do not know how to save the face of their Master, God Himself, who in the matter of wealth is blasphemed by both those who accumulate wealth dishonestly and those who in the process are dispossessed and cheated out of their wealth. The application of the parable is for Christians to save the face of God through generosity in matters of wealth and riches.
c) The Pharisees smirk as ones who have heard a teaching they consider clever. They are lovers of money after all and hypocrites; they caught the part where the steward "gave the impression" that his master was generous. For people who like to give impressions, Jesus seems to be reinforcing their own hypocrisy in a positive way. How does Jesus respond to their unspoken thoughts?
Review of the Readings
In the first reading (Amos 8:4-7), the prophet Amos denounces the businessmen of Northern Israel who couldn’t wait to get back to their market stalls and cheat people with their scales and weights. The expression "we will buy the lowly for silver, the poor man for a pair of sandals" is meant to convey the kind of merciless transactions they enter into: not even the poor and the lowly are spared from their dishonesty. See this article: Ang Sakdal Laban sa mga Negosyante The responsorial psalm (Psalm 113) praises God for taking the side of the lowly.
The second reading from 1 Timothy 2:1-8 is Paul’s exhortation that prayers be offered for kings and those in authority. These after all receive their authority from God; so that these may exercise their power in the way God wants it to be exercised, the Church, the people of God, are asked to intercede for those who are under their power. In addition, the Church also has its High Priest, the mediator between God and men, "the man" Jesus Christ. The idea is similar to the one found in the letter to the Hebrews. The human nature of Jesus is highlighted so as to emphasize his solidarity with those he calls "brothers" (Hebrews 2:17-18). The Iglesya ni Manalo makes use of this verse to point out that Jesus is a human being, not God. This is far from what Paul means if the passage is read in the light of the letter to the Hebrews, where Jesus is presented right from the start as one higher than angels, God Himself (Hebrews 1:8.10). Read this article
Suggestions for the Lesson
1. The lesson that the Lord underlines is: "make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." The phrases "make friends", "wealth", "(wealth) fails" and "eternal dwellings" can be guides in preparing one’s lesson for this Sunday. "Wealth" or the "abundance of material things" will fail since it is a part of this world which is passing and transitory. But it must be used in a way that will make the person — whether the owner or the less fortunate — reach their goal: God alone. This is precisely the idea behind the statement "make friends with wealth (that can lead one to wickedness)". Instead of letting one’s wealth be the occassion of one’s fall from grace, let it be an opportunity for solidarity with others, especially those who are less fortunate. After all, the goods of this earth are destined for all.
2. The Compendium for Social Doctrines, 328-329 gives the general principle and a series of quotes from the Fathers of the Church that illustrate how the rich can become administrators of the goods of this earth for the benefit of others:
Goods, even when legitimately owned, always have a universal destination; any type of improper accumulation is immoral, because it openly contradicts the universal destination assigned to all goods by the Creator. Christian salvation is an integral liberation of man, which means being freed not only from need but also in respect to possessions. "For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith" (1 Timothy 6:10). The Fathers of the Church insist more on the need for the conversion and transformation of the consciences of believers than on the need to change the social and political structures of their day. They call on those who work in the economic sphere and who possess goods to consider themselves administrators of the goods that God has entrusted to them. (CSD, 328)
Riches fulfil their function of service to man when they are destined to produce benefits for others and for society. "How could we ever do good to our neighbour," asks St. Clement of Alexandria, "if none of us possessed anything?". In the perspective of St. John Chrysostom, riches belong to some people so that they can gain merit by sharing them with others. Wealth is a good that comes from God and is to be used by its owner and made to circulate so that even the needy may enjoy it. Evil is seen in the immoderate attachment to riches and the desire to hoard.
St. Basil the Great invites the wealthy to open the doors of their storehouses and he exhorts them: "A great torrent rushes, in thousands of channels, through the fertile land: thus, by a thousand different paths, make your riches reach the homes of the poor".Wealth, explains Saint Basil, is like water that issues forth from the fountain: the greater the frequency with which it is drawn, the purer it is, while it becomes foul if the fountain remains unused. The rich man – Saint Gregory the Great will later say – is only an administrator of what he possesses; giving what is required to the needy is a task that is to be performed with humility because the goods do not belong to the one who distributes them. He who retains riches only for himself is not innocent; giving to those in need means paying a debt. (CSD, 329)
Tags: administration of goods, luke, wealth
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