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• Readings for Sunday, September 21st

  25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

• Sunday Homily

  I turn to the Gospel and this unusual parable.

  
  

  Jesus gave us about three dozen parables. These are short stories which people could easily understand - could relate to - through which he could convey to the people some of the essentials of his teaching. 

  
  

  So, he spoke of fishing and farming and building all things to which the people could relate. 

  
  

  About a third of these parables have to do with money - economics - to which they could also relate. I mean who doesn’t have to deal with money?

  
  

  Jesus was raised in St. Joseph’s home and Joseph, the Lord’s foster father, was a tekton, that’s a Greek word roughly translated as “carpenter” - but more than just an ordinary carpenter - a person skilled in building trades along with planning, buying and selling.

  
  

  St. Joseph may well have traveled in his region province of Galilee a bit to do commerce. And Jesus likely learned from observing this, much as we come to understand the work our fathers and mothers do.

  
  

  Today’s parable has to do with money and it’s a strange story - one of the hardest to comment on - and, if misunderstood, could give a very wrong impression.

  
  

  On the surface you wonder how it could come from Jesus. It almost sounds like Jesus is promoting dishonesty. But Jesus always turns the tables on us. Don’t all his parables intend to have us think about life in a new way?

  
  

  So, in this story, this parable, there’s a real scoundrel - the unjust steward. He’s a money manager and, essentially, he is caught with his “hand in the till.” 

  
  

  Now he’s going to “be canned.” It makes you think of the corporate scandals we’ve become accustomed to in recent years - like the Enron scandal back in 2001 - and Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi Scheme which came to light back in 2008 - stripping private individuals and major charities of all their savings.

  
  

  Then there was Sam-Bankman-Fried, the bitcoin investor, who cheated his clients out of ten billion dollars just a couple of years ago.

  
  

  So, this steward, this money manager in the parable is in serious trouble. He’ll have no benefits, no safety net, and no chance of a job anywhere. His life is in danger. He says, “I can’t dig ditches. I’m too ashamed to go begging.”

  
  

  So, he makes an arrangement with other business leaders so that they’ll think more highly of him - possibly take care of him with a new job offer - now that he’s lost old job. 

  
  

  How much do you owe my master? “100 measures of olive oil. Make it 50.”

  
  

  “Hopefully, they’ll take care of me when I’m finished.”

  
  

  Incidentally, when he gives those creditors those discounts, in that part of the story he’s not really cheating his former boss. He’s eliminating the interest he normally would have made. He’s not digging himself into a deeper hole. No, he’s getting on the good side of those creditors.

  
  

  But here’s the twist! His old boss sees this and applauds him for acting prudently.

  
  

  This is where Jesus pulls the rug out from underneath us. He says he admires him. “I admire him because of his cleverness.” 

  
  

  “The worldly take more initiative than the otherworldly.” In other words, the businessman in trouble has more initiative than the holy man, the religious man.

  
  

  Well, Jesus is hardly applauding any immorality here. But he’s saying there’s something in the way the dishonest steward acts from which we can learn.

  
  

  The steward knows he’s in trouble. He has judged his situation well. And he acts on it.

  
  

  In other words, when we’re in trouble we need to act. We need to change. That’s the key here. 

  
  

  ***

  
  

  Now, think not of economics or business so much. Think about our spiritual life.

  
  

  Everyone here can apply what’s happening in this scene to their inner life because at some point any one of us might be in a similar situation...spiritually. Not necessarily that we’ve committed some fraud.

  
  

  But the Kingdom of God is coming, and God makes demands of us. 

  
  

  Are we - and here’s the point - in any spiritual danger? Have we lost sight of what’s truly important in life? Is there underperformance in our spiritual life? 

  
  

  If that’s the case, we have to make some decisions.

  
  

  Jesus points out that the man clearly understands his situation. He sees how dire things are. He doesn’t deny what he’s done. He doesn’t blame someone else. He says, “I’m in trouble and I know it.”

  
  

  On our spiritual journey through this life, we’re called to get ready for eternal life. Like in the parable, there will be “an accounting.” 

  
  

  Am I ready for that? What shape am I in? Am I the person, right now, that God wants me to be? 

  
  

  The steward sees his trouble and acts. He makes changes in his life. Mind you, Jesus is only praising him for the importance of making those necessary moves to correct his situation - not for any crimes.

  
  

  Is there something you and I must do? 

  
  

  Not tomorrow. Not next week. But now.

  
  

  The path is: Seeing my situation - judging how I can change it - and acting to make changes. 

  
  

  If there’s trouble in our spiritual life this is the time to become the person God wants me to be.

  
  

  Maybe it’s making prayer more central. 

  
  

  Maybe it’s serving others better. 

  
  

  Maybe it’s to become more selfless. 

  
  

  Not next week. Now.

  
  

  The unjust steward:

  
  

  sees

  
  

   judges

  
  

  acts

  
  

  Those are essentials in economics. And in the spiritual life.

• Download the homily

  • Homily for September 21st