Am 8:4-7
Ps 113
1 Tm 2:1-8
Lk 16:1-13
The first verse of the Letter to Timothy is a fortuitous reminder that today is the final day of vigil before the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. And its reminds us of the burden now being carried by King Charles III. “Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity.”
It is uniquely difficult to bury a parent who has lived into her tenth decade because by then it seems as if she will live forever. The problem is compounded by suddenly being thrust into the role of monarch. The burden is not eased by assurances that she lived a full life. A mother’s death is a mother’s death no matter the age of the child. Grieving that death publicly increases the difficulty, particularly when the vultures are analyzing every movement the King makes in order to criticize him.
The parable of the dishonest steward is a challenge to scripture scholars, preachers, and all those who hear this gospel proclaimed at Mass. It seems to fly in the face of the dishonesty that God will not forget as described in the first reading where we heard, “We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel. . . “ Sounds like the U.S. Federal Reserve. “We will buy the lowly for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals . . .” or an iPhone 14 costing over $1000.
Thus the confusion. After being summoned for squandering and mismanaging his master’s resources but before being fired he quickly forgave portions of the debts others owed the master. It was the Ancient Near East equivalent of a bankruptcy sale. By doing so he assured that those who owed the master would be grateful to the soon-to-be-ex-steward when he was unemployed. A shrewd quid pro quo. He would be a successful politician today.
The confusion begins when we ask if Jesus is condoning dishonesty when he says, “And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.” He is not condoning dishonesty. He is making an observation on human nature, a nature that hasn't changed in millennia and is unlikely to improve over the next several millennia, assuming humans last that long. But there is something to admire in the cleverness of the dishonest steward’s scheme, a cleverness that did not pass by Jesus unnoticed.
Like the despised Ancient Near East tax-collectors stewards would bill more than the individual owed to the master and keep the overbilled amount for themselves, not unlike the dishonesty described in the first reading. Merchants would overcharge or reduce the amount of product despite maintaining the same price. Things haven’t changed. I recently stumbled across a cartoon on FB: “I paid a dollar for a bag of air. The seller kindly included a few potato chips with it.” But, the reality isn’t always amusing. Consider patients with diabetes or those prone to anaphylactic reactions. The price of insulin has tripled over the past ten years. It is impossible to forget when Heather Bresch, daughter of WV democrat senator Joe Manchin, raised the cost of an epi pen 400% and only sold them in packets of two.
When the steward instructed those who owed the master to reduce the amount on the promissory note he was changing the bill to reflect what they actually owed without his take added on. He wasn’t going to get his take through the usual channels so he was now putting those he had been ripping off into his debt, making himself appear noble in their eyes and worthy of their gratitude when, in fact, he was being even more dishonest.
Truly a skilled politician.
“No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Only in theology school did I learn that mammon is not a proper name, it is not capitalized, is not a synonym for Satan, and does not necessarily mean money. Mammon derives from ancient Chaldean with its root in the word for confidence or trust. Thus we can ask, “In what do you have confidence?” “Where do you place your trust?” Do you serve and trust God—capital G or god—small g. The small g god may be money, power, prestige, drugs, alcohol, one’s own self, or any of a number of other idols.
We cannot serve the true God and any of a number of false gods of our own choosing simultaneously. The choice is black and white. The stakes are high.
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| Baptismal font in St. Aloysius Church, Sevenhill, South Australia. |
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| The Blessed Mother in the Cathedral of Lyon, France. |
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| Altar prepared for Mass |
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| A small vent window in a confessional at St. Ignatius Church in Boston |
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