Recently in a Gospel reading for the day, we heard of Jesus telling a parable:
Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away
from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’
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.”*
For a while I didn't understand this parable. Then I read some insightful commentary in the Jerusalem Bible which helped me to grasp part of its meaning. Typically a steward would receive a commission on the payment of goods to his master. Presumably the steward's original commission was fifty on the olive oil, and twenty on the wheat. In directing the master's debtors to write new promissory notes for fifty and eighty, presumably the steward was simply foregoing his original commissions.**
The master did not commend the dishonest steward for his dishonesty. The master praised him for his astuteness: the steward, in forfeiting his commissions, made friends with the master's debtors.
The steward was giving up payments he would have received so the master's debtors would welcome him into their homes. The steward was acting in a self-serving way.
Yet we too can choose to let go of things which we feel we are owed, yet for the betterment of others. We can live more simply in order to help others to live. When I reflect on these verses, I ask myself, "What can I give up that I feel like I have coming to me? Instead of keeping something for myself because I feel like I'm entitled to it, can I redirect those funds, that property to some better use than keeping it for myself?"
Unlike the steward's self-serving motives, we can decide to give to others without any expectation of a return on our gifts. We can give while expecting not to receive.
To give is to love. To give without any hope of receiving in return is to love without conditions. To give while not expecting anything in return is selflessly giving, giving more of oneself.
To give is to feel joy. To give to people who can't give back can be to feel great joy. In giving to those who can't reciprocate, we can feel a deep joy, because a deep love is expressed.
* Luke 16:1-8
** Jerusalem Bible, Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. (New York, 1990), p. 1717, note "b" to Luke 16:8
Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away
from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’
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.”*
For a while I didn't understand this parable. Then I read some insightful commentary in the Jerusalem Bible which helped me to grasp part of its meaning. Typically a steward would receive a commission on the payment of goods to his master. Presumably the steward's original commission was fifty on the olive oil, and twenty on the wheat. In directing the master's debtors to write new promissory notes for fifty and eighty, presumably the steward was simply foregoing his original commissions.**
The master did not commend the dishonest steward for his dishonesty. The master praised him for his astuteness: the steward, in forfeiting his commissions, made friends with the master's debtors.
The steward was giving up payments he would have received so the master's debtors would welcome him into their homes. The steward was acting in a self-serving way.
Yet we too can choose to let go of things which we feel we are owed, yet for the betterment of others. We can live more simply in order to help others to live. When I reflect on these verses, I ask myself, "What can I give up that I feel like I have coming to me? Instead of keeping something for myself because I feel like I'm entitled to it, can I redirect those funds, that property to some better use than keeping it for myself?"
Unlike the steward's self-serving motives, we can decide to give to others without any expectation of a return on our gifts. We can give while expecting not to receive.
To give is to love. To give without any hope of receiving in return is to love without conditions. To give while not expecting anything in return is selflessly giving, giving more of oneself.
To give is to feel joy. To give to people who can't give back can be to feel great joy. In giving to those who can't reciprocate, we can feel a deep joy, because a deep love is expressed.
* Luke 16:1-8
** Jerusalem Bible, Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. (New York, 1990), p. 1717, note "b" to Luke 16:8
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