THE CLEVER STEWARD Fr. Gerald M. Musa St. Dominic’s Church, Chaplaincy of Cheikh Anta Diop University Dakar, Senegal 25TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C/ 22ND SEPTEMBER 2013 Scriptural Reference: Amos 8:4-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13 On 24th August this year, a 15year old boy, Ricky Daniel Ohikhena sneaked into the wheel drum of Nigerian Arik Airline. The boy stowed away under the plane in the 30 minutes flight between Benin to Lagos and was arrested when he jumped out from under the plane with a rosary around his neck after the plane arrived Lagos. Security officials immediately caught him by the neck and subjected him to a thousand questions. Daniel had entered underneath the plane with the sure hope that the plane was flying to the United States where he wanted to relocate for greener pastures. The action of Daniel brought about a heated debate in the country. Some people recommended that his parents should be punished for letting him loose. Some other people praised him for his guts, and others suggested he should be taken to a psychiatric hospital. Everyone agreed that the action of Daniel was odd, but no one doubted his courage and determination in the search for a better life. Afterwards, the government carried out a psychological test on him and ascertained he was a normal child, with no history of violence in school and one who has an impressive academic performance. At the end, the government of Edo State handled the matter compassionately by granting Daniel a scholarship for his guts in entering under the plane, his state of origin granted him a scholarship for further studies. Till today there are people who think Daniel should be punished rather than rewarded. Similarly, there are divided opinions on the action of the astute steward whom Jesus praised in the parable found in Luke 16:1-13. This controversial parable has all kinds of titles: “The Parable of the Astute Steward; Parable of the Unjust Manager: Parable of the Shrewd Manager; Parable of the Ingenious Servant, etc. The parable can be very confusing, thus it has generated a kind of a “crux interpretum” (cross interpretations) among scriptural commentators who also call it “the problem child of parable exegesis.” At first sight, the parable seems to commend dishonesty, but a closer study of the parable shows there is a more profound message embedded therein. The steward feared he was going to be sacked for mismanaging the wealth of his master. In saving his head he went about slashing the debts of his master’s debtors. We should not forget the role of the master/rich landowner in this parable was tolerant of the dishonesty of the manager, just like the father of the prodigal son was tolerant of the extravagance of his son. But why would Jesus praise a steward who was engaged in an unethical practice of wastage and dishonesty? Jesus praises him, not for his dishonesty but was more concerned about his positive side than for his negative action. Jesus praises him because of his foresight and for being a master strategist who prepared a solid plan for the future. Jesus praises him for his intelligence. In addition, Jesus praises him because of his smartness in the determination to save himself from the impending danger and for establishing a bridge to connect himself with those who are likely to help him in his time of need. How relevant is this parable to those listening to Jesus? Firstly, the parable admonishes them to have a long-term plan that goes beyond the material world, knowing that the only thing they can carry along after death is their good deeds and not their wealth. Jesus shows in other parables that the greatest foolishness is the lack of foresight and lack of preparation for the life hereafter. He illustrated what utter foolishness means in several parables such as the parable of the rich fool; parable of the foolish and wise virgins, and in the parable of Lazarus and Dives. Even though the acquisition of wealth is important in taking care of our needs, it should never be the ultimate goal in life. Secondly, another point we can extract from Luke 16 is that people should only use money to serve their needs and not to serve as their master: “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” He speaks to everyone who has put the pursuit of wealth as the ultimate goal in life. In the 8th Century, Amos, the firebrand preacher condemned ill-gotten wealth of business people. Modern day prophets, like Amos have an obligation to speak against corrupt business practices, especially the insatiable greed in business, the exploitation of poor workers/labourers, and the hiking of the prices of commodities and services in the months leading to Christmas and during the Christmas season. Thirdly, another lesson we can draw from the parable is that “the Children of light” are to employ their intelligence, resources and time in engaging the world and in their effort to invest in eternal life. In dealing with the world Jesus advises his disciple to be as gentle as doves and as cunning as serpents in a world with ravenous wolves. (Matthew10:16). NB: Remember to pray for all leaders, and particularly for business, political and all other leaders who make crucial decisions in shaping society, and in making policies that they will make policies that promote honesty in business. Also, that our leaders will have foresight in drawing out plans that will lead to material and spiritual prosperity (1 Timothy 2:1-7).
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 22:56:38 +0000
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