Every Sunday, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click HERE for the readings.
The first reading is a warning from God’s Word. Writing of those who mistreat the poor and cheat others of justice, the prophet Amos says, “The LORD has sworn: ‘Never will I forget a thing they have done!”
So, we are once again put on notice to be fair, generous, and just. But on to the Gospel.
Today we are reading from the beginning of Luke chapter 16. This entire chapter focuses on the pitfalls of money and the need to let go of it.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of a rich man’s steward who is about to lose his job. What does this steward do? He makes friends with the rich man’s debtors. One by one, he reduces and forgives some of the debt that is owed to his master. He is generous in his accounting. In this way, he takes care of those who are in debt — so that when he is in debt, they might take care of him.
St. Augustine said that we should not praise the steward. In reality, he cheated his master. But we can learn from the steward. He did what he did in order to secure a future for himself. We should want to secure our future too — not by cheating, but by our loving. We should seek to secure our future in Heaven.
If we treat others with mercy, kindness, and compassion — and if we help to reduce their burdens in life — we will be rewarded in kind. Those who do this will help to secure their future with God “Who will never forget a thing they have done.”
Have a blessed week everyone.