The parable that we hear today is that of the dishonest or unscrupulous steward. After the two parables we heard yesterday, you might have been expecting to hear the third parable of chapter fifteen. However, because that parable is heard during Lent, it is omitted in the continuous reading of St. Luke’s Gospel.
Unfortunately, we know all too well the story of dishonest stewards. It seems like the media is filled with such stories every day as people who were in places of responsibility and were supposedly trusted officials are exposed as charlatans who were just as dishonest and unscrupulous as the man we hear of in today’s Gospel. However there is an underlying difference that makes this story unlike the situations which we hear of in the news of our times.
In the case of the Gospel parable, the steward has been skimming off the top of the debts that others owe his master. He has been inflating their debts and taking part of it for himself. Actually, it was a fairly common practice and was often overlooked unless the steward got too greedy and took too much. That seems to be the case in this particular instance. The steward saves himself the indignity of having to support himself through positions he considers dishonorable by restoring the debts to their original level. It is in this part of the Gospel that we learn just how much he has been taking for himself as he tells one debtor to reduce his debt by fifty percent and another to reduce it by twenty percent. (Remember that usury was strictly forbidden by the Torah.)
The steward is commended by his master for “acting prudently.” At first this seems to be nothing more than condoning bad behavior. Read from our perspective, that may be the case. However, we have to remember that the Gospel was written in a culture and an economic structure that is different from ours. Amassing great wealth may be the motivation behind such conduct in our society. However, in Middle Eastern culture, their behavior was driven by the pursuit of honor and the avoidance of shame. By reducing the debt of his master’s creditors, he garners great honor for his master. Those creditors will now go and tell all sorts of people how generous this master has been. The steward has turned his misfortune on its head. Because of all the compliments this master will receive from his creditors and the honor that it will earn him, he would never be able to discharge the steward. He would negate all the honor that he has received by virtue of the wily stewards actions. That would be unthinkable. Honor is far more precious to the master than any amount of material wealth. His standing in the community is far more important to him than getting rid of a dishonest, unscrupulous servant.
We would also hope that the steward has learned his lesson as well. However, as is the case in all parables, the ending is left unresolved. Whether the steward repents or not, we will never know. The parable is about mercy, not about sin. The master’s commendation of the steward brings with it the gift of forgiveness.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator