Tag Archives: dishonest steward

The optimist in me

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This story about the “dishonest steward” follows immediately after St. Luke’s telling of the Prodigal Son in which the young man wastes wealth and opportunity, but comes to his senses, returns home and is restored to the family. The dishonest steward is one who wastes his position and opportunity, comes to his senses and works to restore his future from his pending dismissal. Did Luke intentionally put these two stories back-to-back? Hard to know. I will tell you that the parable of the dishonest steward is one of the most debated parables among scripture scholars. So, if you are hoping that I will unravel the wisdom and mystery of this parable for you … well, that would be a long wait for a train don’t come. But I will give it a go. Continue reading →

The dishonest steward: lessons

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This coming Sunday is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In yesterday’s post we considered the troubling v.8: And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. Today we look at the “teaching portion” that follows the parable which contrasts key words: trustworthy/dishonest, dishonest wealth/true wealth, small/great, what belongs to another/what belongs to you. Verse 13 forms a conclusion to the parable formed by an: Continue reading →

The dishonest steward: commendable?

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This coming Sunday is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In yesterday’s post we looked more closely into the scriptural role of stewards and the expanse and limits of their authority. Today we will consider the troubling v.8: And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. On just a quick technical note, the expression dishonest steward is literally, steward of wickedness (oikonomos tes adikias). The expression acting prudently (phromimos) can also be translated as “cleverly” a term close to the more common word for prudence (phronesis).  These are both terms that Aristotle described as a kind of practical wisdom. Continue reading →

The dishonest steward: shrewdness

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This coming Sunday is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In yesterday’s post we placed the gospel reading within the larger context of Luke’s narrative trajectory which transects themes of wealth, the use of wealth and true wealth. Today we will look a little deeper into the scriptural role of stewards and the expanse and limits of their authority. It is an important look because the story of the scheming steward has been a problem for interpreters, earning its reputation as one of the most difficult parables to understand. The root problem is the commendation (v.8) of the steward who is so plainly dishonest. Continue reading →

The dishonest steward: a larger context

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This coming Sunday is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time in Lectionary Cycle C. The gospel is the parable of the “dishonest steward,” a parable that is one which we are surprised when the dishonest steward’s master praises him for his prudence as the now-dismissed steward scurries around making deals and writing off debts. As all parables, it stands on its own, but this parable exists in the milieu of readings with themes of riches, reversals, and hospitality. Continue reading →

The small things

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The gospel for today is one of those that is well-known and a bit confusing. It is the story of the “Dishonest Steward” (Luke 16:1-13; although today’s proclamation only goes to v.8).  It resides in the same chapter of Luke with the story of “The Rich Man and Lazarus” (Luke 16:19-31). In between are a few verses about other matters. Both of the two main stories begin with reference to a “rich man.” There is a lot going on. If you would like to read a more detailed commentary, it can be found here. Continue reading →

Wealth and Trust

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This coming Sunday marks our journey in Ordinary Time, the 25th Sunday in Year C. You can read a complete commentary on the Sunday Gospel here.

1 Then he also said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. 2 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.’ 3 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. 4 I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 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.’ 7 Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ Continue reading →

Serving: lessons

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dishonest-steward13 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.”

The teaching portion of uses parallel opposites – trustworthy/dishonest, dishonest wealth/true wealth, small/great, what belongs to another/what belongs to you. Verse 13 forms a conclusion to the parable formed by an: Continue reading →

Serving: commendable?

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’dishonest-steward8 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 are the children of light. 9 I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. 11 If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12 If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?

What is exactly is commendable? Brian Stoffregen has surveyed the scholarly works and offers several models of interpretation for this notoriously difficult parable: Continue reading →

Serving: shrewdness

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dishonest-steward1 Then he also said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. 2 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.’ 3 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. 4 I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 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.’ 7 Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ 8 And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.   Continue reading →