So, Shine!

A Reflection on the Gospel of Luke 16:1-8, 10 November 2023

(from Jurgens)

Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world.… (Philippians 2:14–15 NRSV)

     In Today’s Gospel we hear the Lord tell us the parable of the dishonest steward. His main point is found in the last two verses of the parable. The Lord explains,

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.” (Luke 16:8 NABRE)

     A steward was usually the member of a wealthy household or the King’s palace who, because of his master’s trust, had the greatest authority. The steward had license to use the master’s treasure to wisely manage the household to increase the wealth of his master’s holdings. Implied in the parable is that the steward was abusing his master’s trust by overcharging those that served the master and keeping the excess to himself. Hence, he could tell them to “write off” some of what was owed the master. Now, by means we do not know, the master has discovered the steward’s treachery, and he is fired! The steward sees the danger that his greed has created and prudently acts quickly so as not to be cast out of his lofty position into utter poverty as a field laborer. In short, he acts prudently to avoid certain loss. It works! The master gets his pay, the steward builds good will with the master’s debtors, and the steward even earns a bit of respect back from his master. By the way, we don’t know if the dishonest steward got his job back. Yet it is clear that even the most dishonest person, when they act with prudence, can avoid loss, their being cast into the outer darkness of despair.

     The Lord highlights the steward’s dishonesty to make the point that even the most evil, who abuse their master’s trust, can and should act with prudence. It is that prudence which the Lord calls us, “the children of light,” to emulate.

     Prudence is often defined as careful and wise discernment in living. Almost every human being is driven to act prudently to guard their own happiness or the happiness of those for whom they care. A prudent person discerns the right path and then wisely pursues that path. After all, someone who wants to lead a good life must know what the “good” is and recognizing its worth, wisely acts to achieve it. It becomes that person’s life principle. If someone falsely believes that power, money, professional success, or worldly pleasure is their path to happiness, even the greatest sinner prudently does everything they can to serve that false God. Somone who acts with prudence is like the man in the Gospel of Matthew who discovers a buried treasure in a field and then prudently, “sells all that he has and buys that field.” It is finding a pearl of great price and “selling everything to buy it.” (from Matthew 13:44,46).

     Every Christian is a trusted steward of God’s grace, “the mysteries of God.” (1 Corinthians 4:1 NABRE) From the Sacraments (Greek: mysterion), especially our Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist, God present in us, we have been entrusted with the limitless wealth of God’s grace to achieve the work our Lord has given us. The Lord makes that work clear in the Great Commission; to go forth and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all that He has commanded. (from Matthew 28: 19-20) It is that part of Jesus’ mission of which we are stewards.

     In the Great Commission, the Lord calls us each, individually, and as Church, to serve the Kingdom as a wise and prudent steward. St Peter reminds us in his First Letter what prudence in the kingdom looks like. He writes,

… be serious and sober for prayers. Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God; whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. (1 Peter 4:7–11 NABRE)

     Now is the time, as children of the Light of the World, to prudently shine as St Paul writes, “like the stars in the world". In this we must wisely discern God’s will in our life and, without fear, boldly and wisely apply all the grace with which we have been entrusted to grow the kingdom of God. It is time to let your light shine! (Matthew 5:16)

     St Leo the Great, whose Memorial we celebrate today, remembered especially for his wise stewardship of the Church, reminds us all,

The natural dignity of our race is this: that the beauty of the divine goodness can shine forth in us as if in a kind of mirror. (Pope St Leo the Great from Jurgens)

So, in and with prudence, shine!

End Notes

New American Bible. Revised Edition (NABRE). Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Print.

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), Catholic Edition. Washington, DC: National Council of Churches of Christ, 1993. Print.

Jurgens, W. A., trans. The Faith of the Early Fathers. Vol. 3. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1970–1979. Print.