He also said to his disciples: “A certain man was wealthy, and he had a steward of his estate. And this man was accused to him of having dissipated his goods.
And he called him and said to him: ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship. For you can no longer be my steward.’
And the steward said within himself: ‘What shall I do? For my lord is taking the stewardship away from me. I am not strong enough to dig. I am too ashamed to beg.
I know what I will do so that, when I have been removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
And so, calling together each one of his lord’s debtors, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my lord?’
So he said, ‘One hundred jars of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your invoice, and quickly, sit down and write fifty.’
Next, he said to another, ‘In truth, how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your record books, and write eighty.’
And the lord praised the iniquitous steward, in that he had acted prudently. For the sons of this age are more prudent with their generation than are the sons of light.
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Prayer on Fire Gospel Lesson
He tells the disciples about a manager who is about to be fired and uses his last days to cut the debts of his master's debtors, so they will receive him when he is out. The master commends the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.
Where this sits
This follows the lost chapter. The audience is the disciples. The commendation is the puzzle.
Shrewdness
He is not praising theft. He is saying the children of this age are shrewder about their own future than the children of light are about theirs. The manager saw the crisis and acted before the books closed. The disciples are living as if there is no closing.
What to take
Use what you have, while you have it, for a welcome that outlasts the job. The world plans for its future. The children of light often do not.
Original – Prayer on Fire
Gospel of the Day · Text: Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV) · Mass Lectionary · Gospel
