To read the texts click on the texts: Phil 3:17-4:1; Lk 16:1-8
The
text of today contains a parable found only in the Gospel of Luke and which is
often titled as the Parable of the Dishonest Steward.
In
the Parable, the steward is about to be dismissed because of charges against
him of squandering his master’s property. Since he does not want to have to do
manual labour or beg after his dismissal, he responds to the crisis in his life
by taking the decision of reducing the debtor’s debts.
The
amounts mentioned are all large, and indicates commercial rather than household
transactions. By the reduction of the debts, he gains the favour of his
master’s debtors, which will stand him in good stead in the future. It is not
clear whether the steward acted dishonestly through this action, because some
presume that he was foregoing his own commission or acting righteously by
excluding the interest prohibited by Deut 23:19-20.
Despite
this, however, most prefer the interpretation that the steward continued to be
dishonest and arbitrarily reduced the amounts of the debts. By doing this, the
steward casts an aura of goodness on his master and also provides for his own
future.
The
point of the parable of the parable is not so much honesty or dishonesty, but a
call to cast caution aside, seize the opportunity and make provisions for the
future before God. The kingdom is here.
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