Homily

The Gospel tells us of a manager and his more or less legitimate dealings. The passage appears strange at first glance. It seems as though Jesus is offering the disciples the example of a man who deftly and fraudulently administers other peoples’ goods. But we have to put this Gospel passage in its context if we want to understand it correctly. In chapter 16, the evangelist Luke proposes Jesus’ teachings about the use of wealth. These are somewhat connected in the previous chapter where the story of the "prodigal son" shows the problems caused by the desire to use wealth only for oneself. In short, the Gospel text indicates that the problem is not in wealth itself, but in the heart of the person who uses it, as is written in the Gospel of Matthew, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Mt 6:21). The pivotal questions are: where do we put our hearts and where do we direct our deepest concerns.
In this context, Jesus speaks of the manager of large estate who is accused before his master of having performed his duties in an illicit way. He must have been charged with something blatant, because the master decides to dismiss him immediately, giving him the time only to prepare his accounts and hand them over. But the story takes an unexpected turn. The manager is faced with two impossible alternatives: he can either beg or dig ditches, two ways out of his situation that he cannot accept. To avoid them he comes up with another way to swindle his master. He goes around to his master’s debtors and succeeds in corrupting them and having them discount the amount of money they owe. In return they agree to take him in and support him after his dismissal. What emerges is the figure of a man with few scruples. It is amazing then to read the conclusion the evangelist gives the story: "His master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly" (v. 8).
It is obvious that the master does not approve of being robbed twice. He is, however, surprised by the manager’s ability to get out of the trouble his dishonest conduct had gotten him into. In short, Jesus does not praise trickery. Much less does he recommend that his disciples cunningly steal and use the money to make friends. Indeed, the manager is not numbered among the "children of light," he is one of the "children of this age." It is the man’s shrewdness in securing his salvation that is held up as an example. Jesus wants to transfer the shrewdness that most people use in daily life to the level of salvation. In other words, Jesus seems to be telling his listeners, "How does this manager obtain his salvation? How does he keep from digging ditches and begging? How is he securing his future?" And the answer, "By being generous towards debtors." In effect, the manager’s future and his life itself depended on his generosity. And so he used it to bind himself to the debtors. And Jesus adds, "Make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into eternal homes" (v. 9).
‘Make friends for ourselves.’ But we need to be careful. Friendship cannot be bought; it is built with the generosity of a ready and willing heart. This is the crux of today’s parable: generosity towards debtors (the poor and the weak) saves our lives and our future. Be friends with the poor and you will be saved. This is the shrewdness the Gospel asks of us, its disciples, today. It is also asking this shrewdness of the rich countries of our world so that they too will understand that their salvation, including their earthly salvation, depends on a renewed attention to poor countries by not abandoning them to their problems, but, why not!, on erasing the debts that they will never be able to pay and that would push them closer and closer to the edge of the abyss.
The best commentary on this parable is given perhaps in the words of Jesus as reported by Paul in his farewell to the leaders of the community of Ephesus, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). Paul left them with these words as a summary of what was important in life. It is a simple message about the path to happiness and joy. Why are we sad? Why are our days often joyless? We have not understood that joy is not in receiving, but in giving. As used as we are to looking out for ourselves, as used as we are to amassing things for ourselves, sometimes even senselessly, we are unable to taste the beauty of generosity and free-giving, the joy of giving one’s life for others. We are not talking about heroism. Sometimes it is enough to give an hour of your time - generously and freely - to someone who is in need and alone. It is enough to give a thread of friendship, some concrete aid, a visit in the hospital, or a simple word of comfort. We remember the other words spoken by Jesus, "I was hungry and you gave me food" (Mt 25:35). This is the road to joy. The other road, the road of defending and looking out for ourselves, leads to sadness.