NO SHOCKS OR SURPRISES
If
today’s Gospel passage causes some uneasiness or discomfort on our
part, then just let it be so. It only goes to show that perhaps we may
have already been smug and complacent in our image of Jesus and of our
relationship with Him. Perhaps we have become too accustomed to the
handsome, meek and mild Jesus portrayed in most holy pictures, such that
seeing now the raw, real Jesus of the Gospels seems to be a shock for
us.
This Jesus of the Gospels is not afraid of telling stories that have
rascals as heroes. (And yet, recall that this is by no means the only
Gospel parable with this feature. Check out the ones of the Wicked
Judge, the Rich Fool, and the Unmerciful Servant.)
Not that our Lord is canonizing a crook or a wheeler-dealer. In the first place, a parable is an illustration not so much about the details or the examples as such, but rather more about the message behind it. Hence, He gives us here a fine lesson on the necessity of managing the affairs of our soul — hopefully with the cleverness and decisiveness of that steward in the parable.
Somebody once wrote: “The Kingdom of God has more to do with your
pocketbooks than with your prayer books.” “Pocketbook” here means a
wallet or purse for your money. In a way, it is true. Similarly, the
Gospel is not a soap opera for housewives; it is Good News for sinners.
Indeed, Jesus came to save outcasts like Matthew, Zacchaeus and the
woman at the well
— not the Pharisees, Pilate or Herod. And finally, faith and spiritual
life are not something confined to Sundays, to churches or sacristies;
they penetrate trading rooms, billiard
halls, police precincts, malls and homes.
In that way, we need no longer be shocked, neither by the Gospel nor by Jesus Christ. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB
REFLECTION
QUESTION: When it comes to the affairs of your soul, are you “clever”
and decisive like the steward in today’s parable?
Lord, guide me in all that I have to do. May I live out my faith in every aspect of my life.
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