Luke 16 · The Lantern

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

Now he was saying also to the disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager, and he was accused unto him as wasting his possessions.

I HAVE often said to you in my discourses, that there is one fictitious and false conception prevalent among men, which multiplies their transgressions, and diminishes the good which we ought, each of us, to do. And this false conception is, that all that we have to enjoy in this life we possess as lords and masters.

Having rebuked in three parables those who murmured because He received penitents, our Saviour shortly after subjoins a fourth and a fifth on almsgiving and frugality, because it is also the fittest order in preaching that almsgiving should be added after repentance. Hence it follows, And he said unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man.

(Hom. de Divite.) There is a certain erroneous opinion inherent in mankind, which increases evil and lessens good. It is the feeling that all the good things we possess in the course of our life we possess as lords over them, and accordingly we seize them as our especial goods. But it is quite the contrary.

And having called him, he said to him, ‘What is this I hear concerning you? Give the account of your stewardship; for you are not able to manage any longer.’

Then the manager said within himself, ‘What shall I do, for my master is taking away the management from me? To dig I am not able; to beg I am ashamed.

He, anxiously pondering many things to himself, said: What shall I do? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. For once stewardship is taken away, we cannot dig, because, with this life ended, in which only we are permitted to work, we are no longer able to seek the fruit of good conversation, with the spade of devoted compunction. To beg is shameful.

Fourth, with regard to the imperfection of human weakness to be tolerated in the steward, it is added: And the steward said within himself: What shall I do, because my lord takes away from me the stewardship?

(ut sup.) But he whose wishes are on earth is troubled at his departing. Hence it is added of this steward, Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do, for my Lord taketh away from me the stewardship? I cannot dig, to beg I am ashamed. Weakness in action is the fault of a slothful life. For no one would shrink who had been accustomed to apply himself to labour.

I know what I may do, so that when I may have been removed from the management, they may receive me into their homes.’

And having called to him each one of the debtors of his own master, he was saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my master?’

Then he said, ‘A hundred baths of oil.’ Then he said to him, ‘Take your bills, and having sat down, soon write fifty.’

(de Qu. Ev. l. ii. qu. 34.) Or because out of the hundred measures of oil, he caused fifty to be written down by the debtors, and of the hundred measures of wheat, fourscore, the meaning thereof is this, that those things which every Jew performs toward the Priests and Levites should be the more abundant in the Church of Christ, that whereas they give a tenth, Christians should…

A cadus in Greek is a vessel containing three urns. It follows, And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty, forgiving him the half. It follows, Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. A corus is made up of thirty bushels.

And he said to him: A hundred measures of oil, through faithful acknowledgment of the debt. For each person ought faithfully to acknowledge his own debt, lest perchance that word of Revelation three be said to him: "You say: I am rich and made wealthy and have need of nothing; and you know not that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked." Now the cadus is a…

Then he said to another, ‘Now you yourself, how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred cors of wheat.’ He says to him, ‘Take your bills and write eighty.’

And the master praised the unrighteous manager, because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd than the sons of the light in their own generation.

(in Prov. 1:1.) But because the Gentiles say that wisdom is a virtue, and define it to be the experience of what is good, evil, and indifferent, or the knowledge of what is and what is not to be done, we must consider whether this word signifies many things, or one. For it is said that God by wisdom prepared the heavens. (Prov.

The children of light and the children of this world are spoken of in the same manner as the children of the kingdom, and the children of hell. For whatever works a man does, he is also termed their son.

Seventh, as to commending the discernment of providence, it is added: And the master commended the steward of iniquity, because he had acted prudently: The Gloss: "He praises him not for fraud, but for prudence, although he was sinning." Whence, although the steward has some blameworthy qualities in himself, nevertheless his manner of providing can be drawn as an example for th…

And I myself say to you: make friends for yourselves by the wealth of unrighteousness, that when it may fail they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

For, because He knew that we would make a good use of our substance which we should possess by receiving it from another, He says, "He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise." And, "For I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was naked and ye clothed Me." And, "When thou doest…

Mark also that He said not, "that they may receive you into their own habitations." For it is not they who receive you. Therefore when He said, Make to yourselves friends, he added, of the mammon of unrighteousness, to show, that their friendship will not alone protect us unless good works accompany us, unless we righteously cast away all riches unrighteously amassed.

Again, Luke 16: Make for yourselves friends from the mammon of iniquity, so that when you fail, they may receive you into eternal tabernacles.

The one faithful with very little is faithful also with much, and the one unrighteous with very little is unrighteous also with much.

Wherefore, brethren, by doing the will of the Father, and keeping the flesh holy, and observing the commandments of the Lord, we shall obtain eternal life. For the Lord saith in the Gospel, "If ye have not kept that which was small, who will commit to you the great?

He who is faithful in little is also faithful in much. And he who is dishonest in little is also dishonest in much. There are those who, ignorant of the bowels of compassion and works of mercy owed to their neighbors, nonetheless rightly consider themselves faithful in chastity, vigils, prolonged prayer, full faith, fasting, and other virtues which the love of God tends to prod…

He who is faithful in the least, etc. After he has invited to piety from consideration of the reward to be obtained, here secondly he invites from consideration of the faithfulness to be preserved. For faithfulness is to be preserved in the dispensation of temporal goods, both on account of merit and demerit and on account of peril and loss.

If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?

For life does not arise from us, nor from our own nature; but it is bestowed according to the grace of God. And therefore he who shall preserve the life bestowed upon him, and give thanks to Him who imparted it, shall receive also length of days for ever and ever.

In fine, He calls those the children of Abraham whom He sees to be laborious in aiding and nourishing the poor. For when Zacchaeus said, "Behold, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have done any wrong to any man, I restore fourfold," Jesus answered and said, "That salvation has this day come to this house, for that he also is a son of Abraham." For if Abraham bel…

Second, as to the consideration of peril and loss, he adds: If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you that which is true? As if to say: the peril of badly dispensing these temporal goods is great, because through unfaithful dispensation one loses true riches.

And if you have not been faithful in that which is of another, who will give to you that which is yours?

Accordingly, this will throw light upon the sense in which it was said, "If ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you what is your own? It has been previously explained that unrighteous mammon signifies the riches of the wicked. Regarding which, the Savior elsewhere says the deceitfulness of riches chokes the word (Matthew XIII).

Nevertheless, because what is one's own is lost on account of what is another's, he therefore adds: And if you have not been faithful in what belongs to another, through the due dispensation of earthly goods; whence the Gloss: "Whatever belongs to the world is alien to us, because it is beyond our nature." These are indeed called another's goods, because we can neither bring th…

No servant is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and he will love the other, or he will be devoted to one and he will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.”

Now the Lord declares, "No servant can serve two masters." If we desire, then, to serve both God and mammon, it will be unprofitable for us. "For what will it profit if a man gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" This world and the next are two enemies.

(de Qu. Ev. lib. ii. q. 36.) But these things were not spoken indifferently or at random. For no one when asked whether he loves the devil, answers that he loves him, but rather that he hates him; but all generally proclaim that they love God.

No one can serve two masters - serve, etc. After the invitation to piety from the consideration of the reward to be obtained and the faithfulness to be preserved, here thirdly he invites from the consideration of duplicity to be avoided, because piety toward God and cupidity toward the world cannot be held simultaneously: which indeed he does in this order, namely by first sett…

The Law and the Prophets

Now the Pharisees, being lovers of money, were listening to all these things, and they were ridiculing him.

And he said to them, “You yourselves are those justifying themselves before the men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is exalted among men is an abomination before God.

May I enjoy you in all respects, if indeed I be worthy! For though I am bound, I am not worthy to be compared to one of you that are at liberty. I know that ye are not puffed up, for ye have Jesus in yourselves.

Let us see the cause of their wickedness. The passion of greed possessed and tyrannized their heart. Their mind was in subjection even against its will. It was humbled under the power of wickedness and bound as it were by inevitable bonds.…The Savior of all spoke many things to them but saw that they would not change from their crafty purposes and passions.

Second, regarding the rebuke of the rebellious, by which Christ was pressing down their arrogance, there is added: And he said to them: You are they who justify yourselves before men, through the display of your righteousness, by which you consider yourselves righteous: Romans 10: "Being ignorant of the justice of God and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted…

The law and the prophets were until John; from that time the kingdom of God is evangelised about, and everyone forces his way into it.

Since, then, the law originated with Moses, it terminated with John as a necessary consequence. Christ had come to fulfil it: wherefore "the law and the prophets were" with them "until John." And therefore Jerusalem, taking its commencement from David, and fulfilling its own times, must have an end of legislation when the new covenant was revealed.

Not that the Law failed, but that the preaching of the Gospel began; for that which is inferior seems to be completed when a better succeeds. For the Law delivered many things according to nature, as being more indulgent to our natural desires, that it might call us to the pursuit of righteousness. Christ breaks through nature as cutting off even our natural pleasures.

The Law and the Prophets were until John, etc. After the repression of the arrogance of the rebellious Pharisees, there is here secondly subjoined a description of the abrogation of the legal precepts, on account of which the Pharisees, raising their brow, were spurning Christ's teachings and cloaking their avarice.

However, it is easier for the heaven and the earth to pass away than for one stroke of a pen of the law to fail.

Perhaps by the iota and tittle His righteousness cries, "If ye come right unto Me, I will also come right to you; but if crooked, I also will come crooked, saith the Lord of hosts;" intimating that the ways of sinners are intricate and crooked.

It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the law to become void. Lest they think that in what he said, "The law and the prophets were until John," he was proclaiming the destruction of the law or the prophets, he clearly declares that the greatest elements of the world will pass more easily than the smallest words of the law.

Secondly, as regards the fulfillment of the Law according to the spiritual understanding, it is added: But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, through the conflagration of the world: Psalm: "And you in the beginning founded the earth. They shall perish," etc. Than for one tittle of the Law to fall, through the frustration of any promise.

Everyone who is putting away his wife and marrying another commits adultery; and who separated her from a husband, marrying, commits adultery.

"Sir, if any one has a wife who trusts in the Lord, and if he detect her in adultery, does the man sin if he continue to live with her?" And he said to me, "As long as he remains ignorant of her sin, the husband commits no transgression in living with her.

But perhaps some Jewish man of those who dare to oppose the teaching of our Saviour will say, that when Jesus said, "Whosoever shall put away his own wife, saving for the cause of fornication, makes her an adulteress," [Matthew 5:32] He also gave permission to put away a wife like as well as Moses did, who was said by Him to have given laws for the hardness of heart of the peop…

Third, regarding the duration of the Law according to the law of nature and the conjugal bond, he adds: Everyone who dismisses his wife and marries another commits adultery: first, because he cannot dismiss the first except for the sole cause of fornication, according to Matthew nineteen: "Whoever dismisses his wife except for fornication and marries another commits adultery."…

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, making good cheer every day in splendor.

OUR God and Saviour does not lead men to hate wickedness and love virtue by negative precepts alone, but also by examples he makes clear the lessons of good conduct, bringing us both by deeds and words to the apprehension of a good and godly life.

The rich man, in purple splendor, is not accused of being greedy or of carrying off the property of another, or of committing adultery, or, in fact, of any wrongdoing. The evil alone of which he is guilty is pride. Most wretched of men, you see a member of your own body lying there outside at your gate, and have you no compassion?

There was a certain rich man, etc. After the example of provident piety and the instruction of perfect piety, there is here added an example of punished impiety, which, as was said above, holds the character of an example more than of a parable, because literally this rich man was in delights and afterwards in torments.

Now a certain poor man named Lazarus had been laid at his gate, full of sores

This seems rather a narrative than a parable, since the name is also expressed.

(ubi sup.) By one thing Almighty God displayed two judgments. He permitted Lazarus to lie before the rich man's gate, both that the wicked rich man might increase the vengeance of his condemnation, and the poor man by his trials enhance his reward; the one saw daily him on whom he should show mercy, the other that for which he might be approved.

(Hom. de Div.) He lay at his gate for this reason, that the rich might not say, I never saw him, no one told me; for he saw him both going out and returning. The poor is full of sores, that so he might set forth in his own body the cruelty of the rich. Thou seest the death of thy body lying before the gate, and thou pitiest not.

and desiring to be fed from that falling from the table of the rich man; but even the dogs, coming, were licking his sores.

But the insolence and pride of the wealthy is manifested afterwards by the clearest tokens, for it follows, and no one gave to him.

A new sorrow was to see that others enjoyed abundance while he languished in hunger. For he desired to be filled not with luxurious foods, but with the crumbs from them — such as the dogs fed on. No one cared even to treat Lazarus's wounds, for the dogs licked his sores, since no one drove them away.

(Hom. de Div.) But sickness has some comfort if it receives help. How great then was the punishment in that body, in which with such wounds he remembered not the pain of his sores, but only his hunger; for it follows, desiring to be fed with the crumbs, &c. As if he said, What thou throwest away from thy table, afford for alms, make thy losses gain.

Then it came to pass that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. Then the rich man also died and was buried.

(In Esai. 5.) Hell is a certain common place in the interior of the earth, shaded on all sides and dark, in which there is a kind of opening stretching downward, through which lies the descent of the souls who are condemned to perdition.

And it came to pass that the poor man died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died, and was buried in hell. Abraham's bosom is the rest of the blessed poor, of whom is the kingdom of heaven, to which they are received after this life. The burial of hell is the depth of the torments that devour the proud and merciless after this life.

The expression "Abraham's bosom" may be taken in two senses. First of all, as implying that restfulness, existing there, from sensible pain; so that in this sense it cannot be called hell, nor are there any sorrows there. In another way it can be taken as implying the privation of longed-for glory: in this sense it has the character of hell and sorrow.

And in Hades, having lifted up his eyes, being in torment, he sees Abraham from afar and Lazarus in his bosom.

Thus it happens that the rich man in hell has a tongue and poor (Lazarus) a finger and Abraham a bosom. By these features also the souls of the martyrs under the altar are distinguished and known.

But being afar off, the rich man lifted up his eyes to behold Lazarus, because the unbelievers while they suffer the sentence of their condemnation, lying in the deep, fix their eyes upon certain of the faithful, abiding before the day of the last Judgment in rest above them, whose bliss afterwards they would in no wise contemplate.

(Chrys. Op. imp, Hom. 53. Matt. 8:22, 25.) Or as the prisons of kings are placed at a distance without, so also hell is somewhere far off without the world, and hence it is called the outer darkness.

And he himself, having cried out, said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and may cool my tongue, for I am suffering in this flame.’

For all, the righteous and the unrighteous alike, shall be brought before God the Word. For the Father hath committed all judgment to Him; and in fulfilment of the Father's counsel, He cometh as Judge whom we call Christ.

His tongue too had spoken many proud things. Where the sin is, there is the punishment; and because the tongue offended much, it is the more tormented.

(Hom. de Div.) Great punishments give forth a great cry. Father Abraham. As if he said, I call thee father by nature, as the son who wasted his living, although by my own fault I have lost thee as a father. Have mercy on me. In vain thou workest repentance, when there is no place for repentance; thy torments drive thee to act the penitent, not the desires of thy soul.

Then Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you did fully receive your good things in your lifetime, and Lazarus likewise the harmful things. Now, however, here he is encouraged, and you yourself are suffering.

And besides all these things, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those desiring to pass from here to you may not be able, nor shall they pass from there to us.’

I saw Dinocrates going out from a gloomy place, where also there were several others, and he was parched and very thirsty, with a filthy countenance and pallid colour, and the wound on his face which he had when he died.

(Qu. Ev. lib. ii. qu. 88.) For it is shown by the unchangeableness of the Divine sentence, that no aid of mercy can be rendered to men by the righteous, even though they should wish to give it; by which he reminds us, that in this life men should relieve those they can, since hereafter even if they be well received, they would not be able to give help to those they love.

Third, as regards the depth of the divine judgments, he adds: And besides all this, a great chasm has been established between us and you: in which is intimated the impossibility of drawing near between the reprobate and the elect: Ecclesiastes 11: "If a tree fall to the south or to the north, in whatever place it shall fall, there it shall be." This impassability he calls a ch…

Then he said, ‘I implore you then, father, that you may send him to the house of my father —

for I have five brothers — so that he may warn them, that they themselves also may not come to this place of torment.’

And there may be a doubt concerning Lazarus and the rich man. The simpler persons think that these things were spoken as though both were receiving their due for the things which they had done in life in their bodies; but the more accurate think that, since no one is left in life after the resurrection, these things do not happen at the resurrection.

In this matter it should be noted how much is heaped upon the burning rich man for his punishment. For both knowledge and memory are preserved for him unto his punishment. For he recognizes Lazarus whom he despised, and he also remembers his brothers whom he left behind. For his vengeance from the poor man would not be complete if he did not recognize him in retribution.

Whence he adds: For I have five brothers: Sirach eighteen: "The compassion of a man is toward his neighbor," etc. Therefore it was carnal, because it was for carnal brothers and those living according to the flesh.

However, Abraham says, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’

It sets forth in bold outline the end of both of them, the "torments" of Herod and the "comfort" of John, that even now Herod might hear that warning: "They have there Moses and the prophets, let them hear them." Marcion, however, violently turns the passage to another end, and decides that both the torment and the comfort are retributions of the Creator reserved in the next li…

But when the rich man asked that Lazarus be sent, Abraham immediately answered: "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." But he who had despised the words of God thought that his followers could not hear these things.

Second, as regards the denial of the requested mercy, he adds: And Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. Moses, that is, the doctrine of the Law, which must be heard on account of the greatness of its authority.

And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one from the dead shall go to them, they will repent.’

(in Hom. 40.) But he who had despised the words of God, supposed that his followers could not hear them. Hence it is added, And he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went to them from the dead they would repent. For when he heard the Scriptures he despised them, and thought them fables, and therefore according to what he felt himself, he judged the like of his brethren.

But the rich man says: "No, father!" For just as he himself, hearing the Scriptures, did not believe and considered their words to be fables, so he supposed the same about his brothers, and judging by himself, says that they will not listen to the Scriptures, just as he himself did not, but if someone rises from the dead, they will believe.

Thirdly, as to the reason for the petition proposed, he adds: But he said: No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. In this he was showing the carnality of his brothers, inasmuch as they would be moved more by a bodily resurrection than by a spiritual revelation.

However, he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, not even if one shall rise out from the dead will they be persuaded.’”

But since the writings (literae) of Moses are the words of Christ, He does Himself declare to the Jews, as John has recorded in the Gospel: "If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, neither will ye believe My words." He thus indicates in the clearest manner that the writings of Moses are His words.

(ubi sup.) But soon the rich man is answered in the words of truth; for it follows, And he said unto him, If they hear not, Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe though one rose from the dead. For they who despise the words of the Law, will find the commands of their Redeemer who rose from the dead, as they are more sublime, so much the more difficult to fulfil.

Fourth, with regard to the approval of the response already given, he adds: But he said to him: If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, namely by obeying them: for thus they are to be heard, according to that passage in Revelation 1: "Blessed is he who reads and hears the words of this prophecy and keeps them," etc.

Luke16

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

The Law and the Prophets

The Rich Man and Lazarus