Chapter Sixteen
Lk. 16:1. And He said also to His disciples: A certain man was rich and had a steward, and it was reported to him that this steward was wasting his goods;
Lk. 16:2. And he called him, and said unto him, What is this I hear of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou canst no longer be steward.
Lk. 16:3. Then the steward said within himself: What shall I do? My lord is taking the management of the house away from me; I cannot dig, I am ashamed to beg;
Lk. 16:4. I know what to do, so that when I am removed from the management of the house, they may receive me into their homes.
Lk. 16:5. And he called his lord's debtors to him, each one separately, and said to the first: How much do you owe my lord?
Lk. 16:6. He said: a hundred measures of oil. And he said to him: take your bill and sit down quickly, write: fifty.
Lk. 16:7. Then he said to another: and how much do you owe? He answered: a hundred measures of wheat. And he said to him: take your bill and write: eighty.
Lk. 16:8. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had dealt shrewdly; for the sons of this age are shrewder than the sons of light in their generation.
Lk. 16:9. And I say to you: make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when you become poor, they may receive you into eternal dwellings.
Every parable explains the essence of some subject in a concealed and figurative manner, but it is not in all respects similar to the subject for the explanation of which it is employed. Therefore one should not interpret all parts of a parable down to the finest detail, but, having made use of the subject as far as is fitting, the remaining parts should be passed over without attention, as having been added for the completeness of the parable, yet having no correspondence with the subject. So one should proceed with the present parable as well. For if we undertake to explain in minute detail everything — who the steward is, who appointed him to the management, who reported against him, who the debtors are, why one owed oil and another wheat, why it is said that they each owed a hundred, and if we investigate everything else in general with excessive curiosity — then we will make the discourse obscure, and, being forced by the difficulties, will perhaps arrive even at ridiculous explanations. Therefore one should make use of the present parable only as much as one can.
I will explain a little. The Lord wishes here to teach us to manage well the wealth entrusted to us. And, first of all, we learn that we are not masters of our possessions, for we have nothing of our own, but that we are stewards of what belongs to another, entrusted to us by the Master so that we may dispose of our possessions well and as He commands.
Then we are taught that if we act in the management of wealth not according to the mind of the Master, but squander what has been entrusted to us on our own whims, then we are stewards against whom an accusation has been made. For the will of the Master is that we spend what has been entrusted to us on the needs of our fellow servants, and not on our own pleasures. And when we are accused and are about to be removed from the management of the estate, that is, torn from this present life — namely when we will give an account of our stewardship after our departure from here — then we belatedly perceive what must be done, and "make friends for ourselves by means of unrighteous wealth." That "wealth" is called "unrighteous" which the Lord entrusted to us for use on the needs of our brothers and fellow servants, but which we kept for ourselves. But too late we will realize where to turn, and that on that day we can neither labor, for then is not the time for doing, nor ask for alms, for it is unseemly, since the virgins who asked for them were called foolish (Matt. 25:8). What then remains to be done? To share this estate with our brothers, so that when we depart from here, that is, when we pass from this present life, the poor may "receive us into eternal dwellings." For to the poor in Christ eternal dwellings have been appointed as their inheritance, into which they can receive those who showed them love here through the distribution of wealth, even though that wealth, as belonging to the Master, ought to have been distributed to the poor from the beginning. They are debtors, according to what is said: "he is ever merciful and lends" (Ps. 37:26), and in another place: "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord" (Prov. 19:17). So then, everything ought to have been distributed beforehand to these good debtors, who repay a hundredfold. Nevertheless, when we prove to be unfaithful stewards, unjustly retaining for ourselves what was designated for others, we must not remain forever in this inhumanity, but must distribute to the poor, so that they may receive us into eternal dwellings.
When we explain this parable in this way, the explanation will contain nothing superfluous, nor contrived, nor conjectural. However, the expression "the sons of this age are more shrewd" and what follows seems to mean something else, and nothing incomprehensible or strange. By "sons of this age" He calls those who devise everything that is useful for them on earth, and by "sons of light" those who, out of love for God, ought to impart spiritual riches to others. So what is being said here is that people appointed as stewards of human property make every effort to have comfort after their dismissal from stewardship, while the sons of light, who are appointed, that is, entrusted with the stewardship of spiritual property, give no thought whatsoever to obtaining benefit for themselves afterward. Thus, "the sons of this age" are those to whom the management of human affairs has been entrusted and who "in their generation," that is, in this life, conduct their affairs wisely, while the sons of light are those who have received property in order to manage it in a manner pleasing to God.
It turns out that when managing human property, we conduct our affairs wisely and make sure to have some refuge of life even when we are dismissed from this management. But when we manage the property that must be administered according to God's will, we seem not to care that after our departure from this life we might fall under accountability for our management and be left without any consolation. Therefore we are called foolish, because we do not think about what will be beneficial for us after this. But let us acquire friends among the poor, spending on them the unrighteous wealth given to us by God as a weapon of righteousness, but which we have retained for our own benefit and which has therefore turned into unrighteousness. If even wealth obtained by righteous means, when it is managed poorly and not distributed to the poor, is reckoned as unrighteousness and as mammon, then how much more so unrighteous wealth. Let us then use this latter to acquire friends for ourselves, so that when we die and depart from this life, or in another case lose heart from condemnation, "they... may receive us there into everlasting habitations."
Lk. 16:10. He who is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much, and he who is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
The Lord further teaches that wealth must be managed according to God's will. "Faithful in little," that is, one who managed well the property entrusted to him in this world, is faithful "also in much," that is, in the age to come he is also worthy of true riches. He calls earthly wealth "little," since it is truly small, even insignificant, because it is fleeting, and "much" he calls heavenly wealth, since it always abides and increases. Therefore, whoever proved unfaithful in this earthly wealth and appropriated for himself what was given for the common benefit of the brethren, that one will not be worthy of that much either, but will be rejected as unfaithful. Explaining what was said, He adds:
Lk. 16:11. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true?
He called wealth that remains with us "unrighteous," for if it were not unrighteous, it would not be with us. But now, since it is with us, it is evident that it is unrighteous, as it has been held back by us and not distributed to the poor. For the seizure of another's property and of what belongs to the destitute is injustice. Therefore, whoever does not manage this property well and faithfully, how can the "true" wealth be entrusted to him?
Lk. 16:12. And if you have not been faithful in what is another's, who will give you what is your own?
And who will give us "our own," when we deal unfaithfully with what is "another's," that is, with possessions? And they are "another's," since they are designated for the poor, and on the other hand, since we brought nothing into the world, but were born naked. Our portion is the heavenly and Divine wealth, for there is our dwelling (Phil. 3:20). Property and acquisition are foreign to man, who was created in the image of God, for nothing among them resembles him. But the enjoyment of Divine blessings and communion with God — this is native to us.
Lk. 16:13. No servant can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Up to this point the Lord has been teaching us how one must faithfully manage wealth. For it is another's, not ours; we are stewards, not lords and masters. And since the management of wealth according to God's will is accomplished in no other way than through firm dispassion toward it, the Lord added to His teaching this as well: "You cannot serve God and mammon," that is, it is impossible for one who has become attached to wealth and out of passion for it withholds something for himself to be a servant of God. Therefore, if you intend to manage wealth faithfully, do not enslave yourself to it, that is, have no attachment to it, and you will truly serve God. For love of money, that is, a passionate inclination toward wealth, is everywhere condemned (1 Tim. 6:10).
Lk. 16:14. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they ridiculed Him.
The Pharisees, vexed by the Lord's words, ridiculed Him. For as lovers of money, it was unpleasant for them to hear about non-possessiveness. As it is also said: "godliness is an abomination to a sinner" (Sir. 1:25), and "a reproof to the ungodly is wounds" (Prov. 9:7).