Amos 8:4-7; 1 Tim. 2:1-7; Luke. 16:1-13
On 22 August
1485, in marshy fields near the village of Sutton Cheney in Leicestershire,
Richard III led the last charge of knights in English history. A circlet of
gold around his helmet, his banners flying, he threw his destiny into the hands
of the god of battles.
Among the
astonished observers of this glittering panoply of horses and steel galloping
towards them
were Sir William Stanley and his brother Thomas, whose forces had
hitherto taken no part in the action. Both watched intently as Richard swept
across their front and headed towards Henry Tudor, bent only on eliminating his
rival.
As the King
battled his way through Henry’s bodyguard, killing his standard bearer with his
own hand and coming within feet of Tudor himself, William Stanley made his
move. Throwing his forces at the King’s back he betrayed him and had him hacked
down. Richard, fighting manfully and crying, “Treason! Treason!” was butchered
in the bloodstained mud of Bosworth Field by a man who was there to support
him.
This is just one
the numerous examples of the dishonest stewards, found in our history. The
desire for wealth and power lead men to practice injustice. That is the message
that the parable of the dishonest servant gives us.
When the people
of Israel reached the Promised Land, the land was equitably distributed among
the various tribes, and the families in each tribe. But gradually less thrifty
people mortgaged or sold their land, and soon most of the cultivable land ended
up in the hands of a few rich people. Social injustice became a great issue in
the society. Prophets raised their voice
against it.
Today's First
Reading from the Book of Amos [Amos 8:4-7] speaks against greed. There were a
couple of things that the Israelites were doing that was drawing the
condemnation of the Lord God. First of all, during their trading, the merchants
used a dishonest measure to cheat and oppress the poor. The law forbade them to
use dishonest means of measures. [Lev. 19:36; Deut. 25:14-15] The dishonest
Israelites were guilty of selling what should have been thrown away.
Today’s reading
from the Gospel draws our attention to the parable of the dishonest manager.
This parable warns us against the wealth wrongly acquired or badly used.
Jesus admonishes
his listeners that material possessions should be used to cement the friendships
wherein the real and permanent value of life lies. The Rabbis had a saying,
“The rich help the poor in this world, but the poor help the rich in the world
to come.” It was a Jewish belief that charity given to the poor people would
stand to a man’s credit in the world to come. A man’s true wealth would consist
not in what he kept, but in what he gave away. According to St Ambrose, “The
bosom of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns
which last forever.”
A man can use
his wealth selfishly or he can use it to make life easier, not only for
himself, but for his friends and his fellow-men. Possessions are not in
themselves a sin, but they are a great responsibility, and the man who uses
them to help his friends has gone far to discharge that responsibility.
According to Jesus the earthly possessions are the little things that we are
entrusted with. We are merely stewards over the earthly possessions.
The best proof
of one’s fitness to be entrusted with a bigger task is his way of fulfilling a
small task. The life of Robert Owen (1771-1858), generally considered to be the
father of the Co-operative movement, is a great example for this principle. At
the age of nine he was apprenticed to a draper's shop, and he quickly gained knowledge
of fabrics. At eleven years of age he moved to London and was employed in the
drapery trade where he was obliged to put in an eighteen hour day, six days a
week, with only short breaks for his meals. At the age of twenty, he followed
up an opportunity through which he obtained the position of manager in a
Manchester textile mill where there were five hundred people employed. As he
proved successful in this position his employer gave him additional
responsibility for the management of another large factory.
While most
people are grasping for more power and visibility, Mother Teresa genuinely
believed that the world is changed through the small and hidden. She regularly
and consistently argued that the small things are where the action is. No man
will be advanced to higher office until he has given proof of his honesty and
ability in smaller positions. Jesus extends the principle to eternity. He says,
upon earth we are in charge of things which are not really ours. We cannot take them with us when we die. On
the other hand, in heaven we will get what is really and eternally ours. What
we get in heaven will depend on how we use the things of the earth.
Often we find
excuse that we are surrounded by evil, selfishness and injustice. Therefore if
one man tries nothing can be achieved. All the great men, too, lived in such a
world of reality. But they dared to do the little they could. Mother Teresa was deeply convinced that every
little action had its significance. So she said, “We ourselves feel that what
we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because
of that missing drop.” Doing small things is hard, maybe even harder than big
things. You won’t be congratulated by many. In some cases, not a single person
even knows what you’ve done. And there’s no big reward at the end of it. Hence,
to do little things with dedication and commitment requires humility,
selflessness, patience and self-discipline. Mother Teresa admonished her
followers, “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your
strength lies.”
In the parable
of the talents, Jesus praises the man who received two talents and the one with
five. Both took efforts to multiply what they had been given, and about them
their master said, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been
faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and
share your master's happiness!" The one who is faithful to what is
entrusted to him will be guided by the Lord. The Psalmist who had this
confidence declared, “The Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose.”
So, as good
stewards, Let us use the earthly possessions as a means to our eternal
possessions. And remember the words of Jesus, “Seek first the kingdom of God
and all the other things will be given to you (Mt 6:33).
Satish