In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God! Amen!
What are we doing with our lives? What are we doing with what we have, with what we have been given, and are we being good stewards with the many gifts that some of us have been blessed with? Nothing in this world is our own, for we take none of it with us to the grave. We are but sojourners. We are but stewards, in a sense, of that which God has given us; of those bits of this world’s detritus of which we possess. For that is what the things of this world are to the Kingdom of Heaven, detritus, or refuse; the corruptible. Yet, even trash has its uses. What is the saying, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure? Yet, which man are you?
In today’s Gospel reading we hear the story of the unjust steward. In this story we learn both what kind of man the unjust steward is, but also the sometimes zealous preoccupation that is required to receive the treasure we seek. The unjust steward preoccupied himself with his own personal and worldly comforts. Different commentaries state that he either lived off the wealth of his master, or the more believable view is that he overcharged the debtors of his master, living comfortably off his dishonesty. Perhaps this is why stewards were not viewed favorably, and were often grouped together with publicans, tax collectors, and other men often known for their dishonest handling of money. Regardless of the reasons, he was being put out by his master by his unfavorable handling of his master’s goods.
What does the steward do? He knew he could not work, either because he was too lazy, or failed to learn any skills of use, living lavishly on the successes of others, mainly his master. He was a prideful man, so it was beneath him to beg. He knew only how to use those skills – his dishonesty and shrewdness – and set out to use them again to his favor. He wiped out a large portion of each of his master’s debtor’s debt, likely to the detriment of his master, who was about to cast him out. I suppose the confusing part to many who read this particular parable, is why is it being praised? Why are the deceitful actions of one being praised by another who was cheated by those same actions? The world praises the world, and his master, who is himself a man of business and wealth, recognized the shrewd cleverness of his steward to ensure his worldly comforts. Yet, it is no surprise that the world sees deceitfulness and cleverness just and honest, simply look at the world around you: lies are lauded as truth, deceit us praised as honesty; unchastity and debauchery are considered moral, normal, or even praiseworthy. Love is misaligned and misattributed. Sin is given a place on the altar of society.
But what can we learn from this? We are told that “the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.” The world has a better judgment towards the things of this world as concerns their own material comforts. The children of this world are far more diligent in their planning and scheming in how to advance in this world and their acquisition of wealth, than the children of God are diligent, clever and conscientious about our calling and completion of God’s plan. We do not work as hard for God, as the world does in working for money. The unjust steward, although his actions may be seen by some as charity, he did not give so out of love. He was not generous out of his own charity. He gave only out of concern for himself and his own needs. Where is our heart? If time is money, as the world often says, then where we spend the greatest measure of our time is perhaps the greatest indicator of that which we love the most. If our actions speak louder than words, as the world also says, what are our actions speaking to the world? What are our actions speaking loudly about our heart? We love Christ. We say we love Christ, but if our actions have no alignment with what we say, and what we pray, then our words are vestigial and empty, and there is no faith in us.
We live in this world, but not of it. This is one reason we are told to “ make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.” In this we are to understand that all that we have, our wealth, our goods, our talents, our gifts and abilities, and even our love are all to be used to succor those who suffer; those who have need and for the carrying out of good works, that not only you may be received by them, but that they may receive also Christ who sent you. Be mindful, for you may be the only Christ that some may ever encounter.
On this, Saint Gaudentius in his own homily of the Unjust steward adds to this in saying:
“When you have given your substance for the needs of the poor and spent it all, ‘they may receive you into everlasting habitations, ‘that is, our friends will obtain our salvation, since they are the same poor in whom Christ the Eternal Rewarder will confess that He has Himself received the kindness of our love for our fellowman. The poor themselves do not therefore receive us, but they receive us through Him who is given to eat in them.”
The bible is full of scriptures that tell us to avoid a love of money, and the things in this world. First Timothy 6:10 tells us “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Proverbs tells us “such are the paths of all who go after ill gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.” Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews tells us “keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
It is not that money itself is bad, but Christ did warn us it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Money is a tool, as are all things within the spirit of an age. Some tools are double edged swords. Others bear a greater responsibility and temptation for misuse and personal gain at the expense of others. It is our lot, our goal, to not become beholden to the things of this world, lest we become debtors to it. In this sentiment our Epistle reading is rather apropos:
“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
We are more than stewards, but heirs to the Kingdom of God. Stewards are essentially hired servants, while we are heirs as Sons and Daughters of The Living God. A steward simply watches over what he has been given, whereas we have been given everything, possessing all things in all Truth, yet own none of it. A steward lives for the sake of that which he possesses and has been given, while the sons of God live for the sake of He who gave it all. We live with the world, and by the things of this world shrewdly and conscientiously bring Christ to the world, hoping that in doing so the seeds will be planted, the fruit will grow, a harvest will be taken, and the people of this world will follow us into the fullness of Truth.
The world is not bad. No, that is Gnostic thinking. The way this world is used is bad. A preoccupation with the things of this world at the expense or exclusion of the things of God is bad. Let us be mindful of a parallel to our spiritual lives. We learn the things of God that they may bring us to God, that they may bring us to the mountain upon which God rests; yet, it is only in the cloud of knowing, like Moses, that we may ascend it. Likewise is it with the things of this world. The weight of this world, the things in it, its temptations, its struggles and tribulations all make us stronger. The things of this world only weigh us down to the detriment of our spiritual growth. We cannot ascend to heavenly heights of heart and mind until we are no longer shackled by the fetters of this world. So, in time, as we grow in our spiritual walk, we shed the world from our shoulders, from our hearts and minds, some faster than others. Just remember, even our worldly wealth is nothing but detritus, and some day our house must be swept clean, whether by our own hand, or those of another.
In the three verses following our Gospel reading today, we find the ultimate moral of this story, the story of The Unjust Servant. “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
We are faithful with what we have been given, that we may be given spiritual treasures. If what we have has been taken away, our heart is revealed for the true object of its love. We cannot possess two loves, for our God is a jealous God, and our hearts can possess only the love of One. What is in our heart? The answer to that is revealed by whatever we direct our greatest time and attention to, and by what we do. Let us remember the words of Christ, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
By the prayers of the Most Holy Lady Theotokos, the Holy and God bearing Fathers, all the saints, and the martyrs, and the Angels, have mercy on us and save us.
Amen.
