Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
November 5, 2021
Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 489
Reading I
I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters,
that you yourselves are full of goodness,
filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.
But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you,
because of the grace given me by God
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles
in performing the priestly service of the Gospel of God,
so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable,
sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast in what pertains to God.
For I will not dare to speak of anything
except what Christ has accomplished through me
to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,
by the power of signs and wonders,
by the power of the Spirit of God,
so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum
I have finished preaching the Gospel of Christ.
Thus I aspire to proclaim the Gospel
not where Christ has already been named,
so that I do not build on another’s foundation,
but as it is written:
Those who have never been told of him shall see,
and those who have never heard of him shall understand.
Responsorial Psalm
- (see 2b) The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Alleluia
- Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than the children of light.”
Reflection: MANAGE EARTHLY GOODS PROPERLY
After reading the Gospel passage, we begin to wonder what would have been the purpose of sharing this parable by Jesus with his disciples. A lesson in shrewd management of things? Or a lesson in cunning social behaviour to succeed in life? What is Jesus hinting at? This parable has always been a difficult one to interpret. No wonder many of the commentators are very silent about it or accept the traditionally accepted interpretation. The traditional interpretation is that Jesus invites his disciples to a 'prudent use of material goods in light of an imminent crisis' just the unjust steward was in a crisis and acted prudently or shrewdly. We remember vividly how the corrupt-free government taking leadership over the Government of Delhi collapsed as it took charge. Unfortunately, the corrupt-free people are not adept at managing the things of this world. If they try their luck to be smart and cunning, it would appear very odd as it is the case with some religious men and women who give it a try on business which is sure to end in failure. One of our fathers who completed Law and practiced it for some time, made the following remark with a certain despair and sadness: 'As a priest I was fighting on the side of the wrong person against the innocent. That too in a divorce care!' This is the way of the world. I am reminded of the words of Jesus: "Be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves" (Mt. 10:16). So what does Jesus teach us today as we listen to this parable? He seems to be inviting us to manage our earthy goods properly with care so that we will be able to look after things that belong to God and His kingdom.