The steward is a figure who comes up in many of Jesus’ parables—a “stock character,” we might say, who would have been very recognizable to Christ’s listeners. What did stewards do, in the time of Jesus? What made them so interesting to our Lord?
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A Father’s Love
Sunday of the Steward
The steward is a figure who comes up in many of Jesus’
parables—a “stock character,” we might say, who would have been very
recognizable to Christ’s listeners.
What did stewards do, in the time of Jesus? What made them so interesting to our Lord?
They were, first of all, servants. But a special kind of
servant: They were caretakers, or business managers, as we might say today.
They were not owners; but the true owner, the master, had given the steward
responsibility and authority. And to be given such things meant that the
steward was in a position of trust.
Clearly, Jesus saw this special relationship of
“stewardship” as symbolic of the greater dynamic between God and man. In the
deepest sense, we are not the owners of the good things in our lives: our
families, our healthy bodies, our heritage, our church. To be sure, we are
indeed responsible for all these things, and we cannot neglect our
responsibility. But our highest responsibility is not really to satisfy
ourselves, but to please God.
Jesus’s parable about an unjust steward who was accused
of cheating his master (Luke 16:1-17—the reading for the third Sunday of Lent)
is famous for being difficult to understand.
But it gives us some very concrete clues about what it means to be a
“good steward.”
Jesus tells us: “He that is faithful in a little, is
faithful also in much” (Lk 16:10). He
asks: “If you have been dishonest with another man’s belongings, who will give
you something of your own?” (Lk 16:12).
And he concludes with the famous saying: “No servant can serve two
masters” (Lk 16:13).
These words of wisdom should be “food for thought” for
us, during our journey through Lent.
But the most important words in the parable come at the
very beginning, when the Master asks the Steward: “What is this I hear about
you? Give me an account of your stewardship” (Lk 16:2).
Surely, this is the larger point Jesus was making
throughout his teaching on stewardship.
God has entrusted us with many serious responsibilities. He has given us many beautiful gifts and
blessings. But we are called to make an
account.
When our Master does so, will we show ourselves to have
been good stewards? Or neglectful ones?
But let’s return for some final thoughts on the parable
of the Unjust Steward. As mentioned,
it’s difficult to understand. Some
interpreters strive mightily to make the desperate, swindling steward into an
exemplar of moral conduct. But these
attempts are unpersuasive, given Jesus’ larger themes about what constitutes
being a “good steward.”
Perhaps a key to its meaning can be found in an
overlooked point in Luke’s account. We
learn (Lk 14:14) that Jesus was addressing the Pharisees: the religious
teaching authorities of Jesus’ time, entrusted with the job of telling the
people what God wanted from them. But in
order to make themselves popular, they had “watered down” the message: like the
unjust steward, they had “discounted the debt” that man should rightfully owe
to God.
Through the parable of the Unjust Steward, Jesus seems to
have been warning the Pharisees—and all authorities in positions of trust—that
while this might make them welcome in the homes of men, eventually there would
be an accounting—and did they think that God would congratulate them on their
shrewdness?
In this reading, Jesus is being ironic when he says (Lk
16:8), “The lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely.” But
that mood certainly fits better with the stern lessons about honesty,
integrity, and the impossibility of serving two masters, which immediately
follow the parable.
Read the passage for yourself. What do you think?
Unjust Steward
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