The Dishonest Steward

Thank you all for the great discussion at the Session 19 bible study. Your thoughts on the Dishonest Steward were particularly interesting so I found some more commentaries for further thought.

From The Navarre Bible: St. Luke

16:1-8. The unfaithful steward manages to avoid falling on hard times. Of course, our Lord presumes that we realize the immorality of the man's behavior. What he emphasizes and praises, however, is his shrewdness and effort: he tries to derive maximum material advantage from his former position as steward. In saving our soul and spreading the Kingdom of God, our Lord wants us to apply at least the same ingenuity and effort as people put into their worldly affairs to their attempts to attain some human ideal. The fact that we can count on God's grace does not in any way exempt us from the need to employ all available legitimate human resources even if it means strenuous effort and heroic sacrifice. "What zeal people put into their earthly affairs: dreaming of honors, striving for riches, bent on sensuality! Men and women, rich and poor, old and middle-aged and young and even children: all of them alike. When you and I put the same zeal into the affairs of our souls, we will have a living and working faith. And there will be no obstacle that we cannot overcome in our apostolic works: (St. J. Escriva, The Way, 317).

Luke: A Devotional Commentary

Sometimes, we might not be clear about the point Jesus was trying to make when he told a parable or gave a sermon. The parable of the shrewd manager can be one of these cases. We know that Jesus was not condoning dishonesty of irresponsibility. And he surely didn't want to promote shady business dealings. So what was his purpose in telling this story? How do we apply it to our lives?

During Jesus' time, the type of steward described in the passage often earned his wages from the interest he charged his master's customers. Often, stewards would charge exorbitant interest as a way of creating a comfortable "buffer zone" for themselves against future misfortune. By reducing his master's debtors' bills, the steward was not cheating his master; he was reducing his own profit. Thus, with the debtors grateful to him for reducing their bills, the steward had new friends who could help him start a new life. From this perspective, the steward's action could be seen as an attempt to reform his life - and a very creative approach to a difficult problem. Rather than commending the steward's seeming dishonesty, Jesus was actually highlighting his ability to think quickly and overcome major obstacles.

How tempting it can be to give up when we encounter obstacles to daily prayer, evangelization, or reaching out to our neighbors! But with the example of the shrewd manager, we can take comfort that Jesus wants to help us find creative solutions to these obstacles. We can become just as shrewd as this steward, asking God to give us uncommon wisdom and the courage to take risks in new situations.

Ignatius Study Bible: St. Luke

16:1-8. The parable of the Unrighteous Steward is about urgency and preparedness. About to lose his position, the steward makes use of a pressing situation to find favor with his master's debtors and prepare for his future. Christians should take even greater care to prepare for life in the world to come. Mystically (St. Gaudentius, Sermo 18), the unrighteous steward signifies the devil, whose dominion over this world is nearing its end. Having wasted the Lord's goods by stripping us of divine grace and friendship, he now works anxiously to make friends be deception and empty promises of forgiveness. While his ardor and foresight are worthy of imitation, his wicked and dishonest tactics are not.

16:1 a steward: A head servant who handled the business affairs of his master's estate. Like the prodigal son, this manager wasted his master's goods.

16:8 his prudence: The master, although cheated by the debt reduction, commends the steward for his shrewdness. He recognizes that the steward's last-minute efforts proves successful in winning the favor of the debtors and making his financial future more secure. The unjust strategy of the steward shows that he was motivated by an entirely selfish concern for his own temporal welfare. Jesus points to the steward as both an example and a warning. As an example, the steward shows how to expend every effort in making use of our means to prepare for the future. Just as his cunning won him a comfortable living in the "houses" of his master's debtors, so believers are challenged to make friends by almsgiving in order to be received into "eternal habitations". As a warning, the steward is intended to characterize the attitude of the Pharisees, who have been listening to Jesus since 15:2 and who are charged with being "lovers of money" in 16:14. It is implied that the Pharisees are despising God by their devotion to mammon, i.e., they seek not eternal riches but the esteem of men and the temporal comforts of this world (16:13).

Upcoming Activities for June.

Thursday, May 29th
What: Bible Study
Where: St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church (8755 Scarborough Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920)
When: 7PM

Thursday, June 12th
What: Bible Study
Where: St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church (8755 Scarborough Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920)
When: 7PM

Thursday, June 26th
What: Bible Study
Where: St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church (8755 Scarborough Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920)
When: 7PM


Friday, June 27th
What: Theology of the Body
Who: Fr Walter Schu, LC (Author of The Splendor of Love)
Where: Holy Trinity
When: 6:30pm-9:00pm

Upcoming talk

Join us, Friday June 27th, at Holy Trinity from 6:30-9:00pm
Fr Walter Schu, LC, will be speaking to us about The Theology of the Body. This talk is open to adults of all ages. The evening will open with a "Meet and Greet" from 6:30-7:00. The talk will begin at 7:oopm and go until about 8:30.

Gravity Masters the Dance Floor!

Gravity young adults took over the dance floor when we embarked on the journey of learning to Tango. Some were weathered and took this opportunity to brush up on their skills, others were as green as the grass in the spring.

But we had fun and don't be surprised if you see one of us on Dancing with the Stars in upcoming seasons!

May 11-May18

Tuesday, May 13th
What: Theology on Tap
Where: The Warehouse Brewery, Colorado Springs
When: 7-8PM

Thursday, May 15th NEW LOCATION
What: Bible Study
Where: St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church (8755 Scarborough Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920)
When: 7PM

Friday, May 16th
What: Theology on Tap
Where: Braun’s, Denver
When: Meet at the Monument Park and Ride, if you want to carpool, between 6:15 & 6:30pm. Starts at 8:00, social ½ hr at 7:30

Saturday, May 17th
What: Scott Hahn
Where: St Francis of Assisi
Schedule:
9 am - Registration
9:30 am - Ed and Eddie Reinhardt
10:30 am - Scott Hahn ("Lord Have Mercy")
12 pm - Scott Hahn ("Understanding Our Father")
2 pm - Scott Hahn ("Reasons to Believe")
Cost: $20

Sunday, May 18th
What: Community service project for Ellicott Elementary School
Lunch: 1:00pm at the Chipotle on Powers
When: 2:00pm-?
What (again): Helping decorate the gym for an "award" ceremony.

Commercial Brings Thousands Back to Church

This last year Theology on Tap in Denver had a series of talks on Catholics and politics to get people interested in the upcoming elections. One of the last speakers they had was Archbishop Chaput and he was there promoting a new book (not yet released) called Render Unto Caesar about the role of civic duty in a Catholic's life. The purpose of his talk was to discuss how we can become involved in the life of our country without losing our souls in the process. During the question and answer portion, a woman with a marketing background suggested that the media is prejudiced against Catholics because our PR is so bad. Not enough spin I guess. It turns out though that other people have seen a need for positive Catholic PR and have done incredible things in certain test regions.
The organization Catholics Come Home, in association with the Matthew Kelly Foundation, is running high production television commercials in Phoenix and Louisville and encouraging people to visit the website http://www.catholicscomehome.org/ where people can request a free copy of Matthew Kelly's Rediscovering Catholicism. After running the ads for just a couple of weeks the diocese of Phoenix reported an increased Mass attendance of over 3,000 people as well as an increase in the use of the Sacrament of Penance. They have three ads that you can download from the website. Not only will they make you proud to be Catholic, if you ever hesitate about going to confession, start watching one of these videos and you'll be looking for local confession times before it's over. You can read the full story here.

April Schedule

Thursday, April 10th
What: BOWLING!!!
Where: Mr. Bigg's (5825 Mark Dabling Blvd, Colorado Springs 80919)
When: 7PM
Grab those bowling shoes out of the closet and that bowling ball that your Great Uncle Harry left you and bring them to Mr Bigg's Thursday night for Country Bowl. :)

Friday, April 11th (2 Options)
What: (Part 1)Theology On Tap in Denver
Where: Braun's Bar (1055 Auraria Parkway, Denver)
When: 7:30 - 9PM
Topic & Speaker: "Iraq Undercover"; Joe Burns will speak on his recent experience in Iraq as an embedded reporter.

What: (Part 2):"The Truth Will Set You Free" - Debating Moral Relativism
Where: Eaton Humanities Room 1B50, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
When: 7 - 9PM
Topic & Speaker: "What is Truth?"; Fr. Stan Fortuna, C.F.R.
Carpooling: There will be people driving up to both of these talks. Send us an email if you'd like to carpool and we'll send you info on when and where to meet.

Saturday, April 12th
What: (Part 1)"The Truth Will Set You Free" - Debating Moral Relativism
Where: St. Thomas Aquinas Student Center, 15th and Euclid, Boulder, CO
When: 11:30AM - 1:30PM
Topic & Speaker: "How to talk to nihilists, relativists and skeptics without losing your cool"; Fr. Stan Fortuna, C.F.R.

What: (Part 2)Vigil Praise
Where: St. John Vianney Theological Seminary (1300 S. Steele St., Denver 80210)
When: 7 - 9PM
Carpooling: We will meet at 5:45PM at the Monument Park 'N Ride to drive up to Denver for Vigil Praise. Let us know if you're coming, so we can keep a lookout for you.

Tuesday, April 15th
What: Theology on Tap in the Springs
Where: Warehouse Brewery (25 W Cimmaron, Colorado Springs)
When: 7PM
Speaker: Fr. Paul Wicker

Wednesday, April 16th
What: Gravity is headed to Jack Quinn's for great food and music. Come join us at this Irish Pub!
Where: Jack Quinn's (21 S. Tejon St., Colorado Springs 80903)
When: 7PM

Thursday, April 17th
What: Bible Study
Where: Divine Redeemer (downstairs in the library)
When: 7PM

Sunday, April 20th
What: Conversion Stories
Where: St. Francis of Assisi (2650 Parish View, Colorado Springs 80919)
When: 3:30 to 5:30PM