25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C –
Sept. 21, 2025
Amos 8:4-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13
Theme: We Cannot Serve Both God and Money
A. A
Brief Exegetical Analysis of Luke 16:1-13
1.
Historical and Literary Contexts
Luke
recounts two parables in chapter 16: the dishonest steward (vv. 1-13) (our
parable) and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (vv. 19-31). Through these
two parables, Luke talks about Jesus’ attitude toward the rich and
the poor. The parable of the lost son (15:11-32) immediately precedes our
Gospel passage, and three isolated sayings, namely against the Pharisees (vv.
14-15), about the Law (vv. 16-17), and divorce (v. 18), follow it.
2.
Form, Structure, and Movement
This
Gospel story features a parable. It is divided into two parts. Jesus first
tells the parable (vv. 1-8a), then applies it in his teaching about the risk of
serving two masters: material possessions and God (vv. 8b-13).
3.
Detailed Analysis
Vv.
1-8a. In Palestinian custom, freemen often sold themselves into slavery to
wealthy individuals, becoming stewards of their possessions.[1] Also, stewards were
considered part of their masters’ household.[2]
This is the case with the steward in our parable. As a slave, he does not
possess any estate of his own to survive with after being dismissed. His
dishonesty in this parable is not due to his final decision to have the debtors
write new notes, but rather because he was reported to be squandering his
master’s property by adding his profits to the debtors’ notes. While the
listeners might expect the master to become angry at his steward for changing
the notes of his debtors, the master praised him instead for acting prudently.
This
parable should be studied in conjunction with the Parable of the Prodigal Son,
which immediately precedes it, for a deeper understanding. Both the lost son
and the steward mishandled their authorities' property, leading to disastrous
consequences. When considering what to do to survive, each of them practices
one of the two acts of repentance: the lost son returns to his father and
confesses his sins, while the steward chooses to fix his fault by having his
master’s debtors write new notes, minus his profit, reflecting the true amounts
owed.
Through
these two parables, Luke highlights that sin damages believers’ relationships
with both God (in the parable of the lost son) and others they offend (in the
parable of the dishonest steward), leaving them in dire circumstances. Choosing
to repent is essential for restoring these relationships and for survival.
Repentance involves two actions. First, like the lost son, believers should
return to God, whom they have wronged, admit their sins, confess them, and seek
reconciliation. Second, like the dishonest steward, they should rectify their
wrongs and reconcile with those affected.
Vv.
9-13. In this second part of the Gospel, Jesus draws three conclusions from the
parable of the dishonest steward. First, he advises his disciples to be wise in
the way they handle their wealth (v. 9). This means they can use wealth, but
they should not depend on it, since trusting only in God leads to eternal life.
Second, Jesus urges constant faithfulness to those in positions of
responsibility, especially regarding eternal life (v. 10). Trust is not given;
it is earned. Third, Jesus highlights the conflict between serving God and
“mammon” at the same time (v. 13). “Mammon,” a Greek translation of the Aramaic
word, refers to anything of this world, including wealth, riches, titles,
positions, privileges, and honors that one relies on for security and which
distract believers from focusing on God.[3]
4.
Synthesis
The
parable of the dishonest steward, along with the parable of the lost son
recounted in 15:11-32, highlights the importance of recognizing that sin
damages believers’ relationships with God and the people they offend.
Therefore, to repair these relationships and gain eternal life, believers are
called to follow two steps of repentance: just as the lost son, they should
return to God through the sacrament of confession, and, just as the dishonest
steward, correct the wrongs they have committed. Jesus draws three conclusions
from the parable of the dishonest steward. First, he advises his disciples to
be wise in how they use their wealth (v. 9). Second, he urges constant
faithfulness to those in positions of responsibility, especially regarding
eternal life (v. 10). Third, he emphasizes the conflict between serving God and
“mammon” at the same time (v. 13).
B. Pastoral
Implications
1. Liturgical
Context
Our first reading
demonstrates that businesspeople during the time of the prophet Amos gained
wealth by exploiting the poor and putting their businesses above religion.
Similarly, the steward in the parable from our Gospel is accused of dishonesty
because he wasted his master’s property by adding his own profits to the notes
of his master’s debtors. Today, this dishonest practice of exploiting others
and prioritizing businesses over God has worsened in our societies. Today’s
liturgy warns us about the danger these sins pose: they damage our
relationships with God and others. To restore these relationships and secure
eternal life, we are called to follow two steps of repentance: confessing our
sins to God and correcting the wrongs we commit against others. Let us pray for
each other, especially for those in political office, as Saint Paul encourages
us in our second reading, so that all of us place our trust not in “mammon,”
but in God alone.
2.
What the Church Teaches Us Today
In the parable we heard
in our Gospel, the dishonesty of this steward was not because of his final
decision to have his master’s debtors write new notes, but because he was
reported to be wasting his master’s property by adding his own profits to the
debtors’ notes. This dishonest manager echoes the businesspeople from the time
of the prophet Amos in our first reading.
In our first reading
passage, the prophet Amos advocates for the rights of the poor and the needy.
He strongly condemns the bad habits and practices of the merchants of his time.
First, the sellers prioritize their business over religion. Questions such as,
“When will the new moon be over that we may sell our grains, and the sabbath,
that we may display the wheat?” show the frustration of the merchants that
religious customs restrict their profits. Today, although not all of us are
sellers, we sometimes also express frustrations over Church activities, seeing
them as restricting our leisure time or other business opportunities. Like the
merchants in Amos’ time, many Christians today focus more on satisfying their
physical needs than their spiritual ones.
Second, Amos condemns the
dishonest business practices of merchants. They reduce the ephah (about a
bushel) and inflate the shekel (used for measuring weight). In other words,
they measure out less but charge more. They rig their scales to cheat (see v. 5b).
They also burden the poor and lowly with debt that exceeds their basic needs.
“We will buy the lowly for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals; even the
refuse of the wheat we will sell!” (v.6). These dishonest practices continue
today, even worsened by modern technology. Dishonest businesspeople manipulate
their tools of wealth to benefit themselves while the poor suffer most. They
believe no one sees their cheating and that the poor have no options. Amos
warns them that the Lord, who sees everything, has the power to act on behalf
of the poor. “The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I forget a
thing they have done” (v. 7). The phrase “never will I forget" means that
the Lord will take concrete action against those who exploit the poor and
marginalized.
Like the dishonest
steward and sellers in our Gospel and first readings, many Christians today
continue to earn more money and improve their standard of living dishonestly.
They prioritize their physical lives over building up their spiritual wealth
and strengthening their relationships with God and their brothers and sisters.
Our Holy Mother Church warns us of the danger these sins pose: they damage our
relationships with God and others. Therefore, we are called to follow the two
steps of the repentance process we learn from the parable of the lost son and
the parable of the dishonest steward if we want to restore these relationships
and secure eternal life at the end of time.
The first step is to
reconcile with God, whom we offend through our sins. We learn this from the
lost son in the parable that comes immediately before our parable. After
squandering his father's property, he realized his sins, returned to his
father, confessed, and repaired their relationship. The Church encourages us to
do the same. Let us always regret our sins, return to God, and confess them
sincerely to restore our relationship with God.
The second step of the
repentance process is to correct the wrongs we have committed, just as the
dishonest steward did in our Gospel. He calls his master’s debtors and adjusts
their notes to show the exact amounts they owe his master. In other words, he
removes all the extra amounts he added to each note for his own gain. The
Church encourages us to do the same. As we seek reconciliation with God, we
should also seek reconciliation with the people we have offended by correcting
our wrongs and repairing the damage our sins cause them. This is called
“Penance.”
In the second part of our
Gospel, the Church teaches us three lessons that Jesus draws from the parable
of the dishonest steward. First, we should be wise in how we use our wealth,
not putting our trust in it, because God is the only one we must trust (v. 9).
Second, since all of us are somehow in positions of responsibility, such as in
politics, the Church, the family, or wherever we live and work, we should
constantly remain faithful to God. Trust is not given; it is earned (v. 10).
Third, we should not serve both God and “mammon” at the same time. “Mammon”
refers to anything of this world, including wealth, riches, titles, positions,
privileges, and honors that one relies on for security and which distract
believers from focusing on God (v. 13).
During
this Mass, let us pray for one another, especially for political leaders, as
Saint Paul urges us in our second reading, so that everyone may sincerely
repent from their wrongdoings and seek reconciliation with God and each other.
Amen.
Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD
Pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church, Jackson, MS
&
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator
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