Daily Gospel Reflection for November 8, 2024

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Luke 16:1-8

The Parable of the Unjust Steward often confused me. Jesus usually employs characters that contrast both good and evil or right and wrong. However, in this parable, the characters are both corrupt. The steward is fired and quickly goes to his master’s debtors to reduce their debt. It’s retaliatory toward his master by reducing the income owed to him, but there’s more at play. The steward also creates a situation where these debtors are now indebted to him.

The twist in the story is that the master is impressed with the steward’s actions. That tells me that the master was also a shady operator. It’s like two con men admiring each other’s cons. So why would Jesus be lauding this behavior? The story illustrates two things: human nature can be base (see the first reading, too!), and we should be focused on creating treasure for heaven, not earth.

Both the master and the steward create wealth on earth that they cannot take to heaven. Jesus teaches, not by example of virtue but by warning of sinful behavior. Jesus doesn’t take issue with wealth, but rather, the motivation and the way wealth is prioritized. Usually, Jesus speaks to a broad audience, but here He speaks to His disciples, to encourage their right focus, with a little side commentary for the Pharisees that wealth itself is not the evil. We are to use the wealth we gather for the Good.

I think about how prioritizing wealth affects my family. We want to earn a good living to provide for our needs within the family and give our children opportunities that perhaps we didn’t experience. Wealth becomes a means to an end in providing a healthy and safe home for our children and an upbringing that has an ordered understanding of wealth so the focus is on Christ and eternal life, not earthly pleasure bought by misused wealth.

Ponder:

Think about your family, those close to your heart, our communities, and beyond. How are you storing up wealth for heaven?

Pray:

Lord, thank You for Your abundant generosity in the gifts You’ve given me. Shower me with the grace to see and appreciate these treasures on earth, and more importantly, to share in them with You in heaven.

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