Be Honest

First Reading:  Amos 8:4-7

Listen to this, you who crush the needy and reduce the oppressed to nothing, you who say, 'When will New Moon be over so that we can sell our corn, and Sabbath, so that we can market our wheat? Then, we can make the bushel-measure smaller and the shekel-weight bigger, by fraudulently tampering with the scales.

We can buy up the weak for silver and the poor for a pair of sandals, and even get a price for the sweepings of the wheat.' Yahweh has sworn by the pride of Jacob, 'Never will I forget anything they have done.'

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

I urge then, first of all that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving should be offered for everyone, for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live peaceful and quiet lives with all devotion and propriety. To do this is right, and acceptable to God our Saviour:

he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and humanity, himself a human being, Christ Jesus,

who offered himself as a ransom for all. This was the witness given at the appointed time, of which I was appointed herald and apostle and -- I am telling the truth and no lie -- a teacher of the gentiles in faith and truth.  In every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument.

Gospel:  Luke 16:1-13

He also said to his disciples, 'There was a rich man and he had a steward who was denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, "What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer." Then the steward said to himself, "Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed.

Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes."  'Then he called his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said, "How much do you owe my master?"  "One hundred measures of oil," he said. The steward said, "Here, take your bond; sit down and quickly write fifty." To another he said, "And you, sir, how much do you owe?" "One hundred measures of wheat," he said. The steward said, "Here, take your bond and write eighty."

 'The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.' 'And so I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings. Anyone who is trustworthy in little things is trustworthy in great; anyone who is dishonest in little things is dishonest in great.

 If then you are not trustworthy with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you are not trustworthy with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own? 'No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.'

Reflection

By Theresa Ballo

Honestly speaking, the readings this Sunday are quite a challenge for me. First, there are words in it especially in the Gospel which I found ironic and hypocritical. Second, I think I have a unique view of money or wealth for that matter. Third, all I can think of while reflecting in the readings was indeed, relationships are far more important than money and accumulating wealth. So, if this is the case, my Sunday reflection ends here.

Days after days, I read the passage before I sleep and a voice in my head would just say, “That’s it? Nothing more meaningful to add?” then I would lay myself to sleep. In the middle of work or even after work I would read other people’s reflection about the Parable of the Unjust Steward, hoping it would trigger something in me which I can own as my reflection in the Gospel.

The context of the Unjust Steward is told as a series or continuation of the parables in the previous Sundays. It is a response to the pharisees and scribes complaining that Jesus is eating with the sinners. Understanding that this parable is meant to be heard by the “righteous” of God’s laws in Jesus’ time is very important in order to understand Jesus’ meaning behind this parable.

In verse 8, Jesus says, "For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light." He isn't commending the dishonesty to us rather he’s pointing out the cleverness of the manager. The manager knows he's getting fired and, of course, he won't be taking any of his master's wealth with him. So what does he do? He uses that money in the short time he has left to win friends who will help him after he is fired. Learning from the manager’s cleverness, not to imitate his actions but to learn from it nonetheless, I realized that the only way I can get lasting value out of our worldly wealth is to give it away. That spending money on other people is actually the best investment I can possibly make with it.

More so, it reminded me of the value of honesty and of trust. See, something in me has already been triggered. I have strong trust issues, whenever dishonesty sets in my relationships, immediately I would have a crisis. I always believe that if you cannot be honest in small matters, more so, you cannot be honest in big and critical ones.

To be honest with ourselves, to others, and to God should be our way of life. To be honest is to be true to oneself, of one’s giftedness and also of one’s limitations. To be honest is accepting who you are and who you are not. It is a choice to make. There is always freedom to choose and decide. Consent is given to own and not regret in the future because we chose what we think and feel best for others and in obedience to God.

A related saying from Jim Elliot’s quote to this parable of the dishonest manager is, "Wise is the one who gives to others that which he can never keep, in order to gain that which he can never lose."

Prayer

Almighty and loving Father, help us to be honest and true to ourselves, to others and to You.  When tempted and tested, may we choose to be faithful to You most especially when it feels hard. May we become responsible stewards of what You have entrusted in us. We surrender to You our nation, our families and communities especially in times where we are asked to be honest and sincere. This we ask through Christ our Lord, and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.