Luke 16:19–31 (26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 25, 2016)

Gospel:

Jesus said to the Pharisees:

“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. 

When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’ 

Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’ He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Gospel Trivia:

This parable is found only in the gospel of Luke, consistent with his pro-poor stance and critical posture against the rich.

Note the following:

- First, this is the only parable where Jesus puts the name of a character in the parable: Lazarus.  Do we know the name of the prodigal son? Or the Good Samaritan? Or of the dishonest steward? Or of the persistent neighbor? This must mean that this parable is very important for Jesus, and for Luke the gospel writer. It also suggests that the rich man knew Lazarus personally. He did mention Lazarus’ name in his plea after his death: "Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip his finger in water so as to cool off my tongue."   But the rich man ignored him anyway. 

- Second, observe the phrase “he dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day.” Each day. Every day, wearing fine clothes and dining sumptuously. EVERY DAY. ARAW-ARAW.  We all treat ourselves to fine dining once in a while. But this rich man could afford to do so every day. 

- Third, the parable tells that “Lazarus, would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table,” which means that he did not get anything, not even the scraps. This rich man who dined sumptuously everyday did not even give table scraps to Lazarus.

Just as the rich man was condemned for not even giving table scrap to Lazarus, then conversely, had he given even scraps, then he could have been saved. 

It does not take much, it only takes scraps for us to show concern.

Reference: Nil Guillemette, SJ.  Parables for Today, pp. 265-274.

Luke 16:1-13 (25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 18, 2016)

Gospel:

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ Then to another the steward said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ The steward said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. 

“For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.” 

Gospel Trivia:

This is the most difficult parable to interpret in the New Testament; it is sometimes referred to as the embarrassment of preachers.  How can the master praise the steward after he caught him squandering his property, and then catching him again adjusting the accounts without the master's authorization?

It is important therefore to understand the culture at that time to appreciate the parable.  Let’s consider the following:

-  first, the position of steward is a trusted position.  He becomes the manager of the master’s estate, which can be very large, so there must have been a long period of friendship and trust that precedes any appointment of a steward.

-  this long relationship probably explains why, firstly, the steward did not anymore bother to deny or appeal the decision of the master to dismiss him (which is unlikely in the culture); and secondly, why the master did not sue him which could have likely landed him in jail.  The relationship was still worth something, and the steward therefore felt that his master was generous to him to the very end, despite of his fault.

-  secondly, it would be helpful if we knew exactly what is the scheme that the steward try to pull off in order to be ingratiated to the tenants later on?  Did he overprice the rental initially and simply brought it back to the original amount?  This is unlikely since the rent was generally known to everyone and it would be easy to discover if one has been overcharged, and tenants could even go straight to the master to appeal the rates.  It seems that the what the steward planned to do was to simply reduce the amount of rent that he would turn over to the master.  This he can do by citing many reasons such as bad weather, crop disease, drought, and others.  

-   Thus, the steward already reduced the anticipated rental payment, and therefore perceived as an act of generosity by the steward; and, obviously, of the master as well.  

-  This act of the steward therefore served two purposes: it ingratiated him to the tenants (which he would now need that he is fired), and it also projected the master as generous and understanding.

The master compliments the steward not only for being sly and scheming, but also in recognizing his generosity and projecting such generosity to the tenants.

This interpretation make sense when we notice that while this parable was being told to the disciples, it also says that the Pharisees were part of the audience and could hear what he was saying.

The Pharisees firmly believed that obeying the law was the way to righteousness.  They looked at God as a judge who kept a record of wrongs.  Jesus had another message: God is Father!  A father is not legalistic, but merciful and generous, to the extent of complimenting a sinner who recognizes such characteristics of our Father.  

When we look at God as an accountant who keeps a record of our rights and wrongs, then we overlook his mercy and generosity.  God is not fair.  God is love.

Reference:

Nil Guillemette, SJ, Parables for Today (Makati: St. Paul Publications, 1987), pp. 252-257.

Luke 15:1-32 -The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Lost Sons (Prodigal) - (Sept. 11, 2016)

Gospel:

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them he addressed this parable. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance. 

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” 

Then he said,

“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns, who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’” 


Gospel Trivia:

There are three parables in today's gospel: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost sons. The latter is the more appropriate description, rather than the more popular "prodigal son", referring to a reckless spender.

In each parable, Jesus emphasizes that the joy of recovering what is lost is stronger than owning what you have.

This is particular shown on the third parable:

- The criticism of the Pharisees was that Jesus “eats” with sinners. Eating with someone is a serious expression of one’s fellowship with that person, and violates the rabbinical rule of not associating with the wicked.

- Note that the younger son, upon running out of money, decides to finally return to his father. But did you notice that he had a spiel ready which goes: “Father I have sinned against heaven and against you, I no longer deserve to be called your son, treat me as you would treat one of your hired servants.” 

While this could mean a sign of humility, in the Jewish context, it also meant that this was a face saving plan of the son -- being a hired servant, he could earn a decent living, remain independent and be able to secure a future without asking favors of anybody. (By doing so, the son's approach was totally legalistic, and the Pharisees knew that Jesus was trying to hint at their legalistic approach to salvation).

Note that when the son was ready with his spiel, the Father butts in and does not allow him to say the latter part of his sentence which asks that he be treated as a hired servant. For the father, the son’s intention to return, regardless of his motivations, was sufficient. 

Nothing else matters, he who was lost has been found.  Such joy!

Reference:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Parables for Today (Makati: St. Paul Publications, 1987), pp. 230-251.