Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 16:1–13 (10-13)
Serving God, Not Wealth

Today’s Gospel presents us with one of the most difficult parables of Jesus—the story of the dishonest steward. At first glance, it seems strange: why would the Lord praise a man who cheated his master? But Jesus is not praising dishonesty. He is pointing us to the urgency of choosing wisely, of using the goods of this world to build love and friendship, and of remembering always that we are stewards, not owners.

In the time of Jesus, large estates were often managed by stewards who worked on behalf of wealthy landowners. These men often looked for their own advantage, using the land and the peasants for profit. In the parable, when the steward learns that he is about to lose his position, he acts quickly. He reduces the debts of his master’s tenants, not out of generosity, but to secure a future for himself. The master, surprisingly, praises him—not for his dishonesty, but for his cleverness and foresight.

And here is the point Jesus makes to His disciples: if even a dishonest steward knows how to prepare for the future, how much more should the children of God live with wisdom and foresight! The steward thought about tomorrow. Jesus is asking us: And you, do you think about tomorrow? About eternal life? Or do you live only for today, as if everything depended on what you own?

This is where the Gospel speaks powerfully to us. Everything we have is God’s gift—our talents, our time, our resources. We are stewards, not owners. As the Psalm says: “The earth is the Lord’s and all it holds” (Ps 24:1). When we forget this truth, when we live as if possessions were ours to hoard, we become enslaved by wealth. We begin to serve “mammon”—money, power, possessions—rather than God. And as Jesus says clearly: “You cannot serve both God and mammon.”

The question, then, is not whether wealth is good or bad. Jesus never condemns creation or the goods of this world. What matters is how we use them. If wealth becomes an idol, it destroys us. If it becomes a tool for love—if it feeds the hungry, helps the poor, builds community—then it serves the Kingdom of God.

Here lies the invitation of today’s parable: make friends with the goods of this world. Share what you have. Use it to build bonds of love. What you give away in love is never lost—it becomes “true wealth,” the treasure that lasts into eternal life. As St. Ambrose said: “We must not consider as wealth what we cannot take with us.”

Brothers and sisters, let us ask for the grace to be wise stewards. Let us not be deceived by the false promises of money. It cannot give us joy, it cannot give us peace, it cannot save us. Only God can. May we learn to serve Him alone, and to use all that He entrusts to us in service of love, so that one day we may be welcomed into His eternal home.