BEADS OF JOY 11-04-16
“The Shrewd Steward”
©2016 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s Gospel: Luke 16:1-8 (The Shrewd Steward)
“He also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a steward, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. And he called him and said to him, `What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' And the steward said to himself, `What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that people may receive me into their houses when I am put out of the stewardship.' So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, `How much do you owe my master?' He said, `A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, `Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' Then he said to another, `And how much do you owe?' He said, `A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, `Take your bill, and write eighty.' The master commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness; for the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light."
Reflection:
One thing God loves to see us do, is give generously. After all He gives to us generously without ever holding back. Any distraction that keeps us from truly taking care of one another a hindrance. True wealth has nothing to do with possessions or money or what we hold close to ourselves; rather true wealth is what we give away to others. Whether it be possessions or money or food, friendship, compassion or love. It’s what we give that matters, not what we hoard and keep. Every single thing we possess and keep, including ourselves is God’s. So, with that in mind, we have no right to hoard and possess and keep our excess from helping others. But “C’est la vie”, when I was growing up my Italian father would say that a lot, not even sure if I spelt it right, we are from Salerno, Italy. He said it meant “To each is his own.”
In today’s gospel this shrewd steward was making use of the landowner’s money and generosity to save his own butt. Being dishonest and clever and shrewd isn’t a good wise thing for anyone. While this steward seen himself as smart with money, in all reality, he was simply subtracting that which he overcharged to gain favor to make himself look good. That was pure deceit. How do we translate this for our own spiritual journey? We need to make good use of everything we possess, without using deceit and lying along the way. Be honest with God in who we really are in public and in private.
Do you/we make the best use of all our possessions and our money? This is always such a tough topic to read about and yes, to write about. If we live a life that causes us to embrace our possessions and wealth to the point of forgetting others; then honestly we need help. I can’t help but think of The Parable of The Foolish Rich Man. He was so focused on expanding his wealth, his barns, his selfishness, that his eyes only focused on himself. But he was such a fool, for that very night his life would be taken from him. He was so caught up in the things that didn’t matter that he completely lost sight of what really mattered and so his life ended thinking only about himself, how sad. How many lives could he have blessed? How many individuals and families could he have fed? How many could he have provided shelter for? His legacy was no legacy, except for a selfish unraveling of wasted time for wasted gain. Let us not do that, let us learn from God’s Word that we must be generous and loving and compassionate to all. Always ask for the Holy Spirit to guide you. And when in doubt never hold out; give something to help others especially when you know you can. Praying that all this makes sense. Talk to y’all tomorrow.
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
**(NEW DAILY FEATURE)
Today is Friday: We pray the Sorrowful Mysteries:
The Sorrowful Mysteries
1. Agony on the Garden (Sorrow for sin) –Matt 26:36-46
2. Scourging at the Pillar (Purity) –Mark 15:1-16
3. Crowning with Thorns (Moral Courage) –Matt 27:27-31
4. Carrying of the Cross (Patience) –Mark 15:20-22
5. The Crucifixion (Perseverance) –Luke 23:33-46
Thank you Lord for loving us so much…
Rosary Man Jim’s Sorrowful Reflection: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-sorrowful-mysteries_11.html
FRIDAY’S
I share this meditation I wrote back in 2010. Here I share my own personal insight and experience, as I journey with our Lady from station to station.
Many Franciscan groups around the world use this for their own group gathering while they meditate the Stations with our Lady. http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2010/03/marys-way-of-cross.html It is unique and emotionally very moving as you move from station to station… From my heart to yours.
