18 September 2022
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
What is dishonest wealth? Jesus tells us that it is wealth that belongs to another; in other words it is wealth to which we have access, but not true ownership. Hence the steward in our Gospel, who gets in trouble because he has been spending and using wealth that was not his own, as if it was his own. When suddenly he is going to lose that access and be left with nothing, he wins the favor of his master’s debtors in order to secure his future: he will have people that will take care of him in gratitude for what he did to free them from some of their debt. He is commended for his prudence, and Our Lord says, “…make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
So what dishonest wealth do we have, and how do we use it to make friends that will secure a home in Heaven?
Take one moment to consider all that you have, and what, among all that wealth, you keep when you die. Whatever you cannot bring with you does not belong to you but is merely, at this moment, in your stewardship. For whom are you a steward? God, to whom Heaven and Earth and all within both belong. Therefore we must consider how best to use what we have been given, be they goods material or spiritual, such that we please and honor our Master, and receive true wealth—wealth that will truly belong to us—as a reward. But if our possessions become our master, if we use what we have simply for the sake of having more, then we stand to inherit nothing at all. Remember it was the rich young man that went away sad (Matthew 19:22) because he could not give up what was not even truly his, whereas Zaccheus found a new joy in giving away half of all he owned, promising to pay back four times the amount for anyone he had extorted. The rich young man kept his possessions, choosing them instead of “…treasure in heaven…” (Matthew 19:21). When Zacchaeus was willing to “…make friends…with dishonest wealth…” what did he receive?
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house…” (Luke 19:9).