Jesus tells a parable of a crafty steward and encourages the stewards of light to imitate his craftiness. You may read the story in Luke 16:1-8.
Now, each one of us is a steward of the Lord, to whom he assigns some duties in his house. Our diversified talents, offices and opportunities express these different duties. Through these gifts of grace, the Lord calls us to render fruitful services to the kingdom of light. The number of lives we touch measures the nobility of the service we offer the Lord. Jesus is our example for this service. In the gospel of Luke, he read the prophecy of Isaiah concerning his mission on earth: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor. He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set oppressed people free” (Lk. 4:18).
Accordingly, each gift we receive from the Lord is intended for the service of God and our neighbours, for the mission of touching and changing lives positively. This gift could be material wealth or immaterial endowments, like sharing our time with the lonely, encouraging those who are suffering, making little sacrifices to accommodate and tolerate the weaknesses of others, giving understanding when it is necessary, etc. Our immaterial gifts may appear insignificant but they have the power to save lives and restore hope.
I recall someday that a woman came to my office. No sooner than she took a seat than she started to speak. She talked about her life, her challenges, her pains, her frustrations. She talked and talked on end. As she spoke, tears flowed freely. At a point, I was tempted to stop her because it was taking too long but suddenly realised that what she needed was not what I would say to her or my prayers. She only needed my time, my attention, my listening ears, my patience. She needed someone to talk to. She needed to unburden her mind, which was near explosion, and nobody had given her this understanding or had the patience to listen to her very lengthy story. At the end of her story, she heaved a heavy sigh of relief, wiped her tears and thanked me profusely. Before I could say a word, she was already on her feet, beaming with joy and satisfaction. She left, light and happy.
Our Christianity remains hollow and void until we begin to touch lives, plant smiles on faces contoured by pain and suffering, and give the hopeless the reason to acknowledge that life is worth living. This is our stewardship in the service of the Lord. If we are to gain eternal life, then we require the craftiness of the dishonest servant in our stewardship. We must be zealous, committed, true and consistent. Above all, we must be wise enough to know that any suffering, pain or trouble we encounter in this mission is worth it. Surely, we cannot afford to spend our eternity outside the kingdom of light. Our concerns for eternal salvation should motivate us to become crafty in a positive sense. We are required, therefore, in spite of all challenges, never to refrain from going all the way in doing good and, like Jesus, touching lives, announcing the tiding of hope to the poor, releasing captives, binding the wounds of broken hearts and setting the oppressed free, each according to his or her gifts.
[Readings: Phil 3:17-4:1; Lk 16:1-8]
May his love be upon us as we keep placing our hope in him! Shalom!
