Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus praises a steward who cheats his master. Now, what do we make of this? It seems so peculiar especially in Luke’s Gospel, where Jesus has been teaching the radical message of detachment from worldly goods. But here he is giving his approval to a man who clings to wealth in an immoral way. Well, what gives?
Jesus wants us to see that this steward takes a hard look at his situation and decides to do something about it. Now, the Lord is not telling us to imitate his immorality. But what Jesus admires is his resolve. He knows his own weaknesses, he assesses himself honestly, and then he decides to act.
The Lord told the parable to urge us to carefully examine our spiritual condition. His desire is that we choose to renew our relationship with him. He wants us to take stock of our weaknesses and make a firm resolution to acquire necessary strengths to fix them.
If your prayer life is weak, act to give it new life. If you have not been worshiping fervently at Mass, decide to participate more fully. If you have a broken relationship, repair it. And so on. Decide now, then act.