Children of Light – Luke 16:1-8 Reflection
Jesus’s parable about the dishonest manager helps us understand wise corrective actions. We each have our measure of sins of the past and sins we have now. As stewards of God, we can put ourselves on the line if we are now making better decisions about God’s plan for us and the future. You may wonder how it is possible that corrective actions regarding sin and stewardship can coexist. I am in my seventh year of putting daily Lectio Divina reflections on the Web. To do so requires a measurable portion of my day in prayer and writing. You may think all that effort would prevent sin, yet I am imperfect and slip into sin. However, God already knows our weaknesses and our intent to change so we are forgiven with open arms. I have no doubt He is thrilled when we keep trying. We cannot give up because change via wise decisions about our human and divine future becomes part of our deliberate plans. Society does not always recognize the desire and actual change like God. Everyone has something that can get dredged up in the past that society points out to prevent success. I believe God thinks no less of anyone despite their past, which should compel us to express gratitude. In God’s eyes, we can continue avoiding sinning, learn to forgive more, and become children of light.
Jesus Discourses with His Disciples by James Tissot (full-resolution painting)
More details are available on the Brooklyn Museum website.
Additional Ordinary Time Reflections
Luke 16:1-8 – Scripture*
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7 Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.
Additional Thoughts
Thank you for meditating on this Gospel and reading this Lectio Divina on Luke 16:1-8 Reflection – Children of Light.
Would you like to contribute related thoughts to these Lectio reflections on the Gospel readings? Since Lectio is not the only contemplative payer style, others might appreciate these types of expressions in this ministry. Do you see God’s grandeur everywhere and unconditionally enjoy sharing the love of Christ that you have inside? Are you willing to be anonymous in what you would share? If so, email me.
Prayer for young families:
Lord, let the young families of our communities get to know your joy, peace, comfort, and love despite worldly distractions.
Attributions
*This site has permission to use the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) Bible Luke 16 Bible passage.
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