＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Romans 15: 14-21

 As for me, brothers and sisters, I am convinced that you have goodwill,

knowledge and the capacity to advise each other; never­the­less I have written boldly in some parts of this letter to remind you of what you already know. I do this according to the grace God has given to me   when I was sent to the pagan nations.

I dedicated myself to the service of the Good News of God as a minister of Christ Jesus, in order to present the non-Jews to God as an agreeable offering consecrated by the Holy Spirit.  This service of God is for me a cause of pride in Christ Jesus.

Of course, I would not dare to speak of other things but what Christ himself has done through me, my words and my works, with miracles and signs, by the power of the Holy Spirit—so that non-Jews may obey the faith. In this way I have extended the Good News to all parts, from Jerusalem to Illiricum.

 I have been very careful, however, and I am proud of this, not to preach in places where Christ is already known, and not to build upon foundations laid by others. Let it be as Scripture says: Those not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.

 

Ps  98 The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 16: 1-8

At another time Jesus told his disciples, “There was a rich man whose steward was reported to him because of fraudulent ser­vice.  He summoned the steward and asked him: ‘What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service for it is about to be terminated.’

The steward thought to himself: ‘What am I to do now? My master will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg.  I know what I will do: I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be people who will welcome me into their homes.’

 So he called his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first debtor much do you owe my master? The reply was: ‘A hun­dred jars of oil.’ The steward said: ‘Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write there fifty.’  

To the second debtor  he put the same question: ‘How much do you owe?’ The answer was: ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ Then steward said: ‘Take your bill and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the people of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the people of light.

 

Gospel Reflection：

“THE PEOPLE OF THIS WORLD ARE MORE ASTUTE, IN DEALING WITH THEIR OWN KIND, THAN ARE THE PEOPLE OF LIGHT.”

It must be second-nature in man to be clever. And man knows that this ability can come in handy and help a lot in difficult times. The master commended the steward in the gospel. This was not, for sure, an approval of the fraudulent nature of his dealings with others. He was praised for being clever.

He was practical and he used his head to make friends to give himself the assurance that when he finds himself in that situations or in dire need later, there are people he can turn to. Jesus used this illustration to bring home an important point.

If we have the ability to establish ties, friendships, and networks among our fellow human beings for the sake of security and other benefits, why don’t we do it to God? if we are after what our friendship with others can give, why don’t we also run after what our friendship with God can offer?

If we think that material benefits are good, we should also know that spiritual benefits are even better. I would like to presume that the Lord had this thought at the back of his mind: if we work hard to be friends with God, then we are truly clever.