Homily For the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

What Jesus Admires In The Unjust Steward 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily For the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, September 21, 2025

Throughout the Gospel, Jesus rarely preached in a structured and doctrinal way. Instead of preaching in a systematic manner, he often uses parables—thought-provoking stories that challenge our assumptions and wake us from spiritual complacency. He employs parables to help us think in new ways. One of the most puzzling and mysterious parables of Jesus is today’s Gospel—the story of the unjust steward. The steward or manager is responsible for taking care of his master’s goods and money, but he has been caught embezzling and wasting his master’s wealth and resources. When confronted by his master, he is fired with the words, “…you can no longer be my steward.” At this point, the dishonest manager panics. Why? First, Palestine during Jesus’ time was a poor country. Second, in that society, there were no unemployment benefits, no insurance, and no welfare payments. When someone loses their job, especially an older man, they risk becoming homeless unless they have a wealthy family member to support them. So, this man finds himself in a tough situation. What will he do? If he lost his job, especially for wrongdoing in a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business, his chances of finding another job are slim. He assesses himself and says, ‘I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.” So he calls in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first, he asks, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The debtor replies, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ The steward says, ‘Here is the promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ To another, the steward asks, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ The debtor replies, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ The steward says to him, ‘Here is the promissory note. Write one for eighty.’ 

What is he doing? He’s calling the people he has been dealing with for years and cheating his master even more to gain their favor, so that when he finally loses his job, they will give him a softer landing. He is about to be fired for stealing, but he’s doubling down on his immorality to get ahead. At this point, Jesus shocks us all. He says the master praised the unjust steward for being clever. Praise him? This parable is in the middle of Luke’s Gospel, where Jesus repeatedly tells us not to cling to worldly possessions, to let go of our things, to find our treasure in heaven, and to live the radical life of the Gospel. And now, in this story, he seems to be saying, "I approve of this man who clings to wealth in an immoral way." What changed? Like all parables, this one is meant to shock us and teach us something about spiritual life. Jesus is not praising him for his dishonesty; He is praising him for his astuteness—that’s his cleverness. 

This parable is meant to teach us three important spiritual lessons. First, the unjust manager is in serious trouble, and he knows it. He perceives how dire his situation is. He does not play games; he doesn’t deny it or blame someone else. Speaking to himself, he says,  “What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?” I tell you, that’s a great virtue to cultivate. Apply it in your spiritual life. God is making demands of us to live eternal life with him. God is asking us to be perfect just as he is perfect. But what is the condition of my spiritual life? Am I ready? Am I spiritually fit? Am I the person that God wants me to be? In the spiritual life, most of us play games. We pretend there is no demand from God. We pretend everything is okay with us. We deny our weaknesses, and even when we acknowledge them, we delay taking action. Like this dishonest manager, we should be aware of our spiritual and moral condition. In this parable, Jesus is urging us to take a deep look at our spiritual life and determine honestly where we are. 

The second lesson. The dishonest manager makes a very honest assessment of himself. He has taken a good look at his condition, assesses it honestly, and discovers that he is about to be fired. He tells himself the truth: I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. He admits his own physical weakness. Some of us go through life without self-examination. That’s why the great ancient philosopher, Socrates, said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” We go through life creating many lies about ourselves. Even if we have temper or anger issues, we blame it on someone else. No matter what happens in our lives, instead of looking inward and asking ourselves the great question, “What is my role in what has happened?” we look for someone to blame: “It’s his fault;” “She is the reason why I am behaving this way.” When someone is fired from their job, rather than conducting a critical self-examination, they often blame everyone but themselves. What Jesus admires in the unjust steward is his honest self-assessment. He admits that things are not right in his life. In a spiritual crisis, we should say, “Lord, I know all is not right with me. I know my spiritual life is not where it should be. I am not praying as I should. I know my relationships are not where they need to be. I know I am not caring for the poor. I know I am not doing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. I know I am not participating in the sacraments. I need your help, Lord.”

The third lesson. After examining his situation and evaluating it, he realizes he is in trouble. What did he do? Blame someone else? No! Go on a shooting spree? No! He acts decisively. He moves, he decides, and takes actions that change his life. The quality that Jesus wants us to notice is the fact that he took action. Yes, he acted immorally, and Jesus is not telling us to be immoral. What he admires is his decisive action. He’s in crisis. He knows he is in crisis. He evaluates himself honestly and then chooses to act. What’s the spiritual lesson here? Occasionally, take a look at your spiritual life. Ignore self-praise. Avoid comparing yourself to others. But if you are tempted to do so, compare yourself with Jesus or the Saints. Make an honest assessment of the state of your spiritual life. If you are not where you are meant to be spiritually, act. Do not say, “Well, such is life, at least I am not as bad as my neighbor?” Take decisive action. If your prayer life is weak, start praying now. If you’ve been staying away from Mass and the sacraments, return to them. If your relationships are weak, work on strengthening them. If you are not charitable, begin practicing charity now. That’s what Jesus wants us to see today.

God bless you!