A simple yet profound homily on Luke 16:1-13, showing how Jesus uses the story of an unfaithful steward to teach us about foresight and eternal life. (21-9-25)
Praise be to Jesus Christ
One evening, a man was walking home after work. On the roadside, he saw a group of children playing. They were building small houses with clay. Some made little doors, some placed pebbles for windows, and some even decorated the roof with leaves. The children were excited, taking their work as if they were building a real village.
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered and rain began to fall. The clay houses started melting away. Most of the children only laughed and prepared to build again. But one boy quickly ran into his house, brought an umbrella, and placed it over the little clay house he had made. He wanted to protect it from the rain so that it would not be destroyed.
The man who watched this whispered in his heart, “There is shrewdness in that boy. While the others wasted their work, he thought ahead and found a way to save what he built, that is shrewdness. How much better our lives would be if we also learned to look ahead, not only for small things like clay houses, but for the life that lasts forever.”
This little picture can help us to enter today’s Gospel. Jesus tells us about a steward who was accused of wasting his master’s goods. He was not faithful. He was dishonest. However, as he came to know that he would lose his job, he used his mind and acted quickly to secure his future. Jesus did not praise his dishonesty, but He praised his foresight. He was urgent and clever about tomorrow. And here lies the lesson. If a man of the world can be so active and wise to prepare for his earthly future, how much more should the children of God prepare for eternal life.
In our families too, this message speaks loudly. How much energy do we spend on saving money, buying land, or building houses. Yet, often we forget to build what lasts: love, prayer, forgiveness, and faith. Brothers and sisters quarrel over property. Parents are abandoned for the sake of wealth. Jesus reminds us: money can serve us, but it must not rule us. If we spend so much thought on earthly security, should we not spend more thought on eternal security.
Saint Ignatius once gave a very simple advice. He said, “Before you make any decision, imagine yourself at the hour of your death. Then ask, what choice will make me happy before God on this day.” This is what Jesus is teaching. The steward thought of the coming day when he would be jobless. Jesus asks us to think of the day when we will stand before God.
Even small acts matter. Jesus says, “Whoever is faithful in very little is faithful also in much.” The steward failed here, but we are invited to succeed. A small prayer with the family, a simple act of kindness to a stranger, patience in the face of insult, honesty even when it costs something—these are the little seeds that prepare us for heaven.
Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus lived this wisdom. She never preached in great halls or performed mighty works. She washed dishes, prayed simple prayers, and loved her sisters in the convent. But she offered everything with foresight, knowing that love is eternal. She shows us how even the smallest choices can be our preparation for heaven.
My dear brothers and sisters, the Gospel is asking us a serious question: are we as wise and as urgent about eternity as worldly people are about their short future on earth. The steward was clever, but only for a tomorrow that would soon pass. We are invited to be clever for forever. Let us learn from his urgency, not his dishonesty. Let us be wise, let us prepare, and let us use our time, our money, and our talents for the kingdom of God—for the treasures that no rain of time can ever wash away.
Lord, teach me to prepare wisely for eternity, and to use today in the light of forever.
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God Bless…
What a beautiful reflection. Your words awaken our souls . Thanks so much.
Plenty of food for thought in these Homilies. Thank you so much.
Amazing 😍