Inventive Discipleship!

Friday, November 7, 2025

Rom 15:14-21; Lk 16:1-8

Today’s Gospel invites us to get inventive about our discipleship. 

The Parable of the Dishonest Servant is one of the difficult passages to understand because it gives the impression that Jesus admires dishonesty and turns the dishonest servant into an example for his disciples. But it is a wrong conclusion. 

Jesus does not approve of the servant’s dishonesty, and the proof is that Jesus maintains till the end that he was a dishonest servant who squandered his master’s property. Further, Jesus shows that the master does not tolerate the dishonest servant’s behaviour so that he lets him know he will be fired. 

For Jesus, the identity of the servant is dishonest, as can be seen in the words, ‘I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.’ The dishonest servant’s self-talk is quite revelatory in this regard, showing that a dishonest person like him can only earn their livelihood through crooked means. 

Hence, the text makes it clear that Jesus neither appreciates the servant’s dishonesty nor endorses his character as a model for his disciples. 

Hence, we need to pay attention to the text if we want to appreciate the insights that Jesus praises in the dishonest servant. Jesus invites his disciples to employ these insights to enhance their response.

His Wisdom: Jesus praises the dishonest servant’s wisdom because he sees money as something to be used and not a treasure to be hoarded. In other words, he is not used up by money but puts it to creative use. This is why he is able to part with his ill-gotten wealth to secure his future, making new friendships. For a person who wants to hoard money, such an action is impossible. 

His Resourcefulness: Jesus appreciates his cleverness, especially because he gets very resourceful with his ill-gotten wealth. To be more precise, he knows how to get things done with money. The dishonest servant was shrewd enough to use his master’s wealth to build his past. Likewise, he proves clever enough to imagine his future, again making use of his master’s wealth to gain new friendships.

His Vision: Jesus appreciates his vision of the future and wants his disciples to inherit this helpful insight from him. Just as the dishonest servant makes use of something temporary to secure something lasting, Jesus wishes that his disciples employ their wealth to secure their future in heaven. Jesus appreciates the fact that the servant, though dishonest, refuses to dwell in his past but immediately plans for his future. 

Jesus recommends that his disciples use these insights to come up with a better response.

We have found wisdom if we know that the heavenly currency is not gold or silver but love and mercy.

Let us pray that we may be smart, prudent, and adaptive as disciples of Christ. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar