17 November 2026 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malankara Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.” Luke 16:10
Paul calls the apostles “servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries,” and says: “it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.” Everything we have, money, time, faith, is entrusted to us; we are managers, not owners.
Jesus' parable of the dishonest manager is surprising: the master praises his shrewdness, not his dishonesty. If worldly people are clever with money for their own future, Christians should be wise in using wealth for eternity, “make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth”, through generosity to the poor. And the conclusion is clear: “You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Theme: “Trustworthy stewards.”
Paul's stewards of the mysteries and Jesus' shrewd manager teach the right use of what is entrusted to us.
“Honor the LORD with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce.” Proverbs 3:9
“And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” Luke 16:9
Apply: Set aside a fixed part of your income for the poor.
“You shall have only a full and honest weight; you shall have only a full and honest measure.” Deuteronomy 25:15
“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.” Luke 16:10
Apply: Correct one small dishonesty today.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.” Deuteronomy 6:4
“No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Luke 16:13
Apply: Fast from one unnecessary purchase this week.
We are stewards of God's gifts and mysteries.
Let us be found trustworthy.
Take-home resolution: Review your spending this week in the light of the Gospel.
Dear friends, Paul calls the apostles servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries, and says that it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy (1 Corinthians 4:1–2). Everything we have, money, time and faith, is entrusted to us; we are managers, not owners.
In the parable of the dishonest manager Jesus says: whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. You cannot serve God and wealth (Luke 16:10–13). Money is a good servant but a bad master.
Today the Church also remembers St Elizabeth of Hungary, a princess who saw her wealth as belonging to the poor. Let us set aside a share of our income for God and the poor, and honour the Lord with what we have. Amen.
Children, everything we have is a gift from God. Today set aside a little of your pocket money for the poor!
Lord, all I have is yours. Make me a trustworthy steward, faithful in little things, generous with the poor, and free to serve you alone. Amen.
One word links today's readings: steward. Paul calls the apostles “stewards of God’s mysteries” who must be found trustworthy. Jesus tells of a steward who was dishonest but shrewd, and draws the lesson: be faithful in little things and you will be trusted with true riches. In the season of the Church's dedication, every Christian is reminded that what he holds belongs to Another.
Setting.
The Corinthians had formed parties around their favourite preachers: “I belong to Paul”, “I belong to Apollos” (1:12). They compared and judged their teachers. Paul answers that preachers are only servants, and that the only judge who matters is the Lord.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.” (4:2)
Not brilliant, not popular, but trustworthy. The steward's virtue is faithfulness to the master.
“Then each one will receive commendation from God.” (4:5)
Paul ends with hope, not fear. The Lord's judgment will bring to light the hidden good as well as the hidden evil.
How the Church reads it.
The Second Vatican Council and the Catechism describe ordained ministers as servants of Christ who act in his person, not by their own power (CCC 875–876). The Fathers often applied this verse to bishops and priests as dispensers of the sacraments. Every baptised person is also a steward of the gifts of grace (1 Peter 4:10).
Setting.
Luke 16 is about the right use of wealth, and follows the parables of mercy in chapter 15. The parable of the dishonest steward is one of the hardest in the Gospels. A manager, about to be dismissed for wasting his master's goods, quickly reduces the debts of his master's debtors so that they will welcome him later. The master praises him, not for his dishonesty, but for acting shrewdly.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” (16:8)
“Children of light” was a name some Jewish groups of the time used for the faithful, as the Dead Sea Scrolls show. Jesus' sad observation: worldly people often plan more carefully for this life than believers do for eternal life.
“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.” (16:10)
Character is formed in small things: a little honesty, a little punctuality, a small promise kept.
“You cannot serve God and wealth.” (16:13)
The verb is “serve as a slave”. One can use money; one cannot belong to it.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism teaches that disordered love of money is a form of idolatry, quoting the Lord: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (CCC 2113). Many Fathers explained the “friends” of v. 9 as the poor, who will welcome the generous into the eternal homes; so St Augustine and St Ambrose (in substance). Wealth becomes holy when it is shared.
Does Jesus praise dishonesty?
No. The master (and Jesus) praise the steward's quick, decisive prudence, not his fraud. Jesus calls him “dishonest” (v. 8). The lesson is: use present goods wisely and generously for the sake of eternal life.