(Twenty-fifth Sunday of the Year (C): This homily was given on September 20, 1998 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Luke 16: 1-13.)
"Who will have the most initiative: the worldly, the other worldly--or the ungodly?"
Here we have a very strange parable from Luke 16--a parable that's extremely difficult to interpret. And yet, I would say that this little story has a very important and timely message for all Americans of the late 20th century. It concerns a corrupt manager who was guilty of squandering his master's property. That means quite simply that he was an embezzler: his boss had given him authority to manage his estate, and he had deceitfully taken his boss "to the cleaners" in the process. (The thought occurred to me the other day: perhaps this guy was a first century ancestor of Joe Mollicone. You remember him, don't you? Those of you who lost money several years ago in the banking crisis here in our state will probably never forget the infamous Mr. Mollicone.)
Anyway, this manager finally gets caught with his hand in the till, and he's given the proverbial "boot." But before the boss dismisses him, he tells the embezzler to render an account of his stewardship. Now at this point, the corrupt manager knows two things for certain: he knows that his present job is history, and he knows that he'll soon be out on the street without any friends. (You see, in first century Palestine, managers like this were deeply hated, because they normally charged their master's debtors HUGE amounts of interest.) So the crafty manager makes a very prudent decision: he decides to dispense with his "commission" in order to make some new friends. He calls in his master's debtors, and tells them to pay only the amount that they owe the master. Well, to put it mildly, those debtors must have been ecstatic to hear this news! They probably said to the manager, "Wow, you're a great guy. Thanks so much! If you ever need a favor, if you ever need a job, just come and see us." At that, the manager probably responded (under his breath), "That's just what I was hoping you'd say. You'll all be hearing from me very soon."
At that point, the master commends the manager for being "enterprising." Not for being dishonest and embezzling his money. But rather for being "enterprising" and prudent. The manager had a worldly goal (settling affairs with his master and providing for his future), and he did what was necessary within the law to achieve it. Then Jesus offers this biting comment on the whole story: "the worldly take more initiative than the other worldly when it comes to dealing with their own kind." In other words, "People with worldly ambitions will do almost anything to achieve their goals: they'll make sacrifices, they'll plan, they'll study, they'll work extremely hard like this manager did. Wouldn't it be wonderful if people of faith had as much zeal for the things of God? Wouldn't it be wonderful if people of faith had as much concern about moral righteousness and about getting to heaven?!"
I really believe that Jesus told this parable in order to shame us and wake us up! And boy, do we need a wake-up call right now in the United States! Because in our culture at the present time it's not only the worldly who take more initiative than the other worldly--it's also the UNGODLY who outdo the other worldly in zeal and determination. And if you don't believe me, just listen to the lawyers, the liberal pundits and the spin doctors who are doing everything in their power to justify and excuse the immoral behavior of the president of the United States: "Well, Mr. King, he didn't actually have sex--technically speaking. Everybody who has an ounce of sense knows that." "No, Mr. Rather, he did not commit perjury in that deposition--perjury has a very narrow, precise meaning under the law and it's plain to see that this does not fit the definition." "Yes, Mr. Brokaw, he let this go on for several months and got all his friends to support him publicly, but that doesn't mean that he wanted them to say things that were false even though he knew they were untrue." Here we have supposedly rational, intelligent people summoning all of their gifts, all of their talents to legitimize adultery, lying, the violation of sacred oaths taken before Almighty God, and a host of other evils.
All of this is a clear indication that the United States of America is now at a crossroads. In a certain sense we are privileged to be alive at this moment of history, because the decisions we make now on matters like this one involving the president will determine to a great extent the future of this republic for decades to come (presuming that the American experiment will survive for that long). And so--to put it in the terms of today's gospel--the key question that we must (and will) answer as a nation is this one: As the new millennium approaches, who will have the most initiative: the worldly, the other worldly--or the ungodly? Currently, I must tell you in all honesty: the ungodly are MILES ahead. Without a doubt, they have the most zeal, the most fire, the most determination to achieve their goals. May those of us who want to be "other worldly" be willing to step forward and do our part to change that. Because the good news is: by the grace of God (and only by the grace of God!), things CAN be changed!