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Sunday of the Unjust Steward
"0 Lord, You who have created with power the heavenly world of angels, and established the princes of the fiery spirits as stewards there; we bless Your inconceivable power. You who have created in a lordly manner the second world and placed the first man as a steward in the Garden of Eden; You who have built Your Church highest of all in mystery and have ordained in it the preacher of the word of truth as steward; we bless Your inconceivable power!" (Sharagan for the Fourth Sunday.)
The Sunday of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-31), with its parable of a dishonest accountant whose master has discovered his treachery, tells how the accountant makes his master's debtors grateful to him by reducing their bills, so that they will help him later. The master praises him for looking out for himself. It is a strange story, at first glance, but it reminds us that we are all stewards of God's world. If the dishonest "children of this world" can use what it offers for their own gain, then certainly the "children of light" who put God first can learn to use the things of this world not for themselves but for His glory.
That is the kind of cleverness that is praised here, for everything can be used in good ways, if only we take care to learn how. There is one condition: either we will use this world solely for earthly gain, or we will use it for God. We cannot have it both ways.
The other readings (Isaiah 56:1-57:21, Ephesians.4:17-5:14) remind us of the future in which we will all have to give account of our stewardship
Sundays during Lent
The Sundays of Lent are guideposts in our journey to Easter. They take us through the history of God's relationship with us, from creation to today. Each Sunday has a theme and a sharagan, or hymn, explaining the theology of the theme. The Bible readings for each Sunday tell us what we should be doing at each stage of our Lenten life.
Sunday 4 |