The Word Am I

The Gospel According to St. Luke

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- Chapter 16 -

1
And he also said to his disciples: “A certain man was wealthy, and he had a steward of his estate. And this man was accused to him of having dissipated his goods.
2
And he called him and said to him: ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship. For you can no longer be my steward.’
3
And the steward said within himself: ‘What shall I do? For my lord is taking the stewardship away from me. I am not strong enough to dig. I am too ashamed to beg.
4
I know what I will do so that, when I have been removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
5
And so, calling together each one of his lord’s debtors, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my lord?’
6
So he said, ‘One hundred jars of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your invoice, and quickly, sit down and write fifty.’
7
Next, he said to another, ‘In truth, how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your record books, and write eighty.’
8
And the lord praised the iniquitous steward, in that he had acted prudently. For the sons of this age are more prudent with their generation than are the sons of light.
9
And so I say to you, make friends for yourself using iniquitous mammon, so that, when you will have passed away, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.(a) (b)
10
Whoever is faithful in what is least, is also faithful in what is greater. And whoever is unjust in what is small, is also unjust in what is greater.
11
So then, if you have not been faithful with iniquitous mammon, who will trust you with what is true?
12
And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?
13
No servant is able to serve two lords. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

The Law and the Prophets

14
But the Pharisees, who were greedy, were listening to all these things. And they ridiculed him.
15
And he said to them: “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of men. But God knows your hearts. For what is lifted up by men is an abomination in the sight of God.
16
The law and the prophets were until John. Since then, the kingdom of God is being evangelized, and everyone acts with violence toward it.
17
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one dot of the law to fall away.
18
Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. And whoever marries her who has been divorced by her husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

(John 5:39–47)
19
A certain man was wealthy, and he was clothed in purple and in fine linen. And he feasted splendidly every day.
20
And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, covered with sores,
21
wanting to be filled with the crumbs which were falling from the wealthy man’s table. But no one gave it to him. And even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22
Then it happened that the beggar died, and he was carried by the Angels into the bosom of Abraham. Now the wealthy man also died, and he was entombed in Hell.(c)
23
Then lifting up his eyes, while he was in torments, he saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24
And crying out, he said: ‘Father Abraham, take pity on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to refresh my tongue. For I am tortured in this fire.’
25
And Abraham said to him: ‘Son, recall that you received good things in your life, and in comparison, Lazarus received bad things. But now he is consoled, and truly you are tormented.
26
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been established, so that those who might want to cross from here to you are not able, nor can someone cross from there to here.’
27
And he said: ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers,
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so that he may testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torments.’
29
And Abraham said to him: ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’
30
So he said: ‘No, father Abraham. But if someone were to go to them from the dead, they would repent.’
31
But he said to him: ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe even if someone has resurrected from the dead.’ ”

Footnotes

(a)16:9 Mammon of iniquity:Mammon signifies riches. They are here called the mammon of iniquity, because oftentimes ill gotten, ill bestowed, or an occasion of evil; and at the best are but worldly, and false; and not the true riches of a Christian.(Challoner)
(b)16:9 They may receive:By this we see, that the poor servants of God, whom we have relieved by our alms, may hereafter, by their intercession, bring our souls to heaven.(Challoner)
(c)16:22 Abraham’s bosom:The place of rest, where the souls of the saints resided, till Christ had opened heaven by his death.(Challoner)
1
He also said to his disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager. An accusation was made to him that this man was wasting his possessions.
2
He called him, and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’
3
“The manager said within himself, ‘What will I do, seeing that my lord is taking away the management position from me? I don’t have strength to dig. I am ashamed to beg.
4
I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from management, they may receive me into their houses.’
5
Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my lord?’
6
He said, ‘A hundred batos (a) of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
7
Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred cors (b) of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
8
“His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light.
9
I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents.
10
He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
11
If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12
If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
13
No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to one and despise the other. You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon.” (c)

The Law and the Prophets

14
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him.
15
He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
16
“The law and the prophets were until John. From that time the Good News of God’s Kingdom is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
17
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a pen in the law to fall.
18
“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. He who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

(John 5:39–47)
19
“Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day.
20
A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores,
21
and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22
The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23
In Hades, (d) he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
24
He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’
25
“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted and you are in anguish.
26
Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may cross over from there to us.’
27
“He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house—
28
for I have five brothers—that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’
29
“But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’
30
“He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31
“He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’”

Footnotes

(a)16:6 100 batos is about 395 liters or 104 U. S. gallons.
(b)16:7 100 cors = about 2,110 liters or 600 bushels.
(c)16:13 “Mammon” refers to riches or a false god of wealth.
(d)16:23 or, Hell
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