Gospel (Lk 16,1-8) - At that time, Jesus said to the disciples: «A rich man had a manager, and he was accused before him of squandering his possessions. He called him and said: «What do I hear about you? Give an account of your administration, because you will no longer be able to administer." The administrator said to himself: "What will I do now that my master takes away the administration from me? Hoeing, I don't have the strength; beg, I'm ashamed. I know what I will do so that, when I am removed from the administration, there is someone who will welcome me into his home." »He called his master's debtors one by one and said to the first: "How much do you owe my master?". He replied: "One hundred barrels of oil." He said to him, “Take your receipt, sit down immediately and write down fifty.” Then he said to another: "How much do you owe?". He replied: "One hundred measures of wheat." He said to him, “Take your receipt and write eighty.” »The master praised that dishonest administrator, because he had acted shrewdly. Indeed, the children of this world are more cunning towards their peers than the children of light."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Parables are one of the usual ways in which Jesus communicates his teaching. He, a good and attentive teacher, wanted his disciples to understand his words not as abstract teachings, but as words for their own concrete life. For this reason he prefers the language of the parable, full of symbolism and concreteness. This time too it is inspired by a real situation: an administrator, accused of mismanagement, is called by his boss to bring him the accounts before being sent away. Jesus, at this point, describes the ability of this administrator in securing his future. In fact, he calls the master's debtors one by one and significantly reduces the amount of debt for each one. Obviously all the debtors will be grateful to him once he is separated from his master. At the end of the story, Jesus praises the unfaithful administrator and concludes: "The children of this world... are more cunning than the children of light". Obviously, Jesus does not want to exhort his listeners to defraud the master as that administrator did. The intent of the parable is to underline the ability and foresight of the administrator regarding the future that awaits him. Jesus asks his disciples to work in every way, we could say with the same cunning as that administrator, to gain the kingdom of God. The Gospel passage also exhorts us to the creativity of love, not to resign ourselves in the face of difficulty, much less to settle into our laziness. It is in this context that we can understand even more Jesus' exhortation to his disciples: "Therefore be prudent as serpents and simple as doves" (Mt 10:16). We must be aware that a hard work awaits us to grow love and peace among all.