The parable of the Unjust Steward has caused many a head scratch. It seems on the face of it that Jesus is praising a crook. It helps to have some background. In Jesus’ time it was common for owners to be absentee landlords. They would hire a steward to manage their property and then go about their business. In this arrangement the owner has all the power. When the steward finds he is about to be fired he find a way to soften the blow. As the steward he has the authority to make contracts and he would, in theory, be in touch with the facts on the ground — that a blight had impacted the olives, that locusts had eaten the wheat. For him to re-negotiate the deal with the debtors, thus, makes the owner look good — that he is hard-nosed about contract but sensitive to what his tenants are enduring. You can imagine the debtors singing his praises. Since the owner liked being thought of as a hero he realized that the steward had boxed him into a corner. He was shrewd (I like that translation better than “prudent”) in counting on the owner’s desire for a good reputation. The lesson: we too can count on God to want to be the good guy by relying on divine mercy and forgiveness no matter what.
