Part 2 of 2: Making Friends for
Eternity (Luke 16:9-15)
Now Jesus delivers the punchline that transforms everything from Part
One: "I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous
wealth, so that when it fails, they may receive you into eternal
dwellings." This is the shrewd investment He's been building toward. Just
as the dishonest manager used his master's resources to secure people who would
help him in his time of need, we are called to use our earthly resources, our
"unrighteous wealth", to secure friends who will welcome us into
heaven itself. But how? By investing in people's lives, by meeting their needs,
by using our money and possessions for the glory of God and the eternal good of
others.
Notice that phrase "when it fails", not if, but when. Jesus is
teaching us a fundamental truth about the nature of earthly wealth: it is
utterly unreliable. All earthly treasures have an expiration date. In Luke
12:33, Jesus says, "Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide
yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens
that does not fail." Do you see the connection? The only wealth that
doesn't fail is the treasure we lay up in heaven by using our earthly resources
to love and serve others. When we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome
the stranger, when we invest in people, we are transferring our assets from
earth's failing economy to heaven's eternal one. Some of those people we help
will be converted, will go before us into glory, and will welcome us home with
joy.
This is where the theology becomes deeply Catholic and sacramental. Jesus is
teaching us that earthly things can be vehicles for eternal grace. Our money,
our time, our material possessions, these aren't just secular realities
separate from our spiritual lives. They are the very materials God gives us to
build our eternal dwelling. It's like each act of charity, each sacrifice, each
generous gift is a stone laid in the foundation of our heavenly home. The
Sorrowful Mysteries teach us this truth through Christ's ultimate investment:
He held nothing back, stripped Himself of everything, poured out His very blood
so that we might have eternal life. If God Himself invested that extravagantly
in our salvation, how can we be stingy with the temporary resources He's
entrusted to us?
Then Jesus shifts to the principle of faithfulness: "One who is faithful
in very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in very
little is also dishonest in much." This connects directly to the parable
in Part One. The manager was faithful to his own dishonest scheme even in small
details, reducing debts, rewriting contracts, calculating exactly what would
win him favor. Jesus says if you can't be faithful with "unrighteous
wealth", this temporary, failing money, how can God trust you with
"true riches," the eternal treasures of His kingdom? Every small act
of generosity, every faithful prayer (even the simple repetition of each Rosary
bead), every moment of integrity in handling money is a test. God is watching
to see if we're shrewd enough to invest in forever.
Finally, Jesus confronts the ultimate obstacle: "No servant can serve two
masters. You cannot serve God and money." The Pharisees, who loved money,
sneered at this teaching, and Jesus exposes their fundamental error: they were
trying to justify themselves before men while their hearts remained captive to
wealth. "What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of
God." Here's the bottom line that completes both parts of this reflection:
you must choose where to invest your life. The dishonest manager chose cleverly
between two earthly securities. We must choose infinitely more wisely between
earth and heaven, between treasure that fails and treasure that endures
forever. The Glorious Mysteries show us the result of choosing rightly, Resurrection,
Ascension, the descent of the Holy Spirit, Mary assumed into glory and crowned
as Queen. These are the eternal dwellings Jesus promises to those who are truly
shrewd, who use their failing earthly wealth to make friends in heaven. Don't
be clever about things that last eighty years. Be brilliantly, radically,
recklessly shrewd about the billion years, the endless ages, that await those
who invest in eternity.
©2025 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
