Good Means

Using many good means to achieve good ends

11/10/2017

Luke 16:1-8 Jesus said to his disciples, "A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, 'What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.' The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.' He called in his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said, 'How much do you owe my master?' He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.' He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.' Then to another he said, 'And you, how much do you owe?' He replied, 'One hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.' And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light."

       In the seminary, we learned a basic principle of morality, namely, the end does not justify the means. That means you cannot rob a bank in order to give more in the Sunday collection. That’s also called “money laundering.” In other words, you have to use good means in order to achieve good ends. But “good means” can include a broad spectrum of possibilities. You don’t have to rob a bank, but there are many other ways and means you can give to the Church.

        A touching example of this can be found in the 1945 classic movie “The Bells of St. Mary’s.” A priest (the charming Bing Crosby) and a nun (the sweet Ingrid Bergman) are both trying to convince an old miser (Mr. Bogardus) to donate his building for the parish school. Fr. O’Malley visits Mr. Bogardus when he has just received news of a serious illness, and lets him hear the sweet singing of the school children practicing “O Santissima.” In other words, he lays on the Catholic guilt pretty thick. Later, Sr. Mary Benedict is praying in the chapel and Mr. Bogardus runs into her and candidly confesses to her, saying, “You see, Sister, I’ve never had any children of my own. And I don’t like children, and they don’t like me.” Sister asks probingly: “Why don’t people like you?” He answers: “Well, I’ve been pretty selfish, and lately, I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. And I’d like to donate my building to you.” And Sr. Bergman bursts into tears of joy. The end does not justify the means, but here are a lot of good means to get to good ends.

         In the gospel today, Jesus tells the parable of a steward who finds other good means to achieve good ends. The steward has squandered his master’s money, and will soon be dismissed. He devises a plan whereby he not only wins friends to support him after he’s dismissed, but he also gets his master’s debtor’s to pay most of their debts. His motive is mixed – he was trying to save his own hide, too – but he also pleased his master. Jesus draws the conclusion: “And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.” In other words, like Bing and Bergman used every means at their disposal to motivate Bogardus, so the dishonest steward thinks quickly and acts prudently to collect his master’s debts. There are lots of “good means” we can use to achieve “good ends.”

        Today, ask yourself: have I used good means to accomplish good ends? For those of you who are parents, haven’t you used a wide range of means to motivate your kids to do good things: to eat their vegetables, to finish their homework, to get to Mass on Sunday, to get married in the Church? Sometimes you used the carrot (like Sr. Benedict), and sometimes you used the stick (like Bing Crosby). In the church business, we call that “by hook or by crook.” To catch a fish you have to use a “hook,” and to guide sheep you must use a “crook.” God has to use an assorted array of good means to get us to good ends, namely, to teach us how to love God and our neighbor as we ought. This is how I suggest we look at suffering in our lives: not as God’s punishment because he’s angry with us, but as God’s persuasion because he’s in love with us. Indeed, God is a Father who loves his children more than they realize. C. S. Lewis said: “Suffering is the megaphone that God uses to rouse a deaf world.” It’s easy to grow deaf to God’s voice – or maybe just fall asleep like we do at Mass – and he needs a megaphone to wake us, like the illness of Mr. Bogardus woke him up to be more generous.

        Jesus said, “The children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.” That’s certainly true, unless you happen to be Fr. O’Malley and Sr. Mary Benedict.

Praised be Jesus Christ!