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Luke 16:1. He also said to His disciples: There was a certain man who was rich and had a steward, against whom it was reported to him that he was wasting his property; Luke 16:2. and calling him, he said to him: What is this I hear about you? give an account of your management, for you can no longer manage. Luke 16:3. Then the steward said to himself: What should I do? my lord takes away the stewardship of the house from me; I can’t dig, I’m ashamed to ask; Luke 16:4. I know what to do so that they will accept me into their homes when I am removed from managing the house. Luke 16:5. And calling his master’s debtors, each one separately, he said to the first: How much do you owe my master? Luke 16:6. He said: one hundred measures of oil. And he said to him: take your receipt and sit down quickly, write: fifty. Luke 16:7. Then he said to another: how much do you owe? He answered: one hundred measures of wheat. And he said to him: take your receipt and write: eighty. Luke 16:8. And the lord praised the unfaithful steward for acting wisely; for the sons of this age are more perceptive in their generation than the sons of light. Luke 16:9. And I say to you: make friends for yourself with unrighteous wealth, so that when you become poor, they will receive you into eternal abodes. Every parable covertly and figuratively explains the essence of some object, but it is not in all respects similar to the object it is taken to explain. Therefore, one should not explain all parts of the parable to the point of subtlety, but, having used the subject as appropriate, the other parts should be omitted without attention, as parables added for the sake of integrity, but having no correspondence with the subject. The same should be done with the proposed parable. For if we undertake to explain everything in fine detail, who is the steward, who put him in charge, who denounced him, who are the debtors, why one owes oil and the other wheat, why it is said that they owed a hundred each, and if we examine everything else with excessive curiosity, then we will make the speech dark, and, forced by difficulties, we may even end up with ridiculous explanations. Therefore, this parable should be used as much as possible. Let me explain a little. The Lord wants here to teach us how to manage the wealth entrusted to us well. And, firstly, we learn that we are not lords of property, for we have nothing of our own, but that we are stewards of someone else’s property, entrusted to us by the Master so that we dispose of property well and as He commands. Then we learn that if we act in managing wealth not according to the Lord’s thoughts, but squander what was entrusted to us on our own whims, then we are the kind of stewards who have been denounced. For the will of the Master is such that we use what has been entrusted to us for the needs of our fellow servants, and not for our own pleasures. When they inform on us and we have to be removed from the management of the estate, that is, expelled from this life, when it is we who will give an account of the management after our death from here, then we are late in noticing what needs to be done, and “we make friends for ourselves with unrighteous wealth.” “Unrighteous” is the “wealth” that the Lord has entrusted to us to use for the needs of our brothers and co-workers, and we keep it for ourselves. But late we realize where we should turn, and that on this day we cannot work, for then is not the time to do, nor to ask for alms, for it is indecent, since the virgins who asked (for alms) are called fools (Matthew 25:8). What remains to be done? To share this property with our brothers, so that when we move from here, that is, we move from this life, the poor “will receive us into eternal abodes.” For the poor in Christ are assigned eternal abodes as their inheritance, into which they can receive those who showed them love here through the distribution of wealth, although it, as belonging to the Master, first had to be distributed to the poor. They are debtors according to what was said: “he shows mercy and lends every day” (Ps. 36:26), and in another place: “He who does good to the poor lends to the Lord” (Proverbs 19:17). So, first it was necessary to distribute everything to these good debtors, who pay a hundredfold. However, when we turn out to be unfaithful stewards, unjustly retaining for ourselves what is assigned to others, we should not remain forever in this inhumanity, but should give to the poor so that they will accept us into eternal abodes. When we explain this parable in this way, there will be nothing superfluous, or sophisticated, or mind-boggling in the explanation. However, the expression “the sons of this age are more perceptive” and further seems to mean something else, and not incomprehensible or strange. He calls “sons of this age” those who invent everything that is useful for them on earth, and “sons of light” those who, out of love for God, must teach others spiritual wealth. So, here it is said that people appointed as stewards of human property try in every possible way to have consolation after their resignation from management, but the sons of light, appointed, that is, receiving in trust the management of spiritual property, do not think at all about how to benefit themselves after this. So, the “sons of this age” are those who have been entrusted with the management of human affairs and who “in their own way,” that is, in this life, conduct their affairs wisely, and the sons of light are those who have accepted property in order to manage it in a God-loving manner. It turns out that when managing human property, we manage our affairs wisely and try to have some kind of refuge for life even when we are removed from this management. And when we manage property, which must be disposed of according to the will of God, we do not seem to care that, upon our departure from this life, we will not fall under responsibility for management and be left without any consolation. That is why we are called foolish because we do not think about what will be useful for us after this. But we will make friends for ourselves in the poor, using on them unrighteous wealth, given to us by God as a weapon of righteousness, but retained by us for our own benefit and therefore turned into untruth. If wealth acquired in a righteous way, when it is managed badly and is not distributed to the poor, is imputed to unrighteousness and to mammon, then how much more is the wealth unrighteous. Let us be the last to make friends for ourselves, so that when we die and move from this life, or in another case we become faint-hearted from condemnation, “they... receive us there into eternal abodes.” Luke 16:10. He who is faithful in a little is also faithful in much, and he who is unfaithful in a little is also unfaithful in much. The Lord also teaches that wealth must be managed according to the will of God. “He who is faithful in little,” that is, who has managed well the property entrusted to him in this world, is faithful “in much,” that is, worthy of true wealth in the next century. “Small” refers to earthly wealth, since it is truly small, even insignificant, since it is fleeting, and “many” refers to Heavenly wealth, since it always abides and comes. Therefore, whoever turned out to be unfaithful in this earthly wealth and appropriated what was given for the common benefit of his brothers to himself, he will not be worthy of that much, but will be rejected as an unfaithful. Explaining what has been said, he adds: Luke 16:11. So, if you have not been faithful in unrighteous wealth, who will trust you with what is true? “Unrighteous” wealth he called the wealth that remains with us; for if it were not unrighteous, we would not have it. And now, since we have it, it is obvious that it is unrighteous, since it was detained by us and was not distributed to the poor. For the theft of someone else's property and that of the poor is injustice. So, whoever manages this estate poorly and incorrectly, how can he be trusted with “true” wealth? Luke 16:12. And if you have not been faithful in what belongs to others, who will give you what is yours? And who will give us “ours” when we mismanage “someone else’s”, that is, property? And it is “foreign”, since it is intended for the poor, and on the other hand, since we did not bring anything into the world, but were born naked. And our destiny is Heavenly and Divine riches, for there is our dwelling (Phil. 3:20). Possessions and acquisitions are alien to man, created in the image of God, for none of them are like him. And enjoying Divine blessings and communicating with God is akin to us. Luke 16:13. No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be zealous for one and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Until now, the Lord has taught us how to properly manage wealth. For it is someone else's, not ours; we are stewards, not lords and masters. Since the management of wealth according to the will of God is accomplished only with firm dispassion towards it, the Lord added this to his teaching: “You cannot serve God and mammon,” that is, it is impossible for one to be a servant of God who has become attached to wealth and, out of addiction to it, retains something for himself. Therefore, if you intend to properly manage wealth, then do not be enslaved to it, that is, do not have attachment to it, and you will truly serve God. For the love of money, that is, the passionate inclination for wealth, is condemned everywhere (1 Tim. 6:10). Luke 16:14. The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they laughed at Him. The Pharisees, annoyed at the words of the Lord, laughed at Him. For they, as money lovers, were unpleasant to hear about non-covetousness. So it is said: “Godliness is an abomination... to a sinner” (Sir. 1:25) and “revealing... the wounds of the wicked” (Prov. 9:7). Luke 16:15. He said to them: You show yourselves to be righteous before men, but God knows your hearts, for whatever is exalted among men is an abomination to God. The Lord, revealing the hidden deceit of the Pharisees and showing that, although they take on the appearance of righteousness, they are vile, yet, before God, in their conceit, says: you present yourselves as righteous before people and think that you alone are given the ability to understand what is necessary and to teach; That’s why you laugh at My words as unreasonable, wanting to be considered teachers of truth among the mob. But that's not the case. Because “God knows your hearts” and considers you vile for your arrogance and addiction to human glory. “For whatever is high among men is an abomination to God.” “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 16:5). Therefore, you, Pharisees, had to live not for human opinion, “for God will scatter the bones of those who fight against you” (Ps. 53:6), but it is better to make yourselves righteous before God. Luke 16:16. Law and Prophets before John; From now on, the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone enters into it with effort. Apparently, this is a separate speech that has nothing in common with the above, but for the attentive it will not seem inconsistent, but, on the contrary, very connected with the previous one. The Lord, in the above words, taught non-covetousness and called wealth an unrighteous possession, and the Law (Lev. 26:3–9) provided blessings in wealth (among other things), and the prophets (Isa. 19) promised earthly blessings as a reward. Lest anyone, like the Pharisees, say to Him mockingly: What are you saying? Are you contradicting the Law: it blesses with wealth, but You teach non-covetousness? - that’s why the Lord says: “The law and the prophets had a time before John,” and they taught it well, because the listeners were then at a young age. But from the time when John appeared, almost disembodied due to lack of covetousness and non-covetous almost due to disembodiment, and preached the Kingdom of Heaven, earthly blessings no longer have time, but the Kingdom of Heaven is preached. Therefore, those who desire heaven must learn non-covetousness on earth. Since the prophets and the Law did not mention the Kingdom of Heaven, they rightly promised earthly blessings to people who were still far from perfect and unable to imagine anything great and masculine. Therefore, Pharisees, I rightly teach non-covetousness, when the imperfect commandments of the Law no longer have time. Luke 16:17. But it is sooner that heaven and earth pass away than one line of the law disappears. Then, so that they would not say that, finally, everything legal was rejected as vain and completely empty, the Lord says: No! on the contrary, now it is being fulfilled and accomplished even more. For what the Law wrote in the shadow, speaking figuratively of Christ or of the commandments, is now being fulfilled, and not a single line of it will be lost. What is indicated there in the form of a shadow about Christ will now be fulfilled in the clearest way. And the commandments of the Law, given then adaptively and in accordance with the understanding of the imperfect, will now have the highest and most perfect meaning. Luke 16:18. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries one divorced from her husband commits adultery. And that the Law spoke imperfectly to the imperfect can be seen from the following. For example, the Law, due to the hardness of the hearts of the Jews, gave a sentence on the dissolution of marriage, namely: if a husband hated his wife, he had the right to divorce her so that something worse would not happen. For the murderous and bloodthirsty Jews did not spare their closest relatives, so they sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. But this is a flaw and imperfection of the Law. Then there was a time for such a law, but now a different, more perfect teaching is needed. That is why I say: whoever divorces his wife for reasons other than adultery and marries another commits adultery. Therefore, it is not surprising if I teach about non-covetousness, although the Law does not clearly say anything about it. Behold, the Law indifferently gave the commandment about marital divorce, to prevent murder among the Jews; and I, accustoming my listeners to the highest perfection, prohibit divorce without a blessed reason and command this not contrary to the Law, but so that there is no murder between husbands and wives. And I confirm this when I teach that spouses should take care of each other and protect each other as if they were their own members. And the Law wanted this, but since the listeners were imperfect, He determined to dissolve the marriage, so that, at least under this condition, the husband and wife would spare each other and would not be angry with each other. So, Christ confirmed all the requirements of the Law; and therefore he said well that it is impossible to miss a single line from the Law. For how would it perish when Christ corrected it (the Law) in the best possible way? Luke 16:19. A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted brilliantly every day. This speech stands in connection with the previous one. Since the Lord taught above how to manage wealth well, he rightly adds this parable, which, by example of what happened to the rich man, points to the same idea. This speech is precisely a parable, and not a real event, as some thought without reason. For the time has not yet come for the righteous to inherit the blessings, nor for the sinners to inherit the contrary. And the Lord gave the speech figurativeness in order to teach both the unmerciful what is in store for them in the future, and to teach the ill-suffering that they will be prosperous for what they endure here. The Lord took the rich man into the parable without a name, since he is not worthy to be named before God, as it was said through the Prophet: “I will not remember their names with my lips” (Ps. 15:4). Luke 16:20. There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate covered with sores. And he mentions the poor by name, for the names of the righteous are written in the book of life. They say, according to Jewish tradition, that at that time there was a certain Lazarus in Jerusalem, who was in extreme poverty and illness, and that the Lord mentioned him, taking him into the parable as obvious and famous. The rich man was prosperous in all respects. He dressed in purple and fine linen and not only dressed himself, but also enjoyed every other pleasure. “He feasted brilliantly,” it is said, and not that today yes, but tomorrow no, but “every day,” and not that moderately, but “brilliantly,” that is, luxuriously and wastefully. And Lazarus was poor and sick, and, moreover, “with scabs,” as it is said. For one can be sick and yet not be wounded, but this increases evil. And he was defeated at the rich man's gate. Luke 16:21. and wanted to feed himself on the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table, and the dogs came and licked his scabs. It is a new sorrow to see that others enjoy abundantly, while he suffers from hunger. For he wanted to be satisfied not with luxurious dishes, but with crumbs from them, such as the dogs ate. No one cared about the healing of Lazarus: for the dogs licked his wounds, since no one drove them away. Luke 16:22. The beggar died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham's bosom. So what? Lazarus, being in such a difficult situation, blasphemed God and reviled the luxurious life of the rich man? Condemned inhumanity? Grumbled about Providence? No, he didn’t think of anything like that, but he endured everything with great wisdom. Where can you see this? From the fact that when he died, the Angels accepted him. For if he had been a murmurer and a blasphemer, he would not have received such an honor - being accompanied and carried by Angels. The rich man also died and was buried. Even during the life of the rich man, his soul was truly buried; it carried the flesh like a coffin. Therefore, even after his death, he is not elevated by the Angels, but is relegated to hell. For he who has never thought about anything lofty or heavenly deserves the lowest place. With the words “they buried him,” the Lord hinted that his soul was destined for the underworld and a dark place. Luke 16:23. And in hell, being in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosom Just as the Lord, having expelled Adam from paradise, settled him in front of paradise (Gen. 3:24), so that the suffering repeated at the constant sight of paradise would allow Adam to more clearly feel the deprivation of bliss, so he condemned this rich man in the face of Lazarus, so that, seeing the state in which Lazarus was now, the rich man would feel what he had lost through inhumanity. Why did the rich man see Lazarus not with another of the righteous, but in the bosom of Abraham? Since Abraham was hospitable, and the rich man had to be convicted of his dislike for hospitality, therefore the rich man sees Lazarus with Abraham. He even invited those passing by into his house, but he despised the one lying inside the house. Luke 16:24. and crying out, he said: Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. Why does the rich man make his request not to Lazarus, but to Abraham? Maybe he was ashamed, or maybe he thought that Lazarus remembered his evil, and based on his deeds he made conclusions about Lazarus as well. If I (he could think), enjoying such happiness, despised him, oppressed by such misfortune, and did not give him even crumbs, then all the more he, despised by me, will remember the evil and will not agree to show me mercy. That is why he addresses his words to Abraham, probably thinking that the patriarch does not know how things happened. What about Abraham? Luke 16:25. But Abraham said: child! He didn’t say to the rich man: inhumane and cruel, aren’t you ashamed? now you remember about philanthropy. But how? "Child"! See a compassionate and holy soul. Some sage says: do not disturb a humble soul. Therefore, Abraham says: “child,” letting him know through this that it is in his power to call him so mercifully even now, but only that, and that more than this he has no power to do anything for him. I will give you what I can, that is, a voice of compassion. But to go from here to there is not in our will, for everything is contained. remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus received your evil; now he is comforted here, and you suffer; Why didn’t Abraham say to the rich man: you received, but you “received”? We usually use the word “get back” about those who receive what they were owed. What do we learn? Because although some have defiled themselves with atrocities, although they have reached the extreme degree of evil, at some point they have done one or two good deeds. Therefore, the rich man also had some good deeds, and since he received reward in the prosperity of this life, it is said that he “received his good.” “And Lazarus is evil.” Perhaps he also committed one or two evil deeds and, in the sorrow that he endured here, received due retribution for them. Therefore he is comforted, and you suffer. Luke 16:26. and on top of all this, a great gulf has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can they cross from there to us. The "gap" signifies the distance and difference between the righteous and the sinners. For just as their wills were different, so their abodes have a great difference, when each receives reward according to will and life. Take into account here the objection against the Origenists. They say that the time will come when the torment will end and sinners will unite with the righteous and with God, and thus God will be all in all. But now, we hear Abraham saying that “those who want to go from here to you... or from there to us... cannot” do this. Therefore, just as it is impossible for anyone to move from the fate of the righteous to the place of sinners, so it is impossible, Abraham teaches us, to move from the place of torment to the place of the righteous. And Abraham, without a doubt, is more worthy of faith than Origen. What is "hell"? Some say that hell is an underground dark place, while others called hell the transition of the soul from a visible to an invisible and formless state. For as long as the soul is in the body, it is revealed by its own actions, but after separation from the body it becomes invisible. This is what they called hell. “Abraham’s bosom” is the totality of those blessings that are offered to the righteous upon their entry from the storm into the heavenly havens; since in the sea we usually call bays (bosoms) places convenient for landing and calming down. Pay attention also to the fact that on that day that offender will see in what glory the one offended by him will be, and this one, in turn, will see in what condemnation the offender will be, just as here the rich man saw Lazarus, and this one saw the rich man again. Luke 16:27. Then he said: So I ask you, father, send him to my father’s house, Luke 16:28. for I have five brothers; let him testify to them, so that they too do not come to this place of torment. The unfortunate rich man, having not received relief from his lot, encloses a request for others. See how, through punishment, he came to sympathize with others, and whereas before he despised Lazarus, who lay at his feet, now he cares about others who are not with him, and begs to send Lazarus from the dead to his father’s house, not just someone from the dead, but Lazarus, so that those who saw him before sick and dishonest would now see him crowned with glory and healthy, and those who were witnesses of his misery would themselves become contemplatives of him glory. For it is obvious that he would have appeared to them in glory if it had been necessary for him to be a preacher worthy of belief. What did Abraham say? Luke 16:29. Abraham said to him; they have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them. You, he says, do not care about your brothers as much as God, their Creator. He assigned countless mentors to them. Luke 16:30. He said: no, Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead comes to them, they will repent. And the rich man says: “No, father!” For just as he himself, hearing the Scriptures, did not believe and considered their words to be fables, he assumed the same about his brothers and, judging by himself, says that they will not listen to the Scriptures, like himself, but if someone rises from the dead, they will believe. Luke 16:31. Then Abraham said to him: if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then even if someone were raised from the dead, they would not believe it. There are people like this today who say: who saw what was happening in hell? Who came from there and told us? Let them listen to Abraham, who says that if we do not listen to the Scriptures, we will not believe those who would come to us from hell. This is obvious from the example of the Jews. They, since they did not listen to the Scriptures, did not believe even when they saw the dead risen, and even thought of killing Lazarus (John 12:10). Likewise, after many of the dead were resurrected during the Crucifixion of the Lord (Matthew 27:52), the Jews breathed even greater murder on the apostles. Moreover, if this resurrection of the dead were useful for our faith, the Lord would have done it often. But now nothing is as useful as a careful study of the Scriptures (John 5:39). The devil would have managed to resurrect the dead (although) in a ghostly way, and therefore would have misled the foolish, instilling among them the doctrine of hell, worthy of its malice. And with our sound study of the Scriptures, the devil cannot invent anything like that. For they (the Scriptures) are a lamp and light (2 Pet. 1:19), by the radiance of which the thief is revealed and revealed. So, we need to believe the Scriptures, and not demand the resurrection of the dead. This parable can also be understood in a figurative sense, for example, in such a way that the face of a rich man represents the Jewish people. Previously, he was rich, enriched with all knowledge and wisdom, and the sayings of God, which are more honorable than gold and precious stones (Proverbs 3:14-15). He dressed himself in purple and fine linen, having a kingdom and a priesthood and himself being a royal priesthood to God (Ex. 19:6). Porphyry alludes to the kingdom, and fine linen to the priesthood. For the Levites wore fine linen vestments during their sacred ceremonies. He rejoiced brilliantly all day long, for every day, morning and evening, he made sacrifices, which also bore the name of infinity, that is, continuity. Lazarus were the pagans, a people poor in Divine gifts and wisdom and lying at the gates. For the Gentiles were not allowed to enter the house of God; their entry there was considered desecration, as can be seen from the book of Acts. The Asian Jews shouted indignantly at Paul for bringing the pagans into the temple and desecrating this holy place (Acts 21:27-28). The pagans were wounded by fetid sins and with their wounds they fed shameless dogs and demons; for our (spiritual) plagues are a pleasure to them. The pagans wanted to eat the crumbs falling from the rich man's table; for they had no share in bread, which strengthens the heart (Ps. 103:15), and needed the finest food, small and reasonable, just as a Canaanite woman, being a pagan, wants to be fed with crumbs (Matthew 15:22, 26-27). What's next? The Jewish people died for God, and their bones became dead, since they did not make any movement towards good. And Lazarus, who is a pagan people, died to sin. The Jews, who died in their sins, are burned with the flame of envy, jealous, as the apostle says, that the pagans have been accepted into the faith (Rom. 11:11). And the pagans, formerly a poor and inglorious people, rightly live in the bosom of Abraham, the father of the pagans. Abraham, being a pagan, believed in God and moved from serving idols to the knowledge of God. Therefore, those who became participants in his conversion and faith rightly rest in his depths, inheriting the same fate, abodes and perception of benefits as he did. The Jewish people want at least one drop from the previous legal sprinklings and cleansings, so that their tongue will be cooled and can boldly say something against us in favor of the power of the Law, but they do not receive it. For the Law is only until John (Matthew 11:13). “Sacrifice,” it is said, “You did not desire offerings,” and further (Ps. 39:7). And Daniel foretold: “the vision and the prophet were sealed, and the Holy of Holies was anointed” (Dan. 9:24), that is, they stopped and were concluded. You can also understand this parable morally. Namely: being rich in evil, do not leave your mind to endure hunger and, when it is created to strive for heaven, do not cast it down and do not force it to lie at the gate, but bring it inside, and do not stand outside, do not wander, do not lie, but act. This will serve as the beginning for you to engage in rational activity, and not only carnal pleasure. And other parts of the parable are conveniently understood in favor of morality.