The parable of the unjust steward and of the rich man and Lazarus.
16:1. And he said also to his disciples: There was a certain rich man
who had a steward: and the same was accused unto him, that he had
wasted his goods.
16:2. And he called him and said to him: How is it that I hear this of
thee? Give an account of thy stewardship: for now thou canst be steward
no longer.
16:3. And the steward said within himself: What shall I do, because my
lord taketh away from me the stewardship? To dig I am not able; to beg
I am ashamed.
16:4. I know what I will do, that when I shall be removed from the
stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
16:5. Therefore, calling together every one of his lord's debtors, he
said to the first: How much dost thou owe my lord?
16:6. But he said: An hundred barrels of oil. And he said to him: Take
thy bill and sit down quickly and write fifty.
16:7. Then he said to another: And how much dost thou owe? Who said:
An hundred quarters of wheat. He said to him: Take thy bill and write
eighty.
16:8. And the lord commended the unjust steward, forasmuch as he had
done wisely: for the children of this world are wiser in their
generation than the children of light.
16:9. And I say to you: Make unto you friends of the mammon of
iniquity: that when you shall fail, they may receive you into
everlasting dwellings.
Mammon of iniquity. . .Mammon signifies riches. They are here called the
mammon of iniquity, because oftentimes ill gotten, ill bestowed, or an
occasion of evil; and at the best are but worldly, and false; and not
the true riches of a Christian. They may receive. . .By this we see,
that the poor servants of God, whom we have relieved by our alms, may
hereafter, by their intercession, bring our souls to heaven.
16:10. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in
that which is greater: and he that is unjust in that which is little is
unjust also in that which is greater.
16:11. If then you have not been faithful in the unjust mammon, who
will trust you with that which is the true?
16:12. And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's,
who will give you that which is your own?
16:13. No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the
one and love the other: or he will hold to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
16:14. Now the Pharisees, who were covetous, heard all these things:
and they derided him.
16:15. And he said to them: you are they who justify yourselves before
men, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is high to men is an
abomination before God.
16:16. The law and the prophets were until John. From that time the
kingdom of God is preached: and every one useth violence towards it.
16:17. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of
the law to fall.
16:18. Every one that putteth away his wife and marrieth another
committeth adultery: and he that marrieth her that is put away from her
husband committeth adultery.
16:19. There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine
linen and feasted sumptuously every day.
16:20. And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his
gate, full of sores,
16:21. Desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich
man's table. And no one did give him: moreover the dogs came and licked
his sores.
16:22. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the
angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died: and he was
buried in hell.
Abraham's bosom. . .The place of rest, where the souls of the saints
resided, till Christ had opened heaven by his death.
16:23. And lifting up his eyes when he was in torments, he saw Abraham
afar off and Lazarus in his bosom:
16:24. And he cried and said: Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my
tongue: for I am tormented in this flame.
16:25. And Abraham said to him: Son, remember that thou didst receive
good things in thy lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now
he is comforted and thou art tormented.
16:26. And besides all this, between us and you, there is fixed a great
chaos: so that they who would pass from hence to you cannot, nor from
thence come hither.
16:27. And he said: Then, father, I beseech thee that thou wouldst send
him to my father's house, for I have five brethren,
16:28. That he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this
place of torments.
16:29. And Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets. Let
them hear them.
16:30. But he said: No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from
the dead, they will do penance.
16:31. And he said to him: If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead.