20251107 CREATIVITY IN THE WORK OF EVANGELISATION
07 November 2025, Friday, 31st Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Romans 15:14-21 |
My duty is to bring the Good News from God to the pagans
My brothers, I am quite certain that you are full of good intentions, perfectly well instructed and able to advise each other. The reason why I have written to you, and put some things rather strongly, is to refresh your memories, since God has given me this special position. He has appointed me as a priest of Jesus Christ, and I am to carry out my priestly duty by bringing the Good News from God to the pagans, and so make them acceptable as an offering, made holy by the Holy Spirit.
I think I have some reason to be proud of what I, in union with Christ Jesus, have been able to do for God. What I am presuming to speak of, of course, is only what Christ himself has done to win the allegiance of the pagans, using what I have said and done by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus all the way along, from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have preached Christ’s Good News to the utmost of my capacity. I have always, however, made it an unbroken rule never to preach where Christ’s name has already been heard. The reason for that was that I had no wish to build on other men’s foundations; on the contrary, my chief concern has been to fulfil the text: Those who have never been told about him will see him, and those who have never heard about him will understand.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 97(98):1-4 |
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
Gospel Acclamation | 2Co5:19 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
Or: | 1Jn2:5 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 16:1-8 |
The master praised the dishonest servant
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.” Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.”
Then he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you owe my master?” “One hundred measures of oil” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty.” To another he said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write eighty.”
‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.’
CREATIVITY IN THE WORK OF EVANGELISATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Rom 15:14-21; Ps 98:1-4; Lk 16:1-8 ]
In the Gospel, Jesus praised the dishonest steward not for his dubious way of handling his master’s finances, but for the creativity he showed in protecting his own interests. He had not been managing his master’s resources diligently; in fact, he was irresponsible in his work. Jesus said, “There was a rich man and he had a steward who was denounced to him for being wasteful with his property.” Indeed, many of us are like this steward. We have been given positions in life not because we deserve them, but because of God’s grace. We are talented, intelligent, and creative, yet we often use our gifts in the wrong way — not for the service of others, but for ourselves. We want to take things easy, to find the easiest way out, even though we know we can do a much better job. Our interests are not for the good of the community, and certainly not for the glory of God, or the mission.
When we are negligent in our responsibilities, the day will surely come when we must pay the price for our carelessness. This was what happened to the steward. When the master discovered his misdeeds, he said to him, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship, because you are not to be my steward any longer.” Yet this steward, though lazy and self-serving, was clever enough to avoid the consequences of being dismissed. He said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Beg? I would be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be some to welcome me into their homes.” What did he do? He used his talents — especially his creativity — to protect himself. He offered large discounts to his master’s debtors so that he might gain their gratitude after his dismissal.
The master’s response must have shocked his listeners: “The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness.” The point of the story is not that the master approved of his dishonesty, but that he admired his creativity. The saying, “The children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light,” likely comes from our Lord or the early Christian community, because it expresses a sad truth: when it comes to proclaiming or living out the Gospel, Christians often lack creativity. We tend to follow Church traditions blindly without appreciating their beauty and richness. We fail to reflect on our faith or to deepen our understanding of the truths taught by Scripture and Tradition through the Church. Like the dishonest steward, we can be lazy and self-serving, caring more for our comfort, leisure, and pleasure than for living our lives in a way that gives life to others. We fail to value and cherish the gifts the Lord has given us — our talents, our faith — and in the end, when we do not use them well, we lose them.
In contrast, we have St Paul, who was a true and faithful steward of God’s grace even before his conversion. First of all, he was grateful for his appointment as an apostle to the Gentiles. He said, “God has given me this special position. He has appointed me as a priest of Jesus Christ, and I am to carry out my priestly duty by bringing the Good News from God to the pagans, and so make them acceptable as an offering, made holy by the Holy Spirit.” St Paul recognised the role the Lord had given him — to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. His priestly duty was to proclaim the Gospel and to be a mediator of Christ by his words, example, and life. The offering of his life for the proclamation of the Gospel was a priestly act that sanctified not only himself but also others through the work of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, through our cooperation in proclaiming the Gospel — by our words and our lives, according to the charisms given to us — we, too, grow in holiness.
Secondly, St Paul was always conscious that he should never rely on himself if his work was to be truly effective. Yet he was not proud of himself, but proud of God’s grace at work in him. He wrote, “I think I have some reason to be proud of what I, in union with Christ Jesus, have been able to do for God. What I am presuming to speak of, of course, is only what Christ himself has done to win the allegiance of the pagans, using what I have said and done by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit.” St Paul was always aware that whatever he achieved — every miracle, every success — was ultimately the work of the Lord, even as he faithfully cooperated with God’s grace.
Thirdly, St Paul showed great originality in proclaiming the Gospel. He did not wish to duplicate the work of the other apostles among the Jews. His mission was to the Gentiles. Still, he remained open to proclaiming the Gospel to the Jews whenever they were ready to receive it. Yet he did not fret when they rejected him. More importantly, he did not allow failure to cripple or discourage him in his mission. When one door closed, God opened another. He was not rigid in his plans, but always ready to discern the will of God. He was always attentive, free, and available to the Spirit.
He made it clear that his primary concern was to bring the Good News to all: “I have always made it an unbroken rule never to preach where Christ’s name has already been heard. The reason was that I had no wish to build on another man’s foundation; on the contrary, my chief concern has been to fulfil the text: Those who have never been told about him will see him, and those who have never heard about him will understand.” St Paul preferred to start new communities rather than remain comfortably in established ones. He did not seek personal recognition or comfort, but was wholly focused on building the Kingdom of God.
He always sought to bring the Gospel to those who had not yet known the Lord. His one focus was to bring the Gospel to all: “I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this so that they may be applied in my case. Indeed, I would rather die than that — no one will deprive me of my ground for boasting! If I proclaim the Gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the Gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the Gospel.” (1 Cor 9:15-18)
We see this same freedom of spirit when St Paul had to deal with the question of eating food offered to idols. He did not forbid it, since, as he told the Corinthians, “as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ‘no idol in the world really exists,’ and that ‘there is no God but one.'” Yet he urged those who had this knowledge to be charitable toward those who did not: “It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ‘Food will not bring us close to God.’ We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” (1 Cor 9:4-13)
St Paul was also adaptable to changing situations. He was truly a man for all seasons. As he said to the Corinthians, “Though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the Gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.” (1 Cor 9:19-23) St Paul truly exemplifies the good and creative steward that Jesus calls us to be.
What about us? How creative and zealous are we in spreading the Gospel? How much risk are we willing to take to bring Christ to those who do not yet know Him? Do we make full use of digital media and all other resources available to us? We need to make the Gospel come alive in new ways for people of our generation, who face new problems and questions. Unless we can appeal to their hearts and minds, we will not win them for Jesus. It is ironic that people of the world are often more creative in making profits and selling products than we are in sharing the Good News. We must pray for courage and creativity, so that, like St Paul, we too may truly bring the Gospel to all.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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