• The prophet Amos preached during an era when Israel had forgotten the ways of justice and mercy that were at the heart of the covenant. 
• At the time of his preaching the division between the wealthy merchant class and the poorer rural class had increased and merchants sold poor-quality merchandise and figuratively enslaved the poor for the price of a pair of sandals. 
• Amos proclaimed that, because the rich had neglected the poor, God would come in judgment and destroy the land. 

• The passage from 1 Timothy is the beginning of a long exhortation on “household duties” for the whole church. 
• Today’s reading called for God’s faithful people to pray for all in need, Christians and non-Christians alike, as well as for those in authority to be good leaders. 
• Lifting of the hands with palms open and up is a gesture of prayer used by Jews and Christians. 

• Today’s gospel passage is addressed to the disciples of Jesus. It is meant to speak a positive message. 
• Landowners in Jesus' time had agents (stewards) who acted on their behalf. It was common practice for a steward to loan money to the debtor at a high interest rate and receive a commission. In the parable the steward gives up his own commission when he has the debtors rewrite the note. Because the steward found a clever solution to his problem, the landowner praises him. 
• All parables tell something about the kingdom. In this parable Jesus makes an appeal for his followers to be as enterprising in their pursuit of the kingdom as this steward was in trying to make a place for himself in this world.