There are two mentions of the word ‘tainted’ in today’s Gospel — the first is in the sentence directly after the end of the parable Jesus tells the disciples: ‘use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity.’ The second time is where he says: ‘if then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches?’ Both uses have other people involved. This gives a sense that money in some way or another seems to be only really effective when it is moving and being used for some purpose and that use making its mark somehow.