September 18, 2022

Scripture: Luke 16:1-13 

I will admit that when I opened the lectionary to check out the readings for this week, I thought Oh, great . . . this parable. The one that has challenged me since my first bible study. The one that has me sitting on the edge of the pew every single time it comes up praying that maybe the preacher will finally open it up for me. The one in which every commentary has some acknowledgement of the seeming impossibility of ever coming to an agreed understanding OR flat out saying, “you may want to go with the Old Testament or Epistle reading this week.” Yes, our Gospel today contains that parable. And I started to wonder a little bit – was this intentionally planned for the seminarian? I thought that only happened on Trinity Sunday!

After praying, wrestling, and arguing with this parable over the week, I started to wonder if I was getting too caught up in the details of story itself. Now, you might be asking yourself . . . “um, Betsy, isn’t that what we are supposed to be doing?” Well, yes . . . and no. Jesus told parables using the familiar parts of everyday life to help his listeners understand a new economy, a new way of being in God’s kingdom. – In this case, he uses the familiar scene of a wealthy property owner who uses a manager to manage his property and those who produce on that property.

However, if we get caught up in the details of story, we, too, focus on the earthly drama rather than the reality Jesus calls us toward. Now, as I mentioned, Jesus doesn’t make it easy for us here. We’ll have to work for this one.

Let’s walk through it for just a moment. When Margaret started the lesson, she did not give it a title. The NRSV and some other translations often choose to title different sections of scripture. This parable is titled, “The Parable of the Dishonest Manager.” So, we might guess that this is going to be a story about a manager who is dishonest in some way and gets what’s coming to him.

The parable itself is pretty straight forward. A wealthy man hears that his manager is “squandering” his property. The Greek translation says that the manager is wasting his possessions. Without verifying the evidence, he fires the manager and asks him to turn over his books. The manager is in a bind. We get to observe him wrestling with his predicament “What will I do now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.”

While the manager may not be strong, he is certainly crafty. He devises a plan to ingratiate himself to the producers by reducing their debts so that they will look favorably upon him in the future. Not only does he ensure that the landowner gets paid, but he also makes some friends along the way. Smart move. And it works. The landowner is pleased with the manager’s shrewdness.

After telling this part of the story Jesus says, “make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” WAIT . . .

WHAT? Jesus is praising this dishonest (in the Greek ἀδικἰας (adikias) unrighteous) behavior??

That’s not where I expected this to go. Ooo, Jesus likes to do this to his listeners in his storytelling. He leads them down an expected path only to throw them for a loop. Remember, Jesus told parables to help his listeners understand a new reality. It is easy for us to get caught up in this drama because it makes sense to us. We might feel frustrated that this manager didn’t get what was coming to him. His scheme worked – that isn’t fair. Jesus likes to make listeners . . . and now us . . . think. Jesus explains this in Matthew 11 when he describes the purpose of the parables. When we don’t get it, we are focusing on the wrong thing.

Let’s see if Jesus helps us a little in the next verse

“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

Oh, that’s . . . very . . . helpful. Thank you, Jesus for clarifying this for me.

I think we need to back away from this story . . .

A few weeks ago, we heard Luke 14:7-14. In it, Jesus tells a parable that says guests should not choose the place of honor at a banquet table, but the lowest place. He then suggests that a host shouldn’t invite friends, relatives, and rich neighbors in order to be repaid but should rather invite those who can never repay. In our lesson today, the manager does exactly what Jesus says not to do . . . he befriends the producers so that he will have a soft place to land once word gets out that he has been fired. And then he is commended for that behavior. It feels like Jesus is contradicting himself.

Okay, well, let’s move forward in Luke a little to Luke 15, which appears just before our reading today, but not in our lectionary. It is the familiar parable of “The Parable of the Lost or ‘Prodigal’ Son.” A son is welcomed back after squandering his father’s inheritance. There are some similarities here with both the son and the manager squandering wealth and then being welcomed back in the end. But is that where the similarities end?

I don’t think so. I think there is a greater theme that brings these parables together. When we focus on the details, we have separate stories that focus in their own ways on status, wealth, greed, and individualism – my place in a system. But, when we back up and focus on the larger picture, there is something else. These are all parables of broken relationships. Jesus tells the parable and then responds with an invitation into the eternal home of relationship. Wealth, status, honor . . . they have no place in God’s kingdom.

In the parable of the banquet relationship is ignored as people take higher ranking seats and only invite those who can repay the favor. In the lost son, we have the broken relationship between a

father and his two sons and the anger that brews when one misbehaves and is welcomed back with a party. Our story today is also a parable about relationship – OR the lack thereof relationship between the wealthy landowner and the manager, the manager and the producers, and the landowner and the producers. A broken trinity of sorts.

There is no trust between these characters, no faith, no love. The landowner trusts his informant more than he trusts his manager. He doesn’t even wait to see the books before firing him. The manager has no faith that others will help him in his time of need. Therefore, he schemes to ensure that he will not be left destitute. The producers are just happy that their debt has been reduced, not taking any time to question this rare moment because why would they ever trust the manager – he doesn’t even know what they owe – and do they even know the landowner?

This parable, like the others, is a told to be familiar to the people of Jesus’s time. And, yet, It is also familiar to us in our own world. How do we fit into this broken trinity of relationships? This is the moment where we have to do the work and let this story touch our own realities. If I’m being honest with myself, I’ve played the part of each of these characters at one point or another. I’ve done it as an individual and I’ve participated in it along with others. I do not think I’m alone.

Haven’t we all been the landowner who trusts an informant instead of going to the real source. We’ve read headlines and listened to people who hold authority that lead us to believe that some people are destined to be dishonest, that skew our opinions toward those in power instead of those who are oppressed, and keep us from the truth.

Haven’t we all been the manager who is afraid of what we stand to lose if the system in which we live and thrive changes. We’ve been “too ashamed to beg” and afraid to show our vulnerability when we are the ones who need help – even just a little. We devise ways to ensure that there will be a safety net but that doesn’t rely on us having to humble ourselves.

And, haven’t we all been the producer. The ones who don’t trust someone who holds more status, authority, or wealth because we don’t have faith that they would really care about us or our needs. We’ve prepared for them to take advantage of us. We’ve chosen to produce – to work – to prove our worth instead of setting aside to the work in order to sit with someone or open ourselves to someone new and really getting to know them – or, more importantly, letting them get to know us.

Yes, at some point or another, we have been each of these characters. And, in doing so, each time we choose something else – our status, our honor, our security – we choose it over relationship – relationship with God and relationship with others. Do you notice the places where you have done similarly?

Institutions, organizations, and even churches play this game, too. After thinking about it, I think it is kind of appropriate that I am preaching today. My role with you over the next year is all about strengthening and building relationships. In my role in pastoral care, I look forward to getting to know you, getting to know joys and your hurts – and finding ways in which the pastoral leaders at St. Martin’s can best celebrate and support you in your spiritual journey. In my role as liaison to the Belfry, I look forward to strengthening St. Martin’s relationship with students on campus who seek a deeper relationship with God and Jesus through a spiritual community. I will share their joys and challenges with you and invite you to celebrate with them. In fact, your first invitation is for the Blessing of the Animals on October 6. We will bless animals, have a short service and cookout supper outside the Belfry. Please be on the look out in the announcements here at St. Martin’s for more details.

Along the way, as I engage in my work through these roles, I most look forward to building relationships with each of you. The greatest joy in my ministry is getting to know people and having them get to know me. Please feel free to reach out to me after the service or via email.

Our collect today prays that we not be anxious about earthly things. That we love things heavenly even while we are placed among things that pass away. We pray that we hold fast to the things that endure through Jesus Christ. Those heavenly things are that of relationship – a relationship with God, with Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit moving among us, with each other.

Our status, our wealth, our property, all of this, will pass away. But our relationships will be the true riches entrusted to us and our eternal home. So, I invite you to sit with the challenges of this parable and notice where in your life you can choose relationship over the earthly things that pass away.