Sermon for September 18, 2022 – 15th Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 8:18-9:1; Psalm 79:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13

Our gospel story this morning sounds quite contemporary. A dishonest manager is about to lose his job because he has misspent his employer’s assets. Because he doesn’t want to do manual labor or rely on the charity of others, he goes around to all the people who owe his employer money and reduces their debts. Presumably, he does this so that they will be hospitable to him after he loses his job. This story sounds familiar. We have all heard it before, time and again, as people abuse their positions of power and authority for personal gain. It is a story ripped from the headlines as we have seen how power, money, and authority can harden hearts and lead good people into dark and dangerous places by exploiting a broken and corrupt system that continues to crush the poor.

Yet, to our surprise, the employer commends the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. Why is he commended? And why does Luke include this story in his Gospel?

Within the gospel itself, it seems as if Luke is a bit clueless as to what to do with the parable, providing at least four interpretations at the parable's conclusion: (1) that the children of light should learn from the prudence of their corrupt neighbors; (2) to make friends by means of dishonest wealth; (3) that if one wishes to be entrusted with true riches, one must demonstrate honesty with ordinary wealth; and finally (4) you can’t serve two masters.

The heart of the problem lies in verse 8: "And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly." This verse pulls together several aspects of the story, but it certainly creates more confusion than it provides answers.

So, this still leaves us wondering what truth or truths about the kingdom of God is Jesus trying to convey to us and his disciples with this confusing parable?

To begin to answer these questions, we should note that this parable serves as a bridge between the stories of the Prodigal Son, and the Rich Man and Lazarus, which we will hear next week. Like the prodigal in the preceding story, our dishonest manager has “squandered” what was entrusted to him. And, like the story that follows, this parable begins with the phrase, “There was a rich man,” thus creating a direct link between these stories.

Although our dishonest manager does not repent like the prodigal son or act virtuously like Lazarus, he nonetheless does something with the rich man’s wealth that reverses the existing order of things. In Luke, reversals of status are at the heart of what happens when Jesus and the kingdom of God appear. We can recall the Song of Mary, the Magnificat earlier in Luke and its promise of the great reversal within the Kingdom of God. The proud are scattered, the powerful are brought down and the lowly lifted; the hungry are filled and the rich are sent away empty. These are themes that run throughout Luke’s gospel. They pop up in different ways in different stories, and they bind the gospel together as a whole.

But this doesn’t quite help us arrive at the heart of Jesus’ message in this parable. Why does the employer commend the dishonest manager for being shrewd while the accusation of financial mismanagement and abuse of power still linger? Of course, his commendation could be ironic. But if it’s not ironic, then why is the manager being commended?

Rich landlords and rulers were loan-sharks of sorts, using exorbitant interest rates to amass more land and to disinherit peasants of their family land, in direct violation of biblical covenantal law. It is likely that the rich man, along with his steward or debt collector, were both exploiting desperate peasants. So, perhaps the manager has reduced his own commission in the debts owed and that is what is being commended. Or perhaps more generally that the employer is simply commending the manager for responding shrewdly to a difficult circumstance.

The reason is unclear from the parable itself, so Luke offers four different thoughts for us to reflect upon.

First, “the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” In other words, Jesus’ disciples, often referred to as “children of light,” could learn something about acting prudently from the “children of this age.” Jesus is reminding his followers that even though not everyone will accept his mission, there is still something to be gained by being in relationship with them and therefore outsiders should not be shunned or ignored but welcomed.

Second, what they could learn from the “children of this age” has to do with “making friends for themselves” by means of “dishonest wealth” so that those new friends might “welcome them into the eternal homes.” So, instead of using “dishonest wealth” to exploit and abuse others, disciples are to use their wealth and resources to “make friends for themselves.” If friendships are based on reciprocal relationships of giving and receiving, then releasing other people’s debts not only enriches them, but also transforms us. It establishes a new kind of reciprocity with them; a deeper bond that stresses of this life cannot break. Friendships based on mutual support creates a support network that becomes essential to us when we find ourselves in a place of need.

Third, there’s a connection between being faithful, or dishonest with “very little” and “very much.” How one deals with “dishonest wealth” and “what belongs to another” says much about how one will deal with “true riches” and “what is your own.” How we use the resources at our disposal in this life, especially in tight circumstances, matters. We are encouraged to be good stewards of each and every gift from God, no matter how big or small it may be.

Finally, the capstone to all this is that “no slave can serve two masters ... you cannot serve God and wealth.” This reiterates a central theme in Luke. The kingdom of God entails giving up all other commitments, including the commitment to economic security that comes from amassing wealth, in order to follow Jesus. Luke places great emphasis on how the reign of God reverses the status of the rich and the poor. In Acts, Luke writes about how the Christian community is one where disciples share “all things in common,” distributing “to all, as any had need.”

These texts cannot just be spiritualized. They cannot just be internalized and applied to our lives in abstract ways. Luke is talking about a different way of using wealth. Our wealth belongs to God, and is to be used for the purposes of God’s reign among us and not simply for our own interests.

So why is our dishonest manager shrewd? Even though he is still a sinner who is looking out for his own interests, he models behavior the disciples can emulate. Instead of simply being a victim of circumstance, he transforms a bad situation into one that benefits him and others. By reducing other people’s debts, he creates a new set of relationships based not on the vertical relationship between lenders and debtors rooted in monetary exchange, but on something more like the reciprocal relationships of friends.

What this dishonest manager sets in play has analogies with what happens when the reign of God emerges among us. Old hierarchies are overturned and new friendships are established. Our job is to take a serious look at how we use what we have been blessed with. How can we help transform people’s lives from the wealth of our time, our talents, and our treasures?

In a few months time, we will once again be invited to spend some time in reflection. You will be asked to reflect upon the unique gifts that you have been blessed with by God. You will be asked to reflect upon how this place, this family has shaped and blessed you on your journey of faith. You will be asked to reflect upon how it is that will you offer the first fruits of your time, your talent, and your treasure to further the mission of God through All Saints. If we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our time and our place, then it is up to you. What will you do to help spread the wealth of God’s love and hospitality? For if we give the very best of who and what we are, then we will be transformed as we follow in the footsteps of Christ and transform the world in the process.

Amen.