Luke 16
Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.” Then the manager said to himself, “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. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.” So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?” He answered, “A hundred jugs of olive oil.” He said to him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.” Then he asked another, “And how much do you owe?” He replied, “A hundred containers of wheat.” He said to him, “Take your bill and make it eighty.” And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
‘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.’
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It never seemed to occur to the dishonest manager that by ripping the rich owner off, he might in fact get his job back.
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First the bad news... we cannot fully learn the lesson that is put in front of us today... it is impossible. It is beyond our ability. And this parable really doesn’t make sense as a life lesson on so many levels... we cannot serve two masters... that is true... but we certainly try.
The first of the 10 commandments is that we will have no other God’s... that is... we will be only following one God... and is said that if we could keep this one commandment... then the rest wouldn’t be needed. If we could cut through all the other worries, all the other distractions, all the other ways that we reach for security in money, power, people, and things... and keep this one commandment... and come to understand God as revealed to us... we would not commandments about steal, adultery, honoring parents.
This is the impossible challenge of the text, and the impossible challenge of life... And especially today, for the God we are trying to follow is portrayed in a way that we don’t naturally think possible.
This is a tough text... a tough one to look for God in ... a tough one to figure out who we are in the parable... and a tough one to believe.
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Today we hear Jesus telling what is to me one of the strangest parables in the bible.
And I’m driven to wonder if Luke got it wrong. For the parable describes the actions of a richman that are counter intuitive. And before we continue, as a warning... this is bad business advice... look for the nature of God in this... and don’t write this in your quarterly vision statement.
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There was a rich man. Here is our first clue... this parable is about the rich man - gotta hold that central.
The rich man gets bad news. There is a manager accused of squandering. And we write squandering but it’s actually a agricultural term... similar to winnowing and gathering. In fact... the manager is accused of hoarding the money. He’s squandering in the sense of missing the opportunity to get the wealth of the owner out working and doing what the owner wants.
This is a squandering we can understand. Anyone who assigns another to manage their money, and then finds that they are not using it in the way that was intended will understand the fury of the owner.
No trial, no defense, just a demand. Turn in your books, I want you out of the house by sundown - you aren’t serving me... You are fired.
And here is where maybe Luke got it wrong... the manager is accused of squandering, but only seems to begin to really squander wastefully after he is accused of squandering and then fired. And so he goes into self survival mode. He looks for security in self serving ways.
Too weak to dig, too proud to beg... he chooses instead to swindle and make some deals. The money starts to flow... the manager makes some shady moves and now has some people that are very grateful to him because their debts have been forgiven. And now it’s not begging the manager will do... it’s getting paid back.
The manager has feathered his nest nicely.
And now Luke get’s it really wrong! The manager should call the police. There should be a full investigation... justice should be done! An independent firm hired to check the books and get to the bottom of every dime, every jar of oil, every grain of wheat and every shred of indebtedness should be accounted for and written down and demanded.
Yet no... the manager who has now really ripped of the owner receives praise for his actions... he’s called ‘clever’ by the manager but really... that’s our translation of a greek word that us usually as translated as ‘wise’... the manager is told that he has acted wisely and shrewdly and as much as we don’t want to praise his actions, it seems that the rich owner has no problem doing this.
The owner is now pleased. He commends the manager... I even wonder if that manager got his job back... you don’t commend the people you are going to let go.
And so in this confusing parable... Luke shows us an entire new economy of debt and forgiveness. It is the hoarding of wealth, and the holding others in debt that is condemned. It is the releasing of others from debt that is commended as wise.
Luke likes to talk about money. He wouldn’t make a very good Canadian... he wouldn’t make a good Lutheran in this sense either.
When Luke writes out his copy of the Lord’s prayer, well, we dance around the core issue and pull out the word trespasses. But, check your bibles later and you’ll see that there is word play going on. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We want to talk about sins and trespasses in terms of moral failure because this is easy and convenient and doable and makes better gossip... but Luke talks about debt... Luke writes the Lord’s prayer to say ‘forgive us our sins, as we forgive everyone indebted to us.’
It is clear... according to Luke... sinfulness and debtedness and money and life and sin... are all tied together.
So maybe Luke in fact got it right...
If sinfulness and indebtedness are all tied together... maybe in selfishly attempting to feather his own nest, the manager accomplished the work of the rich owner.
Maybe in freeing those who were indebted to the owner, the true work of the owner was accomplished. The owner is not angered... he is impressed. The Manager is commended... given new life and work where the Manager thought none could be.
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So since Jesus tell’s parables to give us glimpses of what God and the Kingdom of heaven are like... and since the rich owner who is acting so strangely can only be God who in facts owns all things, the God who lavishly gives all things... the grace comes where we don’t expect it.
The accounting doesn’t add up... but God is more interested in forgiveness and restoration than getting paid in full.
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Is it to radical to say... is it just to far fetched to imagine that God is at work not only in our best work, but also in our worst?
This is important because the rubber really hit the road this week...
Two masters are calling for our attention.
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This week in a packed Hinton court room... the sentencing of Ross Edward Kleman was finished. For the next 18 years there is no parole... after 18 years there is possibility of parole...
And justice? Is it done? Does it all add up? Of course not... a hundred years wouldn’t be enough... no punishment would be enough... and even a life for a life wouldn’t be repayment enough... not in a million years... but it is what it is now...
And there are two masters calling for our attention. We cannot serve both.
One master is mammon or money or wealth or I’ll extend the debt metaphor to say the book keeper. We can choose to serve the book keeper... and the accounting of the book keeper says to hold to the pain and demand your fair share and get rid of those who don’t add up... and in the end... we will discover that all the accounting that we owe and is owed to us doesn’t add up... not in a million years... and we can die holding fast to this sense of injustice - dead in the debts that we cling too- another victory of death - unforgiven and unforgiving. Lifeless rigor mortis.
The other master calling for our attention is one who praises remission of debt, keeps no record of wrong, and focuses on redeeming a broken and sinful and debt ridden world rather than book-keeping and making it add up. This is Jesus who dies to pay for debts that aren’t his own. This is where life is given and this is where life is found.
Jesus’ parable of the owner who praises the crooked works of the dishonest manager tell the tale of the master who chooses life over death. Who chooses life over debt repayment. Who chooses life over what is lawfully and rightfully owed to him.
The parable is about the character of the owner.
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This last Wednesday at prayer... one day after the sentencing... there was a miracle... I meet with the Ministerial - the other pastors in town - every Wednesday we pray and support one another. And Terry Stauffer prayed a prayer that chose life... the father of Emily Stauffer is owed a debt that can never be paid... not in a million years. Terry prayed for the man who took his daughters life. He prayed that light could overcome the darkness that is in Ross Edward Kleman - that life and light would overwhelm and overcome everyone in the situation where death and book keeping wants the final word. 18 years is not enough... a hundred years is not enough... there is no peace is the book keepers ledger.
Terry showed that the calling of the master who remits debt in a radical way speaks... and gives life where indebtedness and death want to be.
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It’s not too radical to believe.
That God became incarnate in Christ to be fully human.
That God suffered and died death on the cross.
and rose victorious over death and now extends grace to all - the accounting ledger is destroyed - the book keeper has no place in the Kingdom.
In this gathering today , in these scriptures and songs, in the holy meal of forgiveness, and in our life together now and forever we hear the calling of the master.
So those who have ears to hear, hear the Word of the Lord and have faith.
Death and darkness and indebtedness is forever defeated by forgiveness and light and life. Not through our best works... but through the work of the Christ.
It’s not to radical to believe.
Amen.
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