First Lutheran Church
September 18, 2022
The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 16:1-131 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. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, "What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.' 3 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. 4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.' 5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he asked the first, "How much do you owe my master?' 6 He answered, "A hundred jugs of olive oil.' He said to him, "Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.' 7 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.' 8 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. 9 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. 10 "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. 11 If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13 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."
Sermon
The Dishonest Manager and the Kingdom of God
Pastor Greg Ronning
This week’s appointed Gospel certainly must be one of the most confusing parables told by Jesus. A story about “dishonest management,” “dishonest wealth,” and “shrewdness.” A story in which what we would normally call bad behavior, is commended as faithful. A story regarding a subject we don’t really like to talk about. “The love of it is the root of all evil, but on the other hand without it you can’t do much good .”It’s a tricky and dangerous thing. Yep, today we’re going to talk about money!
Jesus begins today’s parable, “There was a rich man …” And right away we know that listening to this story, wrestling with the moral of this story, is not going to be a comfortable experience. Even though we are not among the “One Percenters,” when it comes down to it, from a world view perspective, we know we are among the rich .We have things and we manage things, we live as “the haves” and not the “have nots. ”This is a parable in which we should be able to find ourselves. But even so, it’s not a simple story with a clear message. Parables always seem to have a “riddle” quality to them but this one is unique, it’s really quite baffling.
Let’s review today’s story … This manager finds out that his boss, the rich man, is not happy with his work, because he is “squandering” away the rich man’s money. He seems to have been careless, inefficient, foolish, and wasteful with what he was entrusted. In short, he was not a good manager. So, fearing he was about to lose his job, he calls in some of the people who owe his boss money, and he cancels portions of their debt. He does this hoping to win the favor of these people, so that when he loses his job, he will have some friends, that he hopes in turn might do him a favor.
The Rich Man finds out what the dishonest manager has done, and unexpectedly commends him for being “shrewd.” That’s not what usually happens when you essentially “steal” things at work. And then Jesus, even more unexpectedly, concludes the story by also commending the “shrewdness” of the manager, adding this curious advice, “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. ”Jesus then concludes the parable, somewhat ironically, “You cannot serve God and wealth."
So, what are we supposed to do with this parable? What is Jesus “lifting up” as an example of good faith practices, and responsible stewardship? What is “dishonest wealth?” What kind of relationship are we supposed to have with “dishonest wealth?” “Do the ends justify the means? ”Are we being called to be “shrewd mangers” with “dishonest wealth? ”I can’t help but think of the legend of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, - stealing from the rich and giving to the poor! Why is Jesus telling us this story?
So, a few thoughts for you to prayerfully consider ….
First of all, Jesus is calling us to be “shrewd” with our faith life. To be “shrewd” is to be wise, clever, strategic, and even cunning. And it strikes me that we rarely use these kinds of words to describe a really faithful person. Those words just don’t sound or feel right. They belong somewhere else. When it comes to faith we prefer words like innocent, honest, gentle, and kind. We prefer peaceful words over aggressive words. But today Jesus reminds us that our faith also needs to be strong, bold, and courageous. In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus tells his disciples, “I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
All too often the faith of the church chooses the more passive way. All too often we as Christians choose the more passive way? Today Jesus invites us to be more passionate and aggressive, even forceful and antagonistic, - to live out our faith in the same way that the world pursues its love of money. And if we’re to be brutally honest, maybe even the same way we love and pursue our money? Jesus challenges us to make our faith our ultimate concern; and to pursue it accordingly, to summon up all the passionate energy we can, to scheme and strategize, around the things of faith, the values of the Kingdom, the righteousness, the justice of God. When it comes to faith, we need to find a good balance between, “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” We need to practice “shrewdness and cunning” alongside our “gentleness and kindness.”
The second thing that came to my mind as I pondered this week’s gospel was my own relationship with money, to dive head first into the last line of today’s Gospel, “You cannot serve God and wealth." My first sermon thought was to stand up in front of you all and confess that, “I love money!” I love having it in the bank, I love having it in my pocket, and I love the many things it buys me. Yes, and I confess that I not only love the food and the shelter it affords me, the necessities of life, but I also love the entertainment, the travels, and the toys that it buys me. Embarrassing but true, I love my money.
But after some deeper reflection I came to the conclusion that I don’t really love money, - I’m actually afraid of money! I am afraid that I won’t have enough money to pay my bills, take care of my family, do something fun, as well as have enough money to share resources with those in need. No, I don’t love money, I am a slave to money, I am a slave in a world enslaved by money. Unfortunately over the years I have come to believe the great lie about money. The lie that tells us that money saves us, that money protects us, that money defines us, that money is the secret to a good, happy, and successful life.
I suppose every time Jesus talks about money or wealth, and he does it a lot, he is warning us of the danger of believing those lies. “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." Our relationship with money is complicated and dangerous. And when it gets turned upside down, when money becomes the most important thing, our ultimate concern; it will destroy our faith, our relationships, and even our life. In today’s Gospel Jesus invites us to be set free from “the love of money,” and to embrace our resources as something to be shared graciously, joyfully, and meaningfully .Jesus invites us to have a “right” relationship with our resources, one that blesses everyone. We are reminded that money is not the root of all evil, but that the love of money is the root of all evil.
And that leads me to my last thought, “Whose money, is it? ”We often refer to the money in our pockets, the money we have deposited in the bank, the things we have purchased, and the resources we have accumulated, as mine! As I said earlier, “I love MY money!”
Yet that’s not really true. That does not reflect what we have been taught, what we confess we believe, our good theology. The Psalmist declares and reminds us, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” Everything in heaven and earth belongs to God. And all that we have comes from God, not as personal possession to be hoarded but as resources to be shared for the common good of all creation. We are not called to be owners but stewards of God’s gifts. So it is that the proper relationship with money and resources is not a “private love affair,”(I love MY money)but seeing and understanding our wealth and resources as tools to implement the work of the kingdom. We have all been given an abundance to do the work of God, to help realize God’s dream for all of creation, a dream of Shalom, that all-encompassing peace that provides meaning and purpose, health and love, prosperity and joy, for everyone, all of creation.
Theologian Lois Malcom suggests that one of the reasons that Jesus “lifts up” the dishonest manager in today’s parable, is that he goes from squandering the rich man’s wealth to redistributing the rich man’s wealth. Although his motives may not be exactly pure, he is now suddenly participating in the work of the kingdom. He has become part of the vision of God’s reign in Christ, a vision described in the beginning of Luke’s Gospel in the words of the Magnificat, “God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” Today’s Gospel reminds us that our talents, our opportunities, our resources and whatever kind of wealth comes our way,- ultimately belongs to God and is to be used “shrewdly” for the purposes of God’s reign among us and not simply for our own interests.
I can imagine that the good news of the gospel might be hard to hear this morning.At one level it sounds a lot like “the law,” it even sounds a little bit like “politics,” and maybe it sounds like the church is after your money again. And in some ways, all those things may be in there in one way or another; but there is also a word of grace, a word of life, a word that invites us, call us into an abundant meaningful life. I don’t know about you, but I find comfort and hope that I am not defined by my money, I find comfort and hope that there is more to life than money, I find comfort and hope that I don’t have to play the money game to be successful.
Ultimately this morning, I hear a word of love, a word of grace, and a word of freedom And I am excited that we are all invited into a life that is deeper and richer than money, into a life of love and peace, a life of sharing, a life of making a difference, into God’s kingdom that is coming even now, and will come again in the fullness of time.
Let us be “shrewd” for the purposes of heaven, set free from “the love of money” by the love of God in Christ Jesus, faithful redistributors of “dishonest wealth,” and good stewards of all our good gifts, for the sake of the kingdom. Amen.