Luke 16: 1-13
I have a colleague who
continually reminds the rest of us preachers that parables are
complex-multidimensional tales with the purpose of provoking strong reactions. Parables
address economy and relationships, pulling listeners into a tale where everything-they-think-they-know
is upended, jumbled into a radical expression of an unknown system of organizing
society.
In grade school, I remember
teachers who had us practice putting ourselves into the stories read in class.
Teachers would address the class: imagine you are Spot (Spot was a dog). How do
you think Spot felt playing with Dick and Jane? And similar queries. The idea
was not only learning to read the words of the story, but to learn to
comprehend what we were reading. Spot, Dick, and Jane stories had many layers:
simple words for beginner readers that made a story; the pictures that helped
with understanding and added more details like the colour of Dick’s jacket, and
the park they played in having trees; and the outside questions discerning a
layer of feelings, and another of why, how, who, where and so on. From grade 2
seeds were planted that taught us that reading is not just the words on the
page.
My colleague, when reading
parables has a practice of asking who is God in this scenario? Generally, there
is what many consider an obvious answer and yet, when following through the
parable one often has to do mental gymnastics to satisfactorily make it work. Parables
are complex-multidimensional tales with the purpose of provoking strong
reactions.
The Gospel of Luke has a
string of kindom parables emphasizing God’s economy, grace, and want of
relationship. The parables are pointed making the hearer uncomfortable. And it
has worked! Pr. Jim asked if he could read the Gospel on his ordination
anniversary Sunday and when I told him what it was – whoever comes to me and
does not hate father and mother… none of you can be my disciples if you do not
give up all your possessions - it
was a moment of ‘yikes, not an easy Gospel to proclaim.’ Some of you have commented
recently after worship, while shaking your heads, ‘yikes, that Gospel.’ The
Gospel has gotten under our skin.
Lutheran clergy met this
week. Our practice is to talk about the readings for the upcoming Sunday. With
this Gospel we reflected on and played with who represents God in the parable.
Exploring the nuances and layers when God is interpreted as:
Owner Dishonest manager Debtor
As Jesus’ story progresses, we
know that Jesus is crucified and dies. He is, as a manager, let go.
By human standards Jesus’ ministry
squandered time, talents, and energy on healing the outcast, giving hope to the
poor, performing miracles for free. Jesus abundantly scattered mercy,
compassion, and teaching. Jesus spent much time confronting those with power
and those holding the rule of law. The conversations he had with them did not
change the systems. By human understanding Jesus’ ministry failed. Jesus had not
increased his social status, did not gain power in the religious or political
systems of the day, and did not accrue financial wealth. Jesus didn’t act the
Messiah role the disciples and followers had hoped he would be.
According to human
understanding, Jesus – God - failed.
There is a section of this
parable that gets messy when trying to explain it out logically. So let us come
to it considering that the tale is trying to express the fullness of God’s
vision and love for humankind in a tale that humans might just understand. The
parable is trying to convey to what lengths God will go to be and stay in
relationship with humankind.
The manager goes about
reducing -forgiving- a portion of debt owed by debtors. The manager, it is
said, does this so that once dismissed as manager, he will be welcomed in these
debtors’ homes. The master commends the dishonest manager for being shrewd.
The text comments that the
children of this age are more shrewd, alluding to human understanding and
human transactions in the world. Highlighting the transactions most important
to humans are those involving money.
The parable expresses the
manager’s work as transactional, he reduced a debt so that in return the person
would welcome him. It is expressed this
way -not because God is transactional- but because transaction – getting
something for something is most understandable to humans.
In the parable the manager
goes about forgiving debt, notice not all the debt. Humans are suspicious of
free or that which is perceived as overly merciful, so forgiveness is talked
about only in part. There is still debt to pay in the parable because that is an
easier love to accept and receive. It also shows a continued want by the
manager and master to keep in relationship with the human being, so the action
is not once and done and the human wanders off. As the gospel of Luke continues
there is no doubt that all is forgiven, there is no debt held back, but that
story is for another day. This is a seed planting day.
There are a lot of parables
that talk about seeds. I believe that the parables are seeds.
This one is planting seeds
for the event of Jesus’ death and the time after.
God loved the world so much
that…
Do you hear what this layer
of the parable is saying?
God goes to great lengths
-even to being dismissed and acting as a dishonest manager – so that humankind
can grasp the depths to which God unconditionally loves creation.
Now before you get upset
about suggesting Jesus acts as a dishonest manager, consider in the parable,
what is the action that is dishonest? All we are told is that the master has
heard that the manager has been squandering his property. In a past parable we
heard of a farmer indiscriminately and abundantly distributing seeds, in human
terms of economy, productivity, and financial gain the actions are unbelievable
and foolish. Perhaps the manager in this parable has squandered property
according to human understanding, subverting economic expectations of the day–
as in not protecting, not investing, not accumulating property. From human bystanders
passing rumours squandering property could be a manager practicing re-distribution,
fair-wages, environmental protection, land settlement, charitable contribution;
any action using money and resources with mercy, compassion, and kindness.
In the verse that follows
the telling of the parable Luke makes a point to mention: The Pharisees, who
were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed Jesus.
Ridiculed because of the
love of Money, whose transactions, ruled them, ruled the day and ruled every
aspect of life. So much so that - Incomprehensible was the love of a relational
God whose economy was abundant in mercy and forgiveness.
The key verse for me this
week is verse 9 which reads:
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 home.
‘Dishonest wealth’ is economy
and the use of resources in a way which the world, the lovers of money, do not
understand. It is labelled dishonest by the lovers of money, to dissuade the
public from gravitating to relational living rather than continually being in the
transactional debt of ‘I owe you-s, you owe me-s.’ Dishonest wealth is forgiving debts, being
generous; spending all one’s time, talent, and possessions; abundantly casting
seeds, excessively loving …
Because God so loves us.
… and in living that economy…
God’s love,
when our time here is done, we
are welcomed into the eternal home.
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