Another Parable About Money – Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Luke 16: 1-13)

So, what was that parable about? It’s a tricky one. You may remember that last week we heard the parable of the Lost Sheep which is a very well-known parable, partly because the message and the imagery seem so clear to people. A sheep wanders off by itself and the shepherd leaves behind the ninety-nine other sheep to go find the one that is lost. It is a story that is well told and easy to grasp. We know where to find ourselves in that story and where to find God. That’s how it became so famous.

This week, however, the lectionary presents us with something a bit different. This week we have a parable that is a little more difficult to get a grasp on. As one of the notes in my study bible puts it, this is a very “enigmatic” parable. It’s a rather confusing story. Its’s meaning is not totally clear. Part of that is because we don’t have all the information we might need, so we are not entirely sure what the characters are doing or why. So, we are not sure where to find ourselves in this story or where exactly we are meant to find God. Then, to make things more confusing, after the parable, Jesus leaves us with some confusing sayings. Except for the last thing he says in this reading, which is pretty clear and concise. With all that in mind, I think it might be helpful, then, to go through the story together. Slowly, so we catch what is happening as best we can.

At the start, we are introduced to the primary characters in this story. One is a rich man, a landowner. The other is the title character of this parable, the Dishonest Manager. This man’s job was to be the steward of the rich man’s properties. He oversaw the day-to-day aspects, managing them, collecting the debts on them, and that sort of thing. However, when this story begins the manager is in trouble with his boss. He is being accused of “squandering” the wealthy man’s properties. The word “squandering” here is the same one that is used to describe what the Prodigal Son does with his inheritance. He is irresponsible with it, and loses it. So, the wealthy man tells him that he will be fired and he must be prepared to give an accounting of what he has done. This part of the story is meant to evoke comparison to God’s final judgement and accounting of our lives.

Then, in another similarity with the Prodigal Son, we read that the manager has a bit of an inner monologue going on. It reveals to us that he is scared about losing his job and isn’t sure what to do next. He doesn’t think that he is strong enough for manual labor and he would be too shamed to beg. So, he has to figure something else out. Something that means people will still “let him into their homes” after he is manager. Presumably, he wants to be able to rely on the kindness of strangers once he loses his job.

As part of his plan, he next begins to go around to the wealthy man’s debtors. He asks them how much they owe, and then ends up collecting less. For instance, the man who owed 100 jugs of olive oil is only asked to give 50. The man who owes 100 containers of wheat only has to hand over 80 containers. Now, this is one of the confusing parts of this story, because it is unclear what exactly the plan is. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for the amounts the manager is collecting. We aren’t told why he is doing this or what he does with the resources he collects. It’s possible he was cheating the landowner and kept what he collected for himself. It’s also possible he was trying to get into the good graces of the debtors so that they would help take care of him after he lost his job. We don’t really know. We just jump to the next part of the parable. The wealthy man shows up and praises the manager’s scheming behavior. Again, it is unclear why he is commending this behavior. Is it because he acted decisively? Is Jesus encouraging decisive action in the face of judgement?

That is one possibility, but then Jesus goes on to give several different lessons about this parable. This is where things continue to get confusing. Jesus tells those listening to make friends by means of “dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” Again, this is confusing because at first reading it seems as if Jesus is encouraging dishonest behavior with money. Jesus also says that the “children of this age,” which is what he often calls non-believers, are more shrewd in dealing with this generation than are the “children of Light,” which is what he calls his followers. It is tough to know what to make of this. Is Jesus commending the dishonest behavior of the “children of this age?” Or is he perhaps warning his followers, and telling them not to be naïve and deal with dishonest people with eyes open to the reality of the age? All are possible interpretations of its meaning. These sayings in v. 9-13 are seen by some scholars as commentary, added in later, about the already existing story of the dishonest manager. They are the early church trying to wrestle with this confusing parable. Early attempts at scriptural exegesis handed down through the generations. Maybe, then, the lesson is that the best we can do is wrestle with the difficult scriptures ourselves.

Even though this is a confusing parable, there are some context clues to help us decipher what meaning we can take from it, and what meaning Jesus may have intended. This parable is part of a prolonged session of teaching by Jesus that extends to previous chapters. At the beginning of last week’s reading, in chapter 15 of Luke, we are told that there some Pharisees sitting nearby, listening to Jesus teach. We know from that reading that they were judging the tax collectors Jesus chose to eat with. Then, in chapter 16, the verse following our reading today tells us that those same Pharisees overheard this parable and ridiculed Jesus for it, because they had a different view of the importance of money. The context of these parables then, are that Jesus knows the Pharisees are listening. So, even though Christ is teaching his disciples and other followers some of this message is directed at those Pharisees (or at least Luke wants us to think that). Jesus and the Pharisees are well known to have different priorities, and different visions of what it means to live righteously for God. Jesus repeatedly offers a different view for us to consider.

It seems then, that at least part of the lesson here, part of the message Jesus is trying to get across, is that to be faithful to God and to live as if we are in the coming realm of God, we must act trustworthy and responsibly with God’s resources. Including money. The dishonest manager represents those who have misunderstood the realm of God, and because of this act irresponsibly with the resources God has given them. They also misunderstand money and wealth. Money, after all, is a tool, and a means of doing God’s work. It is not an end in itself. The Pope, Pope Leo, acknowledged this in a recent interview. In that interview he shared his belief that the polarization among people in our world today may be partly to do with the fact that income inequality has grown to extreme levels in our world. With some CEOs making hundreds of times more money than people in the working class. And when reflecting on the news that Elon Musk was on track to become the world’s first trillionaire the Pope said, “What does that mean? And what’s that about? If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble.”

I think another clue for us about how to interpret this confusing story, is that sometimes the word manager is interpreted as steward. This is a reminder that the chief duty of a manager or a steward is to be faithful in caring for the resources that have been entrusted to them. Whether that is by God or just by a neighbor or a patron. “Whoever is faithful in a little is faithful in much” Jesus says. In verses 10-12 we are taught that it is better to put our trust in the faithful. In those who have a responsible, and Godly, understanding of how to care for what has been entrusted to us. In verse 13, we are told the faithful will serve one master, not two, and it is especially impossible to serve both God and money. One of the words used for money and wealth in this text is mammon. Which is a word that implies wealth is being turned into an idol.

I think there is no doubt that in our world today, money is an idol for many. Some people will put all their attention on their work, on making money, often at the expense of family and loved ones. Values and integrity are sacrificed for the chance at wealth. Dishonesty can be rewarded with money. Perhaps worst of all, people without money are dehumanized and despised. These are our actions when we are being “children of this age” or this generation. As children of light, however, we are called to more and better than that. These are the actions of dishonest and ineffective stewards of God’s bounty, God’s resources gifted to us. A bad or dishonest steward will use resources, including money, to create and maintain privilege for themselves. Or they will use their abundant resources to wield power over other people. And many will try to do all this in the name of God. As if having money and resources is a sign that God has chosen them for power and privilege. We know this cannot be true, though, because Jesus told us you cannot serve two masters. It is God or it is money.

What would a Good and Faithful steward do then? A good steward will use their resources in a way that uplifts the Kindom of God. And I know we don’t all have the resources of the billionaires and millionaires of this world. But we all have some gift that God has given us -time, talent treasure. And we have the work that God has called us to – spreading the Good News to all people and caring for those most in need, those who have been denied help and resources from the powerful and the privileged. Even so, what we have may not seem like a lot, but that’s okay. We must simply be faithful stewards of what we have been given. For whoever is faithful with a little will be faithful with much more. The “more” Jesus is talking about there is the realm and the Kindom of God, which we get closer to every time we faithfully and generously use the resources we steward in a way that blesses others. How we do that is up to us, between you and God. Perhaps you will have to be a bit “creative” as the manager in the parable was, but not in a way that cheats others and benefits only you, but in a way that uplifts others and finds a way to overcome the struggles and obstacles in this world.

Or maybe, this confusing parable is and was about something completely different. Maybe I’m way off base. But I’ve wrestled with it as best I could. Done my best to be a faithful and honest steward of the Word God has given to the people. As with money, land, oil, wheat, or anything else God has gifted us in this life, the Word is an abundant resource to be shared and cared for. May the word, no matter how enigmatic it can seem, always be used to bless and uplift. Amen.