September 23, 2001
Christ Church Covington
Amos 8:4-7(8-12)
Ps. 138
1 Tim. 2:1-8
Lk. 16:1-13

One of Jesus’ favorite methods of teaching was the use of parables and with good reason. Everyone loves a good story! In the past few weeks the Gospel of Luke has provided us with a number of such examples and today is no exception. We are all instinctively aware of what parables are and usually Jesus provides us with a fairly clear-cut situation (in fact, it seems that it is only the disciples who aren’t able to figure out their meaning). Frequently they are analogies such as the Word of the Kingdom of God being like the sowing of seeds, some on rocky soil that fails to bear fruit while other seeds fall upon good and fertile soil and flourish (Matt.13). In other cases, such as the parable of the Good Samaritan found earlier in Luke’s gospel, Jesus provides us with clear exemplars of worthy behaviour. In today’s Gospel, however, we find that both figures in the parable act in a manner that I expect we would find dubious and yet Jesus praises them! Just what exactly is going on here?

Jesus begins this parable by telling us that there was a rich man, perhaps an absentee landlord, and a manager who was "squandering his property." Notice that the charge against the manager or steward was not that he was stealing from his master, but rather that he was "squandering his property." The implication seems to be that the steward was managing his master’s affairs well and perhaps was not bringing in as much revenue as the owner believed he ought. He was not "maximizing" the potential of his master’s holding. As a result, the manager was to be relieved of his duties and was asked to get the books in order and present them to his master. The manager, taking stock of the situation and realizing his own limitations called in his master’s debtors and reduced their bills accordingly. The master, upon hearing of his manager’s actions, commends him for his shrewd planning. Now what is that all about?! Is the master commending the steward for apparently swindling him out of the full amount of debts owed?

Let us take a closer look for a moment and ask how might the manager have been "squandering" his master’s property and why the master would commend his steward for apparently currying favor with the debtors by short changing his master.

A "manager," or "steward" as the old version read (oikonomon in Greek), was someone who was entrusted by his master to oversee his property and had the power to make financial and commercial transactions on behalf of the master. It is unclear in what precise way the manager was mis-managing the master’s property, it could be anything from negligence to incompetence. Whatever it was, the manager was not maximizing the value his master’s property.

It would be understandable then that he should fire the man, but why praise him when he doctors the books? The answer lies in accounting. According to biblical law (Deut. 23.19) Israelites were not allowed to charge interest to another Israelite. Needless to say, but I will say it anyway, this put a bit of a damper on inter-Israelite transactions and would have removed the manager’s portion of the proceeds. There was, as always, a loop hole and it was common practice during Jesus’ day that when one needed to acquire, say, 50 jugs of olive oil that the bill would be written to reflect the total amount owed, that is principle and interest. Thus technically interest is not charged, instead the oil was just really expensive! When the manager reduced the debtor’s bill from 100 containers of wheat to 80 he was removing his commission and in so doing he is assuring that when he had lost his position there would be at least a few people who would be willing to show him charity. It is this prudent action, the manager’s planning for his future, that the master of verse 8 praises.

In the following verses Jesus commends such prudent action and foresight to us all. This passage is, in fact, tailor made for the stewardship campaign! And who am I to avoid preaching on the Gospel! The intent and meaning of this passage that Luke presents to us is clear.

The prophet Amos, then looked around and saw that his nation, those whom God had called to be holy and entrusted with the unique guardianship of the vulnerable, were not only depriving these people of their justice and neglecting their most basic needs, they were exploiting them for their own monetary gain.

Once we have prayerfully reflected on these things then we, like the manager who was given the pink slip, need to be shrewd and look to the future and consider what investments and cost cutting measures we need to take now to ensure our security and the well-being of our world in the future, and not just for a week or a year from now, but to the end of time itself. There are, of course, very practical applications about our use of money and tithing that could be made. We have already heard about the upcoming stewardship campaign here in our parish and more will be said in the coming weeks. But neither our stewardship campaign nor Jesus’ teaching is merely about money. Remember Jesus’ admonition in the Gospel of Matt:

And what are the "true riches"? This is the currency of God’s kingdom, the proclamation of the good news of Christ and him crucified, of our salvation through his sacrifice, and of his Holy Spirit working in and through us to transform our very hearts and minds. Are we being transformed? Do we conduct our business with this holy currency?

The wealth of this world is just that: of this world. We are undoubtedly to be good stewards of the money that we have. It is not a sin to be wealthy, so long as the wealth is acquired in a legal and right manner. It is, however, sinful to squander that wealth. Amos was concerned not only because the leaders of Israel are cheating people with unbalanced scales, but also because they compound their sin by not using their wealth to help and aid "the poor of the land." Indeed, they trample and exploit them in their quest for wealth.

No, Jesus calls us to be shrewd, to assess properly what we have been given and how we might use it here and now for his glory. And before any of us thinks, "Well, my income is modest and honestly earned. I don’t have great excess to put in the plate." This is not just about money. This is about the gifts of God, those unique abilities, talents, and traits that we have that can be used for Christ and his people.

Recent tragic events have brought home to us that money is not what is most important. In the immediate efforts to cope with and clean up after the terrorist attacks money has, literally, not been the issue. Instead what was needed and what our nation gave willingly and eagerly was blood, time, physical effort, unity, counseling, and prayer. Money has also filled fireman’s boots and the Red Cross accounts. This too is proper stewardship. The real tragedy is that it takes something as horrid as this to move us. There are thousands of people dying all around us right now. They are dying from poverty, drugs, violence, ignorance: sin. They are decaying internally, emotionally, and spiritually.

What are we doing about that?