Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 16:1-13; Amos 8:4-7; I Timothy 2:1-7
Such explanations credit the manager for being clever, maybe even shrewd, in building the network he would need to survive. That after all is the first thing that the various job placement programs around here stress when someone loses a job. Get on the phone, start calling everyone you know, network, make the connections and maintain the connections. Even the master who is firing the manager is impressed by his shrewdness, planning and networking skills. There is probably little doubt that Jesus told this parable with the expectation that those who heard it would, if not identify with, at least root for the manager as he tried to deal with the collapse of the financial house that he had created. Our modern society is quite enamored with stories of the shrewdly planned crime or scam, especially if the victim is some nondescript entity like the government or the bank or some multinational conglomerate. The movies and television programs regularly use this story line and we often find ourselves rooting for the "bad guys" to succeed in spite of the odds. We especially like the carefully planned and executed deed that some how anticipates every contingency. We like characters who act not just in the moment but plan for what might lie ahead.
Planning is in fact what seems to be one of the points of this parable Jesus commends the ingenuity and planning of the financial manager as he concludes the parable by suggesting that such shrewdness and skill is also needed in the kingdom of God. To be willing to expend as much energy and networking time in the name of God would in Jesus' estimation be truly a great thing. The tension between worldly priorities and God's goals is at the center of this parable. Jesus says it so poetically, the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. We know the truth, but the networking must be preserved. We know the truth as children of the light but we are also of this generation, caught up in the economics of each day, seeking not only to survive but to thrive, to succeed. Wealth, even when described by Jesus as "dishonest wealth" is still the number one short term goal of a majority of college students today. Happiness falls somewhat further down the list of priorities. I don't have to tell you about the priorities the rest of us struggle with both personally and as a nation. Jesus takes a hard look at the structures of the world. He knew so well those who were outside the social networks, outside the political system, outside the established religious community. He did not worry about the security of the political system but focused instead on the need to be secure in God's promises, God's future.
As a nation we are currently nobly invested in the political system that will determine the next four years, but what about the rest of eternity? We invest millions in the campaigns of candidates and parties that are willing to promise us all kinds of discounted deals, imagine what such investments could do in the service of the light revealed in God's coming kingdom. What if we were to market the ancient vision of justice, freedom and peace rather then relying on manipulation, threat and fear. The manager really did not own any of the funds he managed. They were entrusted to him. So in the end Jesus reminds us that all that we have is a trust from God. And he posits a curious question when he asks, almost rhetorically, if we cannot be faithful with that which God loans us how will we ever be faithful with that which is ours to own and possess, the gift of our own eternal life. To be faithful with what God gives us, it is so easy to miss the point.
In a sermon on this text, Virginia Miner recalls a scene in the movie Bruce Almighty. This is a film in which John Carey plays the part of Bruce Nolan, a self-centered news reporter who after having a particularly bad day rages at God for not doing more to make his life better. The Almighty, played by Morgan Freeman, responds to Bruce's tirade by offering Bruce the job of God while the real God goes on vacation. Bruce is given all of God's powers except he is not allowed to mess with human free will. Bruce begins to practice his new powers, but he only does things for himself. He parts a bowl of tomato soup just as God parted the waters of the Red Sea for Moses. He drags the moon closer to the earth for a more romantic evening. He completely neglects the job God has given him. The unanswered prayers keep piling up. Bruce begins to organize them into a computer and to make his job easier he decides to just say "yes" to every request. Stocks rise, people get taller, a little leaguer pitches a perfect game, and everyone wins the lottery. All this causes chaos in his home city of Buffalo and does nothing for Bruce's relationship with his girlfriend. Eventually Bruce realizes that he has not done God's job well at all and he calls out to God for help. God takes back the powers and remedies the mess Bruce has made but God leaves Bruce with these thoughts. God tells Bruce, "Parting your soup isn't a miracle; it's a magic trick. A single mom, working two jobs who still finds time to take a kid to soccer practice, that's a miracle. A teenager who says no to drugs and yes to an education, that's a miracle. People want me to do everything for them. What they don't realize is that they have the power. Want to see a miracle? Be a miracle..."
The dishonest manager isn't rewarded in the parable for being dishonest but for not giving up on his own power to make the world a better place, even if at the expense of the master. It isn't the power that God has not given us that is our problem. It is the power we neglect to use that is our dishonesty. Jesus told those who listened to this parable that the potential is ours to be as shrewd as the children of this world but also focused in a new direction as children of light. Every adversity, every evil, every threat should not be seen as a need to turn away from the world in fear or anxiety but as an opportunity to embrace with grace, forgiveness, love, healing and wholeness. Our goal should be to imitate that which is misguided so that we might turn it toward God's light. We have been offered a very special deal, a deal unlike any we have ever known. All we have to do is believe. We are invited to step out by faith, to set our priorities by faith, to order our lives by faith. Gather at the table, celebrate the unconditional gift of our baptism, grace given to us before we even knew it, one of the many gifts that lift us out of the law, away from the self centered and self serving into a network of the saints, those called to be children of light. Jesus said, " Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much" Most of us have been given much, and the good news is that Jesus did not say, "You owe me." We have been blessed, and that is the beginning of the miracle that we call grace. You want to see a miracle? Be a miracle...
Amen