Sept. 21 | Pentecost 15, Year C
Jer. 8:18-9:1 or Amos 8:4-7
Psalm 79:1-9 or Psalm 113
1 Tim. 2:1-7
Luke 16:1-13
Buried in this difficult parable is the key to finding its meaning. The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. We begin with the manager being caught in his dishonesty and being fired. It makes no sense that the manager would then be commended for further dishonesty by the man who fired him in the first place and who would suffer further loss by his hand.
We are troubled, however, by the apparent praise of the manager’s dishonesty coming from the lips of Jesus. Excuses have been made for the manager that are meant to serve as explanations for this conundrum. Perhaps the manager was dishonest in that he demanded a higher commission than the master allowed from the debtors. Or maybe he charged exorbitant interest that he did not pass on to his master. In either case, what is surmised that he crossed off was not what was owed to the master, but rather what he had dishonestly added to the bill.
But this assumes more than what the parable says, and we aren’t told about the manager’s final destiny. The importance of the parable lies not in the guilt or innocence of the manager, but rather in his realization of his need to prepare for the future and a new life. Its pertinence for us is the message that how we live in this life will determine our future life. After all, every human being will be dismissed from this life. As Christians, we are stewards of God’s creation. All we have belongs to God. We prepare for the next life through the wise use of the resources God has given us to manage.
When it comes to our worldly resources, wisdom and generosity are the hallmarks of Christian stewardship. As followers of Jesus Christ, we believe that all we have comes from God and that we are responsible for furthering God’s kingdom with the resources he provides. In short, as stewards, we are to employ God’s resources according to his will and for his purpose. As a result, we live in the tension between our need to provide for ourselves and the command to love our neighbors.
Through the parable, Jesus teaches that our decision, if it is to be wise, should be predicated on the future and not the present. In worldly matters we praise those who invest their money so that it grows and will bear fruit for the future, while we pity those who, when they come into money, spend it all with abandon. In this life we need to see our circumstances for what they are—temporary. Then, with that reality in mind, we should invest in the kingdom—which is eternal. That investment is made through acts of self-sacrificial love and generosity.
When we work for our own gain in this life, we grab and hold on to as much wealth and influence as we can. With a tight grasp on our resources, we are unable to open our hands to share what we have with our neighbors. But as Job declared, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there.” We truly cannot serve two masters. By serving ourselves, we despise God. By serving God, we despise our fallen nature. A clinched fist cannot grasp the hand of the Master who has come to pull us into eternity.
Look It Up: Jeremiah 8:22
Think About It: True healing of human beings is not found in Gilead or anywhere else in this world. Our eternal salvation is found only by turning to God.
The Rev. Dr. Chuck Alley, former rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, teaches anatomy at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School.
