The unifying theme of this chapter is that of using possessions to benefit others, especially the needy. I want us to begin our reflection today by getting ourselves into the right orientation, - look at this thing from the right angle....
- so that we see from the right perspective
- so that we're looking at the light
- so that we can hear our master's voice more clearly
- so that we have eyes to see and ears to hear, as Jesus put it.
From what perspective should the people of God be looking at the world? I want to give you a perpective - one that informs our reading of this gospel - and ask you to put yourself into it - and see how the glove fits.
You will perhaps know of Jim Wallis - a Christian writer and leader for social change. He is a speaker, author, activist, and international commentator on ethics and public life. Wallis was a founder of the Sojourners Community - Christians for justice and peace - more than 30 years ago and continues to serve as the editor of Sojourners magazine, covering faith, politics and culture. In his 1980's book The Call To Conversion, he makes one simple observation about the gospel of Jesus that has really stuck with me over the years, and which, potentially challenges the whole way we think about our Christian faith....
That perspective comes from pointing out the sheer bulk of biblical teaching on the subject of wealth and poverty - so that it is seen as one of the most central themes in all of scripture. It pervades the OT, being arguably the second most common topic there (the first being idolotry). cf our lection reading from Amos. In the NT, we find more that 500 verses of direct teaching on the subject. That represents one out of every 16 verses (and this ratio does not include indirect teaching drawn from NT doctrines and the actions of Jesus or the apostles).
"Jesus talked more about wealth and poverty than almost any other subject, including heaven and hell, sexual morality, the law, or violence. One out of every ten verses in the synoptic gospels is about the rich and the poor. In Luke, the ratio is one out of every seven. James (who may or may not be our patronal saint...) treats the subject in one out of every five verses in his epistle. Thus the subject of money, possessions, and the poor is hardly a casual concern or passing interest to the biblical writers." p58
How does this glove fit? Is this an unexpected gospel perspective on the world? Is this how our Christian faith informs our world-view?
(pause for thought)
How does this glove fit? Is this an unexpected perspective on the world?
From the point of view of that perspective, we can consider this gospel story of the shrewd/dodgy manager.
As he continues to travel towards Jerusalem, Jesus says more about what is required of a disciple.
Many in the crowd were poor, oppressed by the rich, so a story about a “rich man” (vv. 1-8a) would be popular. Jesus speaks in their terms, calling money “dishonest wealth” (v. 9) or filthy lucre. He gives us a story about some well-dodgy people. The manager was dodgy - in Palestine there were many (hated) absentee landlords - and so this manager is his lackie and may well have been left in charge of his master's estate for years - and he has been embezzling for a career. Rent was often paid to a landlord in kind - often an agreed proportion of produce. The manager knew that he'd been rumbled - and he has a brilliant idea. He falsifies the entries in the books so that the debtors are debited with far less than they owe. A good old fashioned scam. This has two effects - first the debtors are very pleased with him. Second, it involves them in the scam - so that in the worst case scenario the manager will be able to implicate them - they'll certainly be keeping quiet about it all. And the master is a bit dodgy too - instead of being shocked at the whole thing, he appreciates the shrewd thinking behind it, and actually congratulates the manager for what he has done.
Four lessons?
(1) Looking at verse 8 - From elsewhere in the New Testament and from the Qumran literature, we know that “the children of light” (v. 8) means those who are 'spiritually enlightened': But business-people, Jesus seems to be saying, are more pragmatic in their sphere than are disciples in affairs of the Kingdom. In other words - the kingdom of God would be all the more present to us if only the children of light were as eager and ingenious in their attempts to live out God's calling as they are in their attempts to make a profit.
(pause for thought)
(2) Looking at verse 9 - we know that we are all relatively wealthy. The story teaches that there are different ways of using our wealth. Wealth isn't a sin - it's a responsibility that is discharged in so far as we use it for the benefit of others. I personally know a man who has no family, and very quietly uses his modest wealth to pay school and university fees for a number of young people who would otherwise be unable to benefit from those opportunities of education - perhaps some of us have benefitted from such bursaries. How many a grateful person has been seen through a time of need by a better-off friend. Pause for a moment and think of such a use of wealth that you or someone you know has offered or received.
(3) Looking at verses 10 and 11 - someone's way of fulfilling a small task is the best proof of how fit they are to fulfill a bigger task. 'Experience wanted' it says, in every job advertisement. Being faithful in small things - we've spoken of this before. It's why an employer is interested in your Duke of Edinburgh award - or your work for a voluntary organisation - or the year you spent as an assistant at L'Arche - or your 15 years as secretary to the Vestry - ..... or whaever the 'small things' are. Jesus extends the principle to eternity. A paraphrase of Jesus' words might be - 'On this earth you are in charge of things which are not really yours. You cannot take them with you when you die. They are only on loan. You are only a steward/manager of them. They cannot, in the nature of things be permanently yours. In the kingdom of God (which is already here), what you will be given as your very own, will depend on how you use the things of which you are only a steward.'
(pause for thought)
(4) Reflection on SEC Provincial Conference - five and two - impressions.......Main message, - AB of C - the insecurity and fearfulness of the church - very embattled, up against it, short of resources - us and them-ism - But where does the nourishment come from? - from outwith the expected fold - from unexpected, undervalued sources. Again and again - the gospel of Jesus - surprising us with its unpredictability.
Likewise, in today's parable - of the dodgy manager - Jesus also seems to point outside the predictable ordering of God's kingdom, to reveal the real values of God. I think you know when a Christian church has begun to lose the plot when it begins to think that it has nothing to learn from the world outside - as soon as it gets into an 'us and them' mentality - as soon as it retreats into a ghetto and regards God's wonderful world and all its wonderful creatures as something to be resisted or feared, so that only the christian channel, or the christian writer, or the christian singer, or the christian holiday, or the christian aid-agency, or the christian tradesman, or the christian publisher, can be the territory that the christian can safely occupy. What nonsense is this. I think in this story, that Jesus challenges us to recognise that faith is not about religion, but about life. God is always present, working in the everyday lives of people like you and me - and therefore, our everyday lives are constantly surprised, shattered, broken open, changed and contradicted - and at least sometimes the gifts which transform us (like the shrewdness of the dodgy manager, or like the five loaves and the two fishes) may come from the unpredictable wealth of God's provision, rather than from within our religious ghetto.