When I was first ordained I was part of a small group
of clergy and each of us served as an Assistant to a Rector. We met monthly to support one another and to grow
in our understanding of the priesthood.
I remember one gathering when we discovered we all had been assigned by
our bosses to preach on the upcoming Sunday.
The gospel reading that day is the gospel reading today. I realized then no matter how disorganized a
rector may be, if he or she has an assistant than he or she has enough on the
ball to look ahead in the Lectionary in order to pass the miserable readings to
the underling.
The Parable of the Shrewd Manager is perhaps the
most difficult of Jesus’ stories to understand.
There really seems to be little (if anything) worthy of applause in the
lead character’s makeup and actions. The
details of the story appear to make its meaning and message devoid of redeeming
values. This week I read several
commentaries on the passage to try to get a better sense of how scholars
approach the parable. Most of their
explanations felt like an attempt to bring order to a bowl of spaghetti.
Jesus commends the manager because when push comes
to shove, when the chips are down, and when his back is against the wall, he
comes to his senses and in desperation reprioritizes his life around what he
now realizes matters. That Luke adds to
the parable’s end several of Jesus’ teachings about wealth suggests he
understands it in some form or fashion to be a commentary on materialism. Remember how I said last Sunday’s gospel
reading focused on rules verses relationships.
Today’s reading hones in on something similar in Jesus’ mind and central
to his teaching: riches verses relationships.
Plain and simple, prior to his hitting bottom, we can say of the shrewd
manager he loves things and uses people rather than he uses things to love
people. Jesus commends him because what
he had backwards he gets straightened around.
The last of Jesus’ teachings on wealth included here
by Luke is the most well known: “You cannot serve two masters… you cannot serve
God and money.” It is a teaching that
puts us on the defensive, compelling us to make the case this is not me. Being challenged to look at yourself is not
necessarily a bad thing and it is something Jesus does often through his
stories and sayings. But do most of us
suffer from priorities this far afield?
The
King James Bible translates this verse
famously as “You cannot serve both God and Mammon.” Some subsequent versions follow its lead, but
most now use the word ‘money’ because, well, no one today knows what mammon means. When was the last time one of your children
said, “Can I have some Mammon to go to the movies?”
Mammon does means money, but it means a lot
more. It actually takes a physical thing
– money – and personifies it, making it a living thing… an idol. It is a pejorative term meant to refer to the
absolute worst and most corrupting aspects of money and wealth, how they can
take over a person’s life. 4th
Century writers such as Cyprian, Jerome, and John Chrysostom thought of Mammon
as being an evil and enslaving master.
It became one of the names given to demons and even the Devil. Thomas Aquinas metaphorically described the
sin of Avarice as “Mammon being carried up from Hell by a wolf, coming to inflame
the human heart with Greed.”
Ask yourself if
this sounds like you?
I once knew the
owner of an expensive car sporting a bumper sticker stating, “The One with the
Most Toys Wins!” He is one of a small
number of people I have known I would describe as enslaved by Mammon. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic
candidate for President, states health insurance companies made 23 billion
dollars in profit last year, and every penny came from saying “no” to a
person’s request for medical treatment.
I am not saying her figures are accurate (I don’t know) or that I agree
with her view of corporate profit, but from her perspective I think she would
say health care insurers are serving Mammon.
She is not the only person who believes the corporate world is overrun
with greed, and in some cases I am sure it is true. “I’d do anything for money”, whether an
individual’s motto or a corporate mission statement, is the banner slogan of
those enslaved by Mammon.
Greed, as one of
the Seven Deadly Sins, is an interesting temptation. There are some for whom greed is pure. They want things and/or money for its own
sake. But for most people enslaved by it,
Mammon is just a means to an end. They
seek power or they desire pleasure and comfort or they want notoriety or prestige
(a sense of self). For them, Mammon is a
means to one or more of these ends.
If you have money
you get to call the shots in a way those who don’t have it can’t. There is one sure way to get the president of
your college to take your call. You have
got to be a huge donor. Money talks! If you have money you can live it up – take
it easy, travel, dine out, dress up, and feather your nest with the
finest. You may daydream about these
possibilities from time to time, but some people are completely driven by
it. You may want to be known, admired,
and respected – not only to be important in the eyes of others, but even more
so to yourself. Perhaps nothing else can
do it for you. Only wealth can validate
who you are and what you have done with your life.
Is any of this
descriptive of you? If so, then Jesus
says to you, “You cannot serve both God and Mammon.”
The alluring thing
about idols is their promise to confer on you things God wants to give to
you. God promises power to those who
open themselves to the movement of the Spirit.
It may not get a university president on the line, but I have seen faith
move mountains – especially when people of faith pull together. God promises to feed and clothe us, to lead
us to green pastures and still waters. God’s
riches are at our fingertips. God
provides a comforting life no dollar amount can purchase. And God created you to be you. You are unique, special, and called to a
glorious purpose. God’s love for you is
so deep and so sure God asked the Son to come into this world to make it known
to all. You are so important God’s Son
gave his life to redeem you.
Perhaps this sounds
more like how you look at the world and yourself. If so, Mammon does hold sway over you.
The truth is none
of us lives at one end of the spectrum between Mammon’s lies and God’s
promises. In truth, each of us
oscillates back and forth on the continuum, being pulled in the wrong direction
at times while responding to God’s invitation at others. This is why I appreciate Jesus’ challenging
words. They invite us to reexamine our
lives, motivations, and actions. They
invite us to move toward God’s dream and away from the enslaving effects of
Mammon’s charm. Today I give thanks for
the awkward Parable of the Shrew Manager and Jesus’ powerful and poignant
reminder we cannot serve both God and Mammon.
