Luke 16:1-13
Proper 20 / Year C
Let me tell you a story from ancient Hebrew folklore:
A
poor beggar is caught stealing food and the king orders him to be hanged. On the way to the gallows the thief tells the
executioner he knows how to plant a pomegranate seed in the ground and have it
produce fruit the very next day. “My
father taught me this secret,” he says, “and it would be a shame to allow it to
die with me.” This gets back to the king
and he orders the prisoner to be brought to him.
A
gathering of the highest officers of state assembles for the demonstration. The beggar digs a hole in their presence and produces
a single seed. Then he states, “The only
way for this secret to work is for a person who has never stolen or taken
anything which did not belong to him to place the seed into the ground.” “Being a convicted thief,” he says, “I can no
longer do it. One of you will have to
place the seed in the hole.” Well, one
by one, each high-ranking official, realizing his past misdeeds will be exposed
when the seed does not produce fruit the next day, bows out.
When
no one steps forward, the beggar says, “All of you are mighty and powerful and
want for nothing and yet you cannot plant the seed, while I, who have stolen a
little because I was starving, am going to be hanged.” The king, pleased with the ruse, pardons the
beggar.
This is one of many Hebrew stories demonstrating an
affinity for what commentators describe as the “clever trickster.” The biblical figure Jacob is a trickster
patriarch who deceives his father, cheats his brother, and then makes off with
the family’s livestock. Gideon fools a
powerful army by making 300 men appear to be 300,000. And in the parable we just heard, Jesus tells
the tale of a person known as the “dishonest steward;” a trickster, if you
will, whose shrewd response to his impending dismissal is commended by the
master he has failed to serve with fidelity.
To our modern ears the parable sounds like a
barbershop quartet off pitch. It is one
thing for Tom Sawyer to con his friends into painting a fence (our version of a
clever trickster); it is another to sell out your master’s possessions at a
discount. But if we can separate out the
various notes within the chaotic chord of the story, we will find there is
something important here for us to hear.
We might learn why Jesus has the master praise the servant.
The parable begins, as several do, with the phrase
“There was a rich man…” But the rich man
will not be the central figure in the drama and the story is not a condemnation
of his wealth. No remark will be made
about the rich man’s possessions, how he comes to acquire them, or how he uses
them to promote the welfare and wellbeing of others. The wealthy man himself appears to live a
life of leisure, not working at all. We
know just two things about him. He rents
out his land to others and he hires a manager to oversee the collection of the
rent.
This is a story about the crafty trickster who is
hired to oversee the rent collecting.
Although his lifestyle is not described, it does not take much imagining
to deduce he is a devil-may-care, live for the moment, loaf. He has no aspirations for the future. He does not save for a rainy day. He is unwilling to do physical labor in order
to improve his lot. He does nothing to
further himself intellectually, socially, or spiritually. He cannot keep current even on his one simple
task – collecting the rent. We get the
idea he sits around the master’s house all day with his feet up on the
furniture, drinking the best liquor from the master’s cabinet, eating all his gourmet
food, and smoking his finest cigars.
The New International Version of the bible puts it
best” the steward “was accused of wasting [the rich man’s] possessions.” He is lost in a frivolous haze of material
acquisition and consumption. His life is
wrapped up in the feverish pursuit of more than he really needs, in getting his
hands on what no one really needs at all, and not valuing what he has, once he has
it. What he most desires and craves is
not what is really important at all, and thus he wastes the precious resources
at his disposal. Everything changes in
one dramatic, unexpected moment. The
rich man comes to him with a devastating demand: “Give me an account of your
management.”
Every month I are blessed or cursed with an account of
my financial management. Banks and
credit card companies send me statements to tell us what I bought, when I
bought it, and how much I paid for it. More
than once I have looked at my statement and wondered for a moment what some of
your month-old purchases were for; then it comes to me and I have “buyer’s regret”.
Taken as a whole, these financial
documents may just be a record of my squandered wealth.
The demand for an accounting sobers up the dishonest
steward. He comes to see two things very
clearly. First, he recognizes he has not
made prudent provision for the future. Second,
he comes to realize he has put possessions before people.
Given these, here are some things for us to ponder. There
is a power for living in the present possible only when you are laying a
foundation for the future. There is fullness
to life when the excesses of wealth are directed toward hospitality,
compassion, thoughtfulness, and charity.
Don’t be thrifty in your generosity toward others. Don’t skimp when it comes to saving for
tomorrow. The dishonest steward with an
overly lavish, succulent lifestyle comes to these truths late in life, but not
too late, and for his insight and change the rich man who dismissed him
commends him.
This email was circulated some time ago, but it still
makes a relevant point:
Take this quiz:
1.
Name the five
wealthiest people in the world.
2.
Name the last
five people who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
3.
Name the last five
Academy Award winners for best actor or best actress.
4.
Name the last five
winners of the Super Bowl.
How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with
their owners.
Here’s another quiz. See how you do.
1.
List five
teachers who aided your journey through school.
2.
Name five friends
who have helped you through a difficult time.
3.
Think of five
people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
4.
Think of five
people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier? The
Lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the
most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.
The great thing about this difficult parable is that
if a dishonest trickster could come to his senses and get it right, how much
easier should it be for folks like you and me!
