Amos 8:4-7; Luke 16:1-13
The reading from Amos is easy to understand, if not implement. Stop cheating people to get richer than you already are!
In contrast, the parable and comments from Jesus after it are head-scratchingly hard to figure out. We do understand that the manager was cheating and he got caught, and got the pink slip from his boss. And then the manager cheated some more after getting caught, with the full cooperation of the customers who owed money to the boss. Yes, this part of the story is easy to understand, even if we want to scold the manager and the customers for their roles in cheating the boss.
What we don’t understand is why the boss praised the manager for
his cleverness! Commentators and scholars have several suggestions. One I
rather like is that the manager made the boss look generous, and the customers
could assume the boss approved of settling the accounts by reducing the amounts
owed.
The boss didn’t object when he found out about this further
cooking of the books, because the appearance of generosity raised his honor
level in the community. To object would have caused him to be shamed. In
ancient times, in an honor and shame society, honor is worth more than money.
A further suggestion makes even more sense. The praise by the owner
is a wry acknowledgement that the manager had made sure people would welcome
him, also with honor. While people might not roll out the red carpet for him,
he would be invited to dinner often, and given a place at the table.
This interpretation makes more sense when we fit this story into its context in Luke. Just prior is the story of the father with two sons. The younger son demands his inheritance and spends it on gambling and loose women. Eventually, broke and shame-faced, he returns home, hoping he will find even a little welcome. Of course, the father is ecstatic to have him home, even though the older brother is resentful of this warm welcome.
The story following this one of the crooked manager, similarly describes a place of welcome. A certain rich man has died and is suffering in the afterworld. And a man who suffered from poverty at the rich man’s gate has been welcomed to Father Abraham’s bosom, quite comfortable in his afterworld home.
So, it’s possible the parable about the cooked manager is about
the manager’s cleverness of making sure he has homes where he will still be welcome.
… Jesus’ explanation complicates the interpretation of the parable
for us. For me, the key word of Jesus comment is faithfulness. We can be
faithful to money, or faithful to God. We have to choose how we use the
resources we have.
It’s obvious to many that money, wealth, is just as
important today as it was 2,000 years ago. And the ways in which wealth is obtained
today can be just as corrupt as it was in ancient days.
…These three stories by Jesus, plus the words and warnings of the prophets, describe God’s economy, especially as it compares with our economy. For many people, life consists in accumulating as much wealth as possible, no matter who gets hurt, no matter how many people suffer from not having enough.
Other people manage to accumulate wealth, but have a
different attitude about what they do with it. They see poverty, and needy,
hurting people, and use their wealth to ease the suffering they see.
In God’s economy, everyone has enough. Everyone has gifts
that are recognized and valued.
In God’s economy, everyone is welcome. Everyone is worthy of
God’s love and people’s respect.
In God’s economy, nature is respected as well. Seasonal
crops feed local people; the rivers and seas hold enough fish and seafood for
people and critters.
In God’s economy, no one person or group has all the power.
Power and wealth are shared so all have equal voice and vote and control over
their land and budget.
…Scripture is filled with covenant promises and prophetic warnings for failure to remember the covenant. There may be dire consequences for those who fail as a group to remember God’s covenant.
The covenant describes God’s economy. It promises that those
who keep the covenant will always have a place to call home, a place where they
are welcome. Jesus calls that place the Kingdom/Reign of God, which is not a
place but a way of life in relationship with God and each other. In God’s
economy, we seek relationships with God and each other. When we know and trust
each other, it is easier to see all people as children of God, who need us and
our care as much as we need them.
… This week, I hope you will consider how you use the resources you have, and how relationships fit into your life. Do they match up with God’s economy? Amen
