20^th September 2010

 

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley

Lessons -- Jeremiah 4:19-22; 1 Timothy 2:1-6; Luke 16:1-13

'The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness; for
the children of this age are shrewder in their own generation than
the children of light. (Luke 16:8 NRSV)

In Jesus' parables we learn a lot from bad people about God's mercy and our responsibilities. But this parable is very puzzling. Jesus actually praises a white collar criminal and uses him, not as an example to be avoided, but as a model to be emulated.

A man who is rightly sacked for mismanaging the business affairs of his boss is held up as an example of the shrewdness that should characterise the Christian life. Instead of contrasting the way of the righteous and the way of sinners -- the children of light with the children of darkness -
- he uses an unrighteous man to expose the foolishness of the righteous.
It is scandalous!

Our uneasiness is not helped by the confusing and apparently contradictory messages attached to the parable itself (vv1-8). In verses 8 and 9 we are to follow the example of the dishonest manager but in verses 10-12 we are to avoid his dishonest approach to 'serving his master'. The final verse
(13) is wise but seemingly disconnected from what has gone before.

It is usually assumed that the steward is a rogue both before and after his dismissal. He mismanages his absent master's affairs, is unscrupulous in 'cooking the books', and wheedles his way into the affections of his master's debtors. 'Stripped of its accretions, it is the story of an engaging rascal who made provision for his future by a systematic falsification of his accounts, which put his master's debtors under a lasting obligation to himself.' (GB Caird, The Gospel of St Luke, p186.)

On this view, the parable teaches that disciples are to be shrewd and realistic in the face of disaster. As the manager acted boldly in time of personal crisis, so disciples of Jesus are to act boldly in the face of his impending suffering and death. Time is short and they must act decisively. The Christian community should be alert to the need to act in the face of severe opposition to the presence of Jesus and of threats to their own faith!

The parable shocks us out of complacency. If a rogue is praised for his shrewdness in a parlous situation, how much more should Jesus' disciples be astute in discerning the signs of the times and the need for action! Of course we shouldn't be unscrupulous and self-interested, but nor should we be naive and indecisive in seeing what is taking place around us.

This much is widely agreed on the interpretation of the parable.

But what if there is also a lesson in how the manager treats his master's debtors? What if there is nothing fraudulent about his dealings with them?
What if he is not cheating his master? If so, he is dishonest only in relation to mismanaging the owner's business interests (for which he is rightly sacked). His subsequent dealings with debtors would not be unjust.

Certainly he is irresponsible in handling the master's affairs. Like the man in the Parable of the Talents (Luke 19:12f.), he has been an untrustworthy steward of a master's property and goods, and like the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11f.), he has been 'wasteful' of what has been entrusted to him. But, contrary to the common interpretation of the parable, it is likely that he is not dishonest in dealing with his master's debtors. If he were, then the master's praise of his shrewdness (v 8) would be inexplicable. He would be more likely to say, 'You manipulative, self-serving little toe-rag.'

The servant's debts probably had two parts: one owed to the master; the other to the manager who either took a fee for looking after the business or got an interest payment on the debt. If there were a management fee, then the manager, not the master, would have incurred the loss when he reduced the debts. If he had disobeyed the Old Testament law against usury and had benefited from interest charged on the outstanding debts, then his decision to reduce the accounts may also be a sign of his conversion. In any case, the master gets what he is owed and the manager receives no financial reward.

Seen in this way, the parable is more than a lesson in being astute in face of reality. It is a call to bold action in time of crisis and a warning against complacency. But it is highly likely that it is also about an irresponsible manager who has a profound change of heart, even if his motivation isn't entirely pure (v 4). He doesn't demand to be re-employed.
He admits to mismanaging the business but acts to recover the debts owed to his master and takes the financial loss himself. Indeed, verse 9 implies that, as a result of his actions, he is bankrupt and homeless. He also makes friends with his master's debtors by dealing with them honestly
-- perhaps for the first time. They don't have to pay the add-on costs of his management fee or the interest due to him.

We are right to be suspicious of his motives in taking this action. But we shouldn't overlook the fact that, in the crisis, he acts with integrity to mend relationships that he has broken. He is 'commended for his shrewdness' by the boss whose business he has mismanaged (v 8) and he 'makes friends' with customers whom he used to overcharge (v 9).

The parable shows that he has become a new man. Shocked into action by being forced to face the consequences of his own irresponsibility, the once dishonest manager becomes a person of integrity. Like Zacchaeus (Luke
19:1-10) he is prepared to atone for his dishonesty. He foregoes personal wealth and possibly bankrupts himself in order to restore relationships and establish friendships with people whom he had once defrauded.

When the parable is seen in this light, the sayings at the end make a bit more sense. We are to follow the example of the reformed manager by placing greater store on reconciliation with all whom we have wronged (masters and servants) than on accumulating material wealth. 'True riches'
(v 11) are found in mending broken relationships. Such a conversion is possible, as verse 13 says, only when we serve God above all else.

The parable invites us to see in the reformed manager a model for the Christian community. In the midst of the crisis facing our Church and culture, Jesus summons us to be savvy about what is going on around us and act accordingly.

The crisis we face today is that so many managers of church business, who are entrusted with the riches of grace, have devalued its currency and
short- changed those who have longed to be reconciled to God. We have often squandered the master's riches by not seeking friendships with those whom we have wronged by our thoughtless attitude to grace.

We need to be more astute about the current crisis whereby God's grace is devalued and human worth demeaned. On Friday in The Melbourne Anglican, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali spoke about the dangers of 'aggressive, irrational, anti-Christian secularism' which is being enacted into laws in Britain which discriminate against beliefs in the sanctity of life, freedom of religion, marriage and the like.

We need to be shrewd in dealing with this crisis in Australia. And we need to open ourselves to the transforming grace of God in Christ and act to restore relationships with those who have been hurt by our complacency.

* Imagine what a powerful testimony to reconciliation it would be if, or when, the Roman Catholic Church were to take this to heart in the present crisis caused by shocking abuse on the part of many charged with 'managing' the 'master's business'!

* Imagine what a powerful testimony it would be if the UCA were to hold to account teachers and leaders who defraud people of the truth!

* Imagine what a powerful testimony it would be if we were to take the initiative in being reconciled with those whom we have short-changed, including the 'aggressive secularists' scarred by fraudulent presentations of Christian faith.

In the face of strong pressures to conform to self-centred beliefs and practices, it is easy for us to defraud our fellow Christians and our fellow citizens of the fullness of grace in Jesus Christ. We mustn't settle for less than the Word which challenges us to the core of our being and alerts us to the urgency of restoring broken relationships and making new friends.

In a Church where those who 'manage' the business of faith often 'short- change' the currency of grace, it is necessary to make friends with those whom we have 'sold short'. We must look for new opportunities to proclaim, in word and deed, the reality of God's reconciling love in Christ.

And in a society which has been defrauded of grace by an unperceptive Church, we would do well to emulate the actions of the dishonest manager:
to admit our fault, to make amends and to seek reconciliation with those whom we have wronged!

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.