Amos 8:4-7
1 Timothy 2:1-7
Luke 16:1-13
Sometimes we can’t believe what our ears tell us. Did you hear the story I just read to you about the rich man and his dishonest manager? What is it that Jesus said about him? He said this about the manger who used seemingly dishonest means to get himself out of a financial pickle:
"And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light."
What are we to make of this? Does Jesus actually recommend dishonesty? Or to use the popular phrase we used to see on bracelets and t shirts: "What would Jesus do?" Let me share with you my understanding of this not so easily understood parable.
1. Christians must live in this world.
Sometimes Christians have felt that they must separate themselves from the rest of the world. In the ancient church lone monks sat on pillars in the desert or in caves. Later they cloistered themselves in monasteries and convents. Some still do. In our own area the Amish are an example of people who see themselves as different from the world and do not want to take on "worldly" ways such as fancy clothes and extravagant conveniences such as electricity.
Most Christians have not been this drastic. We have tried to live in the world, so to speak, while not being of the world, so to speak. There is a tension here:
How can we participate in the economy?
How can we participate in government?
How can we participate in entertainment?
How can we participate in "mainstream society" without being corrupted and won over by the evils of this world?
In this political season the problem is amplified. Some Christians are deeply involved in the political process. Some of you are active members of the Republican or Democratic parties. You may even believe that either George Bush or John Kerry will bring in the Second Coming.
Others are disillusioned. In a religious magazine I receive, Mark Noll, a respected scholar at Wheaton College wrote an article explaining why he will not be voting in the presidential campaign. This is his way of protesting positions in both parties. He lists seven religiously based concerns which no political party addresses to his satisfaction:
Race.
Sanctity of life.
Taxes.
Medicine.
Religious Freedom.
Trade.
International Rule of Law.
Even if Noll is disatisifed with our present political organizations he is still not willing to completely leave the world behind. He will still argue on behalf of the positions he espouses and work toward the fulfillment of what he considers to be a just society.
If I understand what Jesus is saying in his parable about the manager who fudges the financial records, it is that we cannot leave the world behind, but rather must use our best capabilities to live in it and contribute to it. In fact there are some qualities about people who participate in business and politics which one can admire.
2. This brings me to my second understanding of this parable.
What quality does Jesus commend? He commends shrewdness. In a way I believe Jesus is saying:
The Christian who lives in this world must be shrewd
1 The manager in the parable today had not been so shrewd at first. Apparently he had mismanaged a wealthy man’s account He was worried. Not about the wealthy man losing income, but rather about his own skin. What would happen to him? Would he actually have to do physical labor? Perish the thought! To solve his problem he in effect "settled out of court." He convinced the wealthy man’s debtors that half a loaf was better than none. He kept his job. The debtors received some payment. And the wealthy man kept some of his property. There are other ways of trying to understand this story, but this is how I have tried to figure it out.
Why would Jesus tell such a story? Because Jesus wants his followers to act shrewdly and prudently. He wants them to be savvy participants in the world. His wish is that Christians will use all of their abilities to plan, that they will concentrate intensely on the task before them, and that they will participate in God’s rule of this world and the world to come.
==========
When I walked past a driveway the other day I spotted a big, beautiful SUV with a bumper sticker on the rear fender. It read: "If You Love Jesus, Honk."
In the next driveway sat an older model two-door sedan. On its fender I couldn't help but notice another bumper sticker. It read: "If you love Jesus, tithe. Anyone can honk."
===========
What’s the message? People of faith cannot just let things happen. People of faith, just as people with no religious faith, must think and plan.
3. This leads me to my third observation about today’s lesson about the Shrewd Manager.
The Christian who lives in this world must also be faithful
As Jesus concludes his advice to the disciples:
"Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much." We are challenged to be shrewd yet faithful followers of Jesus Christ. What does this mean? For some being a shrewd follower of Christ means that we have all the riches the world has to offer. Look at the "Gospel of Prosperity" that has been preached by some, like the infamous Jim and Tammy Fae Baker of the ill-fated PTL Club. This is not what Jesus meant ------ to get all you can get so that you can be all that you can be.
What I believe Jesus is telling us to do is this for God. Use the talents God has given you on Monday as well as on Sunday. And use the talents God has given you for your Monday-Friday world so that you can apply them to your Sunday world. For that reason we are inviting you to consider the use of the automatic transfer of your monies or to use Internet banking for your church contributions. For that reason our Trustees have appointed a planning task force to foresee all of the eventualities in adapting a 1962 building to 2004. For that reason people concerned about youth in our church have been working together with people at Calvary Church under the leadership of a "strategic planner." For that reason some of you gather to keep learning about the Bible and how it applies to our 21st century and even work the difficulties of a section like we read today.
The good news in all of this is that we do not have to start big. In fact Jesus encourages us to think small. What is it that Jesus said? "Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much."
Fred Craddock, the great teacher of preachers, catches the spirit of Jesus’ advice:
"Most of us will not this week christen a ship, write a book end a war appoint a cabinet, dine with a queen, convert a nation, or be burned at the stake. More likely the week will present no more than a chance to give a cup of water, write a note, visit a nursing home, vote for a county commissioner, teach a Sunday school class, share a meal, tell a child a story, go to choir practice, and feed the neighbor’s cat. "Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much."
My friends. Be shrewd. But also be faithful.
..