"You're Fired!"
Sermon Presented September 19, 2004
Luke 16:1-13
I've never watched The Apprentice or any other reality TV because I don't enjoy seeing raw competitiveness and suffering. (Having said that, I don't know why I love football - which exhibits both characteristics of competition and suffering!) When people agree to go on one of these shows, they invite suffering. How Donald Trump chooses employees and the pain of rejection aren't my ideas of entertainment.
The person doing the hiring and firing is in a position of control. Our text this morning could be an episode of The Apprentice - without the celebrity status. The story begins with a wealthy landowner firing his manager who is squandering his property. Before the manager leaves, the owner demands an accounting of his management. Hear the story from Luke 16:1-13. (Read text.)
I have never preached on this text before. I started working on it once but gave up because it didn't make sense. I still have many problems with it but I'm going to address it and see where it leads. This week I spent much more time in commentaries than usual - and as you can imagine, the commentaries disagree. No matter what you believe about this text, there is unresolved tension. I invite you to think about it, because hopefully something will be gained as we explore Christ's message together.
Today it's not uncommon for a business owner to fire an employee and then accompany her to her desk while she cleans it out - asking for the office keys as she leaves. I even know ministers who have had this humiliating experience. There's no warning - just an immediate separation. This isn't the case with the manager in today's parable. The landowner gives him time to wind things up - and to cook the books!
The dismissed manager sees only 3 options for his future. First, he can work with his hands, but he doesn't have the strength. (He may be getting older and have less energy.) His second option is to beg, but he's too proud to consider this. The third option is to use his survival skills to take advantage of his boss one last time and endear himself to those indebted to the landowner. He chooses the third option.
He summons those indebted to his boss and systematically reduces their debts. He involves them in the deception by having them rewrite the IOU in their own hand. Some receive a 50% reduction in debt, and others receive 20%. We see why the landowner dismissed him in the first place. He's unscrupulous!
But the landowner learns what he's done and the text says that he commends him for his ingenuity. Then in the 9th verse we read: "And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal home." Following this verse are 3 additional sayings of Jesus that address the topic of wealth. What does this mean? I wish I knew for sure!
First we need to understand that the wealthy landowner doesn't represent God or a "child of light." Because he's wealthy, it's assumed by those who hear the parable that he's dishonest and acquired his wealth by taking what belonged to others. Theoretically, if the system worked correctly, everyone should have enough and no one should be wealthy. The wealthy landowner appreciates the shrewdness of his employee - even though it is used against him and his interests.
Some commentators try to explain this dilemma by stating that the manager gave away his own commission when he reduced the IOU's so as to receive a long-term benefit from his dealings. Another says that the manager was righting an injustice of interest charged - in violation of the Torah. These explanations aren't satisfactory to me and seem to be a way to circumvent the problems with the text. It was dishonesty that caused the manager to be fired in the first place and dishonesty was his means of dealing with his future. It was his shrewdness that was applauded by the landowner, and it seems to be his shrewdness that was commended by Jesus.
Let me tell you another parable - this one told by the rabbis. A man caught stealing was ordered by the king to be hanged. On the way to the gallows he told the governor that he knew a wonderful secret and it would be a pity to allow it to die with him. He would like to disclose it to the king. He would put a pomegranate seed in the ground and through the secret his father had taught him, would make it grow and bear fruit overnight. The king, accompanied by the high officers of state, came to the place where the thief was waiting. There the thief dug a hole and said: "This seed must only be planted by a man who has never stolen or taken anything that didn't belong to him. I being a thief cannot do it." So he turned to the Vizier who, frightened, said that in his younger days he had retained something that didn't belong to him. The treasurer said that because he dealt with such large sums, he might have entered too much or too little and even the king admitted that he had kept a necklace of his father's. The thief then said, "You are all mighty and powerful and yet you cannot plant the seed, while I who have stolen a little because I was starving am to be hanged." The king, pleased with the ruse, pardoned the thief. (The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX - Luke - John, p. 310.)
In this story, as in the parable of the dishonest manager, the central character is accused of stealing and is commended because of his shrewdness. The dishonesty is still present, but the urgency of his situation causes him to make a calculated decision to save himself from disaster. He acts decisively to provide for his future. Such shrewd, decisive acts are required of those who will stake their all on the coming kingdom of God.
Going back to the 12th chapter of Luke, a steward was expected to be "faithful and prudent" (12:42), the Greek word for the latter is the same term translated "shrewd" in 16:8. (Ibid.) The disciples are told to be equally shrewd - or prudent - in using their material goods so that when their "unrighteous wealth" fails, they will have an eternal home.
We don't know why Luke chose to tell this parable to his audience. He is the only gospel writer who relates it. He reinterprets it for a new audience and then adds 3 sayings of Jesus having to do with how to use wealth. Let's look at these issues of wealth for a moment.
First, much of our misuse of our resources occurs because our choices escape scrutiny. For most of us, what we do with our resources is a very private matter. The dishonest manager was caught in his crimes - doubly - when he came under scrutiny by the landowner.
Jesus commends the dishonest manager because of his insight into the connection between resources and relationships. When we try to serve both God and material things we risk losing true riches in the bargain. Faithfulness with what has been entrusted to us is the desired goal.
Trust comes with faithfulness. A person who is unfaithful whether that person is an employee, spouse, child, teacher or minister has difficulty regaining trust. A job loss, divorce or an emotional separation often occurs as a result of unfaithfulness. To gain trust, we must exhibit consistent acts of faithfulness. Once a person is deceived, it's difficult for them to trust again.
The manager knew what he was doing. The principle of reciprocity that operated in first century culture supports the logic of his actions. The appropriate response to his generosity toward the debtors was great honor and the offer of hospitality.
The Christian writers of Scripture report many comments by Jesus on how to deal with wealth. All except three verses of this 16th chapter is about wealth -- including the parable for next Sunday's sermon. How do we make decisions regarding our possessions?
Jesus calls us to faithfulness. He calls us to be faithful with our time and our resources. The manager in Jesus' story used all his resources to secure his future. We must be no less resourceful. At our disposal we have hope in God's justice, faith in God's peace, and trust in God's grace. These are the best possible resources. We must use them so that it will be said of us, "And the master commended them because they acted so shrewdly." (Christian Century, September 7, 2004, p. 21)
