A Call to Wisdom

Reverend Philip Stringer

Luke 16:1-13

LET US PRAY: Gracious Lord, Bread of Life, feed us with your Word, and speak to our hearts, that we may love and serve only you, now and forever. AMEN

Deer in our backyard — I’m sitting on the screen porch. They can hear me — they can even see me — but because of the screen, they don’t understand what they are seeing. It isn’t until I move that they are able to figure it out.

Sometimes we get an idea or perspective set in our head, and it blinds us to seeing something more. That has happened to me with this parable that you just heard.

This is a difficult text, with a lot of messages that can be drawn from it. Standing on its own, it would be easy to misunderstand Jesus’ intent, so it is important to understand the context in which Jesus spoke it. That was my downfall — I failed to view the parable in its context.

When I see our text for today — what is commonly referred to as, “The parable of the dishonest steward," the first thing I think is cynical — The steward is caught. The gig is up. Like a cornered animal, he’s going to continue to be self-serving. I imagine the conversation in his head playing out like this:

“I’m too weak to dig and too proud to beg. What shall I do?”

Well, let’s look at your skills. What are you good at?

“I’m good at being a self-serving jerk.”

OK — then use your skill to the best of your ability.

So, he cooks a scheme to avert disaster — “I’ll curry favor among my master’s customers by robbing him of part of what they owe.”

The master exclaims — “He may be a sleaze, but I’ve got to hand it to him — he’s good at it! Good at being self-serving!”

This has been the way I have approached the text. I think I have been missing the point.

Three years ago, I was in Ft. Wayne helping my Dad pack up their house for a move — on Sunday morning, their pastor preached on this text, and he took a much more appropriate approach — one that actually fits with the good news of God’s grace.

He pointed out that this is one of a series of parables that Jesus spoke against the Scribes and Pharisees. A series of parables that began at the beginning of Chapter 15, where we read, “Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So, he told them this parable:”

Pastor Graham pointed out that the “dishonesty” of the steward is that he is overcharging his master’s customers so as to line his own pockets (the sort of thing, BTW, for which the tax collectors were despised — and deemed “unclean” and “sinners” by the Pharisees). The steward was already being paid by his master, but he was abusing his position of power to extort funds from the customers — they certainly knew it — hating him and diminishing the respect they had for his master — a merchant who presumably endorses such practices.

If I were one of those customers, I’d look for another provider. So even though the customers are his most direct victims, the steward’s actions hurt the master, too, because his master’s reputation is sullied and he is losing current and future customers! Any business owner will tell you that the best advertising is word-of-mouth from one happy customer to the next.

So, when the steward is caught, he assesses the situation and decides — to do what he can to set things right. The steward had been OVER-charging the customers, so by having the customers reduce their bills (to the accurate amount), the steward...

(A) Restores his reputation among the customers.

(B) Repairs the relationship between his master and his customers.

(C) Raises his master’s opinion of him.

He was caught. He “owned” the dishonesty and did what he could to restore and repair.

Important to note that the master’s response is NOT to commend his dishonesty. He commends the wisdom of his response. The Greek word means “to act wisely.” The one who did the wrong thing has now done the right thing. He uses his position to do everything in his power to set things right, to the benefit of all.

In this parable, Jesus is talking about the Pharisees. As the clergy of their day, they represented God — they are the go-between. When people come and ask, “what do I owe to God — what must I do to be saved?” the pharisees put inappropriate burdens on them. They misrepresent the character of God. They extort money, skimming from the offerings. Rather than giving an offering in thanksgiving for the generosity of God, the people are told that they must pay for their sins to avoid the wrath of an angry god.

Like the unjust steward, the pharisees have been placed in a position of authority and they are abusing that position.

(A) They have lost credibility among God’s people — they know them to be harsh, self-serving and unfair.

(B) They have damaged the relationship between God and God’s people. Who can blame the people for not loving a god who tolerates a system of deception and dishonesty?

(C) They have been unfaithful to the One who put them in authority.

Jesus is exposing the dishonesty of the Pharisees, and in so doing he is calling them to do the right thing — to say, “you’re right. What we are doing is wrong.” He is calling them to use their position of authority to

A. restore the reputation of the “church”,

B. to repair the relationship of God’s people with God, and

C. to do what is pleasing in the sight of God.

It is important to note that the master does not (presumably) allow the steward to keep his job. He has shown that he isn’t worthy.

The temple system is inadequate, and it will not continue. The Pharisees will not continue to serve as the go-between for God and God’s people — The new mediator will be Jesus. They are not qualified.

Jesus serves that function with us, too. He told this parable against the Pharisees — but it is a parable for us, too. We all fall short. In Jesus, however, we see the love of God releasing us from the burden of trying to make amends for that. Instead, he says, “use the authority you have as children of God to represent God faithfully.” We are free to turn our efforts toward healing. We are free to love as we are loved.

We are set free to live as God intended from the start.

God creates all things to be in relationship with each other. Sin divides what God intends to be together. Like fissures cracking the ground from an earthquake, our sins crack and break apart

A. God’s beautiful creation,

B. the relationships between people and

C. relationship with God.

God’s love bridges these gaps and restores what was torn apart. Many people would conclude that the dishonest steward had “burned his bridges” by stealing from his master’s customers and robbing him of his reputation. But Jesus’ parable shows us that God’s love is stronger than we think.

Jesus is the love of God that passes over our sin. He is the bridge that heals all of the fractures between us with each other and between us and God. God’s love is a bridge that can withstand even our worst behavior. Love can overcome the deepest harm. Love can heal.

Jesus calls us to love — and to accept love. That is what this meal is all about.

The bridge is there — it is strong. We do not need this meal to build the bridge. But in this meal, we stand on the bridge! We jump up and down and see — and marvel at — just how strong and unbreakable it is.

An un-burnable bridge!

The one who loves us comes and gives himself to us. We receive so that we can take what we receive and offer it to the world. We are loved so that we may love.

AMEN