A Shrewd Faith (Sunday, September 18th, 2016)

Bible Reference(s): Luke 16:1-13

Sermon by Rev. Terri Thorn

I am a member of a group of female clergy from all over the world who connect via the internet to share ideas, blogs, concerns and prayers.  Each weekend one of the leaders begins a blog called "Eleventh Hour Preacher Party".  As you might guess from the name, this is a space where preachers who are pulling together sermons at the last minute can connect electronically to inspire each other, bounce ideas, and share the stress of a looming deadline for Sunday morning worship.  

Some weeks, I check-in to see what my colleagues are saying about the lectionary texts...other weeks, I won't even take a peek for fear I might start to second guess myself.   Well...this week...given this incredibly perplexing parable in Luke...I definitely clicked on the link when it arrived in my email.   As a result, I have good news for you.  It turns out that we are in good company today.  All around the world this Lord's Day, preachers have been stepping into the pulpit and saying the exact same thing.  "We have no idea how to interpret this parable."  PAUSE

Seriously, by parable interpretation guidelines, the rich guy in the story is almost always the "negative" image and the underling, or in this case the manager, is typically the one who garners our empathy...the one we find most relatable.  However, in this parable, that norm gets turned upside down.   In fact, you almost feel sorry for the rich guy.  It seems as if he is getting cheated twice.  First, the manager is accused of squandering his money...and then after getting caught, he goes out and starts reducing the rich man's accounts receivables with an authority that is really not his own. 

So yeah, it almost doesn't seem fair to the rich guy.  But folks, this is a Jesus-parable, and rarely does Jesus sympathize with the rich man in any story. So, no...it's best we not feel too sorry for the rich man...but what are we to think of the manager?  

He was, after all, accused of squandering his boss' money and then he concocts this plan to create a quid pro quo relationship with the rich man's debtors.  Now, if this was any other story, we would most assuredly say this guy was dishonest, unethical, and self-serving...definitely not the best role model for the Jesus-followers.   But clearly...this is  not just any other story.

And as if these unexpected character roles are not enough to confound us, we learn that the rich man is impressed by the dishonest manager's actions!  So much so that he commends the manager for his shrewdness.   Yes, he commends the guy who was accused of misappropriating funds.  He commends the guy who, instead of providing an accounting of his work, desperately took matters into his own hands.  He commends the guy who just cost him a boatload of wealth!!

Folks, this makes no sense.  Now, don't get me wrong, all of Jesus' parables have multi-level, sometimes highly-nuanced meanings...but they also usually have a presenting story that makes good sense too.  This one does not.  Think about it.  Who in their right mind would commend the shrewdness of a guy who cheated you out of your wealth...not just once but twice...as is the case in this story.   Yet, it seems as if the shrewd response is part of the lesson we are supposed to learn from the story.   

Let me just say that there are plenty of lessons that we can take away from the last four verses of this reading.  In fact, verses 10, 11, 12 and 13 could each be their own sermon about the complex relationship we have with wealth.  Great stuff here, but only minimally connected to the original parable or each other.  In fact, it feels as if Luke just randomly adds various Jesus quotes as a way to try to help himself make sense of the story.

Nonetheless,  scholars, and pastors in every generation have been working with this puzzling parable for centuries.  And we have come up with a number of sound theories about what might have been going on in the story.  Yet, nearly everything offered requires that we either read something into the story, or that we ignore parts altogether -   neither of which is entirely helpful, but both of which might be necessary for us to interpret in a meaningful way.

One thing that seems to improve our understanding of scripture in general is to consider the context into which it was originally spoken.  And by context, we mean both the socio-cultural context in which it occurred, as well as the literary context in which the author placed the story. 

For example, if we consider the business relationship between the rich man and his manager in the first century cultural context, it could be that the debt-reduction was a matter of the manager forgoing his own commission in order to ingratiate himself with the debtors and his boss.  To do so would most definitely meet the definition of shrewd, while demonstrating the manager's desire to build community with the debtors.  So, in that case, we might hear this is as a story about being willing to sacrifice from our own selves in order to develop welcoming relationships.   And, that would preach.

Likewise, in the first century economic structure, the rich typically got rich off the backs of the poor.  Therefore, some scholars suggest that the debt reduction was actually just a removal of the inflated interest unjustly charged to the debtors in the first place.  Thus, this could be lesson about the church's passion for social justice and righting wrongs...which would also preach - quite well in the 21st century, I might add.

Honestly, I am not sure that there is a single interpretation for the story.  And I for one, am extremely grateful for a faith community which encourages members to question and explore rather than to have the meaning dictated to us.  I cherish the freedom to wrestle.

And, as we do, it is helpful to ask ourselves:  "Where in the narrative of the Bible does this particular story fall?"  What else contributes to its meaning?   What is the literary context?

Turns out this parable follows three stories Jesus told about being lost and being found.   We spoke of these parables last week -- the shepherd who leaves 99 to go after the one lost sheep, the woman who sweeps her house looking for her lost coin, and the father who welcomes home his prodigal son.  All are images of God's radical grace and unrelenting mercy, as well as the welcome and hospitality of his kingdom...which we are told he extends to all...even those who are as undeserving as the prodigal, as insignificant as the coin, or have strayed as far as the sheep! 

So, I think it's safe to say that this parable probably has something to do with grace...and hospitality.   

At the same time, it precedes several teachings about how God's people are called to use our financial resources, including the four verses I mentioned before.  So it also seems safe to say that this parable probably has something to do with how we steward the resources and gifts we have been given.

Finally, according to the parable itself, it appears that both of those things...relationship building and resource allocation...are to be carried out with shrewdness.  

Now, for some, the idea of faith communities being shrewd seems counter-intuitive.  Shrewdness isn't a characteristic of the Holy that typically comes to our mind.  Compassion, kindness, justice, mercy...all those and more...but shrewdness never seems to make the cut.  Yet, when we consider that by definition, to be shrewd is to be good at judging people or situations...and to usually be correct in the assessment...it certainly describes Jesus to a T, doesn't it?

In fact, I've been wondering if perhaps this parable isn't a story about Jesus himself.  I can't prove or disprove my theory, but I am going to ask about it when I get to heaven.  In the meantime, what if the dishonest manager represents Jesus' ministry and is, therefore, a model for the church today? 

Now before you hang me for heresy, hear me out.

We know that Jesus regularly told his parables for two audiences, right?  Those who were gathered around him to listen and learn,  and those who were gathered around watching and waiting for reasons to condemn him.   He spoke to both instruct the disciples and followers...and to challenge the Pharisees and scribes. 

So...let's think about this...who are the rich men around Jesus?   The Pharisees and scribes.  And whom did they regularly accuse of breaking the law?  Jesus.  Healing on the Sabbath.  Eating with sinners.  Talking to women.  Preaching good news to the poor.  While not necessarily dishonest, definitely illegal in their book. So what if Jesus is referring to the "dishonest" manager with just a bit of self-sarcasm, given what the leaders were saying about him.   And what if firing the manager was a metaphorical representation of the reality that Jesus was to not only going to be "dismissed" from their religious order...but he would eventually be killed - kind of the ultimate firing, wouldn't you say?

And what about the actions the manager in the parable takes?  He literally forgives debts - without the rich man's approval or authority.  Is that not exactly what Jesus did?  He forgave.  Not financial debts per se...but the debt of sin.  In fact, this was the thing the religious leaders despised most about Jesus.  He forgave sin when they clearly did not believe he had the right or power to do so.

OK, I know, I might be stretching this parable beyond its intent, but I've been caught up in this possibility all week. 

Keep in mind...the manager in this story was so intent on establishing a livelihood after he is fired that he used everything within his influence and power to make sure that it happened.  Without ever seeking permission from the rich man, by the way.   So, what if the livelihood the manager desperately sought represents true, new,  life in Christ. What if it is the community of believers living together in unity and peace in the kingdom of God that Jesus so passionately wanted to establish on earth.  When you think about it, didn't he basically do the same thing as the manager?  Did Jesus not use every aspect of his position and power (a power which came from God, not the Pharisees) in order to bring about the kingdom of God? 

Like I said, this comparison is all just a big what-if...but really aren't all the different parable scenarios a version of what-if?  So, what if, for today, we allow ourselves to ask...what if?  What if we hear this parable as Jesus talking about himself and his future church.  And if we do, what does it mean, then, for us to learn to be shrewd the way he was? 

Here's one possibility to consider.  To be shrewd the way the manager was shrewd means we need to learn to be much more sophisticated in how we use our resources or our situation to build relationships...not just any relationships but those that draw people into the kingdom of God. The days of the church thriving just because it is the church are behind us.  We are entering a time when an entire generation is emerging for whom faith life was not necessarily a priority. To to be shrewd means rather that moan about the change, we play the cards we are dealt. To be shrewd is to be wiser and more astute about how we go about advancing God kingdom...and maybe even learn a thing or two from the clever worldly folks on how to do it.

Folks, I'm not talking about a schmoose and gimmick kind of faith.  And, this isn't about "come to church and win an iPad" kingdom growth.  No, bringing our brains and our emotions to the work of the church.  I mean, what if the church operated like the big name success stories of the world - the Bill Gateses, the Mark Zuckerbergs, the Oprah Winfreys - powerhouses who use whatever they have and whomever they know in order to gain the influence and success they have today?  Now, keep in mind, for the church, this is not for the sake of making billions...although wouldn't that be nice?   Our work is about growing God's kingdom...connecting with people so they will come to know the good news of the gospel of Christ.  However, what if we were more shrewd in our approach…balancing head and heart while using our resources, situations and influence in order to make it happen? Of course,  always loving people and using things rather than other way around.

I do believe there is a caveat though...a shrewd faith begins with meeting needs.  The manager in this story was definitely shrewd about meeting needs -- that of the debtors as well as his own.  Likewise, when Jesus forgive sin, heals the broken, comforts the lost, befriends the lonely...it is all about meeting our greatest need.  The need to believe we are forgiven.  The need to experience mercy and grace.  The need to be loved and to walk in his light.  The need to know peace.

So, you know what?  Living a shrewd faith might mean using your position as a church in the downtown community to welcome strangers and who them they are loved.  It might mean handing a stack of free diapers to young parents every week in order to meet a significant need and to open a conversation about parenting in order to build a relationship in which there is an abundance of mercy and grace.  In the Congo Presbyterian Church, it means calling on the US Ambassador to join church leaders in a meeting with the Ministry of Education to insist that the church schools be funded so thousands of lost children can receive a Christ-centered education and be certain they are welcomed by God.   A shrewd faith wisely and creatively meets another's deepest needs in order to forge a relationship that brings the hope, peace and justice of Christ to the world.

What if this parable teaches us that at the heart and core of shrewd faith is offering radical forgiveness to another...for the sake of redeeming and sustaining the relationship.  In fact, I have to wonder, could it be that when Jesus says, "make friends by means of dishonest wealth" he is talking about showing grace to others in order to be in relationship with them?  What is dishonest wealth?  I'm not sure, but the idea that it might be grace, seems plausible.  After all, if there's one thing we did not come by on our own...one thing that does not belong to us,  it God's grace. It is not our  blessing to squander...it is, however, ours to offer others.  So what if a shrewd faith is one that that intentionally, thoughtfully, and generously extends forgiveness as a means of building gracious relationships for the sake kingdom living?   What if that is what it is?  How shrewd will you be?