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9-27-09
Text: Luke 16:1-9
● The
story which precedes this is one (prodigal son) is one of our favorites; it
reaches deeply into us and arouses a variety of emotions.
This story, on the other hand, is one of the most ignored in all of
the Bible, due to the challenges of understanding and rightly interpreting
it [Rudolph Bultmann, one of the most widely recognized commentators of the
20th century declared the parable to be “incomprehensible”.]
On the
surface, the parable seems to be about a manager that cheats his master and
then is commended by Jesus for his “street smarts” [parable even used to
‘discredit’ Christianity].
● As we
consider the parable, our limitations are numerous: distanced from the era
and cultural distinctives; the incompatibility of our worldviews and ways of
hearing; the assumption that all cultures think like we do.
● We are
challenged to remember that parables are stories about particular people who
lived in a particular culture at a specific time in history, making it much
easier for the original hearers to understand the author’s intent.
“What did
it mean?”,
must be asked/answered before “What
does it mean?”
● At its
core, the parable offers insights which are consistent with all of Jesus’
teaching: insight into the nature of
God (what is God really like), the
crisis that the announcement of the Kingdom brings (how do we respond
when confronted) and grace as the only
remedy/hope for man’s predicament.
● Some
scholars have suggested that the chapter divisions imposed on the stories
have unfortunately distanced (2) parables with many striking similarities:
-
Each
story includes a noble master whose goodness has been abused.
-
Each
story tells of individuals who are facing desperate situations as a result
of their misdirected pursuits and who are called upon to consider their
current situations and consider their options.
-
Each
story includes individuals who have loved the wrong things and had little to
show for it except squandered resources and wasted time.
-
Both the
“lost son” and the “manager” have betrayed a trust and throw themselves on
the mercy and good nature of the “Father” and “Master”.
-
Both the
son and the manager experience unexplainable grace; neither get what they
deserve.
The son
is not excommunicated from the family and the manager is not jailed.
Instead, the son gets a party and the manager gets an unexpected
commendation.
-
In both
stories, we are left without the final scene. We don’t know the final
response of the older son or the final outcome of the manager’s actions.
● From
information gathered about the peasant culture of the first century, the
manager is likely an estate
manager who governs the affairs of the Master/owner. The
debtors are most likely farmers who pay a pre-determined rent in
keeping with their crops (in this case, oil and wheat).
The scope
of the manager’s authority was such that his actions and words were
considered the desires of the master.
● The
manager is discovered to be misappropriating the master’s funds and is fired
on the spot. “What’s this I hear about
you?” He’s not sure what the master knows or what he doesn’t know. So,
he maintains his silence.
●
What would Jesus’ listeners have
expected the manager to do?
Negotiate--- a common Middle Eastern practice.
“I’ve worked hard, my dad and
grandfather both worked for you. I can’t be everyone at one time; I can’t
help you’re renting to a bunch of crooks. Let them confront me to my face!”
Instead, his silence is presumed to be an admission of guilt. He also
knows that his master is upright and not easily manipulated. He is without
excuse [important part of the story].
● From
this point on, the manager is no longer authorized to speak of act on behalf
of the master.
What will he do? He needs a job, but his white-collar position
has left him unfit for such harsh manual labor. He can’t beg for (2)
reasons: 1) in a ‘shame-honor’ culture,
“Better to be dead than to beg”,
2) because he doesn’t meet the communal criterion (i.e. blindness, loss of a
limb, etc.).
● He must
arrange a situation in which he will come out in a favorable light. The
debtors naturally assume that the manager is coming with a message from the
master. They are unaware of his firing and believe him to still be
authorized to carry out the master’s will.
● He
devises a plan to reduce the debt and thus win the favor of the debtors.
He has nothing to lose, right?
If he is unsuccessful, he will be jailed, but if he is successful, he will
be a hero in the community, right?
Each
debtor changes the amount (in his own handwriting) and returns back to the
village to share the good news of the generosity of the master and the
manger who was ‘good enough’ to persuade him to make the reductions.
● At this
point, the master has only (2) choices:
First, he could go back
and explain that the reductions were illegal and unauthorized, which would
put a serious ‘damper’ on the party and cause them gripe about how
unreasonable he is. Or, secondly,
he could keep quiet about the whole episode, absorb the loss and pay for the
man’s salvation (meaning that he could legally have sold the manager and his
family into slavery in order to recoup the debt) and continue to enjoy his
continued reputation as a generous man.
The
manager has risked everything on grace… and he won.
In a
round-a-about way, the actions of the manager are a reflection of the good
nature of the master.
Interestingly, Middle Eastern peasants had all kinds of
“Robinhood”,
“David and Goliath” stories:
stories about a local hero winning over “Mr. Big”.
● But, in
the parable, the manager is identified as both a “child of this world” and
“dishonest”, but also as “shrewd” (wise: with a view toward
self-preservation). He is sensitive
to the hopelessness of his situation and realizes that his redemption is
only to be found in the generosity of his master. He is praised not for
his dishonesty, but for knowing where to turn to find grace.
● Now,
while we are busy trying to unearth some neat moral lesson and hopefully
salvage Jesus’ reputation here, we
are being introduced to an environment of grace…and we’re not sure how to
respond.
These are all “how much more” stories, designed to correct any
misconceptions concerning God’s nature and dealings with humanity. If the
man got bread from his neighbor in the middle of the night, how much more
will God gladly give you what you need? If even the woman got what she
needed from the unjust judge, how much more will God respond rightly toward
his people? If the dishonest manager was able to find mercy in the midst of
his crisis, how much more will God respond to you in your time of need?
Our responses in crisis not only demonstrates how fully entrenched we are
in our own kingdoms, but how elaborate and extravagant God’s grace.
Our stated-theology would support that
“in our weakness, we trust God for
strength”, but our pattern seems to indicate that we most often revert
to our old systems of self-sufficiency.
The story confirms that God is always faithful to his justice and his
determination to “set things right”--- which always requires “mercy”.
Grace can
truly be appreciated only within the context of justice.
The story
continues to reaffirm that justice is not about “getting even” or
“retaliating” or ensuring that “they get what they deserve”, but it’s about
“setting things right”… about “restoration”. And, in setting things right,
someone will be called upon to absorb the consequences of injustice--- all
that’s gone wrong (as the Master in this story).
Grace, in its purest form, comes when life has left us so defeated and
disoriented that we have no other choice but to accept it.
Such life-crisis is often necessary because then, and only then, do
we reach for grace. Then, and only then, does our desire for rescue finally
overtake our determination to “go it alone”.
I’ll say
it again,…
Grace has nothing to offer the person who thinks they can do life
without God.
Justice and grace are not polar opposites, but necessary components of
love.
Justice
means that I am both “acceptable” and “accountable”. The message of the
gospel is always both hope and justice.
● In
order to produce such profound results in our lives, God must act
unexpectedly.
He must “begin” by attaching value to us which will help to remove
any anxiety that I might feel about trying to perform and offer us the
security of love.
He must make himself vulnerably available to “me” first, knowing full
well that there is the chance that I might not accept his advancements and
pursue him in return [that’s why we call it “grace”, because all of God’s
movements toward us are self-initiated].
Then, in the context of committed relationship, he expects
accountability (Romans 1:5 calls it
“the obedience that comes from faith…”) He expects that our lives will
reflect our participation in his Kingdom.
●
He must offer us forgiveness
before we seek it; he must intercede for us before we are aware of our need;
he must love us first in spite of ourselves.
Isaiah 65:1-2
"I've made myself available to those who haven't bothered to ask. I'm here,
ready to be found by those who haven't bothered to look. I kept saying 'I'm
here, I'm right here' to a nation that ignored me. I reached out day after
day to a people who turned their backs on me, People who make wrong turns,
who insist on doing things their own way.”
Shrewdness (wisdom) is not just about being able to look ahead and make
predictions, but it’s the capacity to look around and make the kind of
decisions which help to shape a preferred-future.
For the first time, the manager is beginning to think about how his
present actions/decisions are shaping his future possibilities.
What’s most scandalous about God’s seemingly ‘reckless’ expressions of
grace is that we as his followers are called to imitate it.
Micah 6:8
“Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.”
Strong’s
(Phil) translation…
“Be about
setting things right in all of your relationships; expect justice, but love
mercy- make allowances for all the ways that we fail to be fully human.
Never demand that others earn from you the mercy that you expect to receive
freely from God. Live (“walk”- metaphor for how we live our lives) with an
honest evaluation of who you are and who God is.” |
