LUKE 16:1-13
THIS IS SURE A CONFUSING
PARABLE. IS JESUS TELLING US THAT WHAT THE DISHONEST STEWARD DID WAS
WORTHY OF PRAISE? IS HE TELLING US TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH WORLDLY
WEALTH IF WE HOPE TO BE WELCOMED INTO OUR ETERNAL HOMES? HE SEEMS TO
BE TELLING US THAT THE WORLDLY ARE SMARTER THAN THE CHILDREN OF THE
LIGHT – I THINK, I HOPE HE MEANS YOU AND I WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT THE
CHILDREN OF LIGHT.
IF YOU ARE CONFUSED BY
THIS PARABLE, YOU AREN'T ALONE. BIBLICAL SCHOLARS, THEOLOGIANS AND
PREACHERS HAVE COME TO DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS. ONE FAMOUS SCHOLAR
COMMENTED THAT WITH RESPECT TO THIS PARABLE, IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND
IT, DON'T EVEN TRY TO FIGURE IT OUT, BECAUSE PARABLES ARE MEANT TO BE
UNDERSTOOD. I GUESS HE WAS SAYING THAT EVEN JESUS CAN'T HIT THE NAIL
EVERY TIME.
SO YOU CAN PICK AND
CHOOSE HOW YOU UNDERSTAND THIS PARABLE. BUT I'M GOING TO JUST GO
INTO A A LITTLE HISTORY AND A LITTLE LANGUAGE LESSON FOR A MINUTE, SO
BEAR WITH ME.
FIRST, WE ARE READING A
TRANSLATION FROM THE GREEK THAT WAS SPOKEN AND WRITTEN IN JESUS'
TIME. THOSE WRITERS OF COURSE WERE TRANSLATING FROM ARAMAIC, THE
LANGUAGE JESUS ACTUALLY SPOKE. A TRANSLATOR ALWAYS HAS TO DECIDE
WHICH WORD TO USE, IF A GIVEN WORD CAN BE TRANSLATED IN DIFFERENT
WAYS. “DISHONEST” FOR EXAMPLE, CAN BE TRANSLATED AS “UNJUST”
OR “UNRIGHTEOUS”. “SHREWD” CAN BE TRANSLATED AS “WISE”.
IN THE TEXT IT SAYS “HIS MASTER COMMENDED HIM” BUT IN THE GREEK
TEXT, THE WORD FOR MASTER AND THE WORD FOR LORD ARE THE SAME, AND
THERE IS NO “HIS” IN THE GREEK. THE GREEK OF JESUS' DAY DIDN'T
USE CAPITALS AND SMALL LETTERS, PERIODS OR COMMAS, AND SPACES BETWEEN
WORDS. THAT'S WHY THERE WERE SCRIBES ALL OVER THE MEDITERRANEAN, AND
ONLY A FEW PEOPLE WERE LITERATE. IT TOOK TRAINING AND HARD WORK TO
TAKE WHAT WAS WRITTEN AND TURN IT BACK INTO HUMAN SPEECH, AND THE
PROFESSION OF SCRIBE WAS AN IMPORTANT ONE, REGARDLESS OF THE
LANGUAGE.
THE SECOND THING IS THAT
JESUS IS SPEAKING TO THE PHARISEES, AND THE VERY NEXT LINE AFTER THIS
PARABLE WHICH DOES NOT APPEAR IN THE READING IS THAT THE PHARISEES,
WHO IT IS SAID WERE LOVERS OF MONEY, BECAME ANGRY WITH HIM. IN
JEWISH LAW, YOU COULDN'T CHARGE INTEREST ON A LOAN; BUT IT WAS COMMON
PRACTICE FOR PHARISEES TO GET AROUND THIS RULE; AND ONE WAY WAS TO
LOAN THE MONEY AT NO INTEREST, UNDER THE CONDITION THAT WHEN IT WAS
RETURNED, MONEY WOULD BE GIVEN TO THE MANAGER OR STEWARD. THE BOSS,
IN OTHER WORDS, GOT THOSE WHO OWED HIM MONEY TO PAY HIS HELP.
SO WE HAVE A STEWARD THAT
WAS INVOLVED IN HIS MASTER'S DISHONESTY. HE MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING
THAT MADE THE MASTER DECIDE TO FIRE HIM, BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT. HE
THEN TAKES WHAT WOULD BE COMING TO HIM FROM THE LOANS, AND FORGIVES
THAT PART OF THE LOAN – 50 PERCENT FOR OLIVE OIL, 20 PERCENT FOR
GRAIN. THOSE NUMBERS, BY THE WAY, WERE TYPICAL OF THE TIMES. AND
THE LORD COMMENDS THE UNJUST STEWARD FOR USING HIS WEALTH FOR HIS
FUTURE WELL BEING.
JESUS TELLS US TO MAKE
FRIENDS WITH WORLDLY WEALTH SO THAT WHEN IT IS GONE WE WILL BE
WELCOMED INTO ETERNAL HOMES. WHO CAN WELCOME US BUT GOD? THE UNJUST
STEWARD, WHEN FACED WITH A CRISIS, USED HIS OWN WEALTH TO MAKE THE
DEBTORS OF HIS MASTER MORE LIKELY TO WELCOME HIM INTO THEIR HOMES.
WE ARE FACED WITH THIS KIND OF DECISION EVERY DAY – HOW DO WE USE
OUR WEALTH?
JESUS TELLS US THAT IF WE
ARE FAITHFUL IN SMALL MATTERS, WE WILL BE FAITHFUL IN LARGE, AND IF
WE ARE DISHONEST IN SMALL MATTERS, WE WILL BE DISHONEST IN LARGE.
THAT SOUNDS LOGICAL, BUT A LOT OF THE TIME, WE ARE DISHONEST IN SMALL
MATTERS, AND STILL EXPECT THAT WHEN A REAL CRISIS COMES WE WILL BE
FAITHFUL. HOW ARE WE DISHONEST IN SMALL MATTERS? WE MAKE PROMISES
TO GOD AND TO EACH OTHER THAT WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF KEEPING. WE
TELL OUR SPOUSE THAT WE ARE GOING TO QUIT SPENDING SUNDAYS WATCHING
FOOTBALL ALL DAY. WE PROMISE TO PUT GAS IN THE CAR WHEN IT IS
RUNNING ON EMPTY AND WE DON'T. TRIVIAL THINGS, OF COURSE, BUT
DISHONEST IN SMALL MATTERS. AND WE MAKE PROMISES TO GOD ABOUT OUR
SPIRITUAL LIVES, AND FORGET THEM UNTIL THE NEXT TIME WE MAKE THE
SACRAMENT OF PENANCE. MOST OF US ARE NOT GOING TO BE MARTYRED FOR
OUR FAITH THIS WEEK. BUT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE MANY OCCASIONS WHERE
WE ARE CALLED TO DO LITTLE THINGS, AND FIND THAT IT IS EASY TO NOT DO
THEM, OR DO THEM POORLY. A FAITHFUL PERSON, LIKE MARY OUR MOTHER,
DOES EVERYTHING TO THE BEST OF HIS OR HER ABILITY.
JESUS TELLS US THAT WE
CAN'T SERVE TWO MASTERS. MAYBE THE UNJUST STEWARD, WHO HAD BEEN
PARTICIPATING IN HIS MASTER'S DISHONESTY, HAS NOW IN THE FACE OF HIS
CRISIS, TRANSFERRED HIS LOYALTY TO GOD'S LAW. MAYBE. I THINK ALL OF
US HERE WANT TO FOLLOW GOD'S LAW. BUT IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU WANT
TO DO THIS ON YOUR OWN TERMS. WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE, I OFTEN HAVE
TO CHOOSE BETWEEN WHAT I WANT AND WHAT I AM PRETTY SURE GOD WANTS –
AND MUCH OF THE TIME I END UP CHOOSING WHAT I WANT. IT ISN'T THAT I
WANT SOMETHING EVIL OR WRONG; BUT OFTEN IT'S A CHOICE BETWEEN DOING
SOMETHING I NEED TO DO AS A FATHER, A HUSBAND, A DEACON A CITIZEN;
AND CHOOSING INSTEAD TO WATCH A LITTLE TV, OR SURF THE INTERNET, OR
DOING SOMETHING ELSE THAT ENTERTAINS ME. THOSE THINGS AREN'T WRONG,
BUT THEY DO TAKE ENERGY AND TIME, AND WE ALWAYS HAVE TO ASK WHETHER
WE ARE SERVING GOD OR MAMMON.
SO I THINK THIS PARABLE
MAKES A LITTLE MORE SENSE WHEN YOU SEE IT THIS WAY. JESUS, NOT THE
MASTER, COMMENDS THE STEWARD, WHO WAS UNJUST – BECAUSE HE WENT
ALONG WITH HIS MASTER'S VIOLATION OF THE LAW AGAINST USURY, JUST AS
THE PHARISEES DID. AFTER ALL A LOAN RATE OF 20% OR 50% IS PRETTY
UNJUST, EVEN FOR CREDIT CARD DEBT TODAY. AND WHEN HE HAD TO, HE
DECIDED TO USE HIS OWN WEALTH INTELLIGENTLY, TO SAFEGUARD HIS FUTURE.
AND JESUS REMINDS US OF THE FACT THAT THERE WILL COME A TIME WHEN
OUR EARTHLY WEALTH WILL BE NO MORE – WILL WE HAVE USED IT TO
GUARANTEE AN ETERNAL HOME? WILL WE USE WHAT IS OURS FAITHFULLY OR
DISHONESTLY? WILL WE WHOLEHEARTEDLY GIVE OURSELVES TO GOD, OR HOLD
BACK, BECAUSE LEARNING TO LIVE IN HIS WILL INSTEAD OF OUR OWN IS VERY
SCARY AND EVEN GREAT SAINTS STRUGGLED WITH THIS TO THE ENDS OF THEIR
LIVES.
NEVERTHELESS, WE CAN TAKE
HOPE FROM THE PARABLE OF THE UNJUST STEWARD. IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO
CHANGE OUR WAYS.
