Today’s Gospel reading is confusing and clear – at the same time. To be honest, it’s something everyone who reads scripture has to live with – the ambiguity of certain parts.  The very last verse – “You cannot serve God and wealth (Mammon)” seems pretty clear.  Yet, the parables that precede that verse raise eyebrows. A rich man complementing a dishonest manager?  What’s that about?

 

 

When taking into consideration the repeated themes throughout the Gospel of Luke – Jesus healing, forgiving, welcoming, and lifting up the destructive results of accumulating wealth or possessions – we might be in a position to better discern these parables. That is, the release and fair distribution of wealth not only benefits the poor, the marginalized, and the disenfranchised who are victims of unfair economic systems, but it also benefits the wealthy.  Think of the rich man in Luke 12 – who greedily built more barns to store up wealth, then suddenly dies without ever considering the needs of the hungry to the detriment of relationships with others.  His hoarding didn’t help anyone.

 

Let’s just say this:  Economic justice is a focus in today’s parables.  Debt forgiveness is a focus in today’s lesson.  Wise stewardship is a focus. 

And it shouldn’t surprise us that every week, maybe every day we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (asking for a free handout) while humbling requesting, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”  We find these verses only a few chapters earlier in Luke when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray.  The Lord’s Prayer is a reminder of how dependent we are on a gracious God – and how provisions of food and forgiveness are gifts to be paid forward.  In this case, forgiveness of debt carries both financial and moral connotations.

The shrewd manager was most likely forgiving what he had already illegally charged.  He reduced his debts to what was most likely the original amount borrowed – so no skin off the teeth of the wealthy boss. 

 

The unfortunate issue of Roman occupied territory in Jesus time was that the rich got richer by charging exorbitant interest rates to buy more land, slowly pushing out the lowly peasant farmers who would then have nothing to give their heirs.  It was exploitation of the poor at its best.

The same thing happened in early England. The enclosure and privatization of formerly open farmland left the aristocracy richer and commoners with nowhere to grow food. Prosecutions against commoners for trespassing on newly enclosed land (often to poach game to eat) were a frequent activity by the wealthy and a tragedy for the lower classes, many of whom were sent to prison or the gallows.  The aristocracy’s sin was refusal to forgive real trespassing.     

Yet, given all this, why is this parable of Jesus helpful?  There are lots of opinions, but perhaps one interpretation rises to the top and that is:  Jesus is not lifting up the virtues of the manager.  He is merely pointing out that even Jesus’ own followers spend more time planning and scheming when dealing with accumulated wealth than using their resources, brains, and brawn to reaching out to others.

 

 

Yet, talking about debt or interest rates can take us down a slippery slope.  It’s hard to wrap our heads around forgiving those who owe us something.  Just listen to the outcry of some folks who decry student loan forgiveness.  One of our state legislators said, “Student loan forgiveness hurts everyday Americans,” (as if students aren’t everyday Americans).  On the other hand, debt can be a guilt trip for folks who think they always have something to repay – even if it’s not required!  Debt forgiveness seems foreign to fairness.

Many years ago my Mom asked me to drive to a neighbor’s house to borrow a cup of sugar (one measly cup).  Living out in the country meant a bit of planning ahead when it came to grocery shopping and stocking up on supplies.  Mom had run out of sugar and a trip to town would take too long for what she was baking. So, I did what she asked.  A few days later, after Mom had been to town, she insisted that I return the cup of sugar to our neighbor. 

I balked at her request, saying, “Mom, it’s a measly one cup of sugar!  I doubt Mrs. Braaten expects you to repay her – granule for granule.”  But Mom insisted.  She never wanted to be in debt to anyone.

 

 

Now, in the scheme of things, this isn’t a bad attribute.  It’s wonderful if you can get by in life without owing anything to anyone.  But, the reality is that we are all indebted to someone.  And, if truth be told, it is impossible to repay (in some way, shape, or fashion) everything owed.

 

 

So, debt forgiveness is not something new. It’s practiced quite frequently.  Think about the PPP Loans (Paycheck Protection Program).  How many individuals, businesses, and churches received these forgiven loans during the pandemic?   Quite a few!  Even folks who vehemently opposed receiving federal funds for other projects.

But loan forgiveness is a hot-button issue.  The mantra is:  “Well, somebody is going to have to pay for it!”  Historically, we tend to forget that fraudulent or devious loan schemes tend to play off naïve, desperate, financially illiterate, or just plain needy people.

 

St. Augustine asserted that “God gave us people to love and things to use, and original sin manifests itself in our penchant to confuse those two, loving things and using people.”

Throughout history, so-called progress has been made on the backs of the poor and disenfranchised.  We need not look further than the atrocity of slavery in America.  And, most often generational wealth outdoes generational poverty.  Picking oneself up by the bootstraps is mostly a myth, especially if you don’t even have boots.

Wealth seems to serve those who have it, but it rarely serves those who don’t – trickle-down economics is just as futile as trickle down debt forgiveness.  Both restrict full engagement of building trusting relationships.

At the end of today’s parable, Jesus says, “No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and wealth.”

 

 

Dr. Barbara Rossing points out that the term “wealth” was personified by the word “mammon” in older translations – and may help us understand that inherent evil of Mammon. She says that English Renaissance literature portrayed Mammon as a character on a lower moral level than Avarice. 

 

 

Bob Dylan wrote a song a few years back entitled, “Gotta Serve Somebody.”  A lyric that repeats throughout the song is:  “Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”

My guess is that most of us agree with Bob Dylan and with Jesus on that point (serving the devil or wealth).  And to be honest, that’s probably the easiest part of today’s scripture to understand. 

The placement of this story in the gospel of Luke follows the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son (commonly referred to as the Prodigal).  The context of those parables was Jesus’ responding to grumblings about his choice of dinner guests.  Jesus had been pressing the issue of hospitality, compassion, and forgiveness – and today’s parable seems to follow that theme.

One of the things we remember about the prodigal son is that he squandered his inheritance, just as the manager squandered the rich man’s money.  It seems that squandering is a bad thing.   You never want to get caught squandering something that isn’t yours.  Why?  Because it is not properly honoring the owner’s trust.  When you squander someone else’s property, you are also squandering their trust.

 

Thus, Luke’s gospel hits upon the fact that all of God’s creation, all of God’s children are a trust from Him – and they should be honored.  Withholding honor – even for the “least of these” – is squandering that trust.

 

So, on one level, this parable is about being a good steward of what has been given us – not only our time, our possessions, and our talents – but also our fellow human beings.  We are called to be a good steward of humanity.  We are called to cherish and not squander our fellow human beings.  We are called to choose what and whom we will serve – God or wealth (mammon).   And if we choose God, how is it that we serve?  By serving His creation.  After all, we gotta serve somebody!

 

 

 

AMEN