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September 23, 2007
An Unlikely Hero
Luke 16:1-10
The great industrialist, Henry Ford was visiting his family's ancestral village in Ireland when two trustees of the local hospital found out he was there, and managed to get in to see him. They talked him into giving the hospital five thousand dollars (this was the 1930's, so five thousand dollars was a great deal of money).
The next morning, at breakfast, he opened his daily newspaper to read the banner headline: "American Millionaire Gives Fifty Thousand to Local Hospital." Ford wasted no time in summoning the two hospital trustees. He waved the newspaper in their faces. "What does this mean?" he demanded. The trustees apologized profusely. "Dreadful error," they said. They promised to get the editor to print a retraction the very next day, declaring that the great Henry Ford had given not fifty thousand, but only five.
Hearing this, Ford offered them another forty-five thousand, under one condition: that the trustees would erect a marble arch at the new hospital entrance, and place upon it a plaque that read, "I walked among you and you took me in." 1
A financier is successfully caught in a “grift.” A hospital is built. A multi-millionaire is a little bit poorer and a community is a little bit better off. One of those stories where you are not sure who are the heroes – but which end in some way being win-win.
So you suppose we could classify the parable we read this morning the same way? This is certainly a parable which perhaps more than any others in the Gospel startles us as we read it.
Just to make sure that you heard what I heard, let us go over the story one more time. Jesus said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property...." The accused is summoned into the presence of his boss who tells him that he has two weeks' notice, or something like that and that his services will no longer be required. This cunning steward, looking out for himself in every way, immediately does some strange manipulating of the books. He goes to each of his master's debtors and rewrites their debt, reducing what they owe to the landlord. We can understand why his actions would be very popular with those who were in debt, sometimes the indebtedness is lowered as much as 50%.
As one commentator puts it, "The plan is a stroke of genius because it accomplishes a threefold goal: 1) the rich landowner is glorified and praised in the minds of his debtors for his apparent generosity (they don't have any idea that there is anything shady going on); 2) the worldly lot of his neighbors has been improved; and 3) the steward or manager has provided for his own future economic security...that is his salvation and the Landowner seems to praise him for a job well done." 2 “It looks like a win-win.”
Then Jesus adds the punch line which is the most surprising of all. "And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes." No condemnation of the guy, not even a couple of words to distance him from the unjust steward's tactics. And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. And Jesus added: “For the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”
What can Jesus be driving at? Looking at another translation of Luke 16: 8-9:
Now here's a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right —using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you'll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior. 3
“Think ahead...and act with wisdom as you look toward the future.” That is the message here – be bold and act in a calculated way when circumstances merit it. This unattractive hero displays the kind of self confidence that allows him to react with purpose even under duress. So he pushes the envelope to assure his future.
This is another "Kingdom Parable" of Jesus and is meant not to outline a set of moral guidelines but rather to draw a picture of the nature of the Kingdom of God and those who will find it. This slippery steward who is described with words like shrewd and clever may not immediately sound like a Sunday School lesson, but parables are supposed to knock you off center when you hear them – Jesus is asking you to react, to think – not just smile benignly and be religious.
One author puts her finger on what may just be the lesson Jesus wants us to take away from this story. "[Jesus] might come today and point to some international racketeer and ask us to realize that, if we worked as hard for good as he did for the evil of dope peddling or smuggling or gambling, then we would be as great in the kingdom of light as he is great in the kingdom of darkness.” 4
Jesus might even lift up a character somewhat like a 21 st Century hard driving MBA bent on being a millionaire before the age of 25. He might say, “Look at the time he spends studying for his vocation; at the hours she spends at meetings – never without a blackberry, using free time to entertain others who may be good business connections….” That person is playing the game with energy and commitment. Then the kicker! “Would that you church folks were more like one of those MBA's. Put a little spunk into your discipleship!”
How much time do a lot of Christian folks spend on finding their treasure? Do they give a couple [or] three hours a month to church and consider that too much? Will they sit up nights studying to understand with eyes of faith – giving their energy to prayer and seeking to understand what God has called them to do in the world? How we use mammon is a clear and accurate indicator of our priorities. While we might speak frequently of justice and compassion, it is what we actually do with our resources that expresses our deepest commitments. 5
The authors of Freakenomics 6 talk about a study done by an economist, Frank Knight, in the early 20th Century. “He made a distinction between two key factors in decision making: risk and uncertainty. The cardinal difference, Knight declared, is that risk — however great — can be measured, whereas uncertainty cannot. Most folks prefer a measurable – visible risk to an immeasurable uncertainty . That may explain the sluggish way in which the institutions of the world have responded to Global Warming. “We'd rather risk filling the air with just a few more hydrocarbons than the possibility of not having the energy we need to put our cars on the road and air condition our houses.” Some might even say, “We would rather risk sending our kids off to war than risk the uncertainties of a future without oil.” Are we really putting our God given talents to use? Where is the cunning for good inspired by the Spirit of Christ?
Or look at it this way. We know that there is sufficient food and means of production in the world to feed every living soul a healthy diet - yet thousands starve. Why is that? Is it that the will of the developing world is just not ready to make the kind of measurable adjustments in the way food and wealth and hope are distributed among the nations. A few deaths from famine are measurable – a complete change in the structures of our world markets is too much of an uncertainty.
Another example: Churches all over this country, including our own, have been very generous in feeding and housing the homeless – a population which is now nearly 70% women and children. We have risked a little by opening our doors to the poor – but what if we marshaled the collective cunning and know-how of our congregations to completely change the system? What if our goal was not providing shelter, but rather was building a society where all have access to housing – where all have the opportunity to be safe in their own homes – where homelessness or hunger are no longer issues? Is leadership in such things part of discipleship? Is using our resources and our wisdom to make substantive difference in the community and the world what Jesus is calling us to do? Should that be the nature of the mission of the church?
Yom Kippur - or the Day of Atonement – came to a conclusion at sundown last night. (September 22 nd ) One of the wonderful images related to the observance of the High Holy Days in Jewish tradition is the image of the "book of life" being opened in Heaven during this period. It is a time to set straight what may be written there about the way in which one has lived.
In the context of that faith tradition which tells us that God's primary concern is for justice - justice in the form of righteousness both toward God and neighbor, Jesus uses the parable of “Unsavory Steward” and its strange hero as an object lesson. This "dishonest steward" has marshaled all of his cunning to assure his own future. When the books of the business are opened his master is impressed. If one can be so ingenious and risk everything to assure his economic and social survival - what is it that we, who live under grace, should be doing to preserve our own righteousness in God's eyes? What is to be written in the Book of Life about us? How much cunning? What percentage of our time and energy? What of ourselves do we extend for the purpose of assuring the coming of the Kingdom of God?
It was Dag Hammarskjold, Secretary General of the United Nations during the 50's and 60's who said, "The essence of faith is that we act on "more than meets the eye. Faith is, faith creates, faith carries. It is not derived from, nor created, nor carried by anything except it's own reality." 7 Jesus says, "People of faith - look at the dishonest and unjust steward, willing to risk it all for the sake of the future he believed in - then take a good look at yourselves."
After Yom Kippur comes Sukkot, the harvest festival, when Jews observe that God told his people to take stock of the fruits of creation which sustained them in their journey through the wilderness of Sinai when risks were high and life was uncertain. Look at the riches God has continued to give! Now to a prosperous people, God says, “Use this treasure – these first fruits – for God's purposes. With the cunning of an unlikely hero, make all the earth into the Promise Land – and live as people who have experienced the Kingdom of God.”
1 “ Henry Ford”, A story shared by Carlos Wilton. He may be contacted at carlos.wilton@ecunet.org Go Back
2 G. David Yeager, "More than Meets the Eye" Homiletics, September 1998, page 34 Go Back
3 Luke 16: 8-9 from The Message Go Back
4 Christine Pohl, "Profit and Loss" The Christian Century, August 29- September 5, 2001, p. 13. Go Back
6 Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt, an article in the New York Times “The Jane Fonda Effect “ Published: September 16, 2007. Go Back
7 Dag Hammarskjold, Markings Alfred A Knoft, New York, 1964, page 145. Go Back
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First Presbyterian
Church of Cedar Rapids
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Phone: 319-364-6148
E-mail: church@fpccr.org
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