Proper 20 -- Jeremiah 8:18–9:1; Psalm 79:1-9; I
Timothy 2:1-7; Luke
16:1-13
A homily by Fr. Gene
Tucker, given at Trinity
Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Sunday, September 22, 2013.
“THE 401K PLAN THAT WILL NOT FAIL”
(Homily text: Luke 16:1-13)
During my
Army career many years ago, I learned of a supply sergeant in one of the units
in our battalion that was selling boots, camouflage uniforms, canteens and
other supplies to local residents of the community where the unit was
located. Apparently word had gotten out
that, if a person was looking for good hunting equipment at a cheap price, the
back door of the building near to the supply room was the place to be.
Eventually,
of course, this supply sergeant’s activities were discovered. His attempts to change his records to hide
the losses in equipment were undone. As
he was relieved of his duties and was mustered out of the service, his plans
for a good retirement and a pension disappeared along with his ability to
remain in service. Eventually, he became
a security guard at a mall in town. None
of the many who “bought” government property from him were able to make up for
the losses he suffered as a result of his dishonest actions.
This
unfortunate incident sheds good light on Jesus’ teachings as we hear the Lord’s
teaching this morning in His “Parable of the Dishonest Steward”.
On the surface, Jesus’ parable is very difficult
to understand. Even biblical scholars
puzzle over it (I am heartened that they do!).
So, as we
look at Jesus’ teaching, remembering that He is a master storyteller, let’s
examine some of the aspects of His story, in order that we might get a picture
of the point of His portrayal of the dishonest steward more clearly.
Right at the
beginning of the parable, we see that the steward is suspected of
dishonesty. The steward’s master demands
an account of the steward’s actions. In
a panic, the steward calls some of his acquaintances and quickly changes the
balance sheet so that the amount they owe is altered in the debtor’s favor. [1]
We might pause here for a moment to see what’s
going on. On the surface of it, what the
steward is doing is to create a false amount owed, thereby doing is to create a false
amount owed, thereby doing the debtor a favor, for which the dishonest steward
expects to be repaid at some point in the future. Put another way, the steward is essentially
saying something on the order of “I did you a favor by reducing your debt, so
now – at some point in the future – I am going to demand a favor of you."[2] Or, we might make use of a popular saying
which says, “I scratched your back, now I want you to scratch mine.”
The
dishonest man is trying to plan for his future, realizing that his options are
limited. Having a circle of friends who
owe him something seems to be the best option he can come up with.
But, of
course, the assets of the circle of the steward’s friends eventually dries up. Along with this disappearance, the dishonest
man’s retirement plans also evaporate.
That is the
point of Jesus’ statement – which seems enigmatic on the surface - that we read in verse nine. He says, “Make friends for yourselves by
means of unrighteous mammon,[3] so
that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations.”
If we read
and reread Jesus’ comment, it doesn’t seem to make sense, does it?
Since it is
such a difficult statement to grasp, let’s consider what Jesus is saying, and
venture an assessment of His meaning.
Allow me to offer my own personal understanding
of what the Lord is saying here….
I think the
Lord is engaging in hyperbole, which is defined as “exaggerated speech”, or an
“extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken
literally”. Hyperbolic speech is
intended to prompt reflection, to see beyond the immediate situation or
circumstance. In this sense, Jesus’
statement is intended – I believe – to force His listeners to consider just how
they are preparing for their own (eternal) future, and just how they are making
use of the assets they currently have for the living of life in this world.
Jesus
points out that making earthly friends by dishonest means will eventually fail
and will pass away. Along with that
failure comes the reality that the “eternal habitations” will be the
destination of those who act dishonestly, and those who associate with
dishonest actions. My guess would be
that these “eternal habitations” won’t be in God’s presence, but will be
elsewhere.
That’s my
estimation of what Jesus has in mind, for what it is worth.
But much
clearer is Jesus’ comment about the essential meaning of the parable as He
makes His closing statement. Here, He
says, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Essentially,
then, the Lord is forcing us to make a choice:
The choice is to:
- Live honestly in holiness of life, following God’s commands and loving the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul,
-or-
- Live the way the world lives, cheating, lying and bribing others to conceal dishonest acts, in order to ensure our own well-being.
The choice
just outlined here brings us to the matter of holiness.
We know
what holiness is as we see and learn it from two different sources.
- In the instance of knowing God, knowing God’s commands and knowing the holiness of Jesus’ life, we see and encounter the holiness that God demands of His people from God Himself.
- By contrast, as we look at the world around us and assess the ways of the world that stand in opposition to the standard of holiness that we see in the Lord, then we can compare the two.
Comparing
the two standards puts us in the middle of a choice.
It is the
same choice that confronted the supply sergeant that I knew about so many years
ago, as he had to make a choice to be honest in his care for property that was
not his own, and to be honest in his record-keeping so that those records
accurately reflected the amount of equipment that was on hand and available, or
to be dishonest by falsifying the records and by selling things out of the back
door of the building.
It is the
same choice that the dishonest steward faces in today’s parable. He must choose to be honest in caring for his
master’s property, or to falsify the records in order to bring the master’s
debtors into a web of deceit along with him.
It is the
same choice that confronts us today, as we must choose to adhere to God’s
demands that we live a holy and blameless life, recognizing that we are merely
the stewards of all that God has entrusted into our care. By so doing, we will go against the
prevailing behavioral standards of the world, a world in which people cheat and
engage in dishonesty for their own personal gain.
May we,
empowered by the Holy Spirit, choose to follow God, loving Him and obeying His
commands, as we turn our backs on the ways of the world around us.
AMEN.
[1] The amounts owed are significant. The amount of oil owed is about 900 gallons
of olive oil, while the amount of wheat owed is about 1,000 bushels. Scholars point out that the Lord is
portraying a situation in which the steward is the manager of a sizeable
business venture.
[2] Scholars debate the exact nature of the
steward’s actions. Among the options
they discuss the following are most often cited: 1) The steward is simply being dishonest by
reducing the amount of the debt; 2) The steward is marking down the amount owed
to reflect his own commission, which is his own income, or 3) The steward is reducing the debt to erase
interest that was being charged on the debt, in violation of the provisions of
Deuteronomy 23:19–20. Since the
amount of reduction varies for the amounts owed for the oil and for the wheat,
the first option seems to be the most likely.
[3] Mammon is a Semitic word meaning “money” or
“wealth” or “property”. It is carried
over into the Greek.
