The Hardest Parable ~ Luke 16:1-13 (Short Stories Jesus Told series)

Over a week ago, the Governor of Georgia shocked and thrilled many when he ordered that drivers who only took the written test, could be awarded driver’s licenses without taking the actual driving test. While it made many 16-year-olds happy it was not welcomed by everyone. The concern, of course, is that you can have the knowledge and yet still not know how to drive or drive well. And good test will test what you’ve learned, of course, as well as how to apply it. That’s what Jesus’ parable of the Dishonest Manager suggests to us today. That you might talk a good game and revel in grace but still not know how live it out – generously and abundantly. And the test for grace might surprise us. The driving test for grace isn’t so much a test about your prayer life, or a theological exam, but a test about money, generosity and welcome. Let’s take a look at Jesus’ “hardest” parable.

The Parable of the Dishonest manager is a prodigal parable.

Vs. 15:1-2 is the setting for three parables that we are very familiar with  - the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost boy or Prodigal son and then immediately following our parable today. Jesus, according to Luke, doesn’t take a breath and wants to tell us not three but five stories about God’s generosity and grace.

It’s amazing to consider that when Jesus wants to talk about the grace of the kingdom – “money” or something of material value features prominently – sheep, coins, paid labor, lavish parties, etc.. Furthermore, the Prodigal and our manager are linked because both “wasted” or “squandered property” (c.f. 15:13 & 16:1). Both are guilty and their prodigalness is expressed by self-centered selfishness and wasting money only on themselves. And both characters also experience welcome through generosity (c.f.  15:29-30 & 16:9).

I guess the truth I’m trying to suggest that Jesus’ parables seem to unmask us with an unexpected question. How often do you imagine that your story of faith or testimony is best answered by the question: “Tell me your story about money.” The context for our discipleship is not merely prayer and Bible reading, Jesus tells us time and time again, but also dollars and generosity.

When we return to our parable today it’s a doozy. And I want to confess that I have more questions than answers, more puzzles than pictures, more wrestling than well-thought out theology. And that part troubled me until I remembered – that’s the point.

If the parable of the Dishonest manager is a prodigal parable then it’s a puzzle and test is about how well we understand and express grace on the other side of discipleship. Jesus tells this story specifically to “disciples” in vs. 16:1 - a crazy story about a dishonest manager. It was intentionally meant to shock. So what does “grace” look like on the other side for those of us who follow Jesus? And let me spare you any doubt – this manager IS dishonest. Jesus will reiterate that in vs. 8 so we can’t, as some commentators are want to do, explain away his actions as merely reducing his own extravagant percentage on top of what is owed. And that has freaked out a lot of Christians who don’t like the thought –because they imagine that Jesus is encouraging dishonest or fraudulent behavior – he’s not. He’s connecting our use of money toward others with our understanding of the welcome of salvation. But here’s the rub – I am the dishonest manager, you are too. I have “wasted” possessions, I have. And I will give account – you will too. The “give an account” (16:2) in the New Testament is language for two things: both testimony and judgment (Romans 14:12; 1 Peter 4:5; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 3:15). – Our Christian witness, in other words, and God’s assessment of our lives involve a look at our money. It is the fact that we will stand before the God of the Good Samaritan, the God of the Workers of the Vineyard, the God who owns thousands of cattle on a thousand hills, the God of the Poor, and give an account on how we used his stuff and treated ones he loves. Our use of money is worship and evangelism and testifies to the world what we believe. And if that puts a pit in your stomach – that’s okay. It does me too.

If you are worried – listen to Jesus. I know that vss. 8-9 are strange. Is Jesus telling us that we earn our salvation by being generous to the poor? If you follow a certain logic it can almost seem that way. However, I think it’s helpful to remember that he is telling this to disciples who are already believers. So maybe the wisdom Jesus want us to attain is the realization that it’s not so much that money saves but that how you handle money reveals how well you understand salvation by grace. If every day people understand that giving money helps create friendship and welcome then how much more should those of us who are believers understand the power of money given graciously. What if the real enemy of grace might not be works but greed? That’s the very suggestion of Jesus’ ending statements about wealth and spirituality. By the way, friends, as far as I’m aware of, Jesus never talks this way about Bible reading or prayer! When the kingdom is our treasure, we switch from hoarding to giving. When we elevate kingdom priorities and keep our end in mind we liberally share our wealth. And in the process we not only restore and liberate the poor but also ourselves. Grace is fully understood when we recognize that we are also responsible for being generous to others as friends. We begin to realize that the enemy of grace is greed.

I know it’s hard. Don’t laugh.

That’s what the Pharisees do when Jesus finishes his story, it tells us in vs. 16:14-15. They made fun of such an idea to “justify” themselves. Friends, I don’t believe that this parable is so difficult to understand – that grace, money, and our belief about the next life work and flow from the same place. This parable is hard for one reason. I don’t want to do it. I’m not even sure always what to do. I certainly don’t want to connect my spending to my spirituality. I want my Christianity to be about my Bible not my wallet, my worship on Sunday and not my budget on Monday.

But this is still a parable. It’s okay to be troubled, perplexed, off-kilter, even a bit unsure. Jesus does not offer us a rule, a guideline or even policies that we can either follow slavishly or utterly dismiss. He tells us a story that reveals how interconnected and complicated following God can be. Wrestling is a proper response of anyone who would wish to live such a story. Clearly Luke understood that the issues of wealth and poverty are complex, that anxiety about money is a disease among both those who have it and those who do not, and that a generous sharing of one’s goods can free one from the danger to the soul which money can be. So you can struggle with it – just don’t laugh. Struggling means you’re on the right track. Scoffing doesn’t.

But what can you do? What’s one thing that you might do as a disciple who believes that money and theology connect?  What’s a regular act that would show you don’t love money and that surprises people with money as an act of grace? Can you imagine what our world would be like, think of us, if the church acted like that? So be a disciple. Be like Austin Perine (pee-rhine). This is my “living commentary” for you. Below is a link to a short 3 min. YouTube video. I want to encourage you to watch it, to inspire you to be generous as God is generous. If we live as the shrewd manager we will befriend our city with the grace of God regularly in ways that show true sacrifice, real love and gracious dollars. No one, not even a Pharisee, can truly scoff at that.
 To watch the Austine Perine video click HERE.

The Parable of the Eccentric Employer ~ Matthew 20:1-16 (Short Stories Jesus Told series)

My wife is a classic introvert but that should never suggest that she doesn’t know how to throw a party. When we were first married, she always loved to throw me strange parties for my birthday. Strange as in - come in costume and my husband will try and figure out what the secret theme of the party is. One year everyone came as characters of my favorite musical: Into the Woods. That was easy to figure out. Another year everyone came as separate philosophical problems – that was a bit more difficult to figure out and immensely more nerdy but fun. In a way, we’ve been learning that Jesus’ parables are also a lot like Marianne’s parties. They are invitational, puzzling, and leave everyone asking, “Who are you? Who am I supposed to be? What’s the theme of this party?” – well, I guess it’s a “work party.” 

What’s the invitation? The invitation is to understand and live out the kingdom of heaven (on earth).

We’ve already learned that the parables are all about the kingdom of God – God’s rule and reign that we are invited to enter into, inhabit, live out, and look forward to. It’s a reality that Jesus teaches and tells stories about that is both now and not yet, both present and future, both breaking in and to be patiently accepted, and thus demands our heads, hearts, hands and feet. It is to be a state of affairs and not a place. Matthew, however, translates Jesus’ kingdom of God to “kingdom of heaven.” Don’t be fooled – they mean the same thing. The problem for us is that many of us have been told that “heaven” is a beyond thing, an after-life place, a grand ole by-and-by event when you die. And yet that’s not what Jesus is inviting us too – or, that’s not the only thing we’re invited to. Jesus’ parable in vs. 1 is inviting us to see and accept what the kingdom is “like” – not simply what will be – which is akin to saying, “Let me tell you how God wants the world to be now and forever. We know this because already in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus taught the disciples that we are to pray regularly – “on earth as it is in heaven.” This is a prayer for the present. If this parable is an “on earth as it is in heaven” story then it is both about an eternal future and a present ethic, not only about outer expression but inner transformation. It’s a joining of two realities that we must never separate. It’s a mobius strip (So here’s our visual parable about what the kingdom is like that you can make at home! It’s a geometric shape joins the inner and outer dimensions). Click here

For those who might only wish to ask, “Are you saved?” Jesus would also add, “Do your kids have enough to eat?” To those who might only worry about economic concerns, Jesus would add, “Do you want to receive forgiveness? Do you long for acceptance and inner transformation?” Salvation, friends, IS the kingdom “on earth as it in heaven” and reflects what you think of Jesus and how you treat others in the present or it is not the salvation of the Gospels.  And that means money is to be determined by kingdom mercy, and that generosity is a term to be applied to forgiveness and grace. And the invitation to this kingdom work party is once again “the disciples” and not “the crowds” or “pharisees” (Matt. 19:23). But we will see that the invitation isn’t without its problems – apparently, even disciples “grumble” and complain.

What’s the puzzle/challenge of this work party?  The kingdom of heaven seems unfair but still is just.

The parable teaches not the reversal of order but the abandonment of every form of ordering. All is determined by grace. In God’s Kingdom reality, generosity and grace are to be something we both strive and wait for because all is based on mercy and everyone is paid the same. And we’ve seen that this reality should inform how we interact with others now. And the funny thing to recognize is that it’s believers who struggle with that fact. Jesus’ story reminds us that we often want good and bad Christians, we like saints and sinners, we appreciate a Church that’s like the show Survivor where we can vote people off the island, and a philosophy of “God helps those who help themselves”. We want fairness. But the spiritual qualifications and economics of the Kingdom, Jesus suggests, are that God wants justice and not necessarily what we think is appropriate or fair. In vs. 4 we are told that the owner promises to “pay [workers] whatever is right”. The word used is the very word used for “righteousness” and “justice” throughout the New Testament. And that’s the challenge! If this parable is a mobius strip and isn’t simply about crowns in heaven but also dollars on the earth then a serious point of the parable is not that those who have “get more” but that spiritually, physically, socially, whatever-ally, those who don’t have “get enough,” regardless of time or efforts. “Fairness,” Jesus story challenges, is not the metric of the kingdom. Fairness is imagining that everyone should get what he or she deserves.  Justice, righteousness, however, is about people getting what they need. The problem is that once we begin to hear that, we imagine that someone has to lose. But in the parable no one loses anything. No one receives less, but some receive far more. Friends, Jesus is telling us that there is no scarcity in God’s kingdom. You can let people cut in line. So the point of the parable might best be expressed by the slight but critical difference between equality and equity. Equity is giving everyone what they need. It’s evidenced by the owners relentless activity of generosity – calling people to work and paying them the same regardless of time spent. Equality is treating everyone the same. But, the complainers are right – the owner of the vineyard does not treat everyone the same because some worked far more and other far less for the same pay (Matt. 20:12, N.B. I know that the word is “equal” but I am making a meaning point, which captures the whole of the story). Equality aims to promote fairness (you get what you give, you get paid for what you work), but it can only work if everyone starts from the same place and needs the same help. The parable acknowledges, however, that all of us don’t start from the same place and does so without blame – there are 6 am workers and 5 pm workers. And Jesus story blames no one for where they find themselves (c.f. Matt. 20:7). Maybe this image will help.   

The goal is for everyone, like the the three in the image, to gain access to the “game,” to kingdom benefits. But some have more, were hired earlier, have greater history, easier access like the dad and others are like the toddler with greater needs and fewer helps. That one needs more in order to gain access.

Caveat – Jesus doesn’t give a 5-point economic plan. He tells a story that was meant to be puzzled over. So if you imagine that there is a clear step-by-step economic kingdom blueprint let this parable puzzle you. Let the storied nature of God’s kingdom fire your imagination but also make you humble enough to listen well to others. And if you imagine that generosity is simply a spiritual practice without economic implications - think again and let this parable challenge how you spend your money, pay your workers, imagine charity, and consider the poor. Let this parable puzzle you as you wrestle with God’s recurrent mandate to care for the poor, like in Deut. ¹¹ There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. (Deut. 15:11). To be openhanded is to recognize that none should go “empty handed.”

Who am I? Who am I supposed to be? Part of our ability to understand a parable has to do with where we find ourselves in it.

Are you a grumbler? Remember that the “grumblers” are believers. Are you someone who struggles with the generosity of God? Do you prefer fairness rather than God’s justice which gives people not rewards but gifts of grace based upon what they need. Always remember this – work in the kingdom is already a gift and the promise of God is always just. You will be rewarded – so you can let others cut in line, God’s love and provision will not run out.

Are you the last? Of course, one of the reasons that people grumble is that most imagine they are always the 6 am workers. So one of the ways to recognize God’s grace is consider the possibility that you actually aren’t the hardest worker, the most dutiful, early riser – perhaps today you actually overslept, or tomorrow felt sick, or depressed, or too-tired, or couldn’t find work. That’s okay – God is more generous than your failure and more generous than your greatest success.

Finally, you should be a “householder.” The term “householder” employed by Jesus is an interesting one and is our Greek of the Week [oikodespotes]. The word is compound word formed by: oikos, meaning “house” but also where we get our word for “economy” and despotes, which means “master.” This word is only found in the Gospels and appears to be a word that Jesus liked to use. Now, I imagine that practically all of us if asked the question: “Who is the “master of the house” or household?” – would reply, “That’s easy. It’s God.” And that’s right, of course. In fact, in vs. 8 it moves from oikodespotes to describe the owner as ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος “the lord of the vineyard.” But, that should not detract from an equally true answer – the “master of the house” should also be you. Jesus also loved to use this word to refer to “disciples.” In Matthew 13:52 it refers to a “disciple in the kingdom.” In Matthew 24, it refers once again to “disciples” (cf. Matthew 24:3; 24:43) but also to God (Matthew 24:45). So the householder is both analogous to God and a model for followers of Jesus (e.g. the sermon on the mount). It is in part a warning to disciples that they should act as God does, rather than as “some rich guy” (e.g. Luke 12:16; 16:1; 19:22). There is no justice of God that isn’t also justice for us or by us. There is no generosity of the Lord that shouldn’t also transform our generosity. Disciples, Jesus taught us, are always enjoined to repent so that they may “be . . . as your heavenly father is . . . “(Matt. 5:48).

So be eccentric, be generous, be “just” – be like God and get to work.