Jesus has given us another doozy of a parable. Luke 16.1-13 is called the Parable of the Dishonest Manager. And Jesus tells us to make friends for ourselves by means of dishonest wealth. Really? Are you sure, Jesus? Well, this one is truly a mystery to me. It is difficult to read this parable allegorically, that is, making one of the characters into God or Jesus and figure out how they relate to us. It is difficult to read this metaphorically, since the parable is obviously about wealth, as Jesus so nicely concludes for us in verse 13, "You cannot serve God and wealth."
So, how on earth are we supposed to read this parable? A wealthy landowner has hired someone to manage his property in absentia. The manager uses the opportunity of the landowner's absence to make a little money for himself, perhaps charging the debtors more than they owe, or perhaps skimming off the top of the landowner's earnings. We aren't really sure exactly if the allegations are true, except then the manager shows us who he is. When he finds out he is going to be fired and realizes he can't work and is too proud to beg, he decides his best option is to make friends with the debtors. That way he will have some sort of support system after he is no longer earning a paycheck. So he swindles the landowner yet again. Strange... And even stranger, the landowner commends the manager. Stranger..... And strangest of all, then Jesus says we should act like the manager.
Now I'm totally confused and trying to live in this mystery. I'd be especially curious to know what you think. Bishop Burk said yesterday that he is thinking of this parable in terms of relationship. The manager's relationship with money cost him in the end, caused him to lose his job and reputation. So, he worked at building different relationships with people who were lower on the social ladder than him. In working at these relationships, the manager not only looked out for himself (ensuring those he helped would welcome into their homes) but he also looked out for them (significantly decreasing their debt).
Perhaps it is this simultaneous caring for oneself while caring for others that is at the heart of this parable? Kind of like a skewed version of the Golden Rule? Or maybe it is best to leave this as a mystery and focus on the last part, "You can't serve God and wealth"? This parable is indeed a mystery to me. Who is this God of ours, who commends the dishonest manager? Who is this God who tells us to get friends using dishonest wealth?!?
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