Good Trouble for the Coming Age
Scripture: Luke 16:1–13 & Amos 8:4–7
After many years of reading and hearing gospel stories, sometimes I have to take a step back when one is read to prevent myself from simply doing a quick ID and assuming I already know what there is to know about that passage. Oh yeah — this is the one about the lost coin. Ah — the prodigal son.
I don’t do that with today’s parable, however. Known by various names, including the Parable of the Unjust Steward and the Parable of the Dishonest Manager, this one has always puzzled me, and each time I encounter it I agonize over the words. What exactly is Jesus saying here?
It’s useful at this point to consider what the three years of Jesus’ ministry looked like, and the context in which it took place. Three years is a long time, so the gospels don’t contain a record of all of the actions of Jesus or things that he said. As John himself wrote, “there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” So I suspect not all of the stories and parables the disciples heard appear in the gospels.
I also suspect that Jesus shared some of his teachings multiple times, and that many of those he cited most frequently are found in the gospels. That might explain why there are variations in similar stories across Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The writer might be remembering a different instance of the story, or reporting it from a different perspective. Kind of like when I get together with my old work friends and one of us tells about the time we took our very tall friend Clarence to Road Hawg BBQ in Duncannon; the key elements of the story are the same, but my rendition might be different from Jason’s. (And I’m happy to share it with anyone who would like to hear after the service.)
Most of our spiritual ancestors at the time of Jesus and prior could not read, nor was written language in the form of scrolls commonly available. Information was shared through speech, and parables were a unique form of speaking. (Scott, 581) They were not read; they were performed. (And I suspect Jesus was a pretty good performer!) They also had common themes. So the basic elements of the parables Jesus shared would have been familiar to his audience, though he often added a twist on the theme. That probably helped make them memorable.
Take today’s parable, for instance. Like many others, it begins with a character in crisis: in this case, a manager who is about to lose his job. This manager, however, is presented as a trickster, so listeners would have expected him to get the best of his wealthy employer in the end. That’s usually how trickster parables would work out. But in this case, he doesn’t get away with it! His wealthy employer discovers what he’s done! And that’s where things take a turn.
His master praises the steward’s actions, and then to add to the unexpected, Jesus does as well!
Biblical scholars have written a great deal about this parable, and there are a variety of points still being debated. Was the steward an employee or a slave? Was he owed money by the rich man? At what point in the passage does Jesus begin talking? The fact that folks who interpret scripture for a living don’t claim to have a definitive grasp on this parable provides me with validation.
Some things are clear, though. Jesus performed this parable to help direct the gaze of the listener to the coming age. As someone who could really take the long view on matters, he knew the things of this world are fleeting. I think the reason this parable has always been challenging for me is because it’s hard to look past the systems and culture in which I’m entrenched. I was raised to be a well-behaved, good kid. In high school, I tried to stay out of trouble (for the most part) and get grades that were decent enough to allow me to attend college. In college, I continued trying to stay out of trouble, and I prepared for a career that would allow me to be a productive member of the work force. When I began working, I tried to fulfill the expectations of my role — even the “other duties as assigned” — well enough to gain the favor of my supervisor. That led to insurance coverage, a decent salary, and financial security.
Maybe you can relate. You’ve worked to get a good job, you’ve fulfilled expectations, you’ve stayed out of trouble. If that is the case, like me, you might be the type of person for whom this parable was intended. Jesus did not share the story of the unjust steward to encourage dishonesty; rather, his intent was to shake up those who were comfortable. Those who stayed out of trouble. Those who behaved according to societal expectations.
Biblical scholar Justo González offers an interpretation of this passage that speaks to me: He says that the steward “has not actually been fired yet, but is certainly on notice…. He is in a situation similar to all human beings, who for the present have a life, goods, talents, relations, and time to manage, but are also on notice of our firing. We do not know when we will be dismissed from our temporary management of all these things, but dismissed we will be. The present order is not permanent, and our authority over life, goods, and all the rest is only temporary.” (González, 191)
You don’t find many parables in the Hebrew Bible — they didn’t become common until after the book of Malachi was written. The teachings of the Old Testament prophets are typically far more direct than parables, and today’s passage from Amos is no exception. He warns those who “trample on the needy and bring ruin to the poor of the land” that God will not forget their deeds. They are eager to maximize their income, selling even the “sweepings of the wheat” that are supposed to be left for the poor and the foreigner.
Custom in Israel had become such that profit was valued more than people, and thus the values of their world were clashing with the values of their creator. So the message of today’s passage from Amos has something in common with today’s passage from Luke. Their delivery was different, but Amos and Jesus were offering similar guidance.
That said, I’d like to return to the parable, because we’ve not yet discussed the merits of the steward’s actions. When the steward in today’s parable is praised, it is for demonstrating φρονίμως, a Greek word that points to wisdom. It appears a few times in the New Testament, and is translated different ways depending on how it is used. Sometimes that differs even across translations of the same passage. Examples from Luke 16 include “shrewd,” “astute,” “cunning,” or “clever.” The definition matters, because it’s a key word in the passage, and thus helps guide the marching orders of Jesus-followers.
A rabbi, a Presbyterian pastor, and several Universalist Unitarians walk into the state capitol… This might sound like the beginning of a joke, but it’s a true story that relates to today’s parable. You might not be aware of this, but Pennsylvania is one of only three states that permits legal bribery to legislators. There is a well-known gift ban for other state employees, but our state representatives and senators are free to accept Super Bowl tickets, travel vouchers, and other luxury items from lobbyists, expanding their already overflowing barns.
So on Monday, around 30 folks representing an organization called March on Harrisburg, several of them clergy, and many more of them laypeople of faith, waited outside the house chambers as our representatives debated whether to bring a gift ban bill to a vote. Unfortunately, after about an hour, they decided to continue, in the words of Amos, “buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.” Then they shamefully left the chamber via secret passageway rather than face their constituents outside the main doors.
You’re probably not shocked to hear that those who have the power to prohibit bribes chose not to act, so let’s focus instead on the actions of the children of light in this story. Many of the folks from March on Harrisburg had literally marched the 33 miles from York over the weekend to draw attention to their cause. They had spent months reaching out to legislators about the gift ban, and encouraged others to join in that effort. They got their message out by phone and yard sign, by Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and Tik Tok, and by engaging in conversations with countless people. All this to say, they used the tools of the children of this age in their pursuit of justice.
Our faith tradition has a history of measured and sometimes mischievous misbehavior that dates back to the prophets and includes our savior’s actions against the moneychangers in the temple. I’ll offer a few examples. William Wilberforce worked for over a decade to make slavery illegal in Britain, using a variety of strategies available to him as a member of Parliament. (If you’ve seen the movie Amazing Grace, you might be familiar with his story.) He could have simply enjoyed the benefits that came with being a member of the upper class, but he chose a more challenging path.
Martin Luther King, Jr., received his doctoral degree and was in line to follow the footsteps of his father by serving as the minister of a prominent church. But he was recruited into the Civil Rights Movement and became its figurehead, and along with Ralph Abernathy, Ella Baker, and many others, he engaged in what John Lewis termed “good trouble,” raising awareness of the racism baked into American culture. It’s worth noting that one of his best-known writings, the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” was not directed at churches who supported overt racism; rather, it was written to well-meaning White congregations that had failed to actively join the movement.
In a current example of cleverness executed in the face of those who would do harm to the marginalized, a group looking to prevent gas and oil drilling in their county bought all of its mineral rights. Since that time, they have been giving away fractions of those rights to thousands of volunteers. This means that if the frackers ever do turn their sights on Creek County, Oklahoma, they’ll have to approach over 7,000 individuals to piece together what they need.
Siblings in Christ, I don’t want you to take from today’s message that it’s bad to be nice, or to follow the rules when they serve the greater good. But when we as the church choose to stay out of trouble rather than engage in good trouble, we risk committing a sin of omission that God might not forget. When we buy into the false notion that we own what we have instead of seeing our blessings as gifts on loan from above, we neglect to look beyond the “present order” at the “new order about to be established.” (González, 192)
The best use of our money, our opportunities, our wisdom, our shrewdness, and our cunning is not in pursuit of the treasures of this fleeting world. As the children of light, we are instead to invest them in pursuit of our eternal homes. That is where the true riches reside.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
References
Bass, S. Jonathan. Blessed are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders, and the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 2001.
Carey, Greg. Luke: An Introduction and Study Guide, All Flesh Shall See God’s Salvation. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017. Kindle edition.
Carey, Greg. Ultimate Things: An Introduction to Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic Literature. St. Louis, Missouri: Chalice Press, 2005.
González, Justo L. Luke. Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010.
Jeffrey, David Lyle. Luke: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2012.
O’Day, Gail R. “Luke,” in New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995.
Powell, Mark Allen. Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey, Second Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2018. Kindle edition.
Powell, Mark Allen. “Introducing the New Testament, 2nd Edition.” Baker Publishing Group, http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/introducing-the-new-testament-2nd-edition/11940/students/esources.
Scott, Bernard Brandon. Hear Now the Parable: A Commentary on the Parables of Jesus. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989.
Snodgrass, Klyne. Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008.
The Wilberforce School. “William Wilberforce.” Accessed September 16, 2022. https://www.wilberforceschool.org/updated-about-us/william-wilberforce
