Gospel Notes

A Dishonest Manager Gets It Right

Jesus said to his disciples:

A rich man once had a manager to take care of his business. But he was told that his manager was wasting money. So the rich man called him in and said, “What is this I hear about you? Tell me what you have done! You are no longer going to work for me.”
The manager said to himself, “What shall I do now that my master is going to fire me? I can’t dig ditches, and I’m ashamed to beg. 4I know what I’ll do, so that people will welcome me into their homes after I’ve lost my job.”
Then one by one he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, “How much do you owe my master?”
“A hundred barrels of olive oil,” the man answered.
So the manager said, “Take your bill and sit down and quickly write `fifty’.”
The manager asked someone else who was in debt to his master, “How much do you owe?”
“A thousand bushels of wheat,” the man replied. The manager said, “Take your bill and write eight hundred.”
The master praised his dishonest manager for looking out for himself so well. That’s how it is! The people of this world look out for themselves better than the people who belong to the light.

My disciples, I tell you to use wicked wealth to make friends for yourselves. Then when it is gone, you will be welcomed into an eternal home. Anyone who can be trusted in little matters can also be trusted in important matters. But anyone who is dishonest in little matters will be dishonest in important matters. If you cannot be trusted with this wicked wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? And if you cannot be trusted with what belongs to someone else, who will give you something that will be your own? You cannot be the slave of two masters. You will like one more than the other or be more loyal to one than to the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Luke 16: 1 - 13

What? I can imagine the disciples of Jesus struggling with this story. Is Jesus suggesting we learn to be dishonest with other people’s money? And yet we know from Jesus sayings about honesty and reliability with small things that he’s not heading us in that direction. Why has he set us up with this dissonant tale of a crook?

David Buttrick, in his book, “Speaking Parables”, opens up his interpretation of this parable by exposing our tendency to divide the world into good and bad people. We generally think we’re part of the virtuous side, with terrorists, thieves and murderers on the bad side. And yet the reality is that we’re living with mixed motives in a society that continually places us in compromising situations.

William R. Herzog II, in his book Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed, places the manager, or steward, in the awkward position of making money for his boss through charging high interest rates. The debts of goods (olive oil and wheat) would have concealed mark-ups that paid for the life of luxury enjoyed by the property owner. Those renting their land to make a living for themselves were being forced to struggle to make ends meet, and would have resented the manager in his debt-collecting role. The pressure from landowner and lessees is perhaps what leads to this man contemplating the inevitability of a long slow death through hard labour (digging ditches) or poverty (begging).

So what is it that the manager does that connects with the Kingdom of God? I believe it’s something to do with restorative justice - the capacity to build relationships and systems that bring people together in ways that are better for all. The struggling farmers have had their debt reduced, though they would still be carrying a burden of interest. The landowner’s reputation for fairness was being restored in the eyes of his lessees. And the manager has his relationship with both restored, perhaps enough to keep his job.

Even though the whole system is dishonest, including the role of the manager, we’re seeing here the capacity to find a way to live in it that is just and wise. The manager may be dishonest but he’s also shrewd, astute, sharp, on the ball, perceptive, insightful, clever, cunning, sharp witted and canny. In short, the man is exercising the skills of entrepreneur.

In my work as Vision for Mission Advocate I’ve seen some good examples of relationship-building enterprise that fulfill what I think Jesus is on about here. Like Marty Richards, a guy in Brisbane who has developed EPM - Ethical Pest Management, building an income-generating business that is good news for Ali, an Afghan refugee who has come onto the staff. Marty’s currently developing a coffee roastery and cart business that will provide an income for other refugees who are struggling to make a new start in Brisbane. Coffee addicts from Brisbane are being asked to pay good money for a fair trade product that directly supports the reshaping of Brisbane’s economy around fairness for refugees. What he needs now is a group of investors who will take the risk with him, learning to use their money for the good of the community of forgotten people.

I also think of Sister Helen Prejean, the Catholic nun behind the story, Dead Man Walking. Helen, in her interview with Andrew Denton on Monday night, (Enough Rope, ABC), talked about the audacity of forgiving prisoners who had been condemned to death for the horrific crimes. Understandably, some of the families of the victims felt that the prisoners on death row did not deserve to have a confessor or spiritual support person. But Helen described justice as being about restoration rather than retribution. The capacity to address the pain and suffering experienced by victims and their families was essential for bringing humanity back into the dehumanizing prison system that makes people invisible. Offering forgiveness on God’s behalf, and on behalf of families who were not necessarily in a place to do so, was bringing a sense of restorative justice into the system of retribution symbolised by capital punishment.

Last week I watched Debbie Morris, the author of Forgiving the Dead Man Walking, speak on a video called Life Stories. Rob Harley from New Zealand interviewed Debbie, sharing with us her story of being one of the victims behind the story of the Dead Man Walking book and movie. Debbie’s capacity to forgive required not just a sense of good will but also clear thinking and a plan that would take her beyond her own needs for recovery. Her publication of the book, and the seminars that she runs, have become a way for her to build restorative justice that goes way beyond the original injustice.

So what will we do with this parable?

Personally, I’m committed to taking seriously Jesus’ direct teaching on faithfulness and honesty with small things and big things. I note however that Jesus is challenging us to go beyond reliability and integrity. He’s challenging us to consider ways in which our stewardship of money and property (for a limited only) can be used to build relationships. Yes, we live in a society that is focused on a user-pays system. We’re used to paying interest on our mortgages, and getting interest on our investments. But Jesus challenges us to develop social enterprises that subvert those assumptions. As we keep our eyes open for the normally invisible people in our networks, let’s pool our learning to carry out our cunning plans.

Other blogs relating to this passage:

Shawn Anthony at Lo-Fi Tribe on the Difficult Parable
Jim Wetzstein’s cartoon (below) at Agnus Day
David Ewart at Holy Textures
Will Deuel at Metholectionary
Pondering Pastor

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You Give Them Something To Eat

Luke 9:10-17

The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He then took them with him to the village of Bethsaida, where they could be alone. But a lot of people found out about this and followed him. Jesus welcomed them. He spoke to them about God’s kingdom and healed everyone who was sick.
Late in the afternoon the twelve apostles came to Jesus and said, “Send the crowd to the villages and farms around here. They need to find a place to stay and something to eat. There is nothing in this place. It is like a desert!” Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”
But they replied, “We have only five small loaves of bread and two fish. If we are going to feed all these people, we will have to go and buy food.” There were about five thousand men in the crowd. Jesus said to his disciples, “Have the people sit in groups of fifty.” They did this, and all the people sat down. Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and fish and handed them to his disciples to give to the people. Everyone ate all they wanted. What was left over filled twelve baskets.

I was organising a young adults conference a few years ago - not 5000 people but more like 200 people. We sat down in small groups around tables to share in a Pacific Island style communion service. When I asked one of my colleagues if he’d like to help celebrate communion with me, he replied, “I need to be a consumer tonight, Duncan.” He’d been pouring himself out as a leader and felt he needed to sit with a group rather than be ‘up front’. That got me thinking.

I’m grappling like many others, with the effects of consumerism on everyday life as well as the culture of the church. In the 1980s we learnt to focus on the cultural preferences of emerging generations, the Baby Boomers and their predecessors, providing options and programs and recognisable links with entertainment culture. At the time we were vaguely aware of the dangers of pandering to consumerism. It certainly became more acute when people expressed their disappointment when their favourite worship or sermon menu wasn’t served up.

When I communicate with workshops and conferences I make an effort to find visual hooks (metaphorically speaking) that help people stay connected. That’s where my interest in television and print advertising came from. But at the same time I’m trying to unlearn the art of dazzle by screen and up-front leadership (not needed in lounge rooms), aiming for a lifestyle that is not driven by branding, impressing or acquiring consumerism.

Here in this narrative I find a reminder about being a different kind of consumer - a consumer who shares resources in community. This is not about consumer preferences. It’s about making do with what we have and learning to make it go further. Resources that might normally be used only in a nuclear family setting now used to go beyond that. That might have some connection to the question I had when putting on dinner for tonight. I found the value pack of chicken was enough to feed 8 or 9 people, not just the five people expected home tonight.

This Sunday coming is celebrated as Corpus Christi in some parts of the church. There’s a connection with Jesus’ body experienced in the eucharist. But there’s also a connection with becoming Jesus’ body as we share with one another. And, back to the experience of my colleague, there’s the connection with the blessing of receiving from others the blessing of God. Often, since that time, I’ve gone and joined the queue for communion after blessing the elements and giving them to the servers.

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Missio Dei and Missional Church

John 16:12-15 (Contemporary English Version)

12 I have much more to say to you, but right now it would be more than you could understand. 13 The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen. 14 The Spirit will bring glory to me by taking my message and telling it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is mine. That is why I have said that the Spirit takes my message and tells it to you.

It’s Trinity Sunday this weekend - the Sunday after Pentecost is celebrated. I’ve been asked to preach at my local church, tying in my work on the missional church. I’ll be preaching from John 16:12-15 in which Jesus talks about being sent by the Father, and sending us the Holy Spirit. The Father sends the Son. The Father and the Son send the Spirit. The Father, Son and Spirit sends us into the world. So how do we send?

I thought this might be an opportunity to expand on the theme of ‘Missio Dei’ - the missional nature of the Triune God.

“Missio Dei” is Latin for the mission of God. Over the last sixty years there’s been a lot of discussion among missionaries and church leaders about mission belonging to God, not just the church. God is actively involved in the world - a missionary God.

Jügen Moltmann, a German theologian, wrote in his 1977 book, “The Church in the Power of the Spirit”, “It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church”.

So how does all this affect anyone? Or is it just some theology for professional theologians to enjoy?

Getting our focus on the mission of God helps us rethink what mission is about. God’s mission in the world is a lot more than the 33 years of Jesus’ life. It’s certainly involves a lot more than the last moments of his life, death and resurrection. If we take seriously God’s involvement with the whole of creation we’ll be looking to take part in that. If we believe that God is still active in the world today through the Holy Spirit, beyond the church, we’ll be looking for signs of that and joining in. Is God involved in the passionate movement around the world to address global climate change?

Entering into the mission of God helps us realise the importance of relationship building. Jesus in the Gospels talks about being sent and sending in the context of relationships of confidence, trust and transparency. Mission for Jesus was not just about projects that needed to be completed. It was about who he had come from, who he was going to. I work with a team of mission planners who ask the ‘who questions’. Our first two questions, before looking at strategies, are “Who Will Go?” and “To Whom Will We Go?” Maybe we also need to encourage the question, “Who sends us?”

Missional communities need missional leadership provided by people who can commission and resource community members. In my work for Vision for Mission, in the Uniting Church in Australia, I’ve become involved with ‘U-Turn’, a resourcing movement designed to kick-start small missional groups. We’re encouraging people to start small groups that involve at least three people from outside, meeting at least eight times a year. Vision for Mission is providing $100 per group that starts in Queensland. We’re putting the funding directly into the accounts of local congregations so that they can be part of the commissioning. It’s a risk I know. Some Church councils may not get the point of some of the groups and slow up the process. But the process of sending, commissioning, is transformative in itself. It means that local groups of people are reflect the missional nature of God, sending and being sent.

Here are the first two questions put together for our missional planning process:

Who Will Go?
Who are we? What is our capacity to engage the community around us? Where are our energy levels? How motivated are we to engage in mission? What are the physical, human, spiritual, property and financial resources we have at our disposal? Identify local champions who will drive the mission process.

To Whom Will We Go?
Look locally for specific people groups and subcultures. Know and understand your target community in terms of demographic, and community needs and resources. Who are the gatekeepers and stakeholders in this community? What social/justice/spiritual needs and opportunities are there? What will frustrate or prevent us reaching our target group? How will our community change over the next 2-5-10 years? What is our purpose in going?

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