WHO CAN YOU TRUST?

“Make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth” Luke 16-9

There is the story of a student coming to the end of his first term at University.  One day he is seen wearing a tee-shirt.  And across the front of the tee shirt are the letters BAIK.  The student is meet by his tutor,  The tutor asks, What do those letters stand for.? To which the student replies,  Boy am I confused.  But that is not how you spell confused. Advised the tutor,  Well that just shows how confused I am.

Well!  we might well be confused as we listened to that Gospel reading this morning.  If we were perplexed, then we are not alone!  When I looked at the commentaries on this passage in I was met with a warning.   One told me “This is one of the most difficult parables to interpret” and another informed me “This parable has baffled interpreters since the beginning of time”  And it had to be my turn to preach!.   Well that’s see where we get to. (You may find it helpful to look at this passage in your Bible (Luke 16; 1-13)

St Luke, throughout his Gospel records many parables and sayings of Jesus.  At this stage in his Gospel, Jesus is clearly aware of the coming crisis.  He and his disciples are on the way to Jerusalem. The time is getting short.  Jesus has many things to try and explain to them; To prepare them for the future.  The disciples themselves were beginning to get anxious. They were beginning to wonder what the future held for them.

But there are others who gather round Jesus.   Some are just fascinated by his preaching and teaching, some are looking for healing, but there are others who are out to silence him.

In the previous chapter we hear a number of stories directed to people like that.   Parables which begin with the words “The Kingdom of God is like….”   And we discover Gods concern for Justice, Peace, Forgiveness, the fullness of Life, the kind of Life that God desires to see.

But this parable is different.

We are told of an estate owner who has discovered that his estate manager or steward has been mismanaging the various farms on the estate.  We are not told what he has done, but whatever it was, it is sufficient for him to be dismissed and given notice to leave.  He is about to loose his income, the future looks bleak.  So what does he do? The steward involves himself in some underhanded activity with the tenants.  This is real sleaze!  He individually meets each of them in secret and reduces their rent.   In the hope that they will Look after him when he is unemployed.  And then, surprise, surprise, we hear that the owner Commends him for his sharp practice. This is the first problem, Although notice, he doesn’t get his job back,  He is sacked.  

It is not clear if this commendation is from the Owner, or if it Jesus, commending him for they way he prepared for the future, especially when in verse nine, we appear to  hear Jesus saying something very strange, yes confusing.   And I say to you Make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

What on earth does Jesus mean?  Is this the kind of life style we are meant to be developing?  If so, perhaps we need to have a word with Kenneth to plan our finances accordingly!

What is Jesus talking about?

First this is not a parable about the Kingdom. It is a parable, a story It is an urgent appeal to the disciples to be prepared for whatever the future might bring.  To get to the heart of what discipleship means.  He points them to the life style of people around them.  Look how wise and shrewd they are about planning for their futures.  Then you as people of faith need to be even wiser.  Wise about the choices you make about the future.  The things and the people you trust with your life.

Behind this urgent appeal to the disciples, you can almost hear his words "Remember your position. You have begun to encounter God, you have experienced God’s loving acceptance of you.  Your lives have begun to be transformed with that knowledge of His Love, with Hope and Trust and Assurance.  This is gift, He knows your need, It is not something you earn. It is given, so accept it joyfully".

"It is no use trying to build up false credit for the future. You don’t have to barter with God.  His Grace is sufficient, accept it, clasp hold of it. Its Gods free Gift.  Life in all its fullness lived in his power."

But then what do we make of verse 9?  The words of Jesus are quiet clear.  “Make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth, so that when it’s gone, they may welcome you into eternal homes!"

Here we are listening to the words of Jesus.  How are we to understand them?  Here as in other places in the gospels we need to hear the use of humour of Jesus. Yes even irony, irony with humour  The way Jesus speaks to his mother. At the wedding in Cana, Mary says to Jesus, They have no wine. And Jesus replies, “What concern is that to you or me?"   We need to hear the humour of Jesus – “Oh mother we have no need to be upset”.

And so, here in this passage, a touch of irony but with a smile as Jesus says;  “Well, If you are so impressed by the cleverness and the craftiness of people like the steward, well then go ahead, try and make friends with a bundle of dishonest money, and see what they can do for you when you reach their kind pearly mansions!"

At first this seems a difficult, even confusing parable, but well worth the effort to make some sense of it. In part, it has something to say about Trust.  Who or what we put our trust in for our happiness in the present and the future.  An issue which became very acute this past week for those who put their total trust in their savings and the bankers.

But this passage points to a much more fundamental question.  Our discipleship. Our journey of Faith. There are many things which make us question what we believe. That make us wonder what God is up to, even to say “Boy am I confused!”

This passage encourages  not to focus our attention on how much I care about God, how much I can trust him; Even how much I Love God, But  It urges us to discover, and rediscover and go on rediscovering how much God, cares about you, how much God believes in you, Yes how much God Loves you. That is what transforms our lives in Trust and Hope.

I finish with two stories: The first is personal;  Some years ago as I prepared for ordination, I became very anxious about the future What was God up to?  What was I getting into?  I shared these feelings and many others with a wise priest, who listened patiently

And after some silence he said  “Just learn to let God Love you?

I am still Learning.

The second is an event shared with us at the funeral service of Alan Stephens, We were told that some days before Alan died he was asked if he spoken to the man upstairs.  Yes,  Alan replied,  and he has told me that he loves me.     

                                                John Williams  
                                                MMVII  Pentecost  XVII