Theological Truth: We can’t serve God and wealth, but we can serve God with all that God has given us.
Come Holy Spirit and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit and we shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
I wouldn’t blame you if you find yourself wondering, “Good Lord, why is he always preaching about money!?” But it’s not my fault! Cara and I don’t pick the readings. The Revised Common Lectionary committee did that for us (to us?), and most other mainline Christian denominations, years ago! And while we do decide who preaches each Sunday, those decisions are based on the calendar not the content of the readings. Clearly, I’m not organized well enough for that level of planning! And so here we are—again—dealing with the power of money. Maybe it’s coincidence…or maybe God knows we need these frequent reminders. There’s a reason Jesus talks about money more than anything else. So here we go…again!
Let’s begin with a familiar character: Ebeneezer Scrooge. Dickens’ timeless character is flush with gold but devoid of joy; he has lots of money but very little meaning; he has loads of valuable things but no relationships of value. Rather than making him happy, his wealth has trapped him in a life of darkness, despair, and loneliness. His ghostly visitors force him to see how he has squandered the blessings of his life, not by frivolously using them, but by wasting what they could have been doing for him and others. Their presence demands an accounting—an opportunity for Scrooge to reassess and recalibrate.
Scrooge reminds me of the character in today’s parable because they are both squanderers. Jesus tells his disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to [the rich man] that this [manager] was squandering his property” (Lk 16.1b). This is the same verb used to describe the prodigal son’s behavior in the parable immediately preceding this one. The prodigal son gathered up his new inheritance, left everyone behind, and squandered it all away. Both the prodigal/lost son and today’s dishonest/shrewd manager had it all….but wasted it completely. Finally, they come to their senses and recognize their problematic self-serving relationship with things rather than healthy life-giving relationships with others.
When the dishonest/shrewd manager gets fired and must give an accounting, he finally does what he could have been doing all along—utilizing money for the mutual benefit of all, rather than just himself. He quickly endears himself to the rich man’s debtors by slashing the amount they owe. Scholars and preachers continue to disagree whether the manager acted shrewdly or dishonestly. Some argue he was merely adjusting their bills to what the price should have been had he charged them the fair amount or settled for a more neighborly commission. Whatever the case, he finally realizes he squandered his resources by using them selfishly rather than for building relationships and benefitting others. Like Scrooge, he gets one last chance to invest in relationships with others, and the owner commends him for his choice.
But this is about more than money. It’s about all we do with all the resources we have received. Are we using what God has given us to build healthy, mutual, life-giving relationships, or are we squandering them on our own self-interests? For some, that may absolutely be about what we are doing with our material wealth. Are we earning it unfairly, hoarding it frightfully, spending it frivolously, or defending it cruelly?
For others, it may be the riches of our time and attention. It could also be our talents and abilities. It might even be our contacts, privileges, and influence. Aware that we too will one day be required to give an accounting, we must honestly assess whether we are investing our God-given resources in building relationships, or are we squandering them in ways that draw us ever deeper into ourselves and away from others? Are we becoming more loving, or more fearful? More competitive or more cooperative? More judgmental or more curious? More violent or more peaceful?
I’m more aware than ever of the clear and present dangers of squandering our money, time and attention because I watched the Netflix documentary, “Social Dilemma” this week. (Thank you, Tammy Krause!) It is a persuasive telling of the dangers and deviousness of our digital devices. Spoiler alert, the goal is to manipulate us to squander an ever-increasing amount of time on what one comedian (or modern-day prophet?) has called, our rectangles of despair. The documentary reveals what we all already know: this is algorithm-assisted addiction insidiously and effectively designed to commandeer our attention, manipulate our behavior and squander away our very lives all in the interest of making money for a few billionaires. You only need to watch people at a restaurant (or a stoplight!) for proof of their success…and our demise.
The amount of time we are squandering on our digital devices is detrimental to our young people, corrosive to our democracy, and dangerous for our world. Just like all the other lies of the Great Liar, it does not deliver as promised. Our lives are impoverished, not enriched. Our relationships atrophy, rather than deepen. Our disagreements become fights, and our arguments become violent, because we’ve forgotten that we are all in this together.
That’s a lot of bad news amid already dark days. So, here’s some good news: the sermon’s not about money after all! It’s about being good stewards…good managers, which is simply faithfully taking care and doing good with all that God has given us. And because Jesus talks so much about money, he’s given us the teaching we need to be good stewards of all that God has given us so that we avoid squandering it away. The first step is to recognize gratefully God as the source of all gifts, including and especially the unearned gift and undeserved depth of God’s saving love for each and all of God’s children. We are all included in this economy of Grace whose only participation requirement is to receive the gift gratefully.
The second step then flows naturally, and that is to go and give likewise. Grace can only be appreciated, never hoarded. By giving it away, we have more. When it’s shared, it multiplies. Remembering that wards off the temptation of serving two masters, which is impossible. We can not serve God and wealth. But we can serve God with and through how we use the resources God has given us. We can invest in healthy life-giving relationships with others, rather than squandering them on self-serving relationships with things.
So, take a digital sabbath each day. Put down your rectangle of despair. Go outside. Sit on the porch. Ask a stranger how they’re doing…and listen. Phone a friend you haven’t talked to in a while. Just like Scrooge and the dishonest/shrewd manager, we can return to the life-giving good graces of life with God and one another. And it’s never too late to start.
