And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home

 

 He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."

 

- Luke 16:1–9 

 

 In yesterday's reading, we read the third parable given as response to the Pharisees and scribes, who complained about Christ receiving sinners and tax collectors:  Then Jesus said:  "A certain man had two sons.  And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.'  So he divided to them his livelihood.  And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.  But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants."'  And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'  And they began to be merry.  Now his older son was in the field.  And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.  And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'  But he was angry and would not go in.  Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.  So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.  But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'  And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.'" 

 

  He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."  As opposed to the preceding three parables -- which were told in response to the Pharisees and scribes who criticized Christ for receiving and eating with sinners and tax collectors, this parable of the Unjust Steward is directed to Christ's disciples.  My study Bible explains the parable to us by teaching that a steward is one who is responsible for managing his master's property and looking after the welfare of his servants.  It notes that the point of this parable is that the unrighteous are better at using money to make friends in the world than believers are at using money to make friends for the Kingdom of God -- which is accomplished by spending it on the needy.  At death (when you fail) the needy will welcome their benefactors into the everlasting home.

There are many dimensions within which we can read and interpret the parable that Jesus gives today, and is directed toward His disciples, His followers.  First of all, there is the meaning given by my study Bible.  Jesus repeatedly has taught about "treasure in the heavens" (Luke 12:33).  He emphasizes on a number of occasions that, when we give alms to help those less fortunate than ourselves -- especially those who cannot pay us back (Luke 14:13-14) -- then we are providing for ourselves a treasure rewarded at the resurrection of the just.  Today's reading emphasizes this lesson directly once again,  It's also important that we juxtapose this lesson for disciples in comparison to the previous three parables given to the Pharisees and scribes.  In those parables, Jesus emphasized God's love for all of God's creation, and in particular God's desire to seek and to find the lost.  Jesus' disciples are already on this path of seeking the Kingdom according to Christ, but here in today's reading He's also preparing them to be stewards of that Kingdom in the world.  As such, they will bear a kind of responsibility they have to come to understand properly.  On several occasions, He prepares them for the leadership of His future Church, especially in repeated teachings about humility and putting the "least of these" first, receiving the humble as if they are receiving Christ Himself, and even the Father (Luke 9:46-48).   But on this occasion, the parable of the Unjust Steward teaches a similar lesson from another angle.  If we are to apply this lesson to the receiving of sinners and tax collectors, we might view it in a different sense, as if "unrighteous mammon" applies not simply to material wealth, but even to sin.  That is, we can see sin as a debt that is owed.  We should remember that in the Lord's Prayer, sin is spoken of as analogous to debt (see Matthew 6:12; Luke 11:4).  So, in that sense, it's easy to understand the receiving of those who sin (who "owe a debt") as a kind of forgiving of that debt, of almsgiving.  Moreover, a worldly perspective sees everything as some form of accumulation, debt or repayment (unrighteous mammon), while a divine one understands mercy.  With such a perspective, we are given a very powerful teaching on repentance, where repentance is not simply a tit-for-tat kind of make up or payment for wrongdoing.  On the contrary, repentance is a way to realize God's mercy -- that God is not going to demand repayment, but forgives.  These men who will be the stewards of the Church are being taught not to be like the Pharisees and scribes who simply shun sinners and believe they are purely defiling.  Jesus is teaching His disciples to become the ones who can bring forgiveness of sin to those who repent through the power of Christ's mercy, God's action in the world through the Holy Spirit.  In this sense, even unrighteous mammon can be used to make friends, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.  Additionally, if viewed in this light, we may presume that all of us -- including the disciples -- will fail at some point, for all of us are imperfect, none of us omniscient and perfect as God is perfect.  We all are going to come short of that mark in one way and another.   In the Lord's Prayer, we pray for forgiveness as we forgive others.  "And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us" (Luke 11:4).  In Matthew's version, after giving the prayer, Jesus teaches, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15).  Forgiveness will work this way in the Church, and it also works this way in our personal lives as individuals.  We don't need for everyone to "repay" in order to forgive, and Jesus teaches us to forego vengeance:  "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:43-45).  This is not a recipe for us to be doormats or to invite abuse and harm; it is rather a sense in which we may be "perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).  So, in each of these ways, to "make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon"  may be a recipe for life in the Kingdom, for the realization of a greater gain than the debt for which we're not "repaid" in kind.  For ultimately, we're to remember that it is Christ who is Judge, it is God who claims vengeance (Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:30). 

And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home

 

 He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."

 

- Luke 16:1-9 

 

On Tuesday, we read that all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Jesus to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."  In response to this, Jesus gave three parables.  On Tuesday, we read the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave the parable of the Prodigal.  He said:  "A certain man had two sons.  And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.'  So he divided to them his livelihood.  And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.  But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants."'  And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'  And they began to be merry.  Now his older son was in the field.  And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.  And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'  But he was angry and would not go in.  Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.  So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.  But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'  And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.'" 

 He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."  My study Bible comments on today's passage that a steward (in Greek, οἰκονόμος/economos) is responsible for managing his master's property and looking after the welfare of his servants.  It notes that the point of this parable is that the unrighteous are better at using money to make friends in the world than believers are at using money to make friends for the Kingdom of God -- which is accomplished by spending it on the needy.  At death (when you fail) the needy will welcome their benefactors into the everlasting home.

How do we make friends by unrighteous mammon?  This is really quite an important question, because what it tells us is the truth about how the world works within the spiritual framework of the salvation plan of God.  If we pause to think about "saving the world," and do so in some sort of very rationalistic worldly sense, we might wonder why God just did not come into this world and "fix" everything.  Why not just get rid of the bad people, or put them over in their own community somewhere, and set the good people down somewhere else to flourish?  Why wait for a final judgment?  There are all sorts of things that are perplexing if we think about judgment and salvation in this sort of worldly way of balancing the books and striking off what's not good.  But Jesus' clues here about the beneficial use of unrighteous mammon tell us that God's creation does not work in this applied rationalistic sense of strict lines drawn between what is good and what is evil.  For God usurps and trumps everything; and in God's economy of salvation, even what is unrighteous can be used for God's plans, for what is good.  That is, to serve the goals of God's love.  Therefore, there is nothing evil in and of itself in this sense.  As God created the world and pronounced it "good," so we can use the things of this world for good -- if they are used to serve God's purposes.  And within this paradox is a further image of paradox, that of the "dollars and cents" (so to speak) image of balancing the account books.  Instead of sticking to the details and pursuing every line to come out to a perfect balance, this steward is praised in the parable for writing off debts in order to "make friends."  Well, this is a picture of charitable giving, where we don't add up every debt and everything owed and press it out of the person who owes us.  We give because people are in need.  We give -- serving the ends of God -- in the sense of shoring up community, even creating community.  In the light of the parable of the Good Samaritan, which we read in the reading from a week ago, Jesus is teaching us about being a neighbor, and stressing this importance in the grand economy of salvation -- that place of our everlasting home -- and the perspective there.  Similarly, we're taught to pray in the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12), reminding us that the forgiveness of sin is really not about equaling everything up and deciding what is owed to us by those who've sinned against us.  Forgiveness is about this place of the everlasting home, and the view from there, God's plan for us for salvation.  It's not necessary to make sense in terms of "unrighteous mammon," but instead to be understood from a higher perspective, a more universal doctrine of community and expanded love.  It doesn't have to make sense according to a worldly understanding, but we are called by Christ to this place of God's love, where compassion becomes a rule, and "making friends" -- like being a neighbor -- is how we're commanded to live.  We're asked to discern a way through the world in which we are set free by Christ to practice His compassion with wisdom, to let go of things that we're better off without, and to find good purposes even for "unrighteous mammon."  For God's way transforms all things, and while we are on the way to pleasing God in this sense of following the commands that transcend the worldly, we will find ourselves and our lives transformed as well. 

For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light

 

 He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Given an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'   So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."

 

- Luke 16:1-9 

 

Yesterday we read the continuation of the passage begun on Wednesday, in which all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Jesus to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."  In response, Jesus told three parables.  Two of them (the parable of the Lost Sheep and the parable of the Lost Coin) were in Wednesday's reading.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus told the parable of the Lost Son or the Prodigal Son.  He said:  "A certain man had two sons.  And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.'  So he divided to them his livelihood.  And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into the his fields to feed swine.  And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.  But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants."'  And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found.'  And they began to be merry.  Now his older son was in the field.  And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.  And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'  But he was angry and would not go in.  Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.  So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.  But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'  And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.'"

  He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Given an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'   So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."    My study Bible explains that a steward is responsible for managing the master's property and looking after the welfare of the master's servants.  The point of this parable, it says, is that the unrighteous are better at using money to make friends in the world than believers are at using money to make friends for the Kingdom of God -- which is accomplished by spending it on the needy.  At death (when you fail), it says, the needy will welcome their benefactors into the everlasting home.

 

In today's reading, Jesus gives a fourth parable in response to the complaint of the Pharisees and scribes, made when the tax collectors and sinners came to hear Christ, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."   But in today's reading, He directs this particular parable to His own disciples.  In the three parables we have already read in response to the Pharisees and scribes, the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin in Wednesday's reading, and the parable of the Lost Son or Prodigal Son in yesterday's reading (see above), the emphasis was on the "extra mile" one would go to retrieve what was lost and can be found again.  The shepherd in the parable left behind ninety-nine sheep to find the one, the woman makes all the effort in sweeping and cleaning her house to find the one coin missing out of ten.  In yesterday's reading, the elderly father doesn't mind risking embarrassment and even upset on the part of his older son by expressing his great love for the son who was lost and then found again upon the prodigal's return.  Those parables gave us a sense of God's great love which would make every effort to retrieve those lost to God who could be found again and returned to our Father in heaven.  Jesus taught, "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."  But today's reading places the emphasis on us, giving us a sense of how our own efforts should be made to reconcile ourselves to those around us.  Simple justice isn't enough, and mercy becomes the key to the formation of this citizenship of the kingdom to which He alludes in the parable.  We are, like God, to go that extra mile to bring those in need closer to the kingdom of God.  A steward is an important stand-in for the disciples and others who will be the shepherds in His Church.  When Jesus tells parables that involve stewards as figures in the parable, then He is frequently addressing the disciples who will become the stewards and leaders of His Church.  In this case, He's telling them about using resources which will be available to them with mercy, even with extravagance, leaving behind a kind of measure-for-measure or tit-for-tat sense of justice, and instead measuring by fellowship and love.  To practice charity, to go the extra mile to keep fellowship and relationships within community becomes the important goal here, the hallmark of His kingdom in this world.  Can we make allowances for our fellow members of the Church?  Can we give a little extra to someone who needs a good word?  Can we bring comfort to others who are feeling isolated or sad?  Can we find a way to help others to know they are included in our circle of care, and of compassion?  These are the ways in which we may practice the kind of fellowship Jesus teaches here, in addition to charity using financial and other material resources that we have.  In such cases, we do not measure in accordance with what is owed or what is on the books or what we are compelled through some financial requirement that makes figures add up in account books.  Our charity is practiced for other reasons, and without those restrictions on it.  Do we donate to our church simply to get a tax write-off, or are there other reasons for supporting a fellowship which includes those who cannot make such donations (should we have that capacity ourselves)?  Is the Church for all, or only for those with the wealth to build its physical walls?  No, wealth is shared to build community and communion, to include those who may not have the same sort of financial resources to give, but who also are fellow servants in faith.  In this sense Jesus makes the statement that "the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light." A very 'worldly' person may understand what it is to overlook a debt, to make a donation, or even to offer a bribe where some good will is desired.  But a sincerely spiritual and honest person must also come to understand that generosity of spirit is necessary for the Kingdom as well, making allowances for what goes beyond simply honest accounting.  If we give for love of our communion and community, we might understand that what we give doesn't necessarily make material sense on a personal level, but to give to our fellow servants, to practice love and care, is also the way of the Kingdom, and it is the way that we build the relationships with our fellow servants that Christ wishes of us.  How can we help those who need help?  We go an extra mile in order to do so, we "make friends" with those who could use our help and love, regardless of how that is expressed.  Let us consider in what ways Jesus asks us to reach out, to be generous with resources of time and care and attention, in addition to financial resources ("unrighteous mammon"), for all of it is part of what it means to be a good steward and a good fellow servant who serves the same Master.  For we may shrewdly use our resources for the Kingdom.  It is that kind of encouragement we all need, that shores up true fellowship, and teaches others we care for them -- that they are precious in our sight as they are precious in His.  People may feel that kindness is something simple or easily overlooked, but it is just that simple thing that can make a difference in our fellowship and in our own standing in Christ's kingdom.

 

And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home

 

 He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."

 

- Luke 16:1-9 

 

In yesterday's reading, we were given the parable of the Prodigal Son (or Lost Son), the third parable Jesus told in response to the Pharisees and scribes who criticized Him for receiving and eating with tax collectors and sinners.  Jesus said:   "A certain man had two sons.  And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.'  So he divided to them his livelihood.  And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.  But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants." ' And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry, for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'  And they began to be merry.  Now his older son was in the field.  And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.  And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the  fatted calf.'  But he was angry and would not go in.  Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.  So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.  But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'  And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "

 

  He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."  My study Bible explains that a steward is responsible for managing his master's property and looking after the welfare of his servants.  The point of this parable is that the unrighteous are better at using money to make friends in the world than believers are at using money to make friends for the Kingdom of God -- which is done by spending it on the needy.  At death (when you fail) the needy will welcome their benefactors into the everlasting home.

 

In today's reading, Jesus turns from His response to the Pharisees and scribes, and gives this parable to His disciples.  Let us recall that He has already given three parables to the Pharisees and scribes in response to their criticism that He receives and dines with tax collectors and other sinners.  Those parables were the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin (in this reading), and that of the Prodigal Son (or Lost Son) in yesterday's reading, above.  The Lost Sheep and Lost Coin speak of the tremendous love and longing of God for those who are "lost" to be returned -- as they belong with all of God's creation restored in the communion of God's love.  The Prodigal or Lost Son spoke of the father's joy at his lost son's return and restoration to the one who loved him -- and that this does not diminish the son who was never lost.  In today's reading, we're given what might seem a perplexing story of a steward by worldly standards, but it is meant to illustrate the principle of mercy and how and why it works.  But this time, it is directed to His followers, and especially to the disciples.  In the context of discipleship, it is a reminder that we all come up short at one time or another.  There is none who is perfect in terms of our own relationship face to face with God, and our own sin.  It is an illustration to those who will represent Him in the world that they must think, when dealing with nominal sinners, of the Master or Lord whom they serve.   We as disciples must learn a proper attitude regarding the blessings we've been given, and how they are used in the world.   In some way, we are not so different from the nominal sinners that we see around ourselves.  We are to use the things of this world to build treasure in heaven, and keep in mind the ultimate reality in which we wish to dwell and to serve, and to bring into the world.  Whatever our blessings are, it is wise to share them prudently and humanely, especially when we do so in service to God, to the kingdom of heaven.  This is a wisdom that declares itself the opposite of selfishness, and at the same time creates an expansive understanding of what our real blessings are.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches:  "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Matthew 6:19-20).  This is again the same teaching He will give to the rich young ruler who wishes for eternal life and wants to become His disciple (Luke 18:28-23).  In the Sermon on the Plain, here in Luke's Gospel, when Jesus teaches what is known as the Golden Rule, He says, "For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."  Each of these teachings encourages us to understand the depth of possibilities inherent in our own circumstances, that begin with a proper orientation and understanding of the expansive love of God in the first place.  This is not about rewarding bad behavior, or overlooking evil.  But it is a teaching about grounding ourselves in God's overflowing and abundant love, orienting our own outlooks on life and how we use talent, time, and resources in service to the transfiguration of the world.  Jesus gives us the reminder that there is a bigger picture to keep in mind in our lives in this world, and that also must be a part of our choices in dealing with our time and talents and resources.   We are often wealthier than we think in terms of what we can give to others; sometimes all it takes is a word, an attitude, a kindness of heart, an openness to possibilities, a willingness to come to terms.  Self-centeredness is a very limiting outlook on life.   With today's parable, He's also speaking to those who would be His stewards in the world.   He asks us to be good stewards of the goods and wealth with which we're entrusted, and remember that we are part of a much bigger picture, in all that we do in the world.  

You cannot serve God and mammon

 

 "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.  Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?  And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?  No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon."

Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they derided Him.  And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.  For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.  The law and the prophets were until John.  Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.  And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.  

 

"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery."

 

- Luke 16:10–17 (18) 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."

 

"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.  Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?  And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?"  My study bible declares here that the test as to whether God will bestow heavenly blessings (true riches) on a person is directly related to how one spends one's money.  The money that we consider to be our own is actually another man's -- that is, belonging to God, or at least to the poor.  It says that in the patristic tradition there is a universal understanding that a person's failure to give money to God's work is stealing.  St. Theophan calls it "nothing less than embezzlement of money belonging to someone else."  

"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon."    Here Jesus lays out what is seemingly a rare division of the world into competing opposites.  But the truth is that He is expressing the idea that God's way of thinking and being, and therefore our participation in God's kingdom, is quite different from a perspective based on pure materialism and without God.  In true participation in this kingdom, we have a perspective on our wealth and possessions that comes from our faith, and what Jesus is demonstrating clearly here is the stark difference between a life with the perspective of faith and a perspective without it.  What Christ is laying out is the total incompatibility and contradiction within these two perspectives.  One view the world and all that is in it from the perspective of faith in a God who created it and dwells within it and among us; the other is a purely materialist perspective minus the dimension of spiritual reality. 

Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they derided Him.  And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.  For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God."  My study bible tells us that the things which are highly esteemed among men include money, power, position, and praise.  Again, continuing His comment regarding loyalty to God or to mammon, Jesus lays out the difference in perspective between that which is illumined by faith in God and that which is not, when He says that "what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God."   This leads us to understand that the justification "before men" -- that is before the society of human beings -- tends to be focused purely on the material, and misses the perspective of faith in the reality of God's presence.

"The law and the prophets were until John.  Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.  And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail."   With Jesus' Baptism by John, the fulfillment of the law and the prophets has emerged into a new covenant of faith in the gospel of the kingdom of God, as preached by Christ.   In this context, we are given to understand that an understanding of justice and righteousness also must be given within this new context of the gospel of the Kingdom.

"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery."  Some might think this statement seems out of context.  In reality of the time in which Christ speaks, the hotly contested topic of divorce also revolved around rulings which concerned themselves with monies which accompanied marriage, and their transfer through divorce -- even manipulation of the law through divorce and remarriage merely for acquisition of this money.  Christ frames marriage in the context of the gospel of the Kingdom, teaching the heavenly perspective regarding marriage, and not merely based on material considerations from a purely earthly understanding of the institution of marriage.   On this basis, the Church understands holy matrimony as a sacrament.

In thinking about marriage, it strikes me that in the entire context of the Scriptures, marriage has been understood as that which unites Creator and creature, and especially God and God's people.  Infidelity is used frequently to describe the actions of an unfaithful people; as such metaphors of prostitution, adultery, and harlotry have accompanied prophetic calls to the people to come back to their faith.  This "unfaithfulness" has also been seen in the Old Testament context as that which is responsible for so many of the misfortunes of Israel throughout its spiritual history.  So, in the context of Jesus' speech regarding the inability to serve both God and mammon, the image of marriage is an important one, as Jesus is calling us to a fidelity of faith in God, and a rejection of serving and allying with mammon.  Our deepest need for fidelity is to God, first and foremost, and we cannot serve two masters who are divided in their aims, wills, and whole orientation to life and its purposes and functions.  Our fidelity follows Christ's "first and great commandment" given in Matthew 22:34-40:  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  The second one, which Jesus said was "like" the first, is "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  On these two commandments, said Jesus, hang all the Law and the Prophets.  So, if we consider marriage as the metaphor for faith -- and especially in the context of today's reading, we are taught to direct our love in a very important way.  We must seek God first, and then all these things are added unto us (Matthew 6:33).  In yesterday's reading Jesus spoke about using the things of "unrighteous mammon" to make friends for ourselves.  That is, by using our material goods in a righteous way, to feed and clothe and help those who are in need, we are able to make friends in an everlasting home.  And so, this remains true in today's reading.  We are not asked to serve unrighteous mammon, but to serve God.  But here is the key:  we may use all the good things and material potentials of this world in the ways that God asks of us, keeping ourselves in fidelity and loyalty to God first, and putting the kingdom of God first.  In this way, we serve God and God's kingdom even with all the things of this world.  Jesus puts marriage into this context when He shifts the dialogue on divorce into an awareness of a spiritual, loving purpose to marriage that is not merely material in consideration and purpose.  Let us consider that when we pray, we may place all things at our disposal into God's hand for guidance for us.  That would include anything in our possession, as well as problematic circumstances, painful personal realizations and defects, and imperfect life, and all the rest that the world of "unrighteous mammon" may somehow present to us.  Our lives are to be transfigured in the fidelity to Christ, which is the true way of the Cross.  Let us consider how all things are in God's hands, as potential for us to use our lives and to live them God's way.

 

 

 

 

And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home

 

 He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."

 

- Luke 16:1-9 

 

 On Wednesday, we read that all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Jesus to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."  Jesus told three parables in response, illustrating God's desire to find and save those who are lost. (See the parable of the Lost Sheep, and the parable of the Lost Coin in Wednesday's reading.)  Yesterday, we read the third parable Jesus gave, that of the Prodigal Son.  He said:  "A certain man had two sons.  And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.'  So he divided to them his livelihood.  And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.  But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare and I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants."'  And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'   But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.  And they began to be merry.  Now his older son was in the field.  And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.  And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'  But he was angry and would not go in.  Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.  So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.  But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'  And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.'"

 

 He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."  My study bible explains that a steward is responsible for managing his master's property and for looking after the welfare of his servants.   It says that the point of this parable is that the unrighteous are better at using money to make friends in the world than believers are at using money to make friends for the Kingdom of God -- which is accomplished by spending it on the needy.  At death (when you fail) the needy will welcome those who have helped them into the everlasting home.

 

 Jesus teaches us to "make friends by unrighteous mammon."  Well, first of all, the unrighteous mammon already tells us something.  Why would Jesus even want us to commerce in something unrighteous in the first place?  In this parable, Jesus teaches us that it is possible to live in this world, even with its unrighteousness, and yet use the goods of the world for righteousness.  The way that this happens is to consider those who are "less than," who are in need in some sense, and to consider using what we have -- even if it's used by others in sinful ways -- to act in righteousness, to help, to act the God does, graciously.  This is what it is to be righteous, to act as a just person.  So often we think of justice as that which is exactly and precisely measured:  "an eye for an eye," for example (Exodus 21:24).   (We often forget that this aspect of the Law was a way to set a limit on vengeance in the context of the stories of the Bible.)   In terms of bookkeeping and numbers and money, we expect that there is a precise debt which also must be paid precisely.  But every good money manager knows and understands that in order to keep good relations with clients, there must be flexibility involved.  That keeps clients in good stead, and returning.  But Jesus takes all of this understanding one step further.  Essentially He adds in the understanding that there is life that is beyond this world, a life in which what is measured up about us isn't whether or not we traded well, or even about how exact and scrupulous we were about our debts.  There's another step, and another dimension involved, and that is the aspect of how we are capable of grace, and what that does to make friends in heaven, so to speak.  Our ability to reconcile gracious help to others, not out of compunction or legalistic understanding but out of our own capacity to be like our Creator, connects us to another dimension of reciprocity.  It connects us to a cosmos of the visible and invisible, and a communion of faithful that goes beyond what we see and what we know.  Jesus is encouraging us to understand that life isn't limited to the accounting books that are right in front of us, and this can apply to life in so many dimensions.  The kind gesture or act we do today for someone may never be repaid in kind, but we can be certain that it counts with God, and there is recognition where value is meaningful.  The generosity we expend in any direction with the things of this world -- be that a gesture of kindness in the form of charity, goods, or goodwill -- is not lost simply because it is not repaid in worldly terms.  Our goodwill may be extended also through advocacy for those who are helpless to protect and defend themselves -- and the political realm surely includes unrighteous mammon as something we may use for God's true justice through mercy and compassion.  Christ encourages us to think in terms of a much broader perspective on the spectrum of life itself, and in terms of our own communion of friends.  To include not merely that which is "on earth," but also that which is "in heaven," is indeed a broadening of our perspective on all the places our lives touch and will touch.  But this is, in the eyes of Christ, the appropriate perspective, the right calculation in life.  In broadening one's thinking to include this realm, one might also consider what it means to pray for others who have passed, maintaining a connection begun in this world and extending to the realm of heaven, in which we are still able to give something through our prayers.  Let us consider all the ways that we may make an everlasting home -- even, through Christ's instruction, using unrighteous mammon to do so. 

Make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home

He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."

- Luke 16:1-9

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued teaching in parables.  All the tax collectors and sinners drew near to hear Him.  The theme of each parable comes in response to the criticism of the Pharisees and scribes: "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."  See Wednesday's reading for the first parables He gave on the subject of redemption.  Yesterday,  He taught:  "A certain man had two sons.  And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.'  So he divided to them his livelihood.  And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.  But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants."'  And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'  And they began to be merry.  Now his older son was in the field.  And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.  And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'  But he was angry and would not go in.  Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.  So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.  But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'  And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.'"
  
He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."   My study bible says of today's reading:  "A steward is responsible for managing his master's property and looking after the welfare of his servants.  The point of this parable is that the unrighteous are better at using money to make friends in the world than believers are at using money to make friends for the Kingdom of God -- which is accomplished by spending it on the needy.  At death (when you fail) the needy will welcome their benefactors into the everlasting home."

A story about charity and charitable life -- how do we make friends by unrighteous mammon?   According to Ephrem the Syrian, this parable is teaching us that by using the transitory things of this world which are not ours we are to purchase things for ourselves that will not pass away.  According to Chrysostom, whatever we have is a loan from God.  How are we to invest it?  What do we do with it?  He has written, "The loan is proof against loss. He guarantees to return in good time one hundred percent of what was deposited, and he keeps life everlasting in reserve for us"  (Homilies on Genesis 3.21).   We also note that the steward, while initially acting against his own master, later decides he will deal "shrewdly" with the debtors, settling the debts and at the same time "making friends" with his now-fellow debtors.  The master praises this shrewd behavior.  We note "debts" once again as the language which so often refers to sins against God and ourselves, reflected in the Lord's Prayer, as we are taught to pray:  "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."  So while this is clearly an exhortation not only to charitable behavior, but to behavior which makes peace, which steps up, which uses all that we have available to us -- even the "unrighteous mammon" to act in charity and in peace, we have a very strong statement about how we are to dwell in this world.  If all we are ever after is material gain, counting every penny, then we're not really likely to get very far.  On the other hand, even in the business world, there are times to "deal shrewdly" by settling a deal, clearing off the books, and having a problem resolved.  From the Lord's point of view, everything that we have, all our lives, our talents, our bodies, our wealth, our souls and spirits, is an investment.  It's all on loan from Him.  And there is more:  we are to be stewards of this world.  That means of all the world, every good and blessed thing in it that is also given by God, invested with us as stewards of it all.  So, by what standards are we going to  operate as good stewards?  How do we use whatever we have?  Are we going to be hard and stingy, causing more problems for others?  Or are we going to govern this world, even the affairs of unrighteous mammon, according to a better way of being in the world, of thinking about the whole of life including the life to come?  We take note that this steward is dealing shrewdly; he's not a pushover in giving away all his master's goods to the debtors.  But he makes a shrewd compromise, and clears the matters off the books.  So let us think about what we can offer for peace, how we make our investments, how we clear the debts off and let go.  Better yet, how we invest in an eternal life with something worth declaring for ourselves.

The sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light

He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that the man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."

- Luke 16:1-9

In yesterday's reading, we read the parable of the Prodigal Son.   First we read again that Jesus was criticized for dining with tax collectors and sinners.  In the previous reading, Jesus responded by telling the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin.  He said, "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."  In yesterday's reading, He added the parable of the Prodigal Son:  "A certain man had two sons.  And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.'  So he divided to them his livelihood.  And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.  But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger.  I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants." '   And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinner against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'  And they began to be merry.  Now his older son was in the field.  And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.  And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'  But he was angry and would not go in.  Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.  So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you;  I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.  But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'  And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "

 He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that the man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' "  My study bible notes that a steward here is "a manager of a wealthy man's household and property.  He is called to give an account because he is being dismissed, as his master no longer trusts him."  Here the focus or facet of perspective shifts in the parables; here He's speaking directly to His disciples, those who will become stewards of the Church.  On another level, we can see this steward as an image of someone wasting and scattering the talents and capacities entrusted to them by God.  In this, there's a parallel with the prodigal.

"Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'"  These measures are Greek and Hebrew units that my study bible says were about eight or nine gallons each.  In the word "debt" we have a symbolic parallel for sin; in the exchange for less we have forgiveness.  It is a practice of mercy.

Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' "  This measure is the equivalent of ten or twelve bushels each.  Whether or not we understand the sums, we know we are dealing with significant amounts of property.  Again the forgiveness of debt and the practice of mercy; the bill for what is owed is reduced.

"So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light."  My study bible says here:  "The steward is unjust in his actions, which are not condoned, but his shrewdness is praised.  This is meant as a lesson for the sons of light, the Christian believers, who ought to be as shrewd about their pursuit of godliness as unbelievers are about their businesses."  In fact, in the practice of mercy rather than exacting and painstaking justice, the steward may return more to his master than otherwise.  But there is more to this than "return" -- in keeping with the stories of what was lost having been found, and the return of sinners, the forgiveness assures a continued relationship and not a severance.

"And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."  My study bible says, "The reference to unrighteous mammon is a warning about the dangers of money, which can corrupt.  The right use of wealth is to make friends among the poor and needy by sharing it with them.  At death, these poor friends will be the first to welcome their benefactor into the eternal Kingdom."   I'd like to add, also, that in the Greek one gets the sense that what actually fails is not "you" (the unjust steward) but rather Jesus is saying that at the end of the age, when "mammon" fails, one may be received into an everlasting home.  The exchange which really seems to be at work here is one sense of exacting debt for one in which mercy may be practiced, and that is in keeping with the original criticism which Jesus is answering:  that He dines with tax collectors and sinners.

Many times in the Gospels we look to the readings that teach us that love and mercy trump over everything else.  A kind of penurious or stingy watching over every penny is not something that Jesus or the Gospels ever seem to support.  Most notably and powerfully perhaps this becomes clear in the story of the woman who anointed Christ with expensive oil, and Judas who criticized her.  In the context of the stories responding to criticism of Jesus dining with sinners, we see exemplified the practice of mercy in the context of the tremendous love of God for all the flock; the effort for a single lost sheep, for a single lost coin, and the joy of the father in the return of his recklessly extravagant, foolish, prodigal younger son.  Here the unjust steward may be operating according to rules that apply to the time when mammon has failed, where it may be our relatedness that is cause for more rejoicing then merely exacting standards such as are "on the books."  Luke's gospel powerfully gives us a recipe for more than exacting justice and rules, one that throws in the importance of love and mercy in all our reckonings.  Without it, where would we be?  How better could we know God's justice and God's love for ourselves?  As stewards of the Church, the disciples will need to keep this in mind; the question here really is one of priorities.  What becomes most important?  In the context of looking to the future, beyond mammon and "this generation," we always hope for the restoration of all -- of each one -- but we take all action in that hope, regardless of what is owed right now.  We note that justice is not thrown out here in the story, but God's justice is leavened with mercy.