Act Accordingly, 25th Sunday of ordinary time

Luke is a story teller. And like all good literary men of his time he liked clarity and good order.

And this is the approach the Evangelist took in writing his Gospel.
 But, I struggled with today's parable. It not so clear and I found it a tough nut to crack.
With Luke I always remind myself of what has come before. Because, in Luke, order counts.
And what comes before today’s parable is the parable of the lost and found; the lost sheep, coin and son, each found and more importantly, rejoiced over. This shows God's unimaginable care and concern for each individual, especially the lost. For it is only in being found that we come to know God.
 It is clear each of us is a treasure beyond measure and worth keeping close. I do understand this. But, in today’s parable, there is no such clarity.

In the parable the master praises the steward who is either; incompetent, a thief, or as a matter of self-preservation – shrewd.  Perhaps, it was the steward’s quick thinking to save himself that outweighed the fact that he cheated his master? We need to take a closer look.

Jesus has just finished using the parable of the lost and found to instruct the Pharisees and now he has turned to teach his disciples. So today’s parable is for them! This is what the disciples need to hear.
The parable begins when the steward is discovered to have mismanaged and squandered what he has been entrusted with, the wealth of the master.  And now, the master is coming for an accounting.
There will be a reckoning. The steward realizes that his actions or lack of actions will lose him his job and so his power and prestige.  He needs a plan B and quick. This is a personal crisis and he has to act, “what shall I do” he says.

 The steward (shady or shrewd) calls in, one by one, those who are in debt to the master.  Without telling them why, he cuts each debt in half by creating false promissory notes.  By the end of the day the master has lost half of what he is owed.  We don’t know if it the master's principle or the steward’s cut that was lost?  Either way, the debtors owe less. And the steward has acquired “new friends” who now owe him a favor.

Yet, the master (who certainly lost something) praises the dishonest, yet now clever steward, for his creative thinking. For being prudent, Luke says!
Was the master pleased because the steward was finally managing? Taking action. Doing what he was meant to do in the first place. Doing business as usual, in a world full of business as usual.
Perhaps, Jesus wants the disciples to see their own situation, the need to grasp the importance of a moment and act decisively.  Is it the quick and sure response rather than the morality of the response that is the object of praise?
Jesus explains  “The children of this world are more prudent with their own generation then are the children of light.”
The children of this world, seem to mean those people who are solely focused on this world and its treasures; in love with its market places, power structures and wealth. Grasping, using and using up everything for their own sake.  They have made idols of these perishable treasures.

 But, because they worship these economic, social, and political idols they are more aware and responsive to the ebb and flow of the economy and to which way the wind blows political and which side of the social fence is safest.  They react quickly and decisively to get what they want or to protect what they already have. As she steward did.

Now the children of light are, of course, in the world, but they are first and foremost people of God.
Yet, it might be useful for them to see (and act) this quick and decisively as the children of the world do, in dealing with lesser perishable treasures. This is a model for how they should act in dealing with a greater treasure - which is described in the parables of the lost and found – God’s unimaginable care and concern for each one of us, our very salvation.
Jesus continues with a curious passage - make friends with dishonest wealth, so when it fails, you will be welcomed into the Kingdom of God.
For me, making friends with the wealth of this world means living in right relationship.
Right relationship with God, with each other, and this world and its treasures.
These treasures are marvelous but finite, bright but fading. Importantly they are meant to be shared, not hoarded or certainly not exploited.  Friendship is justice not greed.
I suppose we are both stewards and debtors. Life is a marvelous gift that we have been entrusted with.
Eternal life is a marvelous gift that we have been entrusted with. And we have a responsibility (a debt of sorts) to be trustworthy in managing these precious gifts.
  And if we are trustworthy (in small matters and great) We will find - in the end, as steward and debtor, when the account is due and when we have nothing to hide behind but the afterglow of our trustworthiness - we can stand before the Lord and give a good account of our work and so repay our debt (in full measure) to its rightful Lord, who very well might will praise us saying - well done my good and faithful servant.