Desperate times call for desperate measures…so the saying goes. But I also think that how we respond in desperate times often shows a lot about our character. As I was preparing for this sermon, I watched an episode of Parks and Recreation in which Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson, who at this point are former co-workers and currently feuding, have to pull together to help Jeremy Jam, a man neither of them like much but who desperately needs help. Jeremy has been dating Ron’s overly controlling ex-wife and it is destroying him. So Leslie and Ron work together to build up Jeremy’s courage to break up with Ron’s ex-wife and they all go together to the library to confront her. Ron’s ex did everything to keep Jeremy under her control. She even offered Leslie the very thing Leslie most wanted. But in that moment, Leslie chose to help someone rather than help herself. It was a critical moment for her.

In the passage we read from the gospel of Luke, we see the dishonest manager facing one of those desperate situations. He has been told he is being fired. That meant he would lose his livelihood and his place in the society. And because of the position he had held as a debt collector, he was most likely not very well liked in the community. So, losing this job really meant losing everything. He saw himself as having very few choices. He could do manual labor…go work in a field somewhere for a farmer. Not a glamorous job, but it would be something. But he felt he was too old for that. He could have sat at the gate of the town and begged. But he was too proud to do that. That left him, in my mind, two other choices. He could do some even more devious and dastardly things to try to win back his boss’s favor. Or he could do something honorable and try to gain favor with the community. It’s this last choice that he ends up deciding upon. And I would argue that it is probably the riskiest option. But it is the one that seems to garner him praise, both from the community and from his former boss. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

This parable by Jesus has always been kind of a stumper. It’s confusing at first glance. Jesus seems to be praising someone he calls the “dishonest manager.” The first time I read that, I thought there must have been something I missed. Jesus wouldn’t praise a dishonest person, would he? Listen to Jesus words from Luke: “And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” That is Jesus’ description of the praise for the dishonest manager from his master. But then Jesus adds his own commentary. “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?” There’s a lot to unpack in there. So, let’s take it one thought at a time.

Let’s start by looking at how Jesus described the praise of the master. Jesus says that the master “commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.” This word translated as ‘shrewdly’ is about personal perspective. So in the eyes of the master, this dishonest manager had acted wisely. That’s pretty interesting since that same master had just fired this particular person and then that person went and forgave some of the debts owed to the master. You might expect him to instead be angry. But he is impressed? Remember that this is a parable that Jesus is telling, which means it is a story with a deeper meaning to it. I want to come back to the master’s opinion of this dishonest manager in a bit, but first let’s move forward to talk about Jesus’ statements after his telling of the parable.

Jesus says, “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” I’ll be honest that this passage seemed really un-Jesus-like to me the first few times I read it. Why would we be encouraged to make friends by means of dishonest wealth? Isn’t dishonesty a bad thing? Well, a couple things to note about this statement from Jesus. First of all, the word translated as ‘dishonest’ means ‘unrighteous’ or ‘unjust.’ And secondly, the word translated as ‘by’ is a word meaning ‘out of.’ So we are to make for ourselves friends out of unjust wealth. On its face, that doesn’t sound a whole lot different. But I see in it something worth considering. Perhaps Jesus is saying that when we face situations where there are unjust systems at play, and perhaps we are even beneficiaries of those systems, we should make friends rather than enemies. Because the truth is that riches will eventually fade away. They are not long lasting. But relationships, love, friendship, those are the things that endure. “Make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.”

The choices we make in life should lead us to relationship. We should be building a community. But life is often messy. So, when we undoubtedly face injustice or dishonesty, we must seek the good of the community, seek the thing that connects us to one another, rather than choosing that which is best for us as individuals.

Jesus adds, “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.” This statement again struck me initially as not really true. How many times have we seen someone go from rags to riches and be completely corrupted by it? These folks who worked so hard and were very faithful when they had very little all of a sudden when they have a lot become greedy and wasteful. So what is Jesus saying here? Is he just wrong in his assessment? Or is he saying something else? I really think that what Jesus is saying is that it is less about the righteousness or unrighteousness of the wealth itself. And more about what’s in our own hearts. We can choose to do good things with unjust wealth or we can choose to continue the injustice by doing bad things with it. It’s about what is in our hearts rather than the wealth itself.

Then Jesus continues saying, “If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?” I think this statement is where Jesus begins to turn the view toward the spiritual. The treasures of this earth are dishonest and unjust. If we are not faithful with the treasures of earth, then how can we be entrusted with the treasures of heaven. If we can not take care of the things we have in this finite existence then why should we be given the gifts of eternity? It’s kind of like a driver’s permit. Someone receives their permit in order to learn how to drive safely. But if they cannot handle it, if they crash every time they get behind the wheel or drive dangerously or can’t even turn the car on properly, then why should they be entrusted with a full driver’s license? We have the opportunity now to be faithful, even amidst the injustice of our world. This is an opportunity for us to learn how to be faithful, so that when God entrusts us with the gifts of eternity, we will be ready. And Jesus adds to that, “And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?” We are practicing now for God’s kingdom later on.

Jesus ends this talk by saying, “No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” This is what it comes down to. The decision that the dishonest manager had to make ultimately was between serving God or serving wealth. If he had chosen to serve wealth, he might have hoarded more money for himself to survive or he might have tried charging more interest from people to try to win back the favor of his master. But he chose a different path. He chose to forgive some of the debts and take a burden off of others. Removing burdens is definitely a godlike thing to do. And in making that choice, the dishonest manager chose to serve God rather than wealth. In other words, he put God first rather than putting himself first.

So, all of this brings me back to where we started…with the reaction of the master to the choices of the dishonest manager. Jesus tells us that the master “commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.” The master saw the wisdom in the choice of the dishonest manager. I guess that is the power of wise, godly living. Others see it and take note. When we do things that help others, rather than helping only ourselves, others see it. And though they may not always agree with how we did it, it’s hard to ever say that helping people is bad.

I think the overall point of this parable is that the kingdom of God is about community and not so much about wealth. We are rich because of our connection to others, not because of the money we have in our wallets. And how we live in the here and now is practice for eternity. It’s an opportunity for us to live like the people of heaven that we are by loving our neighbors. So, let us build a community, by living in love, even now when our nation and our world seem more divided and hate-filled than ever. If we can be faithful when we have very little, then perhaps we can do even more impressive things if we ever have a lot. And may God guide us on that path! Amen!