Luke 16:1-13 - Sudden Death Overtime

Presented to each the Nipawin and Tisdale Corps 29 July 2007
and Swift Current Corps on 21 March 2010 and 30 Nov 2014
by Captain Michael Ramsay

To view the 2014 version click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2014/11/luke-161-13-sudden-death-overtime-2014.html

I love here it in Saskatchewan. I love everyone here. I love it the Nipawin and Tisdale. You know what though: it’s not the same as Victoria and Vancouver. I love it very much back on the coast too but you know there are few advantages to Nipawin and Tisdale. For instance, here when you come to a stop sign – this will sound bizarre to my friends on the west coast – when you come to a stop sign you actually stop and make sure that you are not going to hit anybody. And it is safe to cross at the crosswalk – again people actually stop. I don’t have to pick up my kids and run across as fast as I possibly can; I love it.

Here, unlike Vancouver also, there aren’t sirens going off 24 hours a day and the other day I went down to the Co-op and, guess what? I found a parking spot. Honestly, there were times in Vancouver where the closest spot I could find to where I was going was as far as the Co-op store is from here. This is true and then it would cost $2.00/hour even to park there. It is a great community here and everyone is so friendly; we love it we really do…

There is one thing I must confess that I miss though – I’m sorry - the radio. Now, the Christian radio station in Nipawin (104.1 FM, http://www.lighthousefm.com/) is great. It really is. On the west coast though we had so many radio stations to choose from. Whatever mood you were in: 24-hour news, talk, 24-hour music of your choice, flip to whatever you want, dedicated sports channels…

When Rebecca was just born, I used to listen to hockey every Friday night. You see. Friday night was my night to be home with Rebecca and clean the house. So I would listen to the junior hockey games on the radio as I was doing the dishes, etc.

I remember this one game. I caught the 3rd period. The home team just dominated. It was three or even four nothing coming into the last minute of play. These players had worked really hard, just dominated and they started celebrating the winning of the last game of their season -(pause)- with one minute left to go. Then the other team scored. Then again; 30 seconds left. Then again; 10 seconds left. It was four nothing less than a minute ago – they were celebrating – now they are up 4-3 with only 5 seconds left and they aren’t so confident – and now there’s a face-off in their own zone. And you know what happens? The away team scores with less than a second left to force sudden-death overtime.

Our team squanders their lead and as a result they face sudden death.

If you’ll turn with me back to Luke chapter 16, the manager we read about also squanders from his position, and now faces sudden death – or sudden unemployment anyway: he is fired.
Jesus tells this parable directly to his disciples right after he tells the story of the prodigal son (cf. R. Alan Culpepper, NIB IX). Remember, the point of that parable (that we looked at earlier today)? What happens when the son squanders what (the) God (figure) gives him? He is forgiven. The parable is about God’s forgiveness of the son who squanders everything on wild (NIV) or dissolute (NRSV) living. As we return to God, He will forgive us whatever we have done.

But this parable raises a question…can we just keep sinning and it doesn’t matter?[1] If we are members of God’s family, his household, can we just squander everything on ‘wild living’ and sin, like the son? After all, the father not only forgave him but also threw a big party in for him. So, why not keep sinning?

And this is a question that Jesus answers right away in this parable[2]: God (the father) in the prodigal story forgives the one that squanders what he is given but God in the manager story does not.

Jesus says, (verses 1 and 2), “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of SQUANDERING (NRSV) his possessions. [same] So he called him in and asked him, ‘what is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.' You face sudden death – sudden unemployment.

The prodigal son is forgiven but the wicked manager is fired. Jesus is stopping any thoughts that we can just keep sinning when we work for God right here. If there are any who think that they can go out and waste everything that God has given them Jesus answers them emphatically… No – No – No, He says, give me an account. [a]

The manager is working for (the) God (figure) –just like the disciples are and just like we are - and now he is fired and he never saw this coming [c].

Verse 3, he asks: “what shall I do now… I’m not strong enough to dig. I’m too proud to beg.” He’s being fired for squandering what God has given him and he probably didn’t see it coming.

Well, how are we doing with what God has given us? We know, of course, that our jobs, our businesses, farms, car, home, family, and all the gifts and talents that we have really all belong to God and we are just managing them until Jesus returns; so, how have we been doing with that?

Are we using them for the Kingdom and God or are we squandering them on ourselves? At anytime, Jesus will come back. At anytime the owner will ask for an account of what we’ve done with his possessions: are we using them for what he wants or are we squandering them on ourselves and on ‘wild living’?

I can think of a time when I was a pre-teen and I was in the living room when my dad was watching some telethon to help the needy kids. He was talking to me about it for a while. Trying to instill the values of helping others – or something like that – and then right when they are asking for money –on purpose – he says, "thanks Mike for all the help you’ve given me working around the yard this summer" ...and he gives me five bucks... while he’s picking up the telephone. He says, "now you can spend this on anything you want"…while he dials…"anything at all…Hello telethon"…and he hands me the phone…immediately, I’m thinking about giving the telethon - $2.50 (or less), but I know what my father is saying that I should do with this money.
Are we doing what our Heavenly Father wants with what He gives us? What are we doing with His money, yes, but also – can you teach? Are you teaching others about Jesus? Are you organised? Are you using administration skills for the Kingdom? Are you are social person? Are you telling people about Jesus and visiting them when they are sick? All of this is included in the first question Jesus is addressing with the parable but he doesn’t stop here.

Look at verses 4-7. These are interesting verses for some sure but let’s see what we can make of them, shall we?[3] The manager says to himself, ‘What shall I do now? — I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
“ ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’
“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ “
‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

So do you see what the manager is doing here? Now this isn’t his money, remember. This is the master’s money – in one way or another[4] – this is the master’s money and the manager’s plan is to give it away; isn’t this what he got in trouble for in the first place – wasting his master’s money? !!!

Now that he is out on his ear, this is the idea, he slashes what people owe his master, and makes a lot of friends in the process. No kidding… can you imagine? And these are not just small personal loans. This is big business, these amounts, by the way. This isn’t just a family operation. Can you imagine if the CEO of RBC –faced sudden death- can you imagine if he just got his pink slip and went out and cancelled everybody’s mortgage or student loans…no kidding people would like him and offer him jobs. Or like a politician, who looks like he’ll lose an election, bails out big business or privatises something. No kidding someone will offer him a job.

But what is Jesus saying here? Is he saying that it is okay to cheat God like the manager cheats the owner? This is another question inherent to the parable…and look at verse 8. When all this happens and the owner potentially loses the equivalent of millions in the process, it says “the master commended the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly.” He commended him for wasting his money, which is what he fired him for in the first place. What?!?

So what is Jesus saying? …Is he saying that we can be tricky and waste God’s possessions? Well…no. And this is where the first part of the parable that we spent so much time looking at comes into play. No you cannot waste that which God has given you and Jesus is pretty clear about that. If we can’t be trusted, if we squander what God has given us, we will be fired. We will lose; It is the same as stopping playing hockey in the last minute. We will face sudden death overtime and - if we stop playing - we will lose.

Further if we have any doubts about this, in verses 10-12 Jesus is explicit. There is no ambiguity. He says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

Did you get that? Jesus is saying that it is not the untrustworthiness, the shrewdness, the trickiness, that is being applauded in this parable. It is not the fact that he has without permission reduced all these debts for his own personal gain– it is not this that Jesus is applauding. He says so – he says if you are dishonest with a little, you will be dishonest with a lot. And if you do squander -waste the talents God gives you- you will not be eternally employed.

So then, if it is not the manager’s untrustworthiness that is being applauded? Why is the owner happy with the manager who wastes and squanders his things? Is it that he put profit first? He cut a deal with big business to get a new job. Like a corrupt politician about to be kicked out the door selling of a country’s possessions. The manager doesn’t want to do any physical work but he still wants to make big bucks. Is this what the parable is talking about?[5] Is this what is being applauded: planning for his own financial security? [b]

No. Jesus answers this question in verses 13 and 15. He says emphatically, “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” ...What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” And Jesus goes even further earlier in Luke when he says (14:33) that one should be willing to give up all one’s possessions to follow him…

So why does he commend the manager? What’s he talking about? Really what is he talking about? He makes it clear that he is NOT saying that we should aim for material gain (v.15) and if we do we are not serving God (v.13) and he is not applauding untrustworthiness for he says clearly that those who are untrustworthy here are not worthy of trust in the Kingdom; so what is Jesus talking about in this parable?

Jesus' point to his disciples in this parable and Jesus' point to us is this, if even the people of this world (v. 8), who are not even wise enough to secure the ‘true riches’ for themselves (v.11), even the wicked people who squander what they are entrusted with on themselves, and don’t use God’s wealth for His purposes (cf. Luke 12:13-21) - even the people of this world are wise enough to prepare for their future when they know it is near (v.8), so should not we, who have been entrusted with so much more –the knowledge of the Kingdom of God – should not we be even more wise than they?

In context this makes sense. The prodigal son comes back. He returns to Father. He comes back to live with God. Sure he strays but he comes back and, like the son, if we stray we can return. We are welcome back and the story of the prodigal makes that clear. But don’t leave it too late.

The story of the manager contains a caution. The manager did not return to doing what was right before it was too late. You see, we are welcome back to spend time with and to do the will of God (cf. Lk 13:22-30; Mat 7:13-14) but we shouldn’t be encouraged to celebrate so much that we stop playing before the game is over (cf. Lk 12:35-41,41-48). Even the untrustworthy manager, when he did finally see the impending future, even the untrustworthy manager, did everything that he could to prepare for it. Do we who have already been entrusted with the riches of the knowledge of God care as much as he about the impending future? how are we doing at managing God’s time, money, and skills that He has given us?

How are we doing? Are we using our gifts for the Kingdom? This is what the Kingdom looks like; this is what it is like when we have returned to the father and when we are trustworthy managers:[6] If our dad gives us five bucks and tells us to give it to Jerry’s kids, we will give it to Jerry’s kids. If our Father lets us have a good job, with good pay, and invites us to give some of that money back, we will give it back. If He gives us the skills to teach Sunday school, fix the church, or nudges us to invite our friends to church, we will do that and more. Then we will avoid being in the same position as the manager. You see, we have already been entrusted with the true riches of the Kingdom. It is not too late.

The third period’s not over. We can play the full game and experience the victory with Jesus. We can. No matter if we’ve already started to squander our lead like the son or the manager, it is not too late yet. We can come back. We can come back. We can return and experience the victory with Jesus, we can. Praise the Lord. Halleluiah. Let's avoid 'sudden death' and build on that lead playing for the Lord.

Amen.

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[1] This is one of the questions that he is answering, for his disciples (cf. Lk 8:8-10; Mt 13:10-17; Mk 4:10-12), I submit, with this parable.
[2] This is not the only place where it can be argued that Jesus answers a parable with a parable. One of Luke’s two references to the parable `hiding your light under a jar` appears to be part of his explanation to his disciples of the parable of the Soils (Luke 8).
[3] The scholars varied opinions are around things such as whether or not the manager was acting honourably or dishonourably here, whether or not this section is making a comment about the character of God, and questions about if the manager's untrustworthiness and love of money were actually rewarded; I argue alongside the majority opinion, based on the larger context as I address later in this sermon, that it is not these things that are being rewarded at all.
[4] R. Alan Culpepper, NIB IX: Luke, John, 308-309 has a good discussion of various theories around how the wealth was acquired and why or why not the manager’s actions here are justifiable. This is a contentious issue; I don’t think that it need be however. If even the ‘wicked’ are smart enough to prepare for the future in their wicked ways, how much more should the trustworthy (faithful) (v. 11) prepare for the future and how much more seriously should we take the true riches (v. 12) with which we have been entrusted
[5] Some may suggest that we act this way; you’ve heard the argument that you can only take care of others once you take care of yourself. What good would we be to the poor, if we were broke ourselves?
[6] I have a really good quote to insert here from the Interpretation series. Check back later.
[a] cf. http://renewnetwork.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html#8474403761697437649
[b] cf. http://renewnetwork.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html#3175897458761777177
[c] cf. Doctrine 9 of the Salvation Army (We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.) ; I am not suggesting here that this theme is the central element of the parable. I am however suggesting that it may be implicit and certainly serves for smooth transition from the preceding parable.