Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Proper 20, Year C

Jesus seems to be giving money management advice in today's Gospel reading, Luke 16:1-13. He said:

make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. Luke 16:9

This advice strikes me as out of character for the Savior of the world. Is God really directing us to access our “eternal home” by engaging in unscrupulous activities? My mother used to say, when we kids made excuses for our bad behavior, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Is Jesus saying the road to heaven can be paved with bad actions? Let’s take a closer look at this parable Jesus interpreted with the words:

…make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so you may be welcomed into the eternal homes. Luke 16:9

A wealthy person had a large estate. The estate generated income through a variety of agricultural and animal husbandry ventures. The owner discovered the estate manager was awarding themself bonuses by stealing estate income. The owner confronted the manager and asked to see the accounts. The manager, knowing an audit would verify the owner’s accusation, considered their options. The manager could not be hired for another managerial position because he or she had stolen from their employer. The manager could not work at other trades, since the manager lacked the required strength and skills and the manager did not have the temperament to endure homelessness and beg for money. So, the manager contacted the estate’s vendors. The manager was not looking for more money. They were looking for something that would last longer than money. The manager was looking for allies and friends. The manager:

…summoning the estate owner’s debtors one by one, the manager asked the first, ‘How much do you owe?’ The debtor replied, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ The manager discounted the debt, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ The manager, in turn, asked the other vendors, ‘How much do you owe?’ Then the manager directed each vendor to rewrite their bill discounting their debt 20, 30, 40 or 50%! Luke 16:5-7

Like Christ Church, the estate was located in a small town. Word travels fast and everyone knows everybody else’s business in small towns. The wealthy owner soon learned what the manager did. Instead of having the manager arrested and thrown into jail; instead of notifying the vendors that the original debts would be reinstated, the owner forgave the vendors and commended the manager. The estate owner did something that does not happen in the business world. The owner congratulated the unscrupulous employee and allowed vendors to pay less than what was owed. If farmers, ranchers, or manufacturers conducted business the way the wealthy estate owner did, they would go bankrupt, layoff employees, and cause vendors to lose clients. Why would Jesus claim the moral of this story is “making friends by means of dishonest wealth so we can be welcomed into our eternal home”? Luke 16:9

In order to understand the moral of this parable, we need to shift our attention from the manager to the estate owner. The estate owner is God. God creates, sustains and places into our care the world we live in and the lives we live. Our lives, our loved ones, our skills, and our possessions are given to us by God. Though our names are on bank and investment accounts, house deeds, vehicle titles, and (sadly even) bills, these things will not be in our possession forever. Some day, the houses we occupy now will be lived in by other people. The cars we are driving will be purchased (in whole or for parts) for use by others. The people we love and care for will be befriended and loved by others. God gives us the life we live, the people we love, and the things we use. God expects us to be good stewards of these blessings. God expects us to utilize our blessings to sustain ourselves and others. We owe everything to God; we are indebted to God. The manager and vendors owed their income and livelihoods to the estate owner. They were indebted to the estate owner. The wealthy estate owner dramatizes what God does. God gives and forgives everyone. The wealthy estate owner gave to and forgave the unscrupulous manager and self-interested calculating vendors. The estate owner was pleased when the manager forgave in order to make friends. The estate owner shows us what God expects. God is pleased with our efforts to reform ourselves. Righteous and unrighteous people are forgiven and expected to forgive. Upstanding and unscrupulous people are given and expected to give. Why does Jesus use criminal behaviors and unjust dealings to describe God’s generosity and forgiveness?

Jesus is a member of the Holy Trinity. Jesus is God. Jesus was not just a preacher, teacher, or suffering servant. In Jesus, God was unjustly persecuted, arrested on trumped up charges, unfairly tried, and executed. Jesus died to pay for debts sinners owed. These confounding and gracious series of actions are central to the Christian faith. We don’t deserve it, but we are blessed with shelter, clothing and strength. We don’t deserve it, but we are forgiven before we fess up to how we mess up. We don’t deserve it, but we (along with people we fear and hate) have a standing invitation to inherit mansions God prepared for us in heaven.

God gives us the life we live and the people we love. God forgives us. God expects us to give and forgive as we have been given and forgiven. So, another way to express the moral of this parable is: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; we are to love as we are loved, forgive as we are forgiven.

All money is Monopoly money to Jesus. If we don’t treat meaningless stuff like money, well then, how can we be expected to treat something truly valuable like other human beings well? The Rt. Rev. Frank Logue Sermons that Work - Proper 20, Year C

We love and serve a God who squanders forgiveness, extending it to repentant and unrepentant people. God gives extravagantly, without concern for the bottom line or the behavior of the recipient. God generously and unconditionally gives and forgives. The parable in Luke 16:1-13 foreshadows what takes place in the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus gave his life for us. We are to be good stewards; giving of our time, talent and money. Jesus died while we were still sinners. We are to forgive as Jesus forgives us. “Our Father, in heaven; holy is your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…”