Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost*

 Amos 8.4-7
Psalm 113
1 Timothy 2.1-7
Luke 16.1-13

      There aren’t many Bible stories that invite you to do the math in order to understand their meaning, but today’s parable from Luke’s gospel is one of them. This story can be baffling because people assume that the master in the story represents God. If you think of it that way, God commends the manager for stealing from him and that doesn’t make sense.  You also get into trouble if you assume that the form of economy that underlies this story is western capitalism. The story comes from the ancient near east and it was created in the first century, before capitalism was invented.

          The parable begins with the boss notifying the manager that accusations have been made against him. The manager knows  he’s in trouble. If he is dismissed for poor performance, which seems likely, his options will be limited. He envisions his future as a beggar or a miner. With those choices, he’ll starve or be worked to death in a short time. The false accusation and the man’s desperation reflect the economic and social organization of the society in which Jesus lived and did his work – a true dog eat dog world. Jesus’ original audience for this parable would have understood that in a way that we do not. Their economy did not routinely produce surplus. 98 percent of the society’s wealth was held by 1 or 2 percent of the population. The rest lived in a range of circumstances. If they were skilled and could develop a relationship with a wealthy man, like the manager in this story, they could live in reasonable comfort. The manager is an agent for his employer. He has the authority to conduct business and make decisions concerning his boss’ property and affairs as if he were the boss himself. He’s expected to make the boss a lot of money and he probably adds to his salary by scraping a little off that substantial profit. This relationship with a wealthy man puts him in a very different position from the people at the bottom of the economy who lived somewhere between subsistence and starvation. As this parable begins, the manager is on the verge of a very rapid descent to the bottom. He comes up with a scheme that seems intended to facilitate building a relationship with a new patron.  That will give him some hope of finding a job comparable to the one he has when his current boss dismisses him. In the end, something very different happens.

          The Torah prohibits Jews to charge interest on loans to other Jews. Exodus 22 says: “if you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them.” Deuteronomy 23 says: “You shall not charge interest on loans to another Israelite, interest on money, interest on provisions, interest on anything that is lent. On loans to a foreigner you may charge interest, but on loans to another Israelite, you may not charge interest.”

          Human nature in the first century was not particularly different from what it is now. In order to conduct business, some lending is necessary. People want to make a profit wherever they can, so they find ways around the rules. One way to do that was to charge interest in the form of commodities such as wheat and olive oil rather than as money. The interest payment became indistinguishable within the transaction.  Anticipating his dismissal, the manager goes to two men who owe debts to his master. The first one owes 100 jugs of olive oil and the other 100 bushels of wheat. We can assume that wrapped up in those debts is some interest.

In ancient economic systems there was a range of interest rates. In some Jewish writings there is mention of a standard rate of 20%. In other ancient cultures, rates range from 25% on loans of money to 33%, 100% and 140% on commodities. Interest increased with the perishability of the product. In this parable we hear today, the manager reduces the repayment cost on the olive oil by 50% and on the wheat by 20%. The amounts suggest that he is forgiving the interest owed by his master’s creditors thus bringing his master’s business dealings into conformity with the law. These two men, up to their necks in a merciless economy that exploits everyone and punishes the poor manage to manipulate their way to a condition of moral integrity. Through the most unjust and dishonest circumstances and means God’s will is done. The rich man, restored to a right relationship with God, praises the manager for his shrewdness.

Parables are meant to shock the hearer. This one was originally addressed to an audience made skeptical by  unrelenting poverty and economic exploitation. The story’s message to them is that in the end God establishes justice using the machinery of the system that seeks to grind them down. That should give us hope in a time when our nation’s leaders seem bent on destroying the lives and the hope of the poor.

Today we celebrate the anniversary of our building’s dedication. Faith communities are frequently cautioned not to become slaves to our buildings and this congregation is wise to heed that advice. Devotion to our buildings is sometimes held up as a stumbling block for 21^st century congregations that allow their architectural affection to blind them to the economic realities of caring for an old church. We all know how true that is. Yet this building speaks profoundly to us and to the entire community. For 125 years, St. Mary’s has stood on this corner through the ebb and flow of the city, offering care for those who suffer from poverty and economic injustice. Whether the surroundings have been a lively neighborhood of homes and small businesses or a desolate patch of dirt awaiting the construction of a freeway and new office buildings, St. Mary’s has offered kindness and prayer for those  left behind by progress and wealth. In the harshest circumstances, God’s will is done and this church has a share in that.

Many of those years that this building has stood here, the congregation was scraping to pay off the loans taken on during its construction and for later repairs. Our church’s canons require that a building be paid for before it is dedicated, and the people of St. Mary’s worked for decades, a generation or more, to accomplish that goal. Many who saw the doors open for the first time did not live to see the dedication. This congregation has never been wealthy and has only rarely been financially comfortable. What I believe that has done is give us a sense of empathy for the poor that we might not otherwise have had. God’s will prevails through all times and in all places, even when we cannot imagine how that will happen. We are privileged to be in this place and to have a hand in building the kingdom in our own time.

* The exegesis of Luke 16.1-13 in this sermon draws on the work of Bernard Brandon Scott in his book ReImagine the World