Scripture/Sermon of the Day.  October 5, 2025

Luke 16:1-13

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7 Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8 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. 9 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.

10 “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. 11 If, then, you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13 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.”

Reflection/Sermon:

I.      Where did Jesus get these stories?  Two thousand years after he told them, people are still saying, “What?”

II.     Two weeks ago we heard about a shepherd who lost a sheep — then left the flock of ninety-nine in the wilderness to search for the lost one.  The ninety-nine could have scattered or been attacked by predators.  But the shepherd put them at risk so he cold find the one that got away?  Probably most shepherds who heard this story from Jesus were glad he was a spiritual teacher and not a shepherd.

III.    And last week we heard Jesus’ story about a father with two sons.  The older son was successful.  He followed the law and lived by the rules.  He was responsible, he worked hard, he saved his money — he did everything the right way.
The other son was careless and selfish and immoral.  He never worked, he didn’t save money, and when money was given to him, he squandered it on booze and women and partying. 
And when he ran out of money and came home, the careless, selfish son was rewarded — but the “good” son was not celebrated.
The older brother said, “Why don’t you reward me with a party and fancy clothing and expensive jewelry like you just did to that loser son of yours?  Why don’t you recognize me?

IV.     And now — right after that Prodigal Son story — Jesus tells another story about a lying, cheating manager who also squanders his master’s money — and who Jesus makes the hero of the story!
Why can’t Jesus just tell a simple story where good people are rewarded and bad people are punished?  Didn’t he read the first five books of the Bible?

V.      Is there any story in our world today that might help us understand what Jesus wants us to see?
Pope Leo got himself into “trouble” recently after he made a comment about an award that the Catholic Cardinal in Chicago, Blase Cupich, was going to present to Senator Dick Durbin — who was a strong supporter of abortion rights — with a lifetime achievement award.  Durbin’s critics — which included some Catholic bishops, argued that Durbin should be disqualified from that award because of his views on abortion.

Now the Pope — the leader of the Catholic Church — stepped in,  like the shrewd manager of Jesus story.  The Pope — who supports the churches teaching that life begins at conception — said:  “Being against abortion isn’t the only component of being pro-life…someone who says ‘I’m against abortion but in favor of the death penalty’ is not really pro-life…..and someone who says I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhumane treatment of immigrants in the United States’ — I don’t know if that’s pro life.”

VI.     White House people and religious people and Maga-republicans didn’t like the Pope saying that.  Because it makes them look like hypocrites or insincere or politically — and not spiritually — motivated.  The Pope saying the truth made people feel bad about themselves.  Maybe bad enough to convert from anger to compassion. 

VII.    The Pope was shrewd like the dishonest manager.  He was able to think inside — and outside — the political and religious boxes, and he stretched people’s minds and hopefully — their hearts — the way Jesus did with his happy but troubling stories. 
With just a few words, Pope Leo widened and expanded the meaning of “pro-life” — to include all life, not just for the unborn, but also for the migrant, the refugee, the death-row inmate —

VIII.   In his strange stories that often don’t make sense to us — Jesus is trying to open our minds and hearts so we can see like he sees, and love as he loves.