ORDINARY 25 (C)

The children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. – Luke 16: 8

   I find this parable somewhat confusing, so it’s important to clarify the point being made. Realizing that his very survival is at stake, the dishonest steward doesn’t just ingratiate his master’s debtors so they will take him in when he is let go. Notice he questions them about how much they owe. They must tell how much they owe & they must alter the numbers themselves. It is their handwriting that had doctored the bills. In short, he makes them full-scale accomplices in a scheme to defraud his master. He is already in their homes because he has made them people like himself. He showed them how to cook the books, & they did so willingly.

   When the master finds out, he sees more than dishonesty. He is moved to a kind of begrudging admiration for the steward’s resourcefulness. The point is this: Just as the steward knew his physical & social life was threatened & acted decisively & wisely in order to survive, so our Lord’s disciples should realize that their spiritual life is threatened & act decisively & wisely to survive.

   Wealth is dishonest because it promises what it cannot provide: security & happiness. Thus the only honest use for it is to share it with others so that it becomes the cement of relationships & community. How earthly wealth works to secure life & how God works to do so are two different strategies that cannot be embraced on their own terms at the same time. Serving one means using the other in that service.

   At first glance, God’s strategy might seem extravagant & wasteful. He places no limits on generosity. I think God might agree with Zorba in the old movie “Zorba the Greek” when he says, “In order to be really alive, you have to have a touch of madness.” Take the example of Albert Schweitzer:

   He had doctorate degrees in Philosophy, Theology, Music & Medicine – all earned. He went to Africa & when people asked him why, he said, “I was obedient to Christ.” This brilliant man, who could have enjoyed world recognition in any of his fields, simply went out to Africa for the rest of his life to help those who were without adequate medical care.

   An editor of a big publishing house once visited Dr. Schweitzer to discuss the publication of a book about his work. He later recalled this incident. It seems the good Dr. had been given an unusual musical instrument by the “Bach Society of Paris.” It was a piano with special pedal attachments that made it sound something like an organ. It had been specially crafted to withstand the jungle humidity. Every day Schweitzer found time to practice his music.

   One afternoon the editor came upon this great man bent over his instrument playing Bach. His only audience consisted of two antelope fawns in a little pen just outside the open window. The editor said he just stood still, struck by what he was seeing. The Dr. saw him & stopped playing for a moment. Very matter-of-factly he said, “I come here every day & play for the antelope.”

   Some might consider this an extravagant waste of time & talent. But Our Lord makes it clear that unless we freely use our worldly possessions to support & enrich the lives of others, they will fail us. Worse, we will doom out own spiritual survival.  Are we even aware of the danger we are in?  AMEN!