Well, just when you thought you had Jesus figured out a little bit, he tells a parable like this one!  He tells a story that seems to commend a liar and a cheater.  The shenanigans of this manager are like something you would read in the business section of the newspaper --- another CEO who is looking out for number one. But of course, when we read a parable we have to look a little deeper.  What might all this be about?  What is so great about a manager who is stealing from the owner of the company? Creative accounting at its finest seems to be what is going on here.  I will tell you that no one quite knows what to make of this parable, and scholars have many different takes on what is going on --- so I could stand here and tell you I have no idea, but being a preacher, even though I don't know, I'm going to talk anyway!!

          Now, part of the beauty of the parable is that there is no cut and dried answer to the question, "What does this mean?"  A parable is actually the opposite, it puts the question out there --- so that the audience is forced to ponder, and maybe ask more questions.  Somehow the parable is to give us some insight to the kingdom of God.

           So here we have Mr. Manager --- and suddenly the owner of the whole operation comes along and says, the word is out, I understand you have been mishandling my funds, you are done. And right away, Mr. Manager gets a little nervous and knows that he is not exactly loaded down with options --- too weak to do manual labor, too proud to beg --- so, off he goes to play 'Let's make a Deal.'  He sits right down with the folks who owe the boss, and says, just take a little off your bill --- Mr. Nice Guy, being generous with someone else's property.!!!  Always thinking, thinking about good old number one anyway!  Thinking about how much all these folks are going to owe him because he took care of them when he had the chance.  Pretty smart, trying to take care of the future when the present is looking a little bleak!

          You would be in fine company any way you wanted to interpret this parable, and like e-mail --- sometimes when you read it, you just aren't sure what the tone and intent really is --- You don't know if it is tongue in cheek or a joke, if it is sarcasm or irony or full of enthusiasm.  So, you go with what you do know, and take it from there.

          I think Jesus was describing a guy who was in trouble, and in order to somehow take care of his future, he went to work to get himself into the good graces of several people.  He figured that when all else failed, he would at least have a few folks who would be glad to see him, and maybe even help him out, welcome him into their homes.  The thing is, if it were me he was fixing the bill with, I would wonder just how trustworthy a guy this really was --- if he is willing to cheat the person he works for, how is he going to cheat me???  And people who seem only to be concerned about themselves, are just not that fun to be around! 

And the master says, wouldn't it be something if the people who are trying to carry out the kingdom of God were as shrewd or creative or concerned as those who are just trying to make sure that they have a place to go when the money runs out. I think there is some irony going on here --- OH how clever you are, making friends by dishonesty, and then they can welcome you into their eternal homes.  Good luck, there is nothing eternal about their homes, your security is not ensured no matter how many so-called friends you might have -------- and then Jesus goes into the point of the whole thing.

          If you can't be faithful with the things of this world, with the wealth that is available, how will you even know true riches when you see it, how can you possible be a good steward of all that God wants to give you?  If you can't even take care of what belongs to someone else, would you even know how to receive something that is meant for you?  And then, the clincher, "You can't serve God and wealth", or as the NIV translates, "God and Money."

          Can you love God and have money?  Of course you can. Can you serve God and have money?  Yes, but you cannot be led by both God and money.  You can't put both of them first in your life.  Something has to come in second.

          Amos, the prophet speaking in our first lesson this morning gives out a strong warning about those who scheme to cheat and take advantage of the poor.  Psalm 113 declares that the Lord takes up the weak out of the dust and lifts the poor up from the ashes.  Much as I might worry about my pension, my social security, my long-term care insurance, my investments ---and as important as it is for me to be shrewd and prudent in my planning, and responsible in my actions, whatever I build up is for this life.  And if in this life I am concerned only for myself, only thinking about what might make my life a little easier, or feather my nest a little thicker, I am not seeing the kingdom of God.

          The kingdom of God is eternal, but it does not begin only after this life --- it is present here and now, not fully, but it is here. And we see it when we use our wealth for the sake of something besides our own security.  The way that we spend our money has consequences, natural consequences, not punishment by God.  If we spend, and we do apparently, 41 billion dollars a year on things for our pets, if there are waiting lists for people who want to purchase 4,000 dollar purses, when the war in Iraq costs taxpayers $12 billion dollars a month, when the national debt is 9 trillion dollars and grows by the second, and if being strong consumers is the name of the game, then we have to wonder, who or what is our master?  Are we slaves to getting more and having more?  The ELCA - that's us - estimates the average annual giving per confirmed member at $534.24.  Now, for some confirmed members, 10 dollars a week is a sizeable portion of their income, but many of us could give 10 times that each week and still keep plenty.  What's the bottom line?  The bottom line is you can't serve God and Money.  We don't give so that we ensure our eternal home --- it isn't a pay up and get a seat in heaven --- we give because there are poor and needy people, because there are people who need to know about Jesus, because there is pain and suffering in this world and the only way that God's work gets done here is by our hands.

We give because we have been entrusted with all that God has given us, and it is not our own.

          Like the dishonest manager, we are working for someone else, like the dishonest manager we are using resources that we do not own, and like the dishonest manager, we get concerned about ourselves and our futures.  But Jesus is asking us to rethink our priorities and re-order our concerns.  We are being asked to let God be God, and let everything else take its place after that, to be as shrewd, sharp-witted, not easily fooled.  God wants us to see things for what they really are, to know that our treasures here that we work so hard to build up, have no lasting value when they are not shared.

Now, the part that isn't in the lesson for today is the response. Luke tells us that the Pharisees were listening to this, and in the Biblical translation called the Message, it goes like this, the Pharisees, a money-obsessed bunch, heard him say these things, they rolled their eyes, dismissing him as hopelessly out of touch. So Jesus spoke to them "You are masters at making yourselves look good in front of others, but God knows what's behind the appearance."  And from there, Jesus will tell the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus which is our gospel lesson for next week --- also guaranteed to make us squirm a bit.

          So is that the point?  To make us squirm, is it some sort of set-up that makes us want to roll our eyes and dismiss the whole thing as some sort of clever ploy leading up to our stewardship and pledge emphasis for fall?  Go home and read the whole book of Luke, read the whole book of Amos, in fact, read through any of the prophets and all of the gospels and you will find this message over and over --- this wake-up call that goes out again and again.  This notice that could put more fear into us than an audit from the IRS, shows us that God is offering another way, the way of life, the way of real life.  God's purpose is to keep reminding us that he made us and blessed us, so that we can be a blessing to others.  God's purpose is to love us into realizing that we aren't getting by on our good behavior or our crafty scheming.  God will just keep showing us what is possible, and invite us to follow.  Just imagine what the world could be like.

AMEN