"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Thursday, 15 September 2016 Scripture Luke 16:1-13

"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Thursday, 15 September 2016 Scripture Luke 16:1-13
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Luke 16:1 Speaking to the talmidim, Yeshua said: “There was a wealthy man who employed a general manager. Charges were brought to him that his manager was squandering his resources. 2 So he summoned him and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in your accounts, for you can no longer be manager.’
3 “‘What am I to do?’ said the manager to himself. ‘My boss is firing me, I’m not strong enough to dig ditches, and I’m ashamed to go begging. 4 Aha! I know what I’ll do — something that will make people welcome me into their homes after I’ve lost my job here!’
5 “So, after making appointments with each of his employer’s debtors, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my boss?’ 6 ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. ‘Take your note back,’ he told him. ‘Now, quickly! Sit down and write one for four hundred!’ 7 To the next he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. ‘Take your note back and write one for eight hundred.’
8 “And the employer of this dishonest manager applauded him for acting so shrewdly! For the worldly have more sekhel than those who have received the light — in dealing with their own kind of people!
9 “Now what I say to you is this: use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it gives out, you may be welcomed into the eternal home. 10 Someone who is trustworthy in a small matter is also trustworthy in large ones, and someone who is dishonest in a small matter is also dishonest in large ones. 11 So if you haven’t been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who is going to trust you with the real thing? 12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what ought to belong to you? 13 No servant can be slave to two masters, for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can’t be a slave to both God and money.”[Complete Jewish Bible]
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Many times as Christians we expect that the church will help us teach our children and grandchildren important values and guidelines for living. If that's the case for you, I wouldn't recommend starting with this parable! It's a strange story. It doesn't have an edifying message you'd want to pass on, like love one another or be generous. Here the "virtues" Jesus seems to be praising are dishonesty and creative book keeping. But fortunately this is not a parable that ends with Jesus saying "Go and do likewise!" 
This parable goes against all of our common understanding of fairness and good business sense. Recognizing that this story comes in Luke right after the story of the prodigal son, may help us understand it better, because this is a prodigal manager. He cancels debts that are owed. He forgives extravagantly. When we recognize that we too are on the receiving end of this kind of strange bookkeeping, we can be grateful for the creative accounting techniques of the Kingdom!
Good and generous God, thank you for forgiving our debts so extravagantly. Thank you for "cooking the books" in our favor. Amen.
Sandy Van Zyl, '88
ELCA Pastor serving United Congregational Church, Butte, Mont. 
Luke 16:1 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."[New Revised Standard Version]
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