Enslaved By Two Masters
I speak to you in the name of Source, God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, mother of us all.
In today’s readings, we continue in Luke’s magnificent journey of parables. Right before this reading in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus shares the story of the prodigal son, the one who squanders his inheritance, yet his father welcomes him with open arms when he repents and returns to the fold, wanting to be part of the flock again. This week, our reading follows a manager who also squanders money and is let go by his employer. We have three main actors here, the owner, the manager and the debters.
I must admit, this was a challenging sermon to reflect on. I searched for support and found that this is one of the most difficult parables to preach on. It’s as if the Holy Spirit has a sense of humor before my ordination to the diaconate, but I’m up for the task, and I digress.
At first glance, it might seem as if Jesus is shedding light on how not to be enslaved by two masters, as it clearly states this in verse 13 at the end of today’s reading. One cannot honor God and money simultaneously. One must not idolize wealth. If we idolize wealth, we have dimmed the light of the spirit and focus only on increasing our own material value, rather than the value of the Kingdom of God.
The end? Not quite so fast..
The story of not having two masters is as old as time, which is reflected in today’s words from the Prophet Amos, written in the 8th century BCE. It was shared earlier, “Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land”. Let us also not forget that Jesus is constantly reminding us not to be hypocrites.
In this reading from Luke, Jesus is talking to his disciples and the Pharisees were also present. He tells us, his disciples, not to be shrewd. What does that word even mean, to be shrewd? It sounds like an unpleasant word doesn’t it but it?.
Well, it can mean a couple of things: for one, it is alluded that the manager was clever or sharp, and the property owner recognized this act out of the box thinking. The manager was creative with his business acumen, devising a strategy to generate some profit and revenue to get him out of the pickle he was in, making it right for the owner since he squandered away the money.
Why was the manager being so shrewd in the first place? He squandered away money and was trying to find a solution. Or maybe he was trying to forgive debts? Maybe he was taking these steps to repent? Perhaps he was living in fear, wanting another job. The manager tried to curry favor with the debters and his former boss. Maybe this act of shrewdness will lead to another job offer! Either way, the manager is not necessarily thinking of others, or is he?
Jesus shines light on how the manager was, in fact, thinking of his neighbor by offering a reduction of their debts or writing off their debts, in turn, helping the owner since the the debtors are generating some revenue back to the owner.
Ah-ha! This gesture, in fact, serves all of God’s kingdom. The manager, thinking about his own well-being, was also helping out the business owner and the debters; it’s a win-win for everyone involved. The manager stepped out of his own needs to make it better for all those involved, in light of his past mistakes. More importantly, the manager “forgave the debts” and was practicing good stewardship.
The manager clearly wanted to make it right… Let me repent, let me be able to do better to make sure I don’t burn all my bridges adn thinking of others well-being.
Jesus notes here that only God can gain access to the Kingdom, and buying into this Kingdom is not the path to salvation. We are reminded of this n Luke’s version of the Lords Prayer?
“hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation”
Let me get this straight. This parable, the most difficult one, to preach on, is essentially saying that we take care of one another, not trying to buy access to the Kingdom of God, & forgiving debts. It suggests that by actions of love & kindness, we can share in the Kingdom of God.
We are directed that we cannot be enslaved to money; we cannot have two gods and to be good stewards of God’s Kingdom. In all that we do, it is imperative to live out the New Commandment of loving God and loving our neighbor.
It is no mystery that we are to treat our neighbor as we would treat ourselves throughout Jesus’ teachings. We are to go out of our way to take care of one another…even in our business transactions, even in our spending habits, even in our personal and professional lives. If we are devoted to God’s Kingdom, then we are not to serve/be enslaved by money but to be good stewards of money. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
What does that look like in our materialistic and consumer-based society that we live in today? Perhaps we can focus on experiences rather than presents; maybe we make it more of a point to be grateful and share the riches we have rather than focusing on what we don’t have. “Detox” from certain buying habits, divest from companies that don’t take care of their employees. Support organizations that are good stewards of God’s resources on this shared home we call Earth.
Perhaps we support organizations that also have a Christ-centered approach to enriching our lives, focusing on the wealth of the kingdom of God rather than the wealth of materialism and consumerism. Perhaps it is as simple as leading with love, in all of our interactions, we are heart-centered when we go to work, at the grocery store?
We can even start small acts of kindness. How can we support those that are in debt, experiencing financial difficulties? Food insecurity, health insecurity, the list is immense. It warms my heart to know about all that we do here at All Saints, we are responding to this Call.
I think we can all agree there are barriers to sharing God’s gifts to all of God’s children. Let us continue to work together, to heed this call and remember that we cannot serve two masters. And let’s pray on how we can be good stewards of God’s blessing. That is how we serve God, by serving our neighbor with our bountiful gifts, sharing with our neighbor and loving our neighbor. I love the phrase, “the Gifts of God for the People of God.” that the priest says nearly every Sunday. Now how can we truly embody that the rest of the week?
Christina Cernansky