When I was at Union Seminary in NYC getting my M.Div, we learned a lot of words related to theology and ethics with the idea these words would shape our understanding of faith and ministry.  These were words handed down to us after being used for hundreds of years by theological giants and usually each word had at least 3-4 syllables. Words like ecclesiology, theodicy, and methodology. They say that seminary doesn’Äôt give you everything you need to shape your life and ministry around the Holy.

I’Äôm happy to report that our manager friend in today’Äôs Luke text has given me a new,

one syllable word to add to my theological repertoire: shrewd.

I looked up the definition of "shrewd" in the dictionary and it means this: shrewd implies unusual power to see through and understand what is puzzling or hidden; shrewd like people invoke keen awareness, sharp intelligence, and often a sense of the practical.

So.....the manager in the Luke story is identified as shrewd. I’Äôm not sure any other character in the Bible has this adjective attributed to their behavior. The manager’Äôs unusual, or maybe we should call it sacred, power was used to see or understand what puzzle? What was hidden? What did the manager expose?

If you’Äôve ever been fired from a job, here is your moment to connect with the Gospel text. We read that our manager friend gets the pink slip because he failed in his managerial position, accused of financial shenanigans. He squandered the property of a rich man, his boss. It doesn’Äôt appear that the manager is going to obtain any type of severance package and the odds of future employment seem somewhat bleak. As the manager is kicked to the curb, and for fear of becoming homeless, his mind starts to roll.

His shrewd like behavior moves into action. He moves quickly before folks start to pass the word that he has been fired and he loses his authority to act on the owner’Äôs behalf.

The key to this biblical puzzle comes in the middle of the story with the manager’Äôs identification by the owner as a dishonest manager and the following identification

of dishonest wealth. First, our shrewd manager is referred to by the rich man as a ’Äúdishonest manager,’Äù creating a negative image of our unemployed friend.

Sharon Ringe, a NT professor up at Wesley Seminary, says that from the English language perspective, calling him a ’Äúdishonest manager’Äù is far from the truth.

In the Greek text of the Gospel, the manager is literally called ’Äúthe manager of injustice.’ÄùThe story reads, ’Äúand his master commended the dishonest manager

because he had acted shrewdly.’Äù Ringe proposes we should read it as, ’Äúand his master commended the manager of injustice because he had acted shrewdly.’Äù

Next, our text uses the words ’Äúdishonest wealth.’Äù ’ÄúMake friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.’Äù Again, Sharon Ringe states the original Greek translates dishonest wealth as ’Äúwealth of injustice.’Äù

In ancient times, an economic system where some have more because others have less

was an economic system based on injustice. Ringe writes that any excessive accumulation in the hands of one (such as the rich man) is, by definition, evidence of injustice that must be addressed by the redistribution of wealth. By reducing the amount owed by the obviously poorer debtors to the rich man, the manager is doing justice.

Make friends or companions for yourselves by redistributing unjust wealth so that when the wealth runs dry, your friends may see that what matters the most is welcoming you into their homes.

Our homecoming theme this year is Finding Your Place at the Table. What direction is your life taking? Where do you fit in? How do you belong to God? What does your voice have to say about living a life with the Holy? How does your life take shape around the Holy? In a moment of crisis, the manager of injustice found his place. He didn’Äôt sit around and analyze ’Äúshould I?’Äù ’ÄúShouldn’Äôt I?’Äù He just got up, took charge of his life,

and did what he had to do not only for his own self-interests---to save his livelihood’Äîbut his actions impacted his neighbors’Äô livelihood.  As the manager of injustice, he reduced debt, lived out God’Äôs vision of a household economic system where everyone has a fair shake at economic well being, and gained companions who would thankfully welcome

him into their home and at their table. The manager let go of his old way of living in the world, he didn’Äôt try to re-create a life that wasn’Äôt working after he was fired, but he stepped into a new way of life. We can find our place at the table when we are shrewd.

I asked this question in the beginning of my sermon: what did the manager see or understand differently than those around him? What puzzle did he confront? What was hidden? What did the manager expose? What made him shrewd?

Through keen awareness, sharp intelligence, and clear sense of the practical, the manager exposed the invitation to practice generosity, graciousness and hospitality. The manager

exposed his place at the table. A crisis situation unveiled his new purpose, his new identity. The guy got fired, securing hospitality became his answer to the crisis and,

in turn, he lived out the dream not of economic might but he lived out God’Äôs dream of

equality and justice.

Maybe we should all get fired?

The manager revealed, whether he knew it or not, that his life belonged to God, and if he belonged to God then the direction of his life wouldn’Äôt be directed towards working for the rich man. To show he belonged to God, the man became a servant of those most in debt. Our manager friend confronted an economic system that was working well for one person but was pretty lousy for the economically vulnerable. I’Äôm not sure this was his intention, but for us, the manager also makes the connection between justice and hospitality. The manager revealed the then hidden nature of God’Äôs vision’Äîthe home,

specifically the home of a poor, indebted one, is the starting point for economic justice and well being.

Before engaging in this parable, I usually associated shrewd with a negative energy. Not any more.

One aspect I really love about this parable is the ’Äúwin-win’Äù nature of the manager’Äôs actions. It appears that everyone ’Äúwins’Äù in this parable. In the manager’Äôs quest to secure the ancient practice of hospitality for his own life, he saved himself. The manager secured that he would be welcomed by others. The debtors ’Äúwon’Äù because the man created a framework for them to practice hospitality and they had less debt to pay back. I’Äôd like to think that the rich man came out a winner in all of this, too. He witnessed the actions of the manager. He commended the actions of the manager. One could presuppose that the actions of the shrewd manager taught the rich man something about wealth’Äîwho had access to it, who didn’Äôt and it would be irresponsible not to do anything about the inequality.

Unpacking this puzzle, revealing the hidden nature of God’Äôs vision, hopefully had implications for the rich man, not just for the poor debtors. I’Äôd like to think the rich man

was made a better person out of all of this, too.

Shrewd: unusual power to see through and understand what is puzzling or hidden;

keen awareness, sharp intelligence, and often a sense of the practical.

The Washington Post Metro section on Friday reported that two successful Montgomery County developers were beaming during a recent rooftop celebration for their new office building in Germantown. Their pride and joy? Small, unremarkable plants that will soon carpet the roof and provide a way to capture and filter rainwater. The Post reported that the developers aren't your typical tree-huggers. The article states that the tiny forest of plants that the developers hope take root alongside the bulky air-conditioning unit and ventilation chimneys will form the basis of the requisite storm water management system.

The cost, they said, was relatively minimal. The benefits, they hope, will be immense. The tax breaks and waived building fees? Significant.

This is shrewd like behavior. These two developers used their power to look at a puzzle, a problem, and unpack it with keen awareness, sharp intelligence and a sense of the practical.

This is a win-win solution. The building wins. The people working in the building win.

The Earth wins. The developers win. Shrewd.

These two developers seized an opportunity to be shrewd. The manager in the Luke story did the same. Being shrewd doesn’Äôt always come naturally. We need to develop our capacity for shrewdness.  So we are going to practice being shrewd like today, right now.

During our sabbatical time over the summer I had several sermons where I asked you to turn to your neighbor and reflect on something. You might have thought

those would end with the sabbatical. Nope. Sorry!

If we are going to develop our capacity for shrewdness, we need a puzzle. Here it is and it comes to us from the agenda of WIN, the Washington Interfaith Network:

You can’Äôt go 2 blocks without seeing luxury condos being built in D.C. If you go more than 2 blocks, you might say to yourself, ’ÄúI wonder when that building will become luxury condos?’Äù We are in crisis mode when it comes to affordable housing in the District. In D.C. there is something called the ’Äúright of refusal.’Äù When the conversion

of affordable housing and luxury condo issue is pressed upon a building, two options are available. A landlord of a building with affordable units can offer the low income tenants a large lump sum, like $40,000, to move out. If low income tenants move out, the landlord can then take over the units, convert to luxury condos and get rich. Or, the other option, the tenants can organize themselves, buy the building and keep their condos affordable.

The "right" was created by the city to help and encourage renters to buy their apartments and build equity. Instead, many tenants "sell" their right to their landlord for a quick buck, and the city is loosing affordable housing in the process. What the city wants to do is create a law that if the tenants aren’Äôt interested in buying their units, the city can buy the units and, in turn, preserve affordable housing.

So’Ķ..the puzzle’Ķ. How to you balance the two competing interests? How do we balance the interests of low-income residents and their choice to take the lump sum of cash to build their personal wealth vs. the city and its need to preserve affordable housing? How do we make this a win-win situation?

How do we act shrewdly to balance the needs of low income tenants ($40,000 when you can’Äôt pay your electric bill?) vs. the needs of the city to a responsible moral agent and keep affordable housing alive?

Take out your index card. Turn to your neighbor and gather in groups of 2-3.Act shrewdly. Figure out this puzzle of balancing the financial interests of low income tenants vs. the city’Äôs need to keep affordable housing.

Gather in a group now. I’Äôll give you a few minutes to be shrewd. 

Find a good place to stop. Keep your card. I’Äôll pick it up during our next hymn.

Be thankful that God calls us to be shrewd. It’Äôs only one syllable but it can let you taste God’Äôs power and longing for the world.

Let us pray. For words that direct us to justice. For lives based on acting for justice. For developing our own capacity for being shrewd for the sake of your world, we give you thanks, Holy One. Amen. ✞

Sharon Ringe, Luke. Westminster Bible Commentary. Louisville: Kentucky, 1995.

Ibid.  

© 2007 Ashley Goff