Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
It’s harvest time in the Yakima Valley. Right now they’re harvesting hops. Brewers send their managers a long way to be there now. They are commissioned to commit to exclusive contracts to get the most desirable hops, now and in future years.
Imagine you buy hops for a brewer, or a brewer’s agent. If the crop comes in, you’re all set.
But what if you’re caught up short? Say, 80 measures short, for this year’s batch of brewing? You need to make arrangements.
And the manager for another supplier steps in. Tell you what, he says. I’ll fix you up now if you fix me up later. I’ll let you have 80 measures from this year’s harvest, on account; you give me 100 from next. OK?
You’re over a barrel. It’s not fair dealing. It’s twice the going rate. But what can you do? So you sign the I.O.U.
It’s a tidy profit for that other manager’s company...or maybe the manager, on the Q.T., takes this as a side business…
Next year is coming. What if you can’t make good? It’s a lot of hops!
And then in the meantime something happens. The other supplier finds out that his manager (agent) has been squandering - mismanaging - his business. So he calls him to account.
That “manager of dishonesty” - that unjust steward - is going to be out of a job, and soon. So he acts now to secure his future well-being.
Take your IOU back, he says, and write it up for 80 instead of 100.
Is that legal? Does the owner know? Is this guy your new best friend? Are you really going to ask these questions? How could you pass up this deal?
And so in this way the shrewd (but dishonest) steward makes a place for himself, if not in the hearts, then in the books, of those owing his master.
Maybe he’ll become an industry consultant. Whatever.
The owner then does a surprising thing. He praises the dishonest steward - for one thing: his shrewd dealing.
The dishonest steward has foregone short-term interest for long-term security. Good - for him.
What do we make of this?
Luke offers some lessons to ponder.
What do we do with what is entrusted to us? And when do we recognize that we are not owners, only stewards, and that an accounting will be due from us?
How do we use the resources entrusted to us - the opportunities for kindness, the chances for charity, the days and nights when the well-being of others is in our hands?
Are we aware of the earth as a wealth of resources loaned to us on easy terms? Perhaps not: the Arctic ice pack is on the way to a new low; the forests are wasting away - due to fire, insect, and overeager harvesting. The water in the Colorado is overcommitted - there’s not enough to go around the states in the pipeline, much less Mexico.
At the end of the reading Luke quotes a saying of Jesus: no servant can be a slave to two masters. That gets us on track for the big question: Where do you look for security?
When you’re anxious for tomorrow - what shall I eat, what shall I wear, will there be a roof over my head - to whom do you turn?
Who would you serve? Who would you be willing to indebt yourself to, if you were in a jam - like that brewer’s agent in Yakima? Would you let yourself become a servant to wealth? To ill-gotten gain? To the American idol we call prosperity, the tempting god of wealth we are so drawn to worship - under the name of Mammon, or just plain money?
You’ve gotta serve somebody!
And no servant can be a slave to two masters…
Whom shall you serve? Where will your security lie? Will you be a slave in a payday loan shark’s pocket? Trapped in high-interest loans?
That new best friend is happy to fix you up - but he’ll be back to collect.
Or do we serve the Lord?
Justice, mercy, peace - these are the heavenly things of the ultimate harvest time. These are what is due the master when collections are due. These are the fruits of the harvest that we will rejoice in tomorrow - if we invest our hearts, and our hands, and our lives’ well-being, today.
If we prepare the ground, nourish the growth, and let the Spirit go to work, we will be in at the harvest. Rejoicing - not sorrowing. Glad.
Congratulations, you poor!
God’s domain belong to you.
Congratulations, you hungry!
You will have a feast.
Congratulations, you who weep now.
You will laugh.
(Luke 6:20b-21)
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2016 September 18
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