Matt's Sermon from Sunday
Matt Kruger
September 23, 2007
Today’s gospel reading is a parable, a specific genre of literature, with specific qualities that grant it this definition. In order to be a parable, the story must be a didactic tool, that is, it must have a moral or theological message. Parables must also include rhetorical structures, which are portions of a parable that should not inform the way we act. These are metaphorical elements used to illustrate a larger point, and not intended to function on a micro level. And then there are the practical elements that serve as models for the way we live; these can be interpreted in a more literal sense. The sum of all these elements, a parable should be a story that illustrates a larger truth using examples of impractical and practical action while making a theological or moral comment about the world as a whole.
Because I have this definition and these categories on hand, today’s Gospel should have become at once clear to me. Yet, after having read this parable close to fifty times, I am still not sure what is going on here. I have been to the library, and found nothing consistent from any commentator, ancient or new. Apparently, figuring out what the moral or theological message of this story is has proved to be a difficult task.
One problem is that almost every interpreter of this parable is convinced that it is about money, despite the precedent for understanding references to wealth in a metaphorical sense in other parables and throughout the Bible. This limits the possibilities for interpretation, and also makes this already confusing parable even more unappealing to preach on. But I am not convinced this parable has anything to do with money.
First of all, this parable matches the structure of two others. The first is the parable of the unforgiving servant, which begins, “The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.” In this parable, a king summons a slave who owes him 10,000 denarii, and when the slave begs for mercy, the king grants him more time to pay back the debt. This man then runs into another slave who owes him 100 denarii, and when the man is unable to pay, the slave who has already been granted a stay throws the other into prison until he can pay back his debt. The second is the parable of the talents, which includes this verse, “After a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.” In this parable, a master gives three of his slaves an amount of money, one 5 talents, one two talents, and to the other, one talent. The first two slaves double their money by investing, while the other buries his so that he does not risk losing it. The first of these is about forgiveness, and the second, depending on your interpretation, is about faith or even about literal skills and gifts. By induction, each of these parables can be applied to money, but that is not their main moral or theological message.
Today’s parable can be understood as parallel with these two others, and we can therefore understand the characters as representing similar people. In one interpretation, that would make the master in each of these parables God, and the stewards or servants of God us. In each of these parables, God grants us certain things as the stewards of God’s creation that we can use either in the service of God or for selfish purposes. This is the case with the steward in today’s parable. Though he is supposed to be in the service of God, he is not; interpreting metaphorically, he is a sinner. Eventually, he is warned by God that his account is due, in my interpretation it means that he will be called to account for his actions. A common theological conception of the way the universe worked at that point in time is that all those who die, either at the time of death, or during a later apocalyptic period will be called to answer for their sins. In the temporal sense, the steward recognizes that he is in jeopardy of losing an earthly home, and wishes to avoid this. Thus, the steward acts in a manner that is both sinful and generous to ensure that he is not without a place to live. Though this action is self serving and selfish and seems only to continue the illicit practices the dishonest steward has begun, it has just a tinge of mercy attached to it, and this is enough. Though the servant is only trying to save himself, by forgiving the debts of those indebted to his master, he is acting in kindness, and he is worthy of reward.
The parable continues “And his master commended the dishonest manager,” but the Greek text actually reads “the lord commended the dishonest manager,” where the word “lord” can refer either to the lord of the manor or to Jesus himself complimenting the actions of the steward. I would argue that this sentence is intentionally vague, and in fact refers both to the lord in the story and to Jesus, because the actions are shrewd both in terms of this world and the kingdom of heaven.
This parable pulls at our human conceptions of justice. We are told a little later in the reading, “Whoever is faithful in a very little, is also faithful in much. And whoever is dishonest in very little is dishonest also in much.” This would mean that the dishonest steward, who is dishonest in much, is by virtue of his indirect yet faithful service towards God also faithful in much. He is an unjust person and a righteous person, a sinner and an individual who is already enjoying his salvation in a lived way. His indiscretions were not marked in stone, but when he forgives the debts of others, he himself is forgiven.
This is a reminder of the prayer we say every Sunday. “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” I would argue that this parable has little to do with money, and that it has only been interpreted as such as a result of being grouped by Luke with the second half of today’s Gospel reading. This parable is about forgiving others not out of fear of the afterlife, but that you may live peacefully in the present time as well. This parable is tinged with an eschatological urgency, not because of the imminence of the end times or because death is near, but because salvation is present in the here and now, and to hold onto the debts of others is to hold yourself from your own realization of the kingdom of heaven on earth.
September 23, 2007
Today’s gospel reading is a parable, a specific genre of literature, with specific qualities that grant it this definition. In order to be a parable, the story must be a didactic tool, that is, it must have a moral or theological message. Parables must also include rhetorical structures, which are portions of a parable that should not inform the way we act. These are metaphorical elements used to illustrate a larger point, and not intended to function on a micro level. And then there are the practical elements that serve as models for the way we live; these can be interpreted in a more literal sense. The sum of all these elements, a parable should be a story that illustrates a larger truth using examples of impractical and practical action while making a theological or moral comment about the world as a whole.
Because I have this definition and these categories on hand, today’s Gospel should have become at once clear to me. Yet, after having read this parable close to fifty times, I am still not sure what is going on here. I have been to the library, and found nothing consistent from any commentator, ancient or new. Apparently, figuring out what the moral or theological message of this story is has proved to be a difficult task.
One problem is that almost every interpreter of this parable is convinced that it is about money, despite the precedent for understanding references to wealth in a metaphorical sense in other parables and throughout the Bible. This limits the possibilities for interpretation, and also makes this already confusing parable even more unappealing to preach on. But I am not convinced this parable has anything to do with money.
First of all, this parable matches the structure of two others. The first is the parable of the unforgiving servant, which begins, “The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.” In this parable, a king summons a slave who owes him 10,000 denarii, and when the slave begs for mercy, the king grants him more time to pay back the debt. This man then runs into another slave who owes him 100 denarii, and when the man is unable to pay, the slave who has already been granted a stay throws the other into prison until he can pay back his debt. The second is the parable of the talents, which includes this verse, “After a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.” In this parable, a master gives three of his slaves an amount of money, one 5 talents, one two talents, and to the other, one talent. The first two slaves double their money by investing, while the other buries his so that he does not risk losing it. The first of these is about forgiveness, and the second, depending on your interpretation, is about faith or even about literal skills and gifts. By induction, each of these parables can be applied to money, but that is not their main moral or theological message.
Today’s parable can be understood as parallel with these two others, and we can therefore understand the characters as representing similar people. In one interpretation, that would make the master in each of these parables God, and the stewards or servants of God us. In each of these parables, God grants us certain things as the stewards of God’s creation that we can use either in the service of God or for selfish purposes. This is the case with the steward in today’s parable. Though he is supposed to be in the service of God, he is not; interpreting metaphorically, he is a sinner. Eventually, he is warned by God that his account is due, in my interpretation it means that he will be called to account for his actions. A common theological conception of the way the universe worked at that point in time is that all those who die, either at the time of death, or during a later apocalyptic period will be called to answer for their sins. In the temporal sense, the steward recognizes that he is in jeopardy of losing an earthly home, and wishes to avoid this. Thus, the steward acts in a manner that is both sinful and generous to ensure that he is not without a place to live. Though this action is self serving and selfish and seems only to continue the illicit practices the dishonest steward has begun, it has just a tinge of mercy attached to it, and this is enough. Though the servant is only trying to save himself, by forgiving the debts of those indebted to his master, he is acting in kindness, and he is worthy of reward.
The parable continues “And his master commended the dishonest manager,” but the Greek text actually reads “the lord commended the dishonest manager,” where the word “lord” can refer either to the lord of the manor or to Jesus himself complimenting the actions of the steward. I would argue that this sentence is intentionally vague, and in fact refers both to the lord in the story and to Jesus, because the actions are shrewd both in terms of this world and the kingdom of heaven.
This parable pulls at our human conceptions of justice. We are told a little later in the reading, “Whoever is faithful in a very little, is also faithful in much. And whoever is dishonest in very little is dishonest also in much.” This would mean that the dishonest steward, who is dishonest in much, is by virtue of his indirect yet faithful service towards God also faithful in much. He is an unjust person and a righteous person, a sinner and an individual who is already enjoying his salvation in a lived way. His indiscretions were not marked in stone, but when he forgives the debts of others, he himself is forgiven.
This is a reminder of the prayer we say every Sunday. “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” I would argue that this parable has little to do with money, and that it has only been interpreted as such as a result of being grouped by Luke with the second half of today’s Gospel reading. This parable is about forgiving others not out of fear of the afterlife, but that you may live peacefully in the present time as well. This parable is tinged with an eschatological urgency, not because of the imminence of the end times or because death is near, but because salvation is present in the here and now, and to hold onto the debts of others is to hold yourself from your own realization of the kingdom of heaven on earth.
posted by Matt at 10:29 AM
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