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MEET THE MANAGER-oikonomos; the person to whom was entrusted the
transactions of all usual business in the management of a landowner’s estate. The
manager here would not just be a head-servant placed in charge of the household staff (as
in 12:42), but a trained, trusted, and duly empowered agent of the master. Managers of
estates, such as this character was, were able to act in the name of the master in
transactions with third parties (e.g. the renting of plots of ground to tenant-farmers,
the making of loans against a harvest, the liquidation of debts, the keeping of accounts
of all such transactions). According to accepted practice, such an agent, however, often
lent his master’s property in promissory notes or bonds. The notes or bonds
frequently mentioned only the amount owed, i.e. the principal plus the interest. This
custom was widespread in the ancient eastern Mediterranean world, such as Egypt,
Palestine, Syria, Assyria, and Babylonia.
ANOTHER POSSIBLE MEANING FOR THIS PARABLE:
The life of a disciple is one of faithful
attention to the frequent and familiar tasks of each day, however small and insignificant
they may seem. The one faithful in today’s nickels and dimes is the one to be
entrusted with the big account, but it is easy to be indifferent toward small obligations
while quite sincerely believing oneself fully trustworthy in major matters . . . life
consists of a series of seemingly small opportunities. Most of us will not this week
christen a ship, write a book, end a war, appoint a cabinet, dine with the queen, convert
a nation, or be burned at the stake . . . More likely the week will present no more than a
chance to give a cup of water, write a note, visit a nursing home, vote for a county
commissioner, teach a Sunday school class, share a meal, tell a child a story, go to choir
practice, and feed the neighbor’s cat . . . ‘whoever is faithful in a very
little is faithful also in much" (verse 10).
connections
My first reaction to this passage is one of panic. What is this
Jesus saying? How can this conniving, cheating, sneaky number-cruncher character become
the hero of the story? Instead of doing ten to twenty in the jail, Jesus awards him the
Nobel Peace Prize for pioneer work in business ethics.
How do you view your money? ___mine; keep your hands off? ___I
owe, I owe, it’s off to work I go? ___It’s God’s, I just manage it for him?
gambits
Hopefully, these bullets will play with some of the ideas in this
parable and enable you to think about the words in some helpful ways.
A difficult passage indeed. What is the plain meaning of this parable? What is Jesus
teaching? It might be instructive and humorous to have several persons from your church
hear or read the parable and then to try to give the meaning of the parable. How many
different answers would you get?
In what way/s is this swindler a model for Christians or the Church?
What does this parable tell or teach us about God? The Kingdom of God?
What’s the point? According to one commentary, "the parable is not a warning
against the destructive nature of riches, or an approval of the dishonesty of the manager,
or an approval of any falsification of accounts." Phew! That’s a relief!
"The master’s approval bears on the prudence of the manager who realized how
best to use what material possessions were his to ensure his future security . . . The
‘dishonest manager’ thus becomes a model for Christian disciples because of his
prudence . . . Faced with a crisis, he judged prudently how to copy with it."
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A CRY OF DESPERATION - This psalm is a communal lament or simply, a cry
of desperation. Thinly veiled is the cataclysmic and disastrous experience of the sacking
of Jerusalem and the exile in 587 bce. What makes this psalm especially jarring is its
juxtaposition with the preceding psalm. In that psalm-a Zion/David theology has Israel
being led out under the care of God the Shepherd. That theology is now broken and will
need a rethinking of the role of suffering in the life of God’s people.
DEFILED - Verses 1-5 graphically depict the desecration and destruction by the people
of Jerusalem. The words, "defiled" and "holy" suggest the desecration
of Israel’s purity-the Temple. God’s place has become defiled. Then the unburied
bodies would have added insult to injury (cf. 2 Kgs. 23:16) which suggests the shame of
defeat and heavenly judgment.
SUFFERING AS A SIGN -
The temptation is to view suffering in one of
two extremes among those who trust God: to view suffering a sign of God’s
weakness-God no longer rules-or as a sign of God’s punishment-God is forever angry.
Yet in the face of catastrophic suffering, the psalmist continues to affirm . . . It opens
the way to an embrace of suffering as something other than an indication of alienation
from God . . . In short, the psalmist’s affirmation in the face of adversity prepares
the way for a time when a cross-the emblem of suffering and shame-will become a symbol of
power and grace, the ultimate answer to the question, ‘Where is God?’
connections
If you faced the tragic death of hostage and you were allowed to
say last words or have a last request, how would you respond?
How would you react if the events recorded in this psalm were happening in your church
or community? Has distress ever given your family or church community the opportunity to
pull together?
gambits
Part of what this psalm does is to evoke the pathos of people who
have been defiled, whose holy place has been desecrated, a nation that has been exiled
from their country of origin.
A homily on this particular psalm may seek to replicate at least a bit of that pathos.
To do that you might consider several options: (1) recall a specific face, name, family in
a land that shares some of the deep sadness that this psalm reflects; e.g. a refugee
family that you’ve read about in a magazine, the book about a people besieged by war,
a movie that reveals the struggle of a people politically, socially, or economically. (2)
share a story that you’ve personally participated in that involves assisting a family
or helping people to rebuild in the wake of a hurricane or mudslide; (3) retell the
story-having reviewed the history of the fall of Jerusalem carefully-so that listeners can
also read between the lines and visualize the pathos of the psalm.
Move to the petition part of the psalm (vv. 9-11) as a way to encourage folks to look
to God in all situations.
Suggest how suffering can be understood not as punishment nor as weakness, but as a
part of human experience. Yet in the suffering we can meet the God is no stranger to
suffering and can pray our petitions for help to one who has been touched with our
infirmaries.
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PRAYING FOR AUTHORITIES - The writer uses four terms to describe the
worshiping community at prayer: supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings
(v. 1). According to Origen, Christians are called to (1) make earnest requests (deeseis)
for help amid personal needs; (2) make humble entreaties (proseuchas) for whatever
is beneficial; (3) offer petitions / intercessions (enteuxeis) for each other as
needs are perceived; and (4) give thanks (eucharistias) for blessings received.
GEOPOLITICAL PRAYER - This passage keeps us from being myopic in our praying. Since
Christ offered himself up for all, so the church’s prayers are lifted up for all and
not just for the needs of our community. The implications of the passage suggests that we
seek to become aware of our own world events and leaders so that we can pray with some
level of authentic awareness and larger viewpoint than just those in our pews.
WHY EARLY CHRISTIANS PRAYED FOR LEADERS -
The situation envisaged was nothing like the
modern Western democracy . . . it was rather, the situation familiar to Diaspora (and
Palestinian) Jews for most of their history-the struggle to secure and maintain a foothold
within a hostile environment, where political authorities would always tend to be
suspicious of the little house groups whose legal status was at best ambiguous . . .
connections
How closely do these ancient instructions on worship fit with
your present worship order?
How often do you personally pray for the leaders of your country? ___once a year
___every day ___occasionally in church ___never
What worship attitudes do you want to cultivate from the instructions on worship that
are in vv. 1-15? Which ones would you not want to add? Why?
gambits
Begin the homily by recreating the context for these instructions
on worship and especially the focus on prayer. Walk through the text and describe the
nuances of meaning between the four types of prayer mentioned.
Include in your homily someone (or several) who have a different country of origin to
share a brief account of how Christianity progresses in their country. How can we pray for
them?
Encourage your listeners to pray for their leaders-especially in light of the coming
election 2004.
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NIB ON THIS PASSAGE -
The anthropomorphic imagery of Scripture comes
into play here in indirect fashion as we are given a picture of a listening God . . . Such
imagery suggests several points:
The first idea this imagery suggests is the openness of God to human need and to
human appeals. This is something for which God actively listens. It is the particular
"wavelength" to which God is attuned.
Second, this text suggests that at least one of the things for which God listens is
the confession of those who have done wrong, the repentant cry, "We have
sinned." Jeremiah makes us aware that God’s urgency may be about repentance and
the prayers that say to God, "What have I done?!" with as much fervor as
"What have you done?!"
Third, the responsiveness of God is such that the divine intention can be affected
and even altered by words of confession and repentance. Indeed, most of the examples of
God’s change of mind in Scripture have to do with the Lord’s decision not to
bring judgment when the community has sinned greatly. In either case, there is a
willingness, if not a strong desire, on God’s part to avert judgment. But the divine
action is not apart from what is happening on the human scene.
connections
The opening words reflect deep internal anguish over a
relationship. Can you name moments in which such human anguish is felt?
Vignettes of divorce
A personal story of deep anguish, loss, or moment of being wounded
Lovers quarrel that leaves two people "sick at heart"
A family member leaving home in a huff
gambits
I would listen to this text along with Psalm 79 since both speak
to deep sorrow and ruin. But what is especially helpful in the Jeremiah text is that we
observe a rare glimpse of the God who hurts deeply for the people who have been
devastated.
Recall moments of such anguish from media and culture, even personal experience and
then juxtapose that with the biblical passage so that we can better understand the
passage.
Shift to the hope that we find in Jeremiah and hold that up for listeners to see.
A final shift could go to the Christ-event where God actually bleeds and hurts deeply
as he completely identifies with hurting humanity in the great sacrificial moment of the
Cross.
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