Three stories with a common theme.

Kingdom
Once upon a time there was a kingdom. This was not a perfect kingdom to be sure. Slavery was common; warring with other nation-states the norm. But it was a godly kingdom. The people aspired to follow the Lord their God with all their –

heart,
soul,
mind.

Every seven years this kingdom practiced a year of Sabbath. It was a year in which all agricultural activity ceased. Plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting were forbidden. Only preventative measures like watering, fertilizing, weeding were done. Considered respite for both land and people; the year was a chance to –

heal,
be reenergized,
grow.

And any fruits or vegetables that grew on their own that year? They could be picked and consumed by anyone. For in this kingdom God’s bounty was available for all.

After seven cycles of these seven Sabbath years, during year 50, the kingdom people would do even more. Called the Jubilee, or Year of Release, Jewish law dictated that all –

Debt be forgiven.
Slaves be liberated.
Prisoners be set free.

Even more, all property was to be returned to whom it originally belonged.
It was a –

grand resetting of wealth.
flattening of who is who.

As a result –
The rich found themselves less so.
The poor now had means.

Experiencing Jubilee couldn’t help but be celebrated as so many people found themselves newly free.

Hope began to emerge.

Perhaps farmers can now buy seed.
Perhaps they can purchase a herd.
Perhaps they can become more financially secure.

Perhaps.
Perhaps.
Perhaps.

For so much more was now possible than before.

Manager
Once upon a time there was a manager. The manager had what was, to him at least, a very important job. His boss owned a vast farmland. The manager oversaw it. The manager’s task was clear: maximize the profit that comes from the land. Wealth accumulation, for the owner, was the goal. All else mattered less. The manager was quite good at his job. At least initially. Over time the landowner became rich. The manager benefitted from it too.

It was an arrangement that worked well for them both.
It was an arrangement that soon would end.

For the manager’s performance began to slip. At least that’s what people said. Charged with not accumulating wealth as well as he could, the landowner, wanting better returns, took action.

You’re fired.
Hand over your files.
Be gone.

Newly unemployed, the manager naturally worried. What next? He was –

too weak to dig.
too proud to beg.

What would he do?

The manager realized it was time –

to change.
to make new friends.

New friends that might help him when times were tough.

But who would he turn to?
What did he have to offer?

All the manager knew was connected to this land.

Perhaps he could do something for the people that farmed it.
People that, until recently, he had happily extracted money from.

Because that was, after all, what the manager had been compensated to do.

The tenant farmers, as was the norm in this era, paid an exorbitant rent to the rich man. All for the right to work the land. The tenant farmers also bought what they needed from the company store. The harvest was rarely enough to pay both rent and the store.

Over time the farmers fell deeper and deeper in debt.

It was an unjust system.
It was a never-ending cycle,

That continued, from –

One season,
to the next,
to the next,
to the next.

Unless something changed,
within the system itself,
this cycle of poverty,
for the farmers would not end.

Then an idea! The manager knew what he could do.

Gathering the indebted farmers – not telling them his employment status had changed – the manager spoke with them one by one.

How much do you owe?
100 jugs of olive oil.
Make it 50.
We’ll call it good.

And how much for you?
100 containers of wheat.
Make it 80.
We’ll write off the rest.

Down the line the manager went, forgiving a portion of debt for anyone he could find.

It was a resetting of wealth.
A flattening of who is who.

The rich landowner found himself less so.
The tenant farmers now had some means.

And the manager?

He who had only served wealth,
Now served the people.

The manager,
by their actions,
had changed.

Because of their actions the newly freed farmers couldn’t help but feel relief.

Hope began to emerge.

Perhaps they could now repay other debts.
Perhaps they could buy seed.
Perhaps they could purchase a herd.

Perhaps, the farmers could now imagine, they could one day even purchase land of their own.

Perhaps.
Perhaps.
Perhaps.

For so much more was now possible than before.

Country
Once upon a time there was a country. This was not a perfect country. Inequalities based on race, gender, sometimes even who you love were still the norm. But it was a country with Christians. Lots of them. Taken together these Christians were a people of faith aspiring to follow the Lord their God with all their –

heart,
soul,
mind.

The country valued education. But they didn’t always value educators. And at times the country struggled to make college education more affordable for all. Soon costs began to spiral upward. Which required students take more and more loans out by the day.

Students paid significant sums to lenders – both in principal and interest – for the right to a degree. So much so there was not always enough to pay for housing and food too.

Over time the students-turned-workers fell deeper and deeper in debt. The possibility of digging themselves out of this mess by themselves grew dim.

But then an idea! The country knew what they could do.

We can forgive students their debts! For some all. For others at least some.

The students-turned workers were thrilled. Many others cheered for their fellow citizens, happy for their newfound freedom. But not all cheered.

The students-turned-workers couldn’t help but feel relief.

Hope began to emerge.

Perhaps they could now repay other debts.
Perhaps they could better care for their kids.
Perhaps they could purchase a home of their own.

Perhaps.
Perhaps.
Perhaps.

For so much more was now possible than before.

Close
Today’s text is the Parable of the Shrewd Manager. In it Jesus praises a newly unemployed man who both –

rips off his boss (the rich landowner), while
freeing people from the shackles of their debt.

What a way to exit your old job.

To say clergy often struggle on how to preach this is an understatement. No less than St. Augustine is said to have remarked, “I can’t believe this story came from the lips of our Lord!”

Yet here it sits. In our –

scripture,
lectionary,
churches today.

What to do.

This passage from Luke shares elements with the story of Jewish Jubilee. And it provides the underpinnings of how we might respond to current headlines too.

It is human nature to –

worship our riches.
focus on always gaining more.
prioritize money above all else.

When we do it causes others very real harm.

As our Fall stewardship season heats up it’s worth considering how we might respond.

To serve God is to serve God’s people.
To serve God is to forgive debts.
To serve God is to give back to those with less.

Whether or not we believe they deserve it.

You cannot serve both God and wealth.
You need to pick just one.
On this Christ is crystal clear.

Every day we must choose. Amen.