“A Strange Mercy”
(Luke 16:1-13)
The Greenhouse ~ 14th Sunday after Trinity
In Luke 16, Jesus tells a somewhat confusing parable about a dishonest manager. In fact, many commentators have struggled to make sense of this parable at all, or at least wonder why it shows up where it does. In some ways, the master’s acceptance of and praise for the manager’s shrewd and shady business dealings seems very unlike the God of justice and holiness. Yet, I think when we explore the parable, we find below the surface something very much like the nature of God: namely, His abundant mercy.
Let’s quickly summarize the parable again. The manger is fired for mishandling his master’s possessions, but before the firing is public, he goes and tries to make friends by lessening the debt that several of the master’s debtors owe. His notion seems to be that when he is finally turned away from the master’s house, he will have friends who will help him in his time of need. Although the act itself is dishonest, the master praises the manager for his shrewdness (v. 8). It certainly is a quick-thinking, creative move to save his own skin. Shrewd, we might say, but the Bible uses the word φρόνιμος (phronimos), meaning wise or prudent. But Jesus, while praising “shrewdness,” does not praise dishonesty, as becomes clear in the verses that follow, which I think are important to the context in helping us understand this parable.[1] We will look at those in a moment.
Two distinct yet equally valuable lessons come to us in this passage. First, the parable puts a significant emphasis on mercy. Second, the following verses, placing this parable in context, tells us something valuable about how we should live the Christian life, namely faithfulness.
First, mercy. Eugene Peterson points out in his book, Tell It Slant, how the shrewd manager recognizes a measure of the master’s mercy and chooses to double-down, risking everything upon that mercy.[2] He points out how the manager’s dealings have been found out by the master, but the master merely fires him—he does not throw him into prison, though he had every right to do so. This is the first act of mercy. Recognizing this mercy, the manager decides to put it to the test. If he is wrong about the extent of the master’s mercy, he will certainly go to prison for what he does next. But if he is right about the master’s mercy, then he may very well avoid the desperate days that appear to be his immediate future. So, he quickly seeks out the debtors to the master, asks them their debts, and tells them to write it out for less. He must appear as though he is still acting upon the master’s wishes, and he apparently succeeds. Now, if the master were to go back to his debtors and tell them the manager had played a trick on them, he would seem harsh in rewriting the debt for the correct amount, even though he would be just in doing so. Rather, the manager provides an opportunity for the master to be seen as generous and merciful, while also himself as appearing to be the one who helped broker this reduction in debt, making him a friend to the debtors in his time of need. The master recognizes the shrewdness of the business dealings; but he perhaps also recognizes the prudence of the manager’s decision to rely upon a merciful and generous master to continue to act mercifully and generously. Thus, one of the key themes of this story is mercy, and what could have been understood as a strange connection between this master and God is now more understandable in light of the focus on abundant mercy. A strange, but wonderful, mercy.
Second, faithfulness. In Luke 16:10, Jesus makes one of his well-known statements, though it is rarely heard in the context of this story. Jesus says, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” The shrewd manager is of course dishonest, and this helps clarify that Jesus does not condone his actions. Jesus instead calls for his followers to be faithful in the little things that they may be trusted with the big things. Jesus teaches similarly in Matthew 25, another parable about handling the master’s wealth. In that parable, two of the three servants take what the master gives them and bear fruit with it, but the third hides the talent out of fear of the master. This third servant is called wicked and slothful, but the first two servants receive the praise that all Jesus’ followers hope to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
These two passages, Luke 16 and Matthew 25, demonstrate how important it is for Jesus’ followers to be faithful in little things. So often we want to be entrusted with great responsibility, but the way we have handled the little things betrays our inadequacy. If we aspire to be entrusted with big things (and this can be a good aspiration if done in humility), then we need to begin by being faithful in the little things. If we think we are too important for the little things, then we prove we are not mature enough for the big things. If we don’t discipline ourselves to take care in the little things, then we should not be given care of the big things. When Paul instructs Timothy about elders, he doesn’t look for people who are rich, powerful, or smart; instead, he tells him potential elders must manage their own households well. If one can’t manage a household well, then one can’t shepherd the people of God. Look for those who are faithful in smaller things, then make them responsible for larger things.
B. B. Warfield expounds upon this idea well in his wonderful essay, The Religious Life of Theological Students. Warfield writes: “You cannot build up a religious life except you begin by performing faithfully your simple, daily duties. It is not the question of whether you like these duties. […] No religious character can be built up on the foundation of neglected duty.”[3] When it comes to our daily Christian life, faithfulness in any little matter, whether we like it or not, is evidence of Christian character. If we lack discipline in these small matters, other believers should be asking us about the state of our heart, our relationship with Christ, and should not be trusting us with big responsibilities. Remember, Jesus himself taught that he who is faithful with little will be faithful with much. So be faithful in the little things set before you, that you might prove yourself as one who will be faithful with much.
We have before us, then, a somewhat strange parable about mercy and a well-known proverb regarding faithfulness in the little things. Together they present us with a somewhat strange, but powerful, message of mercy and faithfulness. The question we are left to work out, is how we can be both shrewd and faithful, or as Jesus puts it in Matthew 10, “shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” It starts by relying on the mercy of God, for unless we recognize that God’s love towards us is unwarranted and unearned, and unless we recognize that God’s kindness towards us exceeds beyond all measures of understanding, we will never succeed in balancing shrewdness and faithfulness. To be faithful requires that we see everything that we do as an act of worship, that obedience in any task is never too small to be important. Likewise, to be shrewd is to recognize the dealings of the world, to know the subtle ways the world operates, and to operate within in that world, yet to do so without manipulation and dishonesty. Both in our faithfulness and in our shrewdness, we must trust in the mysterious, beautiful, and indeed strange mercy of God.
Discussion Questions
In Matthew 10:16, Jesus says, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd/wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.” What do you think this means, and how does this parable clarify or extend that idea?
What are some ways that we can show mercy? How can we learn to receive mercy?
What are some examples of little things that require faithfulness that give us confidence that someone can be trusted with bigger things?
[1]That Jesus praises shrewdness is made clear also in Matthew 10:16: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd (φρόνιμος) as serpents and as innocent as doves.”
[2]See “The Rascal: Luke 16:1-9” in Eugene Peterson, Tell It Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 99-108
[3]B. B. Warfield, The Religious Life of Theological Students (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1983), 5. Emphasis added.
Feature Image Credit: Rembrandt, The Centurion Cornelius (The Unmerciful Servant), Netherlands
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