True Riches

September 22, 2019 | In this weeks reading from Luke’s gospel, we hear the story of a rich man who hears rumours that his manager is squandering his resources. This news alarms him so he calls him in to address this issue, threatening to fire him. The manager is desperate. He has no other options. Losing a job would be tantamount to losing any hope of income. And so, he decides to quickly craft a plan. He calls in all of those who are indebted to his master and lowers the amount each one owes. They are amazed and begin praising the master’s generosity. When the master hears about this, he doesn’t fire the dishonest manager, in spite of all the money he lost. Rather, he commends him because he had acted shrewdly.

What in the world is Jesus trying to teach, for the purpose of a parable is to teach something? Surely he wasn’t commending dishonesty? Could it be that the master now enjoys his reputation for being generous, more than he enjoys his money?