It is not often in the Scriptures that we hear of the dishonest being praised – and especially not those who are both dishonest and rich (at least for the time being …) Generally, it is the upright and true of heart who are commended, those who are just and fair in their dealings with others. Against this background Jesus’ story of the dishonest manager can seem out of place. It is easy to wonder if we have lost the original meaning, as if it wasn’t really meant to be so shocking. Yet surely Jesus knew what he was doing when he held up this cheating steward to his disciples, and called them not to dismiss him or blithely condemn him, but first of all to listen. For, as Jesus will explain, even from this unpromising story we can be drawn more fully to the Kingdom of God.

DISHONEST, BUT SHREWD
In Jesus’ telling, the manager is dishonest, but he is also shrewd. He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it, using his power cleverly and practically. He recognises his need for allies, for people to help him, and so he builds a store of favours he can call in later. Indeed, this is a man who understands relationship, at least the transactional kind, based purely on self-interest. He knows that money is the best glue for such relationships, especially other people’s money, and so he invests heavily in his future.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
We have in this steward a single-minded and intense commitment to building relationships, albeit one which has gone badly off course. But, as Jesus’ words after the parable demonstrate, there is much to be learned even from his example. For the quests for friends, for allies, for esteem are universal ones. We all need each other. No one can go through life alone. But as Jesus presents it to us, there are only two ways of pursuing this quest. One is the steward’s, with his ruthless, rule-breaking insistence that what matters is him. Other people’s money, or morality, or even their very being is relevant only insofar as it can further his own purposes. The other way is God’s, where our relationships are based not on utility or exchange or how they profit us, but solely on the generous, eternal love of God. Only this way, Jesus tells us, can we truly have friends, truly value people not for what they can do, but for who they are, as God’s precious people. Only this way can we become the people God calls us to be, living life to the full.

THE CHOICE: GOD OR MONEY
It’s more demanding than we realise to place our trust in God, to serve God in and through our dealings with others. Jesus tells us this as he insists on that binary choice, of God or money. It’s a choice that affects all our actions, all our relationships, and all the ways that we use time and resources. He calls on us to use what we have to make friends in the right way, to help others, to find in the service of neighbours and strangers the true purpose of what we have. And to do so with the commitment and purposes shown even by a dishonest steward. In our readings from Amos and the letter to Timothy we hear more of what it means to reorientate our lives and our relationships so that we live in God’s light and love, more of what it means to focus our hearts on Christ and the image of God in others, knowing they too are God’s precious children. We are warned that this will not always be easy, but assured that always it will be worthwhile, bringing grace and peace and fulfilment.

TURNING OUR HEARTS
Here for us, in a city with so much opportunity, it can be easy to be pulled into a quest for success, for status, for wealth and power – to spend time and effort curating ourselves, making ourselves popular, stylish, indispensable even. Yet, in a city that is also so full of inequality, we can see the cost to our society and to our own souls if we ask only what we can gain and not what we can give. Our readings challenge us to look hard at our lives and our priorities, inviting us to turn our hearts fully and completely toward the love of God shown to us in Christ.