The Plot Twist by Father Ian Maher

Plot Twist

by Father Ian Maher

There is something quite exciting in reading a book or watching a film that catches you unawares with an unexpected twist in the plot. The twist demands a rethinking and reevaluation of what has gone before. It can subvert expectations and challenge assumptions.

Jesus knew this well as evidenced by his masterly use of parables. Repeatedly he leads his listeners along in telling every day stories, but then leaves them to ponder the implications of a conclusion that defies conventional wisdom.

Luke 16.1-8, a story about a dishonest manager, is one of Jesus’ most uncomfortable parables because he seems to be setting up the unlikeliest of characters as someone to follow as an example.

It tells of how the manager of a rich man’s property seems to have been caught out in some dodgy dealings, and who engages in further dishonesty by writing off some debts of tenants, hoping for their goodwill towards him after he, presumably, is dismissed by the rich man.

Taken at face value the parable flies in the face of the whole thrust of the Bible where dishonesty and false dealing is condemned repeatedly. So what are we to make of a parable that has a villain as its hero? The twist comes in verse 8, which shows that the rich man had discovered the crafty measures taken by his manager before presenting the books. Perhaps one of the tenant debtors had reported him. Yet rather than being outraged further, the rich man commends the manager for his actions.

This suggests that rich man was not a straight arrow himself. He was certainly breaking the spirit of the law about usury if not the letter. Magnanimity may have been more prudent than raising questions about his manager’s dishonesty, and maybe even his own.

All in all, the parable cannot be about seeing the dishonest manager as a moral example. What Jesus is doing is posing a challenge by means of a contrast. Anyone hearing the parable then or now will know all about selfinterest. It is the closeness to home of the parable that disturbs and pushes us to ponder just what is being commended if not dishonesty.

I believe what Jesus is doing when he contrasts the ‘children of this age’ with the ‘children of light’ is highlighting the ingenuity and resourcefulness that is channelled in to our material ambitions, compared with the relative lack of such qualities in relation to furthering the values of the kingdom.

The fact is that if all the energy, time, money and skills that are devoted to the acquisition of wealth and power – whether by governments, corporations, or individuals – were devoted to making our world a more just and equitable place, many of the ills that beset humankind would be swept away, some very swiftly.

The generation of wealth for self-interest is futile and transitory. We can’t take it with us when we go, yet people go to extraordinary lengths to acquire it. On the other hand, wealth used for the purpose of building a more compassionate world leaves a lasting legacy. The ‘children of light’ – that is, those who align themselves with the values of the kingdom, including you and me – need to be as astute and imaginative in furthering the interests of kingdom as are the ‘children of this age’ in pursuing worldly ambition.

We need to be prepared to take risks, push boundaries and not be afraid to move in the grey areas of life if it contributes to making our communities, our society, our world a better place.

The parable encourages us to be creative in finding solutions to the seemingly intractable problems that sometimes get in the way and hinder our Christian discipleship in the world. And we need to be more astute and resourceful in guarding and nurturing our spiritual life, giving to it at the least the same attention as our other priorities in life.

That, at least, is what I have made of the twist in the parable of the dishonest manager this time around. I wonder what you make of it?

I am a priest and minor canon at Sheffield Cathedral. My last post prior to retirement from stipendiary ministry was as the Multifaith Chaplaincy Coordinator and Anglican Chaplain at Sheffield Hallam University, where I

worked for 12 years.

https://imaherblog.wordpress.com/ Twitter @IanMaher7

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