Yesterday morning, I went outside to cut the grass. I put on my jeans and a ratty old aloha shirt. I put on my yard work shoes, my hat and sunglasses, and my big yellow ear muffs. I climbed up on the tractor, pulled out of the garage. BOY, it was a beautiful day. I ride down to the end of the driveway and turn toward the grass. Pull the knob and WHIR! The blades are turning, grass is shooting out. This is great. Ride along the street…turn right and come up the north property line…start to have a Zen moment.
And then…BANG!!! … Everything stopped. … I was stunned. I started it back up, carefully backing the tractor off of the obstacles. When I got clear, I knew what I had done. Sure enough, there was one stump with a nice nick in it. And stump number two had a great big gouge struck across its top. I turned the mower off and got down to inspect the damaged blade and, sure enough, it was bent almost straight down. My master effectively told me that I could not mow the lawn any more. So, like the dishonest manager, I found that I too was too ashamed to beg. But, UNLIKE him, I WAS strong enough to dig. So I got out the shovel and mattock and dug up the stumps.
Today’s gospel lesson has always puzzled me. Here, Jesus chose a most peculiar story to teach his disciples. The rich man, for example, is not clearly good. In fact, Luke is not usually flattering toward the rich. The rich man’s manager has apparently been charging usury, something forbidden by the Law of Moses. He was probably in on it too. The manager was accused by “someone” of squandering his possessions. I’d speculate that the people who were complaining were probably the same people who were paying the excessive interest that the manager was charging.
The rich man took these complaints seriously and asked the manager to explain himself. What could he say? He was guilty of wasting his master’s possessions. And he was charging usury. But we don’t hear of him making any reply. He had to have been shocked, since the master had told him how to run the business. They had *wink*wink* agreed how to deal with these loans. And sure, he may have had thrown a banquet occasionally, leased a new chariot every three years, maybe expanded the house with a new colonnade around the garden or had a new cistern installed. Nothing that the master wouldn’t have done himself.
Now, faced with unemployment, the manager has to think fast. It’s Tuesday, and he’s got until Friday to turn over the company records. … So much to do, not enough time. When will I look for a job? … I have to get the books in order. Oh, boy.
The manager came in and they were all arguing about what was happening. “Alright. I’m calling in your accounts. Tony, here, take your bill. How much do you owe?” Tony sputters, “Uh, I can’t afford to pay up right now.” “I know. I know. How much do you owe?” “One hundred jugs of oil. But I don’t have it. If you can just be patient…” “Tony, don’t worry. Here’s a pen. Why don’t we just make it 50 jugs, hmm?” “What? You mean I don’t have to… You mean that? Wow! Mr. Manager you are the greatest. I won’t ever forget this. If you need anything—anything at all—you just let me know!” And the manager, as he leaned over to shake his hand and take the bill, smiled. “I sure will, Tony.”
Friday afternoon comes. The master walks in. His face is fixed in a frown. The manager gave him the books before lunch to look over. He sits down in the manager’s chair and motions for him to sit across the desk. He leans back in the chair, putting his hand together. Then, the corner of his mouth starts to curl. He’s grinning! He’s grinning? Why is he grinning? The master says, “You are one sly dog. That was smooth.”
The master did not commend him for his moral behavior, nor for his support of the business. Jesus said, “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. The manager’s shrewdness, how he handled a bad situation to turn it into his favor, is held up before us to admire.
What is shrewdness? Merriam Webster defines shrewd as “marked by clever discerning awareness and hardheaded acumen; given to wily and artful ways or dealings.” That sounds like the dishonest manager. A shrewd person is: clever; calculating; ingenious; sharp; ruthless; and perceptive. The word used in Greek is fronimow. It has been translated as “wise.” It has also been translated as “prudent.” This is different from the cardinal virtue of prudence, which is the discernment of what acts are virtuous and what are vicious. In the case of the manager, his acts were certainly not virtuous. Here, it has the meaning of practical prudence, the ability to determine what course will be most favorable for one’s personal ends.
What are some common examples of practical shrewdness? Athletes. (1) They train long and hard. (2) They watch other champion athletes perform. (3) They consult trainers, dietitians, and other experts to help give them an edge. (4) They watch their opponent to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. (5) And they evaluate their own performance and makes adjustments for improvement.
A Good businessman is also shrewd. (1) He studies hard (or studies in the school of hard knocks). (2) He observes other businessmen’s success and learns from it. (3) He keeps up on current events and market trends, trying to stay one step ahead. (4) He scrutinizes what the rival companies are doing. (5) And he keeps track of profitability, sales, inventory, etc.. Both athletes and businessmen work diligently and regularly to achieve a definite goal.
So how does that compare to our spiritual lives? Jesus tells us in verse 8 that “the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind that are the people of the light.” Man goes to great pains to make more money and to win a crown of glory that will fade away. But we are running “to get a crown that will last forever” (1 Cor. 9:25). What lessons can we learn from these examples of practical shrewdness?
(1) Do we train arduously and do we study diligently? Reading of scripture isn’t something that is done by someone else for you only on Sunday morning. We all must read the Bible and meditate on it, studying it regularly. And we must train ourselves in righteousness. In Romans 7 St. Paul laments that he cannot do the good that he wants to do on his own; it is only through Jesus Christ that he is freed to act according to his spiritual nature. Nevertheless, he still has to beat his body and makes it his slave. (1 Cor. 9:26).
(2) Are we watching others who are spiritual champions? We can look at those around us who exemplify the Christian walk, our heroes and forerunners in the faith. And we have example of the saints who have gone into glory, both lately and in ancient times. Stephen, for example, who while be martyred, prayed for his murderers; and Mother Theresa, whose life of poverty and charity convict us all of our own opulence and wastefulness.
(3) Do we consult experts for advice and guidance? Sometimes, we are stuck in a rut we don’t even know we’re stuck in. A person outside, one knowledgeable in spiritual matters, can often see this. Our own pride and stubbornness can make us reluctant to get help. But when I run into a wall at work, I am not ashamed to ask my manager for assistance, so why should I resist admitting my difficulties in spiritual and moral matters? Who are some of these experts? Your pastors are certified soul-mechanics! There are others who are a bit further along in the journey up the spiritual mountain than you. Find out these people and enlist their help. If Vinny has a problem with his golf swing, he’s not going to hesitate to ask, say, Charley to come, watch what he does, and try to give him back that perfect draw. He knows he has a problem, because he’s slicing every shot. Frequently you can make your own corrections and get back to where you want to be. But it may take you a lot longer to figure out what may be obvious to someone else.
(4) Do we watch our adversary and accuser, the devil, and learn from what we see? The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis is an entertaining read; but more than that, it offers Lewis’ keen insight into the methods used by Satan and his demons against us. Knowing how the devil tries to make us fall allows us to train properly. James writes, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (4:7). If you struggle and resist the devil, and resist and resist, he will flee from you. Our spirituality often doesn’t like to resist. At the first sign of trouble, when the devil resists us, we flee from God and shout, “I give up.” But James continues, “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (4:8a). The only means to effectively resist the devil is to draw near to God.
(5) Do we evaluate our own performance? Examine yourself at least weekly. Make an assessment: “How well did I live today? If I were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict me? Did I imitate Christ?” The world fails to reach any moral goals because it has no moral standard. We have a standard. But it’s useless unless we measure ourselves up against it. And then when we find parts of our lives that are crooked, we struggle to realign those things that deviate. Take the Baltimore Orioles as an example. They have lost a lot of games that they were leading, even down into the eighth and ninth innings. They can say, “We really have an awful bullpen”; but then they’ve got to work to improve it. They’ll make trades, draft rookies, get rid of players, and train the players they keep. Just so, when you find something that does not match the example that you have—Jesus Christ, the Gospel himself—it’s time to make adjustments. You may need to get rid of some habits. You may need to bring on a few new players, some new good habits; that’ll take work to become part of you, part of your “team.” You may need to take some good habits and retrain them a bit, help to make them your core “starters.”
Our adversary, the serpent, is the most crafty of all the wild animals in this garden. We cannot afford to be complacent in our walk with Jesus. We must run after Him using everything within our reach to help us draw closer to Jesus. But we cannot be ruthless in our methods. The practical prudence that the manager had is incomplete. We must do better and use the virtue of prudence, knowing not only what acts are beneficial, but what acts are virtuous. We must do as Jesus told us: “Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
