Yes, Even Them

Luke 16:1–13 ESV

He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. “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. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

1 Timothy 2:1–7 ESV

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Trouble in the World

Yes, even them.

Friday night, there was an incident at a gas station about a mile down the hill from my house. Two black women were pumping gas and there was some sort of issue with the pump in which it didn’t shut off the way it was supposed to. They went inside to ask for a refund for the overcharge that resulted. To my knowledge, the security footage from inside hasn’t been released, but the owner and employees of the gas station refused the request. The situation escalated and by late Friday night, there was cell phone video circulating all over the internet of four men who worked at the station dragging the women out and beating them up while people stood by and watched.

People are very upset about this incident.

And rightfully so.

By yesterday morning, there were protesters at the gas station, as well as a second station that is owned by the same proprietor. The protests were loud, but peaceful. The goal was to keep the stations from opening up for business for the day and to call for the arrests of the men involved in the beating.

Because the police didn’t get to the scene until after the fight broke up, they were unable to arrest anyone at the scene. The officers I talked to spent much of their time yesterday explaining that to people. Charges have been filed, the district attorney is involved, but no arrest has been made yet. That’s the way our system works, for better or for worse.

Here’s where this gets even more complicated. Most of the protests were simply asking for justice for the two women of color who were beaten up by four violently angry men. That is totally reasonable. It is reasonable, and I would argue right, to get out there and encourage people not to patronize businesses owned by this person.

But I read online yesterday and heard in person multiple comments about “sending them back.” See, the business owners are Indian. That is not a helpful manner of protest or speech because it just responds to hate with a different type of hate. And I get it, it’s easy to say stuff like that in the heat of the moment. But it points to just how crazy complicated this whole thing is.

So, on top of race and gender issues, and a system that does not always work in ways that feel just, we sprinkle on top the touchy issue of immigration. This is really difficult stuff to deal with.

Trouble in the Text

So while we’re looking at complicated situations, lets just dive into this parable from Luke. This is what clergy all over refer to as “the hardest one to preach on”. It feels like Jesus is, at best, recommending shrewd behavior, and at worst, advocating dishonesty in order to “stick it to the man.”

Who is the good guy here? I think most of us would eliminate the manager. He’s been dishonest in some way and has been fired for it. Then he goes and slashes debts to keep relationships with tenants who don’t seem to know yet that he’s been fired. Some say that he’s collecting from tenants that wouldn’t have paid otherwise, and that’s what gets the big boss’ attention. Some say he’s being dishonest to the tenants who don’t know he’s been fired yet so that the big boss can’t really fire him without losing the support of the tenants. Some say he’s giving up his share of the money in order to get back into everyone’s good graces. Some say he’s just really doing this to screw over the boss. Regardless, this guy is shady.

But so is the boss. It isn’t clear if he gives the job back or not, but at the end, he commends the manager for his shrewdness. He’s giving props to this guy for his shady dealings.

And let’s not let the tenants off the hook. They jump at the chance to pay only half their debts without even questioning what the manager is up to. If something seems too good to be true: it probably is.

Absolutely everyone in this story has bought into the corruption of the world. And Jesus closes with, “You cannot serve both God and money.” Mic drop.

He doesn’t say who in this parable was serving both. Because it was everyone.

Grace in the Text

So what do you do when the world around you is corrupt and broken and unjust and complicated?

You pray.

The author of 1 Timothy says:

1 Timothy 2:1–2 ESV

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

He’s not saying this because the government was a bunch of good guys looking out for their best interest. The Christian church at this point was coming under some very heavy persecution. The government was corrupt and unjust and awful. And the prayer here is prayed with the purpose that everyone will be able to live in peace and dignity.

Sometimes this passage has been used as a justification for the idea that civic leaders have some sort of holy standing or special place in God’s eyes that we need to care about.

Not what the author is saying here.

He’s saying, “Those guys that are treating you like garbage? They are God’s children too. So pray for them because God wants them to know peace and dignity as well. They too fall prey to the corrupt systems of the world and get caught up in the machinery of injustice.

Grace in the World

And here’s what happens when you pray for someone - like, really pray for them. . . it gets harder and harder to hate them. The antidote to hate is prayer because when you are truly, genuinely praying for someone, you are forced to remember your connection to them and the ways they too are caught up in a corrupt world that chews up and spits out everyone.

In his homily on 1 Timothy, John Crysostom says:

“. . . no one can feel hatred towards those for whom he prays:” John Crystostom (http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/230606.htm)

You can feel they are wrong, you can disagree with them, but that’s very different than hatred.

At the Presbytery meeting on Thursday, Sheldon Sorge said in his sermon that “our nation’s polarization is not only Present in the church, it is In many ways, magnified.” We’re very good at praying about those we consider adversaries. We enjoy praying against them. But we don’t like to do as we are called in 1 Timothy and pray for them, let alone praying with them.

our nations polarization is not only Present in the church, it is In many ways, magnifiedSo what do we do when we see

So what do we do with complicated situations like the gas station or the corrupt manager or governments and systems that don’t do justice for all people?

Depends on where you’re at in the story.

Listen especially to the people who are being hurt or marginalized.

If you are the marginalized tenants, the ones who aren’t treated fairly and are being held down by a broken and unjust system:

speak out because the world needs to hear your voice.

extend grace to those who are also caught up in the system and don’t realize how unjust and broken it is.

pray for those who are running that system so that we all might figure out the paths to peace and dignity for all. We all need Jesus, friends. Even them.

extend grace to those who are also caught up in the system and don’t realize how unjust and broken it is.

And pray for those who aren’t held down by the system in the same way you are, but who aren’t in charge of it either. It can feel like a hopeless place when you’re a cog in a machine way bigger than yourself. Extend grace to those who are also caught up in the system and don’t realize how unjust and broken it is.

If you are manager, part of the system, but not in charge - benefiting from the system in ways that others can’t:

listen. Listen to those who are trying to make their voice heard. Hear their stories and get to know them. Before just complaining about how inconvenient it is that a lane of the road is closed or you can’t go to a particular gas station, really hear the lament of those who are standing outside with their picket signs. Maybe even try standing with them once in a while.

Pray for those who are being beaten down by a system that doesn’t work well for everyone. Pray that they would have the strength to continue sharing their story and their voice.

Pray for those who are making decisions that affect the well being of people they don’t know. Not because we own them anything by virtue of elected office, but so that we can all be afforded lives of peace and dignity.

I don’t think we have any big name global leaders in our midst this morning, but if we did, I would say to the “big bosses”:

Ya’ll need Jesus. Just as much as the regular folk do. So humble yourselves to pray for those around you and to listen to God’s word about compassion and justice for all.

Help us fix this broken world.

Thank God for Jesus in this complicated, sinful, broken world. when we feel overwhelmed by the corruption and hardship and meanness in the world, thank God we have a mediator in Jesus.

1 timothy 2:

1 Timothy 2:5–6 ESV

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.