What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management. (Luke 16: 2)

How many times have we listened to rumours about someone or something without checking the facts or speaking to the person themselves?  In some strange way there is something attractive about a rumour. We can elaborate on it or embellish it particularly if we do not like the person anyway or they have hurt us in some way in the past.  After all, will anyone actually believe that the rumour is true? We have only to look from time to time at the headlines of our newspapers to see which famous celebrity might be having a public dispute with another. Do we really need to know the intimate details?

The parable of the Unjust Steward is one about which no less a biblical authority than Augustine is said to have remarked “I can’t believe this story came from the lips of our Lord”. This story appears only in Luke; even Luke appears to be troubled by it.  Some scholars believe that Luke added a few clarifying verses at the end.  Luke has Jesus say that we cannot love God and money. This may be true but how does this really relate to the parable?

Here we come to what may be the theological heart of this story. The unjust steward forgives. He forgives things he has no right to forgive. He forgives for all the wrong reasons; for personal gain and to compensate for past behaviour. This is the message in this strange parable; go ahead, forgive it all, forgive it now, and forgive for good and for selfish reasons, or for no reason whatsoever.

This uniquely Lukan parable is generally considered one of the most difficult passages in the Gospel. The difficulty pertains primarily to the endorsement of the actions of the “unjust” household manager by his master and seemingly even by Jesus.

Some of the key motifs that occur in the parable of “the Prodigal Son” re-appear here. The unjust manager in this parable is somewhat similar to the prodigal son. The same Greek word that is employed to describe the prodigal son’s squandering of his wealth (diaskorpizo) is used to describe the charges against the manager. The term has the connotation of careless or irresponsible spending. Both the son and the manager are responsible for (or have been charged with) actions that result in huge financial loss. The respective responses to their squandering distinguish the two parables. The father forgives the son and welcomes him back to the household joyfully, but the master dismisses the manager without verifying that the charges against him are true, or even giving him an opportunity to offer an explanation.

Given the unforgiving nature of the master’s response, the story should have been called the parable of the “Unforgiving Master”. In short, the parable of the Prodigal Son emphasises forgiveness and love for the lost. It sheds light on the nature of relationships in a context where God plays a central role. In contrast, our parable today is more about some of the defining characteristics of human relationships and how they work themselves out.

We are called to be faithful, to act with integrity, to be honest. Above all, to love one another and to forgive. May God give us the strength to do this.

Oh God, from whom all good proceeds; Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord.