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Then Jesus said to the disciples, "There was a wealthy person who had a manager of his possessions, and charges were brought to him that this manager was squandering his possessions."
-- Luke 16:1

Luke, more so than any of the other gospel books, has a great interest in the topic of wealth and possessions. What part do possessions play in our lives together as disciples of Jesus? What part should they play? This was apparently a matter of great concern in Saint Luke's community of faith, as it should be for us today.

The parable of the dishonest manager in today's assigned reading, standing by itself, seems at first glance to be out of character with the message of Jesus. But remember that this story was addressed to the disciples -- to those who knew Jesus and had experienced his ministry and message. The issue at hand was, "What should you do with your gifts, your talents, your connections, and accumulations beginning right now, as disciples? Now that you know the will of God through Jesus, will you be innovative managers of the insights, creativity, investments, and other possessions with which you have been endowed, with which you have been blessed? Or will you misuse this wealth that is on loan to you?"

For many of the Pharisees and others who thought that economic wealth was a divine indication of God's special approval -- a sign of being chosen and set apart for privilege, a reward for their own use alone, Jesus shot down that idea in story after story in Luke. For example, in the same chapter as our reading this morning is the story of the rich man and the poor beggar, Lazarus. Remember, it was not the rich man who ended up in heaven at the end of the story! Being poor is not idealized or glorified, but rather the point is always that gifts of wealth are on loan to be used for purposes of God's gracious love.

We all, rich or poor, have many possessions. In fact, the stories in Luke imply that those disciples who are really wealthy -- really wealthy -- are those who have enough to eat, and a safe, warm place to sleep, a life of the mind, and influence on others, which means just about all of us here this morning are really wealthy. Then the biblical witness adds that such people have a great responsibility. Today's parable asks, "How are you, as wealthy disciples of Jesus, going to use your gifts astutely, quickly, and significantly to assist others to be whole, and in that process serve God, the gift-giver of all possessions?"

Today's parable is directed to most of us and the unique possessions we have been given to develop and maintain our differences of destiny like age, gender, race, cultural heritage, different attributes, and quirks, along with our material wealth. How can these be used to bring healthcare and rest and safety not only to ourselves and our own family and friends but also to those around us, even around the world: It is a matter of (as the gospel text concludes) serving God and not something finite such as wealth.

As disciples of Jesus today, how can we assess our own faithfulness as managers of the possessions with which we have been entrusted?

I know of a sociology major at Princeton University who chose to do an in-depth study of kitchen refrigerators as her capstone senior project. The student chose to study not what is inside the refrigerator, although that, I think, would have been an interesting study revealing the owners' priorities and extravagances. I would guess one could quickly get a sense of a family's or an individual's bank account, nutritional awareness, environmental sensitivities, ethnic heritage, and maybe cholesterol count, by studying what's inside our refrigerators -- there are a lot of possibilities here for a great research project! But this student's project was concerned with what is on the outside of refrigerators -- what is affixed to the door and to the sides -- the refrigerator as a big enamel or aluminum billboard proclaiming the ethos of the individual or family -- the refrigerator surface as an open window into a household's mood and values. The study-project claimed that by examining what's on the refrigerator, one can easily spot a separated or troubled marriage or a household that is behind in its bills or a self-centered individual or a family in which the members are not coping well with their self-image and self-esteem or parents who are struggling with parenting or should be.

An array of magnets (themselves portraying various symbols of taste, value, involvement, and priorities) hold in place: lists, memos, pictures, and coupons that transform the refrigerator from a food preserver to a communication center, from the old icebox to a post-modern art gallery of social statement. The refrigerator door is portrayed as a microcosm of the whole household, a message board that can change rapidly as the mood, interests, and priorities of a family change.

I think, perhaps, the most appropriate comparison is the refrigerator as the household religious shrine. It is a shrine that reveals the ethical heartbeat and spiritual faith of a family, as hopes and beliefs are transformed into shopping lists and calendar reminders of intended participation. "You cannot serve God and wealth," is how Jesus ended the parable according to today's gospel text.

Are the refrigerator magnets in your household holding up symbols of service, empathy, and compassion for others -- signs and symbols of things that nurture the psyche and the soul and the body of a family or individual and others? Are the grandchildren's or children's artwork praised and hung right up there with Mom's or Granddad's important stuff? How about information leaving precise directions for emergencies and routine caring posted for the babysitter? Do you have the date of the community Crop Walk for World Hunger, the confirmation class schedule, the office blood-bank drive, the church offering envelope, a prayer list, reminders to call a shut-in; little notes and messages of support and encouragement for each other as we search for breakfast orange juice at the beginning of a new day?

All are symbols of our time and talents, our possessions and wealth, that can be transformed into spiritual gifts offering worth, respect, and grounded purpose, expressions of God's love to others.

Today's gospel reading is a challenge to use our gifts with the same astuteness and cunning and energy that the world uses to push its agenda of the selfish consumption or accumulation of gifts and goods all for personal comfort or gain at the expense of others.

The just use of our wealth, possessions, investments, time, talents, and ideas can have a significant, positive impact on the values' development and self-worth and spiritual health of others. That usage can impact our own family members or friends or an emotionally abandoned child here in our community. It could impact a skin-and-bone family whose names we do not know searching for good in the southern Sudan.

We hear the challenge of this parable, of course, in the real presence of a God who loves and knows us and who still offers forgiveness. It is a gracious love, encouraging us to move from being collectors of possessions to becoming stewards of God's good gifts, to becoming managers of our divine blessings, distributors of God's love, and caretakers of God's good earth.

To be very honest, I find today's text to be pretty intimidating and condemning. It does have to be viewed in the light of God's abundant grace. Jesus said to his disciples in parable form that a manager of great wealth -- like us all -- was summoned by the true owner of all possessions. We are asked by the true owner of all the gifts we have, "What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management...." Amen.