The Dishonest Manager

Here is a version of the gospel reading in story form. Perhaps it clarifies some of the strange items of the tale Jesus tells, However, it is only one interpretation - scholars don't all agree on what is going on in this parable. But sit back anyway, relax, and listen to the tale of the Dishonest Manager.

The sun was low in the sky, and the shadows of the trees were lengthening, when they came to the wooded grove where Jesus was teaching. The scorching sun had mellowed to a surrounding heathaze, but these silhouettes kept to the shadows, not to hide from the heat, but to hide from the taunts of the so-called rightous. For they were the outcasts, and even their best customers would spit at them in the street if they saw them by day. They were the prostitutes just risen after sleeping most of the day, the tax collectors anxious not to be spotted by anyone they had cheated, the moneylenders, like the loan sharks of today, making a profit on the backs of the poor. But they had heard that here was a person who was willing to treat them like human beings. To talk to them, and even to listen to them too.

The priests and teachers of the law saw them arrive, and watched intently to see Jesus' reaction. Perhaps they expected some sort of tyrade against the slipping moral standards in society, accompanied by a pointing finger flung in the direction of the shyest of the prostitutes. But they got none. And as time went on, and Jesus offered a welcome to all those who came to him, their patience wore thin, They complained "this man welcomes outcasts!" A few of the shadowy figures turned to go, but Jesus began a story that stopped them in their tracks. He told the tale of a lost sheep, more important than the ninety nine that had never strayed, and then followed it with the tale of a lost coin and a father who gave a banquet for a son who had lost half his money. In the end it was some of the priests who left, not the tax collectors.

Miriam was sat beneath a particularly gnarled tree. At the end of the story of the prodigal son she was crying. She whispered to Jonathan the tax collector "That was so beautiful. I want to be like that son and change. I want to do something to make things better. But how can I? No-one will expect me to return all I have earned, or even accept it. They will think it is tainted, and I don't want to keep it anymore. What can I do? What would you do?" "I don't know," Jonathan whispered back. "This is all too new for me to even comprehend."

So Jesus began another tale. The tale of the dishonest manager.

Ben Jacobsson worked for Tobit and Sons Merchants Emporium, one of the most famous wholesale suppliers in Galilee. And practially every Inn, corner store, palace or stall in the district was furnished with their olives, wheat and oil. Ben enjoyed his job, but admittedly he was a little lazy. He'd gained the job of chief steward mainly through family connections, and he thought those connections would keep Tobit's doors open to him for years to come. Admittedly he earned a few "perks" on the job. Supplying a couple of local businesses on the side, from supposedly spoiled stock. Also admittedly he sometimes got "lost" on the way back from a business transaction, and happened to find himself in the "Greasy Prophet" or some other equally shady hostelry, where the masters shekels suddenly found themselves being hastily converted into 2 pounds more of beer belly.

However, over time, he got careless. The master was inclined to turn a blind eye to some of Ben's ways, as long as it didn't happen too often. But one month Ben made one visit too many, bought one pint too many, struck one shady deal too many. And the master called him into the office. "What's this I hear about you? I want to see a complete set of accounts for the last six months. I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, and once I have got the figures in, I'm going to get myself a manager I can trust. You are through, young Ben."

Ben was shattered. The news made him sober up almost immediately. He knew he'd need some friends, and need them fast. There was no unemployment benefit in those days, he was no good at digging ditches, and begging wasn't his style. But he could see himself working in a pub, or maybe a nice little corner shop.

And that's when the brainwave struck. He sat down and looked at the figures for the last six months. There were plenty of deliveries that had not been paid yet. But it was forbidden to charge interest on a loan. The priests would have been down on them like a ton of bricks if they had tried. In fact they'd probably have been throwing bricks at them. However, Tobit and Sons had a cunning little scam going on that line. If payment was to be made in arrears, rather than upfront, the amount of the original invoice was increased. To, lets say, ten barrels of oil instead of seven. Even though the pub only really received seven barrels. The balance was Ben's commision on the deal, and instead of interest, for how could it be interest? "Look we haven't increased anything over time? Look at the invoice your priestliness. It said ten last month. It says ten this month too. No interest. No, no, your holiness, we'd never break the law by charging interest."

So Ben called in everyone who was in debt to Tobit and Sons. He asked the first one. "Look, how much do you owe my master?" "One hundred barrels of olive oil" he answered. "Here is your account" Ben said, "sit down and make it fifty. Lets forget the commission and interest rubbish. I'm not going to be here to collect it anyway." Then he asked another one "Zeke, how much do you owe down at the bakers?" "A thousand sacks of wheat." "Ok then, lets make it 800 then, and we'll call it quits." Yet in a friendly firm like Tobit and sons you can't get away with much. One of the other workers, hoping for a promotion now that the steward's job was going begging, reported the steady stream of debtors queueing up outside Ben's door and guessed what was going on; especially as there seemed an awful lot of crossings out on the invoices. Surely they couldn't have made that many mistakes the first time around could they? Ben was summoned to the office. As he walked through the door his knees were knocking. He could be in big trouble this time, slicing his masters interest profits.

"Nice one Ben! Worthy of a Tobit, even if you're only my second cousin once removed. I'm impressed. You shrewd little devil! And I hear that the Grainsacks restaurant, Zeke's bakery and Alice's Palace are fighting to offer you jobs now. Well you certainly know how to make friends and influence people don't you. And I'm not too much more badly off, as some of those accounts have actually paid up now. Something in my pocket is better than nothing. "

Jesus finished his story and looked up. He gazed pointedly in Miriam's eyes particularly. "So I tell you. Make friends for yourselves with worldly wealth, so that when it gives out, you will be welcomed in the eternal home... You can't be a slave of two masters. You'll hate one and love the other, or you'll be loyal to one and despise the other. You can't serve both God and money."