Sermon God's Economy

Pentecost 18 Year C 091910
Luke 16:1-13
God’s Economy
By Rich Gamble

Last week’s scripture had Jesus responding to the holy men of his day after the criticized him about hanging out with and even eating with “sinners and tax collectors.” In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus responds by telling a series of stories. This story is part of that response.

In Luke’s story the man in charge of his master’s investments knows that he is about to be fired. So in order to make sure that he has friends out there who look after him after he is fired, he starts forgiving part of the debt that various people owe his boss. In essence he is giving his boss’ money away in order to buy friends.

But there is a twist in this parable as there usually is in parables. The boss finds out about the loan and commends his employee for his shrewdness.

Jesus then goes on to make a comparison. We are like that employee. We don’t own anything. It all belongs to the boss, the big boss, God. It all belongs to God, so why not be generous with it and make yourself some friends. This is the exact opposite of American monetary policy. When we give out money, we use it as a tool to control. Our nation, our banks our corporations don’t give money away to people they loan money with an expectation of profit. Of ten we loan money to impoverished nations through the World Bank or other such organizations. Those loans are then used as a tool to get the impoverished nation to sell off its resources or allow the exploitation of its people as ways of paying off the loan. Loaning with the expectation of profit gives power to the one who makes the loan over the one who takes the loan.

The poor family farmers of Jesus day knew all about debt as a tool of exploitation. That is exactly how the Roman Empire operated. And in the distant memory of our Jewish spiritual ancestors sits a clear line connecting loans taken and the road to slavery.

But here everything is upside down. Here we are called to use money as tool of friendship and not exploitation. The shrewd employee partially lifts the burden of debt from people. He does so for his own gain, not as an act of charity.

Debt is a way to gain control over people. It is a primary tool of economies of domination. In our faith history, debt is a tool of exploitation and slavery. It is no surprise then that we pray every Sunday about the act of forgiving debts. Our God is the God who stands in utter opposition to the economics of empire and exploitation. The way of our God is the way of debt forgiveness, and because it is the way of our God, it is the way of those who choose to become followers of this God. We pray that God will forgive our debts and we commit to the economic process of debt forgiveness (as we forgive our neighbors).

The tool of imperial exploitation so often used against members of the Third World is now being used against America. We are in great debt. Debt caused largely by a transfer of our common resources into the hands of large corporations and wealthy individuals through massive military spending and the bailout of the banking industry. People, even compassionate people, are saying, “well we just don’t have the money to… Improve public schools, have universal healthcare, end homelessness, substantially reduce our carbon emissions. After that will come the calls to privatize things like social security and public lands and close down programs for the poor.

Yesterday I was at a public meeting held by the Lutheran Church about 10 blocks south. The church had recently opened up their building to a homeless shelter and many of the neighbors were upset by the fact that they did not have a say in the matter. For many, the presence of the homeless shelter in their neighborhood was the first time that they became aware that homelessness was an issue for people living in Wallingford.

The future of our current economic path is leading us to greater and greater cuts of programs for low income people as our city and county and state and perhaps even federal governments cut back on essential programs. That means that there will be greater pressure on places like this one to provide shelter and food. Living in Wallingford or Mercer Island is no longer proof against encountering desperately poor people and churches will be looked upon with distrust as possible portals for the poor into more well-off neighborhoods. I don’t think churches should be homeless shelters. I don’t think that there should be homeless shelters because I believe that there should be adequate sources of affordable housing for everyone; but when our nation's economic system leaves people hungry and homeless we must respond. And if our current economic system is inadequate to the task then we should do more than furnish the bandaids of a mat on the floor or a bowl of chili on the victims. We should find a better systems.

The solution is found in our faith: Constructing an economic order which is based on sharing rather than hording wealth. What’s good for people of faith is good for everyone whether they believe in God or not. Building an economic order whose primary goal is broad distribution of wealth rather than on the retention of wealth in the hands of a very small number of people is possible. There are lots of ways to move towards that goal. Utilization of income and inheritance taxes to finance programs for impoverished people is one direct step we can take. That is why there is a “Yes on 1098” sign in the window of this church. That is not just a political sign, it is a sign of our understanding of the will of God.

Like Jesus we have to find ways to change people’s thinking about wealth. Giving food away at Sacred Heart is a good thing, and advocating for things like Public Schools, and Universal Healthcare and non-profit housing are good as well. As the Body of Christ we are challenged to be as creative and daring as Jesus was in his day. Stories, poetry, song, worship, Facebook entries, letters to the editor, protests, painting, parties, and thousands of other activities can spread this vision of a compassionate nation and a just economy. In the midst of the suffering caused by the politics of fear and economics of greed, we know that there is another way and so we have hope, and that is good news.

Amen.