Luke 16:1-13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The parable of the dishonest manager<\/p>\n
Is it a proper thing to be dishonest at work and then be rewarded for your shrewdness? It doesn\u2019t sound right to us, but Luke tells us a story in which that happens. Jesus comes to us in order to reverse the existing order of things. Luke is full of situations in which the status quo is questioned and shifted. In this parable, a new relationship with others and with money is created. The manager\u2019s shrewdness and generosity bring greater equality of wealth-based power within society. The manager, however, has some self-serving reasons for his generosity to those who work the employer\u2019s land. Should he make his employer angry with his actions and lose his job, he will have grateful friends who will take him in. The importance of community in Christ is emphasized.<\/p>\n
Perhaps, scholars have theorized, the boss isn\u2019t upset because the manager has reduced his own commission in the debts owed and it really doesn\u2019t make a difference to the boss in the long run. So, it\u2019s win all around! Under all these puzzling layers is a major understanding. We cannot serve God and wealth equally. Through Christ, we are called to share our wealth, overturning established hierarchies and developing new friendships and priorities.<\/p>\n
Creation Connection:<\/strong><\/p>\n Creation asks: Journey lightly upon me!<\/em><\/p>\n The earth and sea contain gardens that need to be tended. The sky needs to be kept clean. How are we doing? Are we reaping what has been sown by humankind? And how\u2019s that going for us? Is there a balm we can offer?<\/p>\n (The Gathering, Pentecost 2, 2025)<\/p>\n Sunday, September 28th, Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost<\/strong><\/p>\n Scripture Readings:<\/strong><\/p>\n Jeremiah: 32:1-3a,6-15\u00a0\u00a0 Houses, fields, and vineyards shall again be purchased<\/p>\n 1 Timothy 6:6-19\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The love of money; fight the good fight<\/p>\n Luke 16:19-31\u00a0\u00a0 The rich man and Lazarus<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Announcements:<\/strong><\/p>\n First United will be sharing Sunday Service with St. John\u2019s United in Marathon next Sunday. (28th<\/sup>). We will also be celebrating Communion. We invite\u00a0 all those who are faith searchers to join us in our time of worship.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Prayer Shawl group will meet on September 27th from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in the Family Room\u00a0at the church. All knitters and crocheters are welcome. Materials can be supplied if needed and help in knitting or crocheting will be offered if needed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Thrift Shop will open on Oct. 2nd<\/sup>.\u00a0 Please do not give any more donations, we are very full. Thanks<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n t<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Luke 16:1-13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The parable of the dishonest manager Is it a proper thing to be dishonest at work and then be rewarded for your shrewdness? It doesn\u2019t sound right to us, but Luke tells us a story in which that happens. Jesus comes to us in order to reverse the existing order of things. Luke …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":4914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-21 17:54:48","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77100"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77102,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77100\/revisions\/77102"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}