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Do you, like me, recognise many a Bible story in other stories told through the world's media today? I mean for instance, the TV series Minder that was shown way back in my youth - with the almost loveable rogue - Arthur Daly and his minder - the honest but not terribly bright criminal, Terry:
In one episode business was slow and Arthur was happy to hear trumped up complaints about Terry from his associates from whom Terry would normally extract money owed to Arthur by applying a little friendly physical encouragement with menaces. These complaints, which ordinarily went with the job and were ignored, on this occasion gave Arthur the excuse he wanted to stop paying Terry's wages, to lay him off, give him the push, sack him.
When Terry got wind of this he realised no wages meant no rent money, no flat, no food. So he went around Arthur's dubious creditors and told them that as a gesture of Christmas good will Arthur is cutting their debt in half. They can hardly believe it. They are well aware that Arthur doesn’t know the meaning of the phrase Christmas goodwill - unless it’s the name of a horse running in the 2.30 at Kempton Park. But in a situation like that who is going to ask any questions? The are going to take the money and run, or rather sign the cheque and run.
The result is that they all think Terry is wonderful - he therefore has friends when he needs them when he is out of a job, and they also think Arthur is wonderful for being so generous. He is the toast of South London and in particular the regulars at his local pub. You can see Arthur looking simultaneously flattered, pleased, puzzled and suspicious as people congratulate him on his magnificent gesture. When he discovers what has been going on he has to applaud Terry for his shrewdness doesn't he? He can’t go back on the deal as he would lose so much public face.
Isn't that what happened in our parable in Luke 16?
It is a most enigmatic parable. Like a few others, my initial reaction to it was that an injustice had been done. Indeed in talking to David Jenkins, a retired Bank Manager, his opinion was that he would have ended up in prison let alone lost his job if he had pulled that kind of trick with the Bank's money during his career.
But then the Bible does surprise us quite often, doesn't it?
Especially the parables and not least this particular parable. Such are the surprises that it was once suggests that the Logo for Scripture Union - an organisation that publishes notes to help us understand the Bible, amongst other things, - should be changed from an oil lamp which recalls a Psalm where the Word of God is represented as a lamp to illuminate the way from us - to a pair of raised eyebrows because the Bible is always saying something that surprises us.
For instance another parable tells of a widow making a terrible nuisance of herself at the private residence of a judge, who eventually sees that justice is done only because this is the only way he can get the wretched woman off his back. And this is an example of prayer!
Why are Jesus’ parables so extraordinary, so eyebrow-raising?
There are various reasons, but what lies behind them is the fact that gospel that Jesus is and that he brings is so important but so extraordinary that it needs eyebrow-raising stories to convey it;
It needed shock tactics to get it taken seriously.
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