The Bible has a number of passages which need careful interpretation and wise exegesis.
What's going on with Balaam and the talking donkey? Were there really graves opened in Jerusalem after Jesus' resurrection? That's before we even get on to the whole swathes of the book of Revelation which seem pretty far out.
Usually, though, Jesus' own words have been carefully interpreted over the years so that we have a good, rounded understanding of what he was saying and doing. Yet there's one story in particular that you'll rarely hear in a sermon, and upon a first reading can appear pretty baffling.
It's the parable of the shrewd manager, also called the 'dishonest steward'.
In it, Jesus tells of an employee threatened with being fired because the boss heard rumours he was "squandering property". The employee's solution to the situation he finds himself in is fascinating.
He visits the people who owe goods to his employer. He then advises them to change the bills, thereby reducing the amount they owe. Jesus says, "his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes."
There are a number of different interpretations of this parable. Firstly, it's helpful to view the story through the lens of two of the much more famous phrases that Jesus uses afterwards. "Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much," he says, "and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much." This gives us one interpretation of the story. It's about our use of resources and God's response to our stewardship of them.
Jesus then uses one of his most celebrated phrases: "No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." This is another lens through which to view the story. Even if it may not be immediately obvious, Jesus is using the tale to show how Christians should pledge their allegiance – not to money, but to God – because it's impossible to do both.
There are other interpretations which see Jesus as the shrewd manager, being accused of misusing God's property. Others see it as a simple call to be careful with money. Still others interpret the passage as a reminder to ensure we live with heaven on our minds.
Whatever interpretation we choose to follow (and of course, more than one of them might well be true), this parable teaches us something useful about the Bible. Namely that it is a living, breathing thing to be wrestled with. The Bible isn't a text book that is simply for learning by rote. It's far more profound than that. Yet neither is the Bible simply a book of good stories – if it was, wouldn't an editor have cut this one out?
As Mark Woods recently wrote for Christian Today: "Do I believe the Bible? Yes, absolutely. But I also want to ask, how exactly does God want me to believe it? And there are some things it asserts as absolute statements of fact – like the virgin birth or the resurrection – and some that are obviously meant to be understood in a different way. There are other stories and statements where we aren't sure, or where Christians can legitimately have different opinions."
It's in this uncertainly that we can have some of our most fruitful and productive discussions about the Bible. Led by the Spirit, a group of Christians wrestling with a text like this can be hugely rewarding. The fact that the parable doesn't present us with an obvious interpretation means that we have a rich topic for discussion. In conversation we will see aspects of the story and of Jesus' teaching that had been hidden from us but revealed by others.
This is the scenario in which the Bible would initially have been used – a primarily oral culture. It goes without saying that Jesus' audience themselves would have frantically discussed his teachings among themselves. In fact we know they did that, according to Mark 9 verse 10, "they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean."
We can follow their lead and discuss the meaning of tricky verses, and what they show us about God.
