Within a society dominated by a hierarchical structure of riches and poverty, purity and defilement, and honor and shame, the message in Luke calls for a reversal of such values.
Throughout his Gospel, Luke employs a plethora of literary techniques in Mary’s Song, Jesus’ initial Sermon, and the parables and stories of the Rich and the Kingdom of God, the Rich Fool, the Shrewd Manager, and The Rich Man and Lazarus in order to portray a theme of universality and to call followers to live simply and put aside material pursuits and worldly gains. Overall, discipleship to Jesus involves both a physical and metaphorical leveling of the playing field in front of the cross so that everyone has access to the kingdom of God.
In the opening segments …show more content…
Upon being called in to give an account of his management, the manager called in his master’s debtors and demanded money, leading him to gain commendations from his master. In this story, worldly wealth is utilized for one’s gain; however, it reveals that while those who are trusted with little can be trusted with a lot, those who are dishonest with little will cannot be trusted with more. Thus, those who cannot handle worldly wealth will not be trusted with the riches of heaven. Jesus asserts that “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The Pharisees listening to him sneered, but Jesus claimed that God knows their hearts and finds their values to be detestable. The narrator knows that the manager is dishonest and sinful, but the rich man understands the manager’s actions to be wise. Thus, the manager's cleverness lies in his ability to dupe the rich man. The Lukan construction presents the rich man as deserving of the manager’s scheme. Jesus’ path of blessing comes through rejecting worldly materialism and status reversal. Rejecting worldly materialism is at the heart of ministry and participation in the eschatological
Throughout his Gospel, Luke employs a plethora of literary techniques in Mary’s Song, Jesus’ initial Sermon, and the parables and stories of the Rich and the Kingdom of God, the Rich Fool, the Shrewd Manager, and The Rich Man and Lazarus in order to portray a theme of universality and to call followers to live simply and put aside material pursuits and worldly gains. Overall, discipleship to Jesus involves both a physical and metaphorical leveling of the playing field in front of the cross so that everyone has access to the kingdom of God.
In the opening segments …show more content…
Upon being called in to give an account of his management, the manager called in his master’s debtors and demanded money, leading him to gain commendations from his master. In this story, worldly wealth is utilized for one’s gain; however, it reveals that while those who are trusted with little can be trusted with a lot, those who are dishonest with little will cannot be trusted with more. Thus, those who cannot handle worldly wealth will not be trusted with the riches of heaven. Jesus asserts that “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The Pharisees listening to him sneered, but Jesus claimed that God knows their hearts and finds their values to be detestable. The narrator knows that the manager is dishonest and sinful, but the rich man understands the manager’s actions to be wise. Thus, the manager's cleverness lies in his ability to dupe the rich man. The Lukan construction presents the rich man as deserving of the manager’s scheme. Jesus’ path of blessing comes through rejecting worldly materialism and status reversal. Rejecting worldly materialism is at the heart of ministry and participation in the eschatological