As we have been reading through the book of Jeremiah over the last few weeks, we have seen that the warnings sent by God to Israel were ignored, and then we saw that the people were told it was too late—destruction was on its way. This week, we see that the destruction has already happened. This week’s passage of scripture is Jeremiah lamenting that destruction.

The anguish of Jeremiah is overwhelming. To add to his grief is his realization that it was he who pronounced the judgment and the coming of destruction. We hear his words: “My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick...” (Jer. 8:18 NRSV) “O that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people!” (Jer. 9:1 NRSV). Jeremiah has cried until he had no more tears.

I am sure that there have been times in each of our lives when we have been so sad that there seems to be no end to our sorrow. This passage tells us that even God’s most chosen experienced deep, deep sorrow—no one is immune. However, God is with us in the midst of our suffering even when we do not feel His presence. We are reminded even further of that fact when we remember Christ’s cry from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34 NRSV). God knows and feels our hurts but promises hope for the future—after the crucifixion came the resurrection.

Taking Care of Business (Luke 16:1–13)

This passage from Luke can be very confusing. What is the meaning of this story? There is a manager who works for a “rich man” who is accused of squandering the man’s money. Tne manager is going to be fired, so he devises a plan to make sure he has provisions after this incident happens. He makes deals with the debtors of the rich man, reducing their debts. He is commended by his employer for being so clever. This is another parable about the way people handle money. We are reminded that all wealth comes from God, God will provide for our needs, and we should focus on providing for the needs of others.

What is actually going on in this story? The manager is accused of squandering funds. The narrator never tells us if he is actually guilty. Guilty or not, he realizes that he is in a pickle. This fellow is a quick thinker. He begins right away to wheel-and-deal with his boss’s debtors to make them his friends so that they will want to help him in the future.

Biblical scholars disagree on the details of what the manager did. Some say he gave up his commissions, some say that he eliminated the interest that was being charged, and some say that he just reduced the amount of their actual debt. Whatever the case, he is given praise by (of all people) his boss for being so resourceful. The boss may have received honor for the manager’s actions.

This story is about humans, but it represents the spiritual world. God is the “rich man,” we are all the “manager,” and we are being accused of squandering the wealth that God has given us. Christ is telling us we are to use wealth to help people. The “debtors” in this story are the poor and underprivileged. We are to use wealth to make them our “friends.” If we care for the poor, God will commend us the same way the “rich man” commended the “manager” in this parable.