"Quid Pro Quo" | The Rev. Heidi Thorsen | September 21, 2025

Sermon Preached: Sunday, September 21, 2025 at Trinity on the Green

Year C, Proper 20: Amos 8:4-7 | Psalm 113 | 1 Timothy 2:1-7 | Luke 16:1-13

Between the words that I speak and the words that are heard, may God’s Spirit be present. Amen.

Have you ever done something, solely because you expected to get something in return?

I’m not going to ask us to raise our hands this morning, but still I invite you to really think about this question:

Have you ever done something, solely because you expected to get something in return?

I expect that each one of us could answer yes to this question, if we thought long enough and hard enough. Perhaps the first examples that come to mind are those very obvious quid pro quo situations: “I scratch your back; you scratch mine.”  But even if you can’t think of one of those obvious, deliberate examples, there are still many ways that we act out of our own self-interest on a daily basis. Think of all the subtle ways that you have done something– perhaps even something good– because you expected to get something in return. Sometimes we can be cold and calculating in our self-interest; but sometimes we do these things unintentionally– as if we naturally gravitate to those things in life that have a direct benefit for ourselves, as individuals.

Have I ever done something, solely because I expected to get something in return?

The answer is yes, and the example that I most often return to is the story of an eager-to-please, generally well-intentioned sixth grade Heidi. In the sixth grade I learned that the local service club, Kiwanis, was planning to give an award to a graduating sixth grader who had made particularly meaningful contributions to the community. For a variety of reasons, I decided that I needed this award. Rather than looking at the service-related things I was already doing, I decided to add a bunch of new things to the list. I donated money to the Humane Society; I made visits to the local senior center; and in the end I won that award– and I was very proud of myself.

These days, when I look back on that sixth grade version of myself, I don’t feel shame, so much as compassion– compassion, for a young person who was so set on pleasing other people, that I often missed the chance to connect with other people. Compassion for a girl who had so much to learn about what it means to be a good neighbor, not only from the perspective of Kiwanis, but also from the perspective of our Christian faith, which teaches us a better way.

In today’s Gospel passage Jesus tells the story of the dishonest manager. It is the story of a man who does something, solely because he expects to receive something in return. The story begins with the manager knowing he is in trouble. He has squandered his property. He hasn’t met the requirements of his annual performance review. The rich man (his boss) tells the manager that he won’t be working for him much longer.

But then, the manager has an idea. He decides to go to all of his business partners and debtors, and show them mercy.

You owe a hundred jugs of olive oil? The manager asks. That’s fine, give me fifty.

You owe a hundred containers of wheat? That’s fine. Give me eighty.

In each of these conversations the dishonest manager builds himself a security net; hoping that one day, when he is eventually dismissed as manager, these people might remember, and welcome him into their homes.

This Gospel passage is dripping with irony. It is ironic: that the manager actually does a very good and holy thing– forgiving debts, the very thing we pray about in the Lord’s Prayer. And yet he does the right thing for the wrong reason. The passage is ironic again when the rich man confronts the manager, after all of these compromises he has made. Instead of criticizing the manager, the rich man commends him for acting shrewdly. The rich man admires his schemes, recognizing in the other man some of his own business acumen and unapologetic self-interest.

In any case, the Gospel makes it clear that this is not an example of what we should do, but rather a counter-example of what we should not do. Jesus identifies the rich man and the dishonest manager as “children of this age”– and that is not a compliment, by the way. Their example stands in opposition to the “children of light”-- the children of the light of the world, Jesus Christ. Jesus concludes this parable with an ironic quip: “And I tell you,” Jesus says, “make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” In other words, Jesus says: Have it your way. Live for yourself alone, and see where that gets you. Your friends may welcome you into their earthly mansions, but what power do they have to welcome you into God’s own house?

The final portion of the reading is not at all ironic, but deeply sincere. Jesus says: “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much… [You cannot serve two masters]... You cannot serve God and wealth.” In conclusion Jesus is saying: don’t be like the dishonest manager, not even a little bit. Instead be faithful: because whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much.

What, then, does it mean to be faithful?

This Gospel passage shows us that being faithful isn’t just about doing the right thing. It is about doing the right thing, for the right reason. It is about being authentic, from our head down to our toes. Faithfulness is about seeking the things that are good, not only good for ourselves, but good for all of creation. Faithfulness is about giving our best to others, without expecting to get anything in return.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. These are Jesus’ own words– the Golden Rule, as we sometimes call it. 

It strikes me that today’s Gospel passage is an example of what happens when you take the Gospel out of context; when you read it literally, without honoring the heart of Jesus’ teaching. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you could so easily be misread as a justification for the dishonest manager’s actions. Treat other people nicely, so that you get treated nicely in return. I scratch your back, you scratch mine. Quid pro quo.

In reality, that is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel isn’t about self-interest. The Gospel isn’t about transactional gain.

Instead, the Gospel is about seeing ourselves as part of something bigger than ourselves. The Gospel is about sharing what few loaves and fishes we have, because we believe that there will be more than enough for everyone. The Gospel is about reciprocity– believing that what is truly good for another person is also truly good for you. The Gospel is about collective salvation– because Jesus didn’t come just come for just one sheep. He came for the entire flock; seeking out each individual and bringing us together until we are one flock, under one shepherd.

Doing the right thing, for the right reason, requires a conversion. I’m not talking about an altar call conversion experience– although that certainly could be part of it. What I’m talking about is a conversion of the heart. A conversion in how we see the world. We cannot live according to the laws of self-interest. We cannot live unto ourselves alone. That is the way of death. Instead we have to live for one another. We have to see ourselves as part of each other, connected through the Body of Christ. That is the way of reciprocity. That is the way of salvation. That is the way of eternal life. Amen.