Quick Summary:

The manager in today's enigmatic parable is like the character Fagin in the Dickens tale OLIVER: 2-parts clever, 1-part kind, and all parts survivor, Fagin figures out a way to game the system that does not serve him. In the end, the path he has chosen doesn't lead to the riches and security he aspires to, and he's forced to "think it out again."

What is the core of this strange parable from Jesus about? That God’s claim on the world—and us—extends even to this questionable realm of material wealth—how we make it, and how we use it once it’s made. That seems to be what the prophet Amos is talking about.

The young climate activists who are raising their voices and calling the adult leaders and nations to account for inaction on climate change are prophesying in the manner of Amos. The cost of serving mammon is more than the world can endure.