In the scripture lesson for today Jesus tells a perplexing parable about a thoroughly dishonest employee who was praised for his dishonesty. In this story Jesus not only seems comfortable suggesting that it is acceptable to compromise with moral failings, but our Lord appears to commend his disciples to "go and do likewise." For centuries, preachers, commentators, and scholars have struggled to make sense of this outrageous tale.

Let me give some context. The fifteenth chapter of Luke opens by telling us that Jesus is preaching to a large crowd. Scribes and Pharisees object that our Lord spends too much time with the "sinners and tax collectors." As the religious authorities of the time, they have responsibility for monitoring the orthodoxy of Jesus' teaching and then reporting back to th…