Here’s a readers’ theatre setting of Luke 16:1-13,
the Parable of the Shrewd Manager. It is
set for two voices.
Readers’
Theatre: Luke 16:1-13
One: Jesus told this story to his
disciples:
“There was a certain rich man
who had a manager handling his affairs.
One day a report came
that the manager was wasting his employer’s
money.
So the employer called him in and said,
What’s this I hear about you?
Get your report in order, because you are
going to be fired.
The manager thought to himself,
Two: ‘Now what? My boss has fired me.
I don’t have the strength to dig ditches,
and I’m too proud to beg.
Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have
plenty of friends
who will give me a home when I am fired.
One; So he invited each person who owed money to
his employer
to come and discuss the situation.
He asked the first one,
Two: How much do you owe him?
One: The man replied, ‘I
owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’
So the manager told him,
Two: Take the bill and quickly change it to 400
gallons.
One: Then he asked the next man:
Two: And how much do you owe my employer?
One: The man answered: ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels
of wheat.’
Two: Here, take the bill and change it to 800
bushels instead.
One: The rich man had to admire the dishonest
rascal for being so shrewd.
And it is true that the children of this
world
are more shrewd in dealing with the world
around them
than are the children of the light.
Here’s the lesson:
Use your worldly resources to benefit others
and make friends.
Then, when your earthly possessions are gone,
they will welcome you to an eternal home.
If you are faithful in little things, you
will be faithful in large ones.
But if you are dishonest in little things,
you won’t be honest with greater
responsibilities.
And if you are untrustworthy about worldly
wealth,
who will trust you with the true riches of
heaven?
And if you are not faithful with other
people’s things,
why should you be trusted with things of your
own?
No one can serve two masters.
For you will hate one and love the other;
you will be devoted to one and despise the
other.
You cannot serve both God and money.
