Today’s gospel account of the dishonest steward reminds me of those con artist movies like Ocean’s Eleven or The Sting, you know, those movies featuring criminals who are trying to con people out of their money. They come up with these elaborate plans, like robbing three casinos at once, or tricking the rich man into betting all his money on a fake horse race. And despite the fact that they’re criminals, we find ourselves rooting for them, hoping that their plans succeed. And usually, somewhere in the middle of things, the plan begins to go wrong. But we’re so caught up in the story, we get all anxious for the con artists, wondering how they’re going to recover, hoping they’re clever enough to put the plan back on track. We don’t mind that these are con artists, breaking the law. And when the twist comes at the end, we’re even more pleased to have been conned ourselves. It’s interesting, the way these movies appeal to so many people. Even though the characters are con artists, we admire their ingenuity and their boldness. They have a sort of roguish charm that disarms us. I suppose it helps if they’re played by someone like George Clooney, Brad Pitt or Robert Redford. We find ourselves wanting the con to be successful. That same dynamic is at work in today’s gospel. Jesus tells the story of a dishonest steward who’s been found out, and who now has to be clever or face the consequences. He’s a con artist, a conniver. If this were a movie we could imagine George Clooney in the role of the dishonest steward. He works for the rich landowner who’s hardly ever home. He handles all the finances, managing the tenants, collecting their debts. But the steward likes his master’s money a little too much, and he gets caught squandering it. This isn’t anything new for Jesus’ audience— they have personal experience with dishonest stewards. But here’s the first twist in the story: the master doesn’t have the steward thrown in jail. He shows him mercy and merely fires him. Now we have story. What’s the con artist going to do now? How’s he going to survive after being fired? Who will hire him? Where will he live? He has to act quickly, he’s only got a short time to figure it out. This is where the audience begins to root for the steward. They want to see if this clever underdog can get the better of his master. Now Jesus has his audience hooked. And sure enough, our con artist has a clever idea. He quickly calls in the people who owe his master money, and he slashes their debts. They don’t know the steward is about to lose his job. They think he’s negotiated a better deal for them with the master, and it feels like they’ve just won the lottery. They’re extremely grateful to the steward, and he’s just made some important friends. And what’s so clever about this, is that the master can’t really do anything about it. If he goes to his tenants and reverses what the steward has done, then he looks like a man who goes back on his promises, and comes across as stingy and greedy. So not only has the steward made friends with people who can help him, he’s also taken revenge on the master by reducing his income. The master has to admit how clever his steward has been,