A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to the Parable: The Steward, Tricksters and (Non)sense in Luke 16:1–8

Abstract

The parable of the Steward (Luke 16:1–8) has long vexed interpreters. Central to its difficulty is how the behaviour of a steward identified variously as “dishonest” or “unjust” can stand as an exemplary figure. Previous attempts to resolve this issue have included studies which have identified the Steward as a slave, and compared him to figures who appear in literary studies (the Trickster) and the Comedy of the ancient world (the servus fallax or callidus). However, these have failed to realize fully the moral ambiguity offered by these literary types. When set in the fictive world of moral ambiguity and subversion that they represent, it becomes easier to see how the Steward, with all the subversion he brings, becomes an exemplary model of discipleship. His financial chicanery will mirror the unorthodoxy of reconciliation that is lived out by Jesus of Nazareth.