Taming of the Shrewd (updated)

Today's sermon was delivered by our assistant priest and it was her time to tackle The Parable of the Dishonest Manager found in Luke 16:1-13.

Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.” Then the manager said to himself, “What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.” So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?” He answered, “A hundred jugs of olive oil.” He said to him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.” Then he asked another, “And how much do you owe?” He replied, “A hundred containers of wheat.” He said to him, “Take your bill and make it eighty.” And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

 ‘Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.’

While I followed the exposition on the whys and wherefores of the dishonest manager's wheelings and dealings, I have always needed help with the next part (but did not get any),

"...for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes."

Clearly there is a sharp division between the children of the age and the children of light. Might  the children of light be considered "rubes" by the shrewd ones if they happened to run into each other on a city street? I was left wondering about how shrewd the progressives have been in manipulating the Episcopal church into its current state. Does anyone remember the shrewd "mighty move of the Holy Spirit?"

Oh well, just call me "Rube."

PS I forgot to put in the new "offertory sentence" and "proper preface" that we are experimenting with, or being experimented upon, depending on your point of view.

Offertory Sentence 09/19/2010:

Jesus said, "You cannot serve God and wealth." So be faithful in what you have been given and more will be given to you; and you will be called children of light.

And what should it be called if the church squanders its wealth on law suits?

Proper Preface 09/19/2010:

It is right and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. For you are the one God, and we have one mediator in Jesus Christ our Lord, who gave himself for us, that we might be welcomed into your kingdom and, at the last, into our eternal home.

"Our" home? I think that might need some work.

I am starting to suspect that this new liturgical experiment is a shrewd way of softening us up for the real liturgical shake up to come out with those ssbs M.C. is working on.

Ignore my ranting, after all I am just a rube.