Hark, the cry of my poor people 
from far and wide in the land:
“The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”
For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt,
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.
Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of my poor people
not been restored?
~Jeremiah 8:19a, 20-22
 
If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?
~Luke 16:11
 
It seems that Jesus didn’t get the word you are not supposed to talk about money in polite company. By one measure, 16 of his 38 parables deal with the topic, and roughly one in ten verses in which he is the speaker address it. And, truthfully, the many writers and editors of the scriptures over the millenia didn’t seem to catch it either. Over 2300 verses broach the subjects of money, wealth, debt, and possessions.
 
Now, let’s breathe for a minute. This is certainly not to say that money or material is innately bad. Indeed, it is a frequent subject of faith because it is so important. It buys its way straight to the heart. With us, it has the power to bless or curse, to lead us together or tear us apart, to build health and wellness and peace or something else entirely, to serve God or to serve wealth.
 
It seems that this supposed “dishonest manager” (Luke 16:1-13), in one of these 16 parables about money, may have an angle on this that is more contemporary than we might have imagined. What might we learn from his surprisingly familiar position and his faithfulness with dishonest wealth?
 
Enter into worship.

Readings: Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 † Psalm 79:1-9 † 1 Timothy 2:1-7 † Luke 16:1-13
 
About the Art: Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940. Mill Children in Macon, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55696 [retrieved September 8, 2025]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mill_Children_in_Macon.jpg.
 
Background: “Some boys were so small they had to climb up on the spinning frame to mend the broken threads and put back the empty bobbins.” – [from photographer's note, Wikimedia] – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Collections. Lewis Hine was a sociologist and a photographer, who used his craft to help improve the protection of children in labor laws. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

I looked on the earth…
I looked on the mountains…
I looked, and there was no one at all…
I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins…
~Jeremiah 4:23a, 24a, 25a, 26a
 
“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
~Luke 15:8-10
 
You’ll be forgiven for forgetting
that what you really want is
love’s confusing joy.
~Rumi
 
The psychologist Kenneth Clark, who testified in Brown v. Board about the harms of segregation argued that “the human capacity for empathy could counter the egocentric drive to accumulate power.” In his ultimately compelling testimony in the landmark case, he distinguished between “chauvinistic empathy” which extended only to other members of one’s in-group and “empathic reason” a “merging of intelligence with a sensitivity to others.” This became the basis for an argument against segregation in schools that precludes social trust and concern for classmates with ruthless competitiveness.[i]
 
Likewise, psychologist Jamil Zaki, in The War for Kindness suggested empathy is like a muscle. It can be exercised and trained; we can become kinder as a result.
 
“Rejoice with me,” the woman, who stands in for God, says once she has found the coin she had lost. It is the same with the one lost sheep among the hundred, and with the return of a prodigal. The math is challenged, but the message isn’t. “Rejoice with me!” Or, as Episcopal Bishop Barbara Harris put it, “We are an Easter people, moving through a Good Friday world.” There is little daylight between empathy and compassion—one of those golden threads that run through the Christian scriptures and equally through the heart of world religions.
 
True religion, it turns out, is a practice; it is exercised and we are trained and grow into a surprising logic for life. Our hearts expand toward one another as we follow in this way. Look at the earth. Look at the mountains. See not only the ruins, but remember. And practice what is possible.
 
Enter into worship.
 
Readings: Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 † Psalm 14 † 1 Timothy 1:12-17 † Luke 15:1-10
 
About the Art: Moyers, Mike. The Seeker, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57153 [retrieved August 26, 2025]. Original source: Mike Moyers, https://www.mikemoyersfineart.com/.
 
About the Artist: "An impression of the parable of the lost coin."
It is an honor and a joy to share my work with you. For years, I have illustrated, designed and directed many book covers, ads, logos, commercials and campaigns. However, my deeper side is the life of a fine artist. I love to paint with the palette knife to keep my work loose, textured and bold. You will see that I paint all kinds of subjects. My deepest passion, however, is to use fine art to communicate matters of faith.

I firmly believe that art is a communion with the soul. Through my art, I strive to make known the beauty and wonder of life and faith. The pieces in this exhibit are inspired by things that have touched my life in a meaningful way. They range from plein air and impressionism to abstract and conceptual. My hope is to successfully communicate those inspirations so that you might be touched as well.
[from: https://www.mikemoyersfineart.com/about]


[i] Jennifer Szalai, “How Empathy Became a Threat” in The New York Times, July 28, 2025.