We now inhabit a milieu in which brazen examples of “cashing in” are normalized, and citizens—and even our churches—have grown numb to them, often remaining silent about a matter that affects us all.

The painting captures something frequently overlooked in discussions of faithful discipleship: when Christ beckons us to follow, this requires a radically transformed relationship with our own coins on the table. And I believe this to be true for both individuals and churches alike.

The Parable of the Talents has, at least functionally, come to be interpreted through the lens of congregational finance and wealth stewardship. In many places, it is emphasized as a consoling text that softens and contextualizes other, more challenging things Jesus said about wealth.

Since the summer, I’ve been accompanying immigrants on many Fridays to their initial asylum hearings in New York City, watching as judges decide people’s fates while ICE agents loom over and harass asylum seekers at every turn. That experience has led me to hear the Christmas story with different ears this year – namely, as Good News proclaimed to people living on the edge of an abyss.

The Church living into its call to economic justice can lead the way both by diminishing its own economic power to pay off debts and finance reform, but also to advocate for an end to predatory practices.

As a lay theologian who works at the intersection of money, God, and institutions, I am often asked what is the difference between fundraising, as an element of stewardship, and manipulation.

It is only when our eyes see the fullness of suffering and sin do we see the ways in which God moves on our behalf.