Thanks to the Dire Straits for my sermon title. The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Robbery With Insolence[1] Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. Today’s Gospel is our Lord’s story of the manager who was about to be fired. After the manager had slashed debts that were owed to his master, “the master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.” The word “shrewdness” can be translated as “wisdom,” “insight,” “depth of thinking,” or perhaps even “savvy.” The master commended his manager because the manager had acted somewhat like a chess player who makes an unexpected move that perhaps only a few people could have seen coming. Dear Christian friends, We should all pray thanks to Jesus our God that He would use a dishonest, unrighteous person as an example for us each to emulate. If Jesus had used a perfectly faithful and 100% honest man for our example, we would have no escape. We might assume and agree that complete honesty is the best approach in all cases, but who can do it? If you or I should claim to be 100% honest 100% of the time, we would be dishonest. Jesus knows this. Jesus holds up for our example a man who is, in a certain sense, beneath us. Most Christians probably feel appalled that the manager in this Gospel would so brazenly swear down his master’s accounts. Let’s try to get over it. We can use today’s Gospel as a way of climbing down off our high horses. We can feel happy that Jesus is fully able to produce many good and wonderful things, even by using people such as this dishonest manger, or opportunistic you, or despicable me. Focus on our Lord’s main point: “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness,” that is, his wisdom, insight, depth of thinking, savvy. What was wise and savvy about this manager, according to today’s Gospel? One thing: this manager realized that he could use someone else’s property as a powerful tool for showing generosity and love toward his neighbor. I say it again: this dishonest manager used someone else’s property to show generous love toward others. Jesus wants you and me to do the same. There are two ways that today’s Gospel can be applied to you, both for your joy and for your instruction: · First, today’s Gospel speaks about Jesus wanting me (and all other Christian pastors) to use someone else’s property as a way of showing generous and even extravagant love toward you; · But Jesus also applies today’s Gospel in a manner that includes you in the mix. Stated another way, Jesus wants you (and all other Christians) to likewise use someone else’s property in showing generous love toward other people in your life. Slashing the Bill in Worship Today’s Gospel opens with these Words: “Jesus said to His disciples.” It is very likely that many Christians were listening, too, but here Jesus singles out those men who were specifically entrusted with the office of preaching and teaching in the Church. I claim no superiority over you, and I am probably less honest than most of you (at least the children). The Words, “Jesus said to His disciples” simply evoke thoughts concerning the Office of the Holy Ministry in your midst. This is why I earlier said to you that Jesus wants me (and all other pastors) to use someone else’s property as a way of showing generous and even extravagant love toward you. · Who is the Master? Christ Jesus our Lord, against whom you have incurred great debt on account of your sins. If you should think you do not owe very much debt, a few minutes with the Ten Commandments should cure you of that delusion. · What is a wise and praiseworthy thing for the Office of the Ministry to do? The Office of the Ministry can do nothing better, nothing more insightful and savvy, than to announce that your debts have been slashed and your load lightened. Stated another way, the Office of the Ministry is at its best when it snatches what belongs to Jesus and credits it to you. o This dishonest manager heard confession from each of his Master’s debtors, and then he cut each person’s debt. o In the very same way, I likewise hear you describe your debt when you confessed your sins. Forget about cutting the bill in half! I will commit a greater act of robbery than this dishonest manager: Go ahead and write your account down to zero. As a called and ordained servant of the Word—that is, as a manager in the house of Christ my Master—I forgive you ALL your sins, ALL your debts before God in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. o Rest assured, Christians, that this is the very thing that Jesus wants me and all pastors to do. Thus is written, “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.” Slashing the Bill at Work and at Home Today’s Gospel does not apply ONLY to those who hold the preaching office of the Church. In the same way that Jesus wants me to use His property in showing generous love toward you, He also wants you to do the same. Jesus wants you (and all other Christians) to use someone else’s property in showing generous love toward other people in your life. Speaking in a manner that applies to all Christians—including you personally—Jesus says at the end of today’s Gospel, “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.” Do not take these Words the wrong way. Jesus is not saying that you should use your money to buy your way into heaven. Not only would that be impossible for you to do, but Christ your Lord has already, fully opened the door to your salvation by His death and resurrection. There is nothing more for you to add in that direction. When Jesus says, “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth,” He is telling to you: · To take better care of your friends than you do your furniture. Act as if your neighbor is more important than your possessions. · That your name and reputation as an adopted child of God is much more important than your stuff. (By the way, your stuff really does not belong to you, anyway.) · To pattern yourself after the dishonest manager in today’s Gospel. He was commended “for his shrewdness,” that is, his “wisdom,” “insight,” “depth of thinking,” and “savvy.” The master commended his manager because the manager had acted somewhat like a chess player who makes an unexpected move that perhaps only a few people could have seen coming. You have the power to do the same, acting with generosity that few others might even see coming, because God has enlivened you through His Word and Spirit. This dishonest manager realized that he could use someone else’s property as a powerful tool for showing love toward his neighbor. Jesus wants you to do the same, now that He has given all things to you. Everything in Today’s Gospel Relies Upon the Master’s Generosity This dishonest manager acted with boldness and insolence. If his master had been a hard man, a man who loved his materials and his accounts more than anything else, this dishonest manager would have met hard discipline for his actions. But he did not. Neither shall you, when you act with the same boldness and insolence with your Lord’s possessions. Who is the Master? · Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom God the Father has given all things in heaven and earth. Thus it is written, “God [the Father] has put all things in subjection under His feet” (1 Corinthians15:27). Again it is written, “The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land” (Psalm 95:5). · Christ Jesus our Lord, who measures both your life and His own, not by what is gathered, but by what is scattered. Thus it is written, “He has scattered His gifts abroad” (Psalm 112:9). And again, “When He ascended on high… He gave gifts to men” (Ephesians 4:8). · Christ Jesus our Lord, who continually produces many good and wonderful things upon this earth, even by using this dishonest manger, opportunistic you, and despicable me.
________________________________ [1] Using the less common definition: excessive, extravagant, exceeding the bounds of propriety. _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
