"A Steward Is Entrusted. The Wise Steward Also Entrusts." Last Sunday of the Church Year Sunday of the Fulfillment Commemoration of Clement of Rome, Pastor Commitment Sunday November 23, 2014 Matthew 25:1–13
Every preacher is a sinner preaching to fellow sinners. The prophets and apostles who wrote the Scriptures were sinners but in writing the words of Holy Scripture were inspired by the Holy Spirit. I have to think that it was daunting for them to write authoritatively to fellow Christians who were sinners just as they were. The commands impressed on the people of God by the apostles were not original with the apostles but were written with the very authority of God. Every Christian preacher is going to have a certain amount of hesitancy in preaching certain doctrines of the Holy Scriptures. When it comes to stewardship there are those preachers who speak definitively that we must tithe or else we are sinning. Then there are those preachers who won’t touch stewardship with a ten foot pole. Somewhere in the middle are those who wish they could speak as St. Paul does in today’s Epistle reading: “in these matters, you have no need to have anything written to you.” Paul was speaking about the End Times, but I’m afraid when it comes to stewardship many of us would just as soon not have anything written or preached about it. For some preachers preaching stewardship is a necessary evil, so to speak. How does one sinner impress upon other sinners that they are to give a portion of their money and possessions to God? And not just a little, not just what is left over, but giving to God as their firstfruits of all that one owns? If only we all knew instinctively the command of God on this and gave with a joyful heart ten percent of our income or even more, stewardship would be a simple matter of, “concerning stewardship, there is nothing that needs to be said to you.” That would be a relief. But it would be ignoring who are as Christians. Stewardship is not just something we are supposed to do. It is who we are. We are stewards. God has entrusted to us our money and possessions and how we manage them is a sign of spiritual health. Being a faithful steward is actually pretty simple. It’s so simple that it should be a matter that nothing needs to be said about it. The reason it’s not so simple is that our sinful nature twists those good things God gives us into things that we may do with what we please. We don’t see everything we have—our money, the things we own, our own lives—all as gifts from God and all as blessings to be used for His glory and for serving others. Instead of marveling at the abundance God has given us we whine about what we don’t have, we envy those who have more. The Gospel reading today speaks of being alert. Jesus speaks of being ready. He divides us Christians up into two camps: the foolish and the wise. The ten virgins have lamps in hand and are waiting for the bridegroom to come to the wedding feast so that they can join in on the celebration. They’re all there for the same thing. They are wanting to see the Bridegroom. Jesus is telling this parable of the Kingdom of Heaven. What will it be like? It will be like those who are waiting for Him to come, and the Bridegroom is Christ Himself, returning on the Last Day. But some are foolish. They aren’t prepared. They have their lamps but they didn’t bring along extra oil. Once their lamps go out, they’ll be in the dark. Why didn’t they bring extra oil? They were waiting, just as the wise virgins were. The wise virgins weren’t just waiting, they were in it for the long haul. The foolish virgins thought that since the Bridegroom was coming, well, how long could He take? He wants to get into the hall and start celebrating, so He shouldn’t be long. All the wise virgins knew was that He was coming. They didn’t know when. They didn’t know how long they would be waiting, just that they would be waiting. And so they prepared for the long haul. This is the picture of the Christian life, and therefore of the one who is a godly steward. A steward is one who has been entrusted with the things of others. God has entrusted to us the things of His creation. But the foolish steward takes it for granted. The foolish steward is not prepared. The foolish steward thinks that this is all just a temporary thing and takes just enough for the moment. The wise steward sees that all of this is not his own but is all God’s and therefore entrusts it all back to Him. Including his very own life. The wise steward is prepared, knowing that everything he needs is all from God. There is nothing he could give to God of his own, it is all from God in the first place. And so the life of the godly steward is a life of waiting, of being alert. When the Bridegroom finally came the wise virgins were ready. Their lives were entrusted to Him and He welcomed them into the wedding feast. The foolish virgins were nowhere to be found because they realized too late that their lives were not their own but of the Bridegroom. Once He went into the Feast He shut the door. They tried opening it and cried out, “Lord, Lord, open to us!” Is there anything sadder than the response? There is no servant sent to the door. There’s not even no response. The Bridegroom Himself comes to the door and answers them, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” That’s how Jesus ends His parable. They had been waiting for Him. They knew He was coming. But they didn’t prepare. They weren’t ready. They were, after all, not known by their Lord because they did not entrust their lives to Him. It was as if it were just a thing to do, waiting for the Bridegroom to show up so that they could join in on a party. The wise virgins, by contrast, lived a life in which they knew that their lives were wholly their Lord’s. Their lives were completely entrusted to Him, He who entrusted them with life itself. That’s why stewardship is never just a matter of giving more money, and really not even just a matter of giving money at all. Stewardship is your life. Being a steward is who you are. You are either a foolish one or a wise one. You either are along for the ride or you are in it for the long haul. You can never give enough money to enter into the eternal Feast. The price to enter has already been paid and the Bridegroom Himself has paid it. It wasn’t some ridiculous amount such as a billionaire could afford. Jesus paid with His own life. The Father entrusted Him with going as a lamb to the slaughter and Jesus entrusted His life to His Father. There is never enough money for the Church to get bigger and better. There is only the Bride—the holy Christian Church—entrusting Herself to Her Bridegroom with the many blessings He has entrusted Her with. Every gift we give to our Lord as His stewards is simply giving back to Him what He has first entrusted to us. As a steward who is entrusted by God with all His blessings you entrust all you have to Him. As a wise steward you see that no matter how much or how little you have it is all gift from God. Your life is not your own, it is your Lord’s. Being a steward of His gifts to you is a privilege. God has given you life. Who you are, all that you own, all that you do, is in response to the life He has given you in His Son. Your life is entrusted to Him here and forever. You are known by Him. Even as He welcomes you into His House here in this life to celebrate with you in Word and Sacrament, so He will welcome you on the Last Day into the eternal Feast. Amen. SDG -- Pastor Paul L. Willweber Prince of Peace Lutheran Church [LCMS] 6801 Easton Ct., San Diego, California 92120 619.583.1436 princeofpeacesd.net three-taverns.net It is the spirit and genius of Lutheranism to be liberal in everything except where the marks of the Church are concerned. [Henry Hamann, On Being a Christian] _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list Sermons@cat41.org http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
