Luke 16:1-13<\/p>\n
1He also said to the disciples, „There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2And he called him and said to him, ‚What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.‘ 3And the manager said to himself, ‚What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.‘ 5So, summoning his master\u2019s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‚How much do you owe my master?‘ 6He said, ‚A hundred measures of oil.‘ He said to him, ‚Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.‘ 7Then he said to another, ‚And how much do you owe?‘ He said, ‚A hundred measures of wheat.‘ He said to him, ‚Take your bill, and write eighty.‘ 8The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. 10 „One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful in that which is another\u2019s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.“<\/p>\n
FAITHFULNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n Having just read the Gospel lesson for Sunday in their sermon study group, one person immediately said: \u201cI don\u2019t get it.\u00a0 Why does this manager get commended?\u201d<\/p>\n Another person answered: \u201cWell, in my study Bible it says that the guy was working on commission.\u00a0 So what he did was basically to eliminate his part of the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n The person that asked the question said: \u201cWow!\u00a0 That changes how you hear this text.\u00a0 So the manager wasn\u2019t cheating his boss or the debtors.\u00a0 He was cutting himself out of the deal entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n Another person jumped in: \u201cSo then the manager is commended, because he is shrewd enough to figure out how to make friends out of the debtors without cheating his boss.\u201d<\/p>\n At that point, still another person said: \u201cBut don\u2019t you have to tie it all into what Jesus says at the end of the Gospel?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it finally about which master you serve?\u201d<\/p>\n The person that asked the first question said: \u201cOK.\u00a0 So Jesus\u2019 point is that we can\u2019t serve God and something else.\u00a0 But what does He mean about making friends through money so that you\u2019ll be received into eternal dwellings?\u00a0 Surely He isn\u2019t saying you can buy your way into heaven!\u201d<\/p>\n At that point, the person with the study Bible said: \u201cMy notes give a cross reference to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 where Jesus says to lay up treasures for yourself in heaven.\u00a0 I think what He means is that you can make a difference in peoples\u2019 lives here by how you share the money you\u2019ve been given by God. When we get to heaven, we are not only going to have to answer for how we used God\u2019s money, we will also get commended when we have done well.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the others said: \u201cOK, that makes sense.\u00a0 But if the manager was so shrewd, why was the boss going to fire him in the first place?\u00a0 Jesus begins the story by saying that the man had been wasting his boss\u2019 property.\u201d<\/p>\n The person with the study Bible said: \u201cI don\u2019t know that we should try to take apart every single detail in Jesus\u2019 story.\u00a0 I think instead that we are to try to make sense of what He is telling us about how we are to live in a sinful world.\u201d<\/p>\n A member of their group said: \u201cAlright, Jesus seems to be saying that God\u2019s children aren\u2019t always as clever as worldly people.\u201d<\/p>\n Another chimed in: \u201cAt least with money.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that what this lesson is all about?\u00a0 How we use money?\u201d<\/p>\n The person with the study Bible said: \u201cWell, Jesus certainly talked about money more than anything else, because money, or Mammon as He originally said, is God\u2019s single greatest competitor.\u00a0 We say: \u2018In God we trust,\u2019 but if you notice the god we trust is usually the green-colored paper with those words on it!\u201d<\/p>\n The first person to ask a question said: \u201cSo how the guy in the story was so clever was that he let go of caring about the money and focused instead on securing his future.\u00a0 Of course, in the story, he did it with money.\u00a0 He shorted himself in the present in order to make sure that someone would help him out in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n The person with the study Bible said: \u201cSo if that guy was so shrewd in securing a better future for himself, what do you think Jesus is saying to us?\u201d<\/p>\n The quietest person in the group said: \u201cJesus wants us to be singularly focused on our future with God.\u00a0 He wants us to remember that each of us is going to see God face to face someday.\u00a0 And when we believe that, it changes how we live today.\u201d<\/p>\n Another person jumped in: \u201cBut isn\u2019t that what is so tough about following Jesus?\u00a0 He is so undivided in His loyalty to God.\u00a0 He is so faithful.\u00a0 Who among us can do that?<\/p>\n The first person said: \u201cLet\u2019s be honest here.\u00a0 He was God\u2019s Son.\u00a0 He was sinless.\u00a0 But we aren\u2019t sinless.\u00a0 And we get so divided in our loyalties.\u00a0 I mean we have families and jobs and debts and responsibilities.\u00a0 Jesus didn\u2019t own anything.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t owe anybody.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t have a family to take care of.\u201d<\/p>\n The person with the study Bible said: \u201cNo. We aren\u2019t sinless.\u00a0 We aren\u2019t God in human flesh.\u00a0 We can\u2019t be.\u00a0 And we won\u2019t ever be what we aren\u2019t.\u00a0 But we are children of God by virtue of our baptism into Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection.\u00a0 That means that we are to die daily to our selfish selves, so that the Lord Jesus may live in us.\u201d<\/p>\n The quietist person in the group said: \u201cIt seems to me that the greatest benefit of coming to worship, of studying the Bible, and of praying is that we learn to bring all those divided loyalties to Jesus so that He can help us!\u201d<\/p>\n Another person said: \u201cExactly.\u00a0 The more I try to handle my life by myself the more of a mess I make and the more stressed that I get.\u00a0 I\u2019m not God, and when I forget that, things always go badly.\u201d<\/p>\n The first person said: \u201cThat\u2019s the hardest part for me.\u00a0 I was raised to trust myself and to take care of things on my own.\u00a0 I have always been hyper-responsible.\u00a0 I tell myself that God expects me to handle things the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n The quietist person said: \u201cYeah, and then see what happens to us.\u00a0 We end up squandering the life God gives us, because we\u2019re trying to be what we can never be.\u00a0 We end up trying to be God or trying to turn someone or something else into God.\u201d<\/p>\n The person with the study Bible said: \u201cSo what do you think it means to live shrewdly?\u201d<\/p>\n The quietist person said: \u201cI\u2019m not certain of this, but I think it means that we are to keep loyalty to God at the center of every relationship even when we\u2019re dealing with some really clever scoundrels.\u201d<\/p>\n The first person said: \u201cSo how do you remain faithful to God when you\u2019re dealing with somebody that tries to use your being a Christian against you?\u201d<\/p>\n Another said: \u201cYeah, I hate it when somebody tries to accuse you of not being a very good Christian, but what they really want is for you to let them have their way.\u201d<\/p>\n The person with the study Bible said: \u201cWe need to remember that the devil is the one that is always accusing us.\u00a0 Paul says in Ephesians 6 that we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities.\u201d<\/p>\n The first person said: \u201cWhat\u2019s your point?\u201d<\/p>\n The person with the study Bible said: \u201cWe are sinners like everyone else, and we shouldn\u2019t be surprised that evil is very real and very clever.\u00a0 I think that the devil is always trying to use our flaws against us so that we won\u2019t trust God with our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n The quietist person said: \u201cExactly. We shouldn\u2019t be afraid to admit that we aren\u2019t perfect, but, at the same time, to stay focused on doing what God wants and asking God\u2019s help.\u201d<\/p>\n Another person said: \u201cYeah, it\u2019s like the old hymn says: \u2018Take it to the Lord in prayer.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The first person said: \u201cOK, but I\u2019m getting lost in this discussion.\u00a0 Wasn\u2019t Jesus talking about money and what we do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n The person with the study Bible answered: \u201cYes, He was talking about money, but He was really talking about everyone in our life, and everything we have, and everything we are!\u00a0 He was talking about what it means to follow Him.\u201d<\/p>\n The quietist person said: \u201cThe clever steward in Jesus\u2019 story never forgot that he couldn\u2019t make it on his own.\u00a0 If his boss was going to cut him loose, then he needed to make friends quickly with people who would be kind to him.\u201d<\/p>\n The person with the study Bible said: \u201cSo if he was smart enough to figure out a way to keep from being thrown into jail while cutting a good deal for his boss\u2019 debtors, maybe we need to take a page from his book.\u00a0 Jesus doesn\u2019t mean that we are to try to earn our way to heaven.\u00a0 And He doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re on our own.\u00a0 He means that we need His friendship when everything else in this life fails \u2013 and it will!\u201d<\/p>\n The first person said: \u201cYeah, it\u2019s like that old saying: \u2018There\u2019s no U-Haul behind the hearse.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The quietist person said: \u201cThe only friend that will never leave any of us is Jesus.\u00a0 If we talk about all our struggles with Him, He can help us to stay focused on doing what His Heavenly Father wants.\u00a0 That\u2019s what it means to be faithful.\u201d<\/p>\n About that time the door opened and the pastor walked in: \u201cSorry to be so late, everyone.\u00a0 I had an emergency and couldn\u2019t get to class on time.\u00a0 Did you have a good discussion without me?\u201d<\/p>\n The first person said: \u201cYeah, I think we have a handle on this Gospel lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGreat,\u201d said the pastor, \u201cyou guys can preach this week!\u201d<\/p>\n In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n \u00a9Samuel D. Zumwalt, STS<\/p>\n