Grace and Peace to you from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in
the truth; for His word is truth. Amen
Seventeenth
Sunday after Pentecost (2010)
We Distribute the Riches of Heaven
Luke 16:1-15 (ESV)
He
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. [2] And 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.' [3] And 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. [4] I have decided what to do, so
that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their
houses.' [5] So, summoning his master's
debtors one by one, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' [6] He said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' He
said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' [7] Then 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.' [8] The 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. [9] And 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. [11] If then you have not been faithful in
the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? [12] And if you have not been faithful in
that which is another's, 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."
[14] The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things,
and they ridiculed him. [15] And he said
to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows
your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of
God.
What would
you do if you received notice from your employer that you were about to lose
your job? Would you just sit down and cry or would you pray that God would help
you find another job? Obviously, one of the first thoughts that would run
through your mind is, “How am I going to meet my financial obligations? How am
I going to pay my bills? There’s the mortgage, the car payment, utilities,
groceries, and oh so much more and you ask yourself, what am I going to do?” The
second thought would most likely be, “Where am I going to find another job?”
Possibly you’re employed by a one-of-a-kind industry in your community and the
potential of getting a similar job is slim to none. This means you would have
to consider a move to another community in order to secure a comparable job or
settle for something different, possibly a job that pays less money.
Today, with
the economy being what it is, this scenario has been played out countless times
across our nation and sadly, too often; it has created separation between
husbands and wives, parents and children. It has been the cause of angry words,
physical altercations, divorce, and even suicide and murder. These tragic
problems are not uncommon when we are controlled by that evil task master;
money.
I know, I
know, your first response is, “Well pastor, we cannot survive without money. It
takes money to live. It takes money to support the church and her mission.
Where would we be without money?” Yet, I must respond to such arguments by
reminding all that our Lord Jesus says, “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” (v. 13). In
addition, the apostle Paul stated, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of
evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith
and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Tim. 6:10 ESV).
In the
Gospel Reading for today the scenario I laid out earlier is somewhat like the
one our Lord showed us in the parable of the dishonest manager. Of course,
there are a few differences. One big difference is that in the parable of the dishonest
manager we have a man who is a thief, stealing from his master and because of his
dishonesty, he is fired. What follows, his self-posed questions regarding how
he might earn a living, are much the same as I previously spoke of, but again
there is a glaring difference. The dishonest manager is planning to continue to
defraud his master of his riches by conspiring with his master’s customers. He
offers each customer a once in a life time opportunity to financially benefit
by joining him in his larceny. In return all he wants is a place in their homes
where he might be housed and fed. Now, it’s not enough that he alone is a
thief. In order to continue living the life to which he is accustomed he is all
the more willing to make others thieves with him. The dishonest manager’s lust
for money easily overpowers his sense of duty to his employer or his obligation
to obey God who tells each of us, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15 ESV).
Therefore, there is little doubt that the dishonest manager has only one master
and that master is money!
To our
surprise we see that the dishonest manager’s master, when he becomes aware of
what his ex-servant has done, actually praises him for his shrewdness to continue
to perpetrate his larceny. This seems most strange. Even more to our surprise
our Lord Jesus says, “The sons of this world are more shrewd in
dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And 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” (vv. 8-9).
Is it
possible that our Lord is telling us to engage in unscrupulous practices to
obtain wealth so we might make friends here on earth? Can it be that the One
who told the young ruler, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you
have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and
come, follow me” (Luke 18:22 ESV), is telling us to accumulate dishonest
wealth? No, it is not possible and this is not what the Lord is telling us in
vv. 8-9.
A proper
understanding of this parable has plagued many since our Lord first told it.
The untrained ear could listen to this parable and conclude that our Lord is
telling us to be as shrewd as the world in obtaining monetary wealth. Thus, a
Christian can engage in illicit monetary practices and justify them by simply
saying; “Our Lord, told us to make friends with the world through our
unrighteous wealth. So why cant’ I overcharge my customers, rent my rundown
properties at exorbitant prices, or misappropriate items from my employer to
benefit my family and friends?” The sinful nature easily comes to this
conclusion, because it’s always easier to do things according to worldly
standards than according to the Word of God. However, if we really listen to
our Lord Jesus when He tells us that we should make friends as do the sons of
the world, through unrighteous wealth; He is actually saying that we should do just
the opposite.
Yes, our
Lord wants us to be shrewd, but the shrewdness of which He speaks is having
good insight in mission work, to be perceptive in refuting error, and to be
wise in restoring an erring brother or sister just to mention a few. However,
in all our planning we are always to be guided by God’s Word not our human
reason, because if we rely on human reason we will quickly slip into the ditch
with the dishonest manager.
When we
examine the words of our Lord Jesus in this parable we can easily see a
parallel between God and the rich master, ourselves and the dishonest manager,
and money and the blessings we are given by God throughout our lives. Moreover,
this parable requires that we first recognize that every blessing we have or
will ever have is first and foremost the property of God; they are His riches from heaven. Therefore, He is the possessor of
all things and He, in His gracious will and wisdom, allows us to temporarily
manage those blessings, which He has put in our charge.
Like the dishonest
manager we are stewards of God’s property and He is entrusting us to manage it
wisely. Yet there is a big difference between the property managed by the
dishonest manager and the property God asks us to manage; the rich man’s property
is worldly and temporal, giving only temporary benefit to those who have it. On
the other hand the property God gives is both earthly and heavenly and He
entrusts us to manage these gifts for our benefit and the benefits of others;
both temporal and eternal. However, much like the dishonest manager we waste the
gifts that God has given us. Driven by a false sense of power or abject
laziness, all too often we misuse, misapply, misappropriate, or miserly
distribute God’s blessings. Therefore, it is unquestionable that in such
instances we are guilty of stealing from God becoming the dishonest manager who
is also guilty of stealing from his master. Therefore, our Lord warns us to be
shrewd with the gifts He gives; to manage them wisely in this life so that when
He calls us from this earthly life, we might be received into His eternal home.
To
emphasize this point our Lord Jesus tells the disciples, “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. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous
wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that
which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?” (vv. 10-12).
To the
children of the world money is everything, and they will do all, even sell
themselves into unrighteousness in order to obtain it. However, for the children
of God, money is a very little thing; in fact, it is the least of our
possessions when compared to the gift of eternal life obtained for us by the
greatest servant of all, our Lord Jesus Christ on the altar of the Cross. Therefore,
our Lord Jesus provides a most accurate analysis of human nature when it comes
to valuable possessions.
If you can
trust someone with a possession of small value; that is; trusting them
implicitly to keep it safe and secure, then you can trust them implicitly with
a possession of much greater value. On the other hand, if you cannot trust
someone with the smallest of possessions, then you could never trust them with
your life’s savings. What is the value of your children? Would you trust
someone to watch your children, if you wouldn’t trust them to watch your pet?
What is the value of your soul? What is the value of eternal life? Would you
trust your soul and eternal life to someone whom you could not trust to speak
the truth? Our Lord Jesus is telling His disciples to be trustworthy as He is
trustworthy and He is telling us to be trustworthy too.
Moreover,
we are reminded just how trustworthy our Lord Jesus is. It is not that we first
trusted Him; it is that He first loved us. Being faithful to His heavenly
Father and loving us more than we ever deserved, He eagerly offered us riches
beyond our wildest imagination. He redeemed and purchased us lost and condemned
sinners winning us from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil;
not with gold or silver, but with a treasure far exceeding their value. He won
us with the price of His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death
all so we might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom serving Him in
everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.
Having set
the bar for trustworthiness our Lord Jesus calls upon us to be trustworthy
stewards of His gift of the means of grace; His Gospel, Baptism, and the Lord’s
Supper. We are to distribute them according to His command for these are His riches which come from heaven; they
are holy and precious possessions. Trusting us with these gifts, which are more
precious than any earthly object, Our Lord expects us to be faithful and
faultless in our management of them; we are not to waste them or use them
indiscriminately or frivolously. We are
to follow His instructions to the letter receiving and using these gifts for
our benefit and for the benefit of people who dwell in the darkness of sin and in
the shadow of death, so that a great light might dawn on them and that they might
receive the Holy Spirit, be given the gift of faith, be brought into the Body
of Christ and granted the gift of eternal life (Matthew 4:16 ESV).
Our task is
great and our Lord reminds us, “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” (v. 13). If
the ways of the world get in our way of serving the Lord, then we become unfaithful
servants, dishonest managers of His gifts and He says to us, “You
are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For
what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (v. 15).
If you fit in this category, then our Lord calls upon you to repent, turn from
your evil way and turn to Him where there is forgiveness and eternal life
through His atoning sacrifice on
We have
been called to be honest and faithful servants of our Lord Jesus and to the people
throughout the world to whom He sends us. With the help of the Holy Spirit we
will be faithful in serving Him and on the Last Day we will receive the joy of
our service. On the Last Day, as you stand before His throne in awe and
reverence, rejoicing that you are in heaven, you will rejoice even more when you
hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a
little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew
25:21 ESV). Amen.
Let us pray: Father of Your Faithful Servant, grant us the joy of being faithful in our service to You as we bring the Gospel truth to a dying and condemned world. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, let our words be Yours and our voices heard as Your voice so all who hear may believe and turn to You in repentance seeking forgiveness of their sins and the assurance of Your forgiveness through Your holy Absolution. For this and all things we pray in the name of Your one and only Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
May the Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.