Loving God, you entrust us with your gracious gifts and call us to glorify you through serving others.  Empower us by your Spirit as we worship together today, leading us into faithfulness and love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    How do you handle it when you are asked to look after something that belongs to somebody else?  For example, if you borrow somebody’s car, are you more careful with it or less careful than if it were your own?  Or if you visit somebody else’s home, do you leave a big mess for them to clean up, or are you careful to put things back just the way you found them?

    If you were asked to look after somebody else’s pet, would you take extra care to make sure the animal would be okay, or would you forget about it because, after all, it’s not yours anyway?  And in your work, how do you look after things that belong to your employer?  Do you break things and take things because you figure your employer can afford it, or do you look after things as if they were your own?  And one more question to think about: If you were handed somebody else’s wallet and invited to give an offering, would you give more or less than if it was your own wallet?  How do we respond when we are asked to look after what belongs to another?  And how does this compare to the manager in the parable that we heard today (Lk. 16:1-13)?

    The manager, or steward, was not doing a very good job of looking after his master’s property.  In fact, he was wasting it – squandering it – managing to lose what belonged to his master.  However, as we discover through the telling of the parable, this was not because the manager didn’t have the ability.  In fact, as it turns out, he was quite creative and perceptive once he discovered that he would be losing his job.

    As soon as he found out that he would be fired, he went straight to work.  He went to some of the people who owed his master extremely large debts, and he made friends with them.  He did this by getting them to rewrite their own promissory notes, or IOU’s, in each case reducing how much they owed his master.  

    Now, the parable makes it clear that the manager was being dishonest and unjust and unrighteous when he did this.  However, Jesus lifts up the example of this manager and says, “Look at how clever this man was in ensuring his own future.  Look at how much effort he put into his own self-preservation.  Wouldn’t you think that children of God would put in the same kind of effort when their eternal home is at stake?”

    Consider this: We also are managers, or stewards.  In our case, we have been entrusted with property that belongs to God: our selves, our time and our possessions.  We have been entrusted with all that we have and all that we are and have been asked to look after it and use it wisely on God’s behalf.  And so, how do we care for things that belong to somebody else?

    In one sense, the parable tells us how not to do it.  Wasting it, squandering it and losing it are not particularly good stewardship, and it will be given to somebody else to manage if our own effort is lacking.  Dishonesty and unfaithfulness are also not acceptable and will never lead us into true riches, or heavenly riches.  Making money or riches into our god is also sure to lead us astray, for once we start worshipping money, we cannot worship the Lord of heaven and earth at the same time.  And so, how are we to be faithful in looking after what God has entrusted to us?

    For one thing, God has given us our body and soul and all that is ours in order to be able to work for the glory of God and in service to others.  Think for a moment about the work that you do from day to day.  (And this applies to you even if you’re retired, because you still spend your time doing something!)  So think about the work that you do from day to day and how you spend your time.  Do you go about your work thinking about giving glory to God and being of service to others?  If not, why not?  Would it change the way that you do your work?

    Certainly, biblically speaking, honest work is mentioned in a number of different contexts.  Those in the early Christian community who used to be thieves are instructed that they need to give up stealing in order to follow Jesus (1 Cor. 6:9-11).  There’s also one situation that Paul addresses where people had stopped working and figured that others in the Christian community would support them.  To these people Paul says, “If you’re going to refuse to work, you won’t be eating, either” (2 Thess. 3:10-12).

    Of course, this is entirely different from those who are unable to work or to make a living.  You may have noticed that the Bible has quite a bit to say about the poor.  Giving alms to the poor is certainly part of the Jewish faith, and it continued to be a concern in the Christian community.  In fact, the earliest offerings that were collected were in order to look after the poor.  And so, another reason for people to make an honest living is so that they can be of assistance to those who cannot provide for themselves.  Looking after the poor and the orphans and the widows is always of special concern to God in the Scriptures, and we glorify God when we care for the ones who are most in need.

    Another thing to consider when we are thinking about what it means to be faithful with what we have been given is greed versus generosity.  The culture in which we live today just thrives on greed.  Everybody wants more than what they have and more than what they need, and not to share with anybody, but all for themselves.  We are constantly told through advertisements that what we have is inadequate and that we need to buy more.  We want the best deals and the cheapest stuff, all so we can have more for ourselves.  And yet, greed is one of the most insidious forms of idolatry.

    Idolatry, for those of you who thought I said that other word, is the worship of false gods.  Whether it is money or stuff or prestige or beauty or status symbols, all of these are false gods that will lead us away from Jesus Christ.  They will also, ultimately, disappoint us, since there is only one God who gives life.  Remember the words from 1 Timothy: “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10).

    However, on the other side of things, generosity is lifted up as a characteristic of those who believe in Jesus – a fruit that the Holy Spirit brings forth in our lives (Gal. 5:22).  In fact, generosity is a natural product of our faith and trust in God.  Consider this: When I know that all that I have comes from God, and I trust that God will continue to provide for my needs, this faith allows me to give generously.  This faith also allows me to discover that when I give generously, God is even more generous in return (2 Cor. 9:6-8).

    Now, I am well aware how much people don’t like hearing about money.  The thing is, though, that you can’t separate faith in Jesus Christ from how we look after all that God has given us.  When we believe in Jesus, that faith informs all of our decisions, including the decisions that we make about money.  God has given us all that we have and all that we are, and how are we going to look after what belongs to somebody else?

Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.... And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? (Lk. 16:10, 12)

For our part, when we are friends with Jesus Christ, we already have an “in” when it comes to the eternal homes.  For those who put their faith in Jesus will not be disappointed, but will find through him life in all its fulness.  Thanks be to God for this most gracious gift!  Amen.

Lectionary 25(C)                                Luke 16:1-13
September 22, 2013
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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