 | Full Text Sermon | Notes on the Text | Alternate Sermon Ideas | September Series During the month of September, we are looking at the theme: "Dimensions of Discipleship". The gospel texts from Luke, along with reflections from the other lectionary texts will help us to explore the four themes: COMMITMENT, REPENTANCE, VALUES AND ABUNDANCE. Sunday
September 20, 1998 ~ Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost ~
Luke 16:1-13 Focus Text: "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." [16:10] Al was the custodian in our church who will forever be one one of my "most unforgettable" characters.He was remarkable in many ways, but there is one quality that stands out. He was "faithful in a very little" and he was "faithful also in much." Al and his wife were simple people who lived on simple means. They did not live in the neighborhood of our church which was made up of fairly well-to-do folk. A simple bungalow on the near north side of Chicago was the place they had called home for 47 years. Al had come to work for our church as the custodian because his wife's medical expenses had outstripped their meager retirement income. Al was reliable, consistent and very good at his work of keeping the church clean -- in spite of the fact that he had to fight through painful arthritis every day to gain enough flexibility for sweeping, dusting, washing and polishing. The pastor I had followed had been at the church for 56 years and by the time he left, his memory was failing badly. Then it happened! Al's baptism of faithfulness. He came rushing into my office holding ten 100 dollar bills. "See what I found!" While cleaning out one of the myriad of closets I had asked him to empty of my predecessor's "left-behind" belongings, Al opened a book and ten new, crisp 100 dollar bills fell to the floor. No pause. No consideration of what to do. No sly reasoning like, "This church has plenty of money and my wife and I are struggling with debt." He simply came to my office all excited -- "See what I found!" (And this all took place before the advent of security cameras!) My predecessor had obviously forgotten where he put the money -- then forgot about the money altogether. Al didn't blink an eye! Forgive me, but I just have to ask you. Would you be tempted? Just the weeniest, teeniest bit? A recent NBC Dateline episode showed one of those "caught on tape" segments where security guards were filmed as they found people's wallets with varying degrees of cash in them. Guess what? (You got it! They don't make 'em like Al any more. And when Al left work that day, I had tears in my eyes as I watched through my office window as Al limped toward his car. ) *** The employer in Jesus' parable was not so fortunate as to have an Al working for him. His top manager has misappropriated funds and devalued his assets. Charges are brought to the company owner and the dishonest manager is, "Caught on tape" and out of a job. But, this is no ordinary manager with his hand in the till. He comes up with a scheme to provide for his future before his termination is final. Here's where the parable takes a strange and confusing twist -- at least on the surface it does. The boss, Jesus says, "...commended the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly..." If that seems a little strange, Jesus' comment on the story is even more peculiar. "And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes." Then Luke records some words Jesus likely spoke on another occasion that have to do with the issue of faithfulness and the need for focus in our relationship with God. Someone who is faithful in little things, Jesus says, is faithful also in big things -- AND -- someone who is dishonest in little things is dishonest in big things. The gospel lesson concludes with Jesus saying, "You cannot serve God and wealth." In order to
get a handle on Luke's key message here, we will look at:
1) The Story, 1) The Story If Jesus told the story today, it might go something like this: A wealthy loan shark was told that his accountant was lining his own pockets with some of the money he took in. He called the accountant and said, "What is this I hear? Bring the books in and show me where every penny has gone. And while you're at it, find another job." The accountant was really worried and said to himself, "What will I do? I'm losing my job and I can't do manual labor. I've had this desk job for years." Then the accountant had an idea. "I know," he thought, "I'll give all our debtors a break so that when I'm out on my ear, they will feel indebted to me. He called all the debtors in and told them he would take fifty cents on the dollar for their debts and that made them really grateful to the accountant. When he heard about it, the wealthy loan shark had a grudging respect for his crafty accountant and commended him for his clever scheme before sending him on his way. Why is Jesus telling his disciples such a story? The values of both the rich man and his manager are deeply twisted. Both are focused on money and how they can get and keep lots of it. The rich man, contrary to Mosaic law had his fellow Jews in a position of indebtedness. Rich men don't fare well in Luke's gospel. In three different stories where Luke uses the phrase, "rich man", the riches occupy a spiritually injurious place in their lives. (See note on v.8) A concern for riches, Luke said, can choke out spiritual life. (8:14) Perhaps one of the easiest ways to see how concern for money can wreck a life is to take account of the amazing number of child abuse and neglect cases filed in district courts which have jurisdiction over areas where gambling is available. The most horrendous are the cases where infants have died in blazing hot cars while a parent was gambling. 2) The Comment Jesus' comment at the end of the story is puzzling to say the least. The comment comes right after the point is made about the rich man commending his dishonest manager. Rightly translated, Jesus says,
It sounds like Jesus is recommending the dishonest manager as a model of some kind. Is he serious? How are we to take this comment?
3) The Lesson Jesus is setting out a crystal-clear demarcation between the values of this world and those of the kingdom he has come to proclaim. We were designed for a relationship with the One who made us -- we are essentially spiritual beings. We can not be a "little bit" given to this world and a "little bit" given to God.The dishonest manager and his embezzling accountant are both totally given to this world and to things that can not last. Jesus made it very clear that we can not serve God and material things. Literally, what he said was, "You can not be a slave of (or be in bondage to) God and worldly wealth." Faithfulness is an issue of what is going to be number one in our lives. Faithfulness and dishonesty are not two ends of a spectrum. Faithfulness is a character issue, not a quality we turn on and off at will. Faithfulness is not something you "have", it is who you are. Jesus makes it clear that people are not "somewhat" trustworthy or a "little bit" faithful. People are not "sometimes" faithful and "sometimes" dishonest. Even when the dishonest character attempts to turn on honesty -- he is dishonest. Jesus says someone who is faithful in the small things will be faithful in the big things. The word translated "faithful" also means "trustworthy." Al was trustworthy. How many people do you know you could give a blank check to? Supposing you hired someone to mow your lawn and clean up your yard. You agree to pay them by the hour. Then you have to leave for the day. Do you know anyone you could hire to whom you could give a signed blank check and say, "I have to leave. When you go just fill in the amount I owe you!" If you know such a person, you have identified someone Jesus would call, "faithful" or "trustworthy." And whoever is trustworthy in very little, is trustworthy in _______ ? {much} Al was a true servant of the church. He is one who would definately hear the words, "Well done thou good and faithful servant." The central value of the disiple of Jesus Christ is that he or she is a "faithful" servant -- in the little things and in the big things! [Apply It] 1. Imagine that you are Al. $1000.00 was a lot of money for Al, so you have to imagine that your are Al and you are finding what is a lot of money for YOU. Maybe it's $10,000 dollars. There are no cameras and you can't get "Caught on Tape." No one is looking and no one will be the wiser. What do you do? 2. A critical issue here is what are the core values deep within our hearts? A critical test of our values is a question that pertains -- not to us, but to our children. What do you wish most for your children -- faithfulness or wealth? *** The nature of Luke 16:1-13 There is (almost) universal agreement that this parable and attendant applications is one of the most difficult (and maybe the most difficult) of Jesus' parables to interpret. A key question is whether this pericope is really a unit or whether it has been expanded upon. Jeremias sees the parable as having originally been vv. 1-8 and vv.9-13 as appended to the original parable. (Rediscovering the Parables) There are three ways to interpret the parable: 1) Be Wise (Imitate the shrewdness of this generation -- in light of approaching crisis -- an eschatalogical sense to the parable) -- 2) Be Kind (Some see the parable as an injunction to use worldly possession to make "friends" -- i.e. help the poor -- so that the "angels" will welcome them.) -- 3) Be Warned ( a] to be ready for the approaching crisis or b] against unfaithfulness.) Many commentators use approach #2 "Be kind -- that is use the wealth of the world to help others. (Wm. Barclay, Bruce Larsen, Geldenhuys) There is another possibility which retains a unified approach to the parable and its attendant admonitions. It is suggested by Elton Trueblood's description of 16:9 ("And I tell you make friends for yourselves....") as an example of Jesus' humor. Trueblood says, "Jesus meant of course, exactly the opposite of the words he spoke." [E. Trueblood; The Humor of Christ] The humor -- if Trueblood is correct -- has a mocking tinge to it. Our position is to favor Trueblood's minority opinion on this verse -- especially in light of the discourse with the Pharisees following today's pericope. The Pharisees "having heard all this" The approach we are taking with this message is that the passage has a central and unified theme which has to do with our core values as followers of Jesus Christ. It is likely that Luke has combined separate sayings here to address the theme of values. Verses 10-12 are unique to Luke. The lesson is about values no matter how you finally interpret verses 8 & 9. The true follower of Jesus Christ will not become entangled in the values of a material and possession driven culture. . There is no confusion or mixed loyalty -- the disciple is "faithful" in all things. v.5 "How much do you owe my master?" vv. 5-7 suggest that the rich man may have been in the business of making loans for interest -- not acceptable practice for Jews to their fellows. The income would be "unrighteous money". v.8 "And his master... because he acted shrewdly; for the children..." "Because" and "for" are both translated from the particle "hoti". So the translation might better be, "And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly because the children of this age..." In other words -- the master commended the guy because he was cunning because that's the way it is with people like this -- and people like this are way better at this kind of cunning than people whose values are rooted in God." * Luke's three stories about a "rich man" -- 12:16, 16:1, 16:19. See also Luke 8:14, "...they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life... -- from the parable of the sower. v.9 "They may welcome you" is a bit misleading since "dexontai hymas" is future passive -- best translated as "you will be welcomed". This means all interpretations which attempt to discern the "they" are misleading. It may give the edge to those who take the verse to mean: "You as my followers should use the money of this world to make friends for good purposes so that when all is said and done, you will be welcomed into eternal homes." "dishonest wealth" = "mamones tes adikas" Likely idiomatic expression for worldly wealth. Unrighteous in the sense of "of the world" and not "holy". Thus the money changers who took a cut for exchanging worldly money for money which could be used to purchase offerings. v.13 Though one may have both God and wealth, we can not serve both -- or be in bondage to both at the same time. The Bad News and the Really Terrible News ~ Amos 8:4-7 This text parallels the text from proper 11 - July 19, 1998. If you did not use the full text sermon for 7/19/98. You will find it a good resource for this text. See: July 19, 1998. A Lesson for Young Pastors ~ I Timothy 2:1-7 The premise of I Timothy is that the Apostle Paul is giving instruction to a young protégé. This passage gives four things the pastor-teacher is to teach: 1. 2:7 (The last verse first) We are "heralds"
2. 2:1 Pray for those who lead the nation.
3. 2:2 God desires our redemption
4. 2:5-6 One Way
A Call To Worship (Based on Psalm 113) L: Let us
praise the name of the Lord, A Prayer of Dedication Help us, O Lord God, to let go. We too easily cherish the things of this world and lightly consider the claims of eternity. Give us grace today. Give us the power to see ourselves in the light of Your love. May the gifts we bring today call us to the joy of living for You in a lost and broken world. Amen. A Prayer of Confession O God of heaven and earth, Creator of all we have and are, we come before you today as those who need Your help with faithfulness. We long to hear the words, "Well done good and faithful servant," yet our service to you has fallen short. O give us the strength of your Holy Spirit, that we might set our hearts more squarely on the goal of unwavering commitment to your lordship in all of life. Amen. Who Can You Trust? Objects: For this lesson, you will need a large bag of M & M's And some smaller bags like the small Halloween type ones.(Obviously, this is a part of the M & M series.) You could also use a large snickers and some of the smaller ones. Put all the candy in a large paper bag. The lesson will have to do with your carrying out some instructions that were given to you and whether the children would trust you if you didn't do it correctly. Lesson: "Boys and girls, I have some good news for you! Someone gave me some little bags of M & M's to give to you. This person ( me or your husband or wife) told me to give each one of you a bag of these M & M's. [Show them] "But, wait a minute!" Here's a large bag of M & M's. [Show them] I know -- why don't I give each of you an M & M out of this bag [begin to do this -- one M & M to each child] and that way, I'll have these little bags for myself. Isn't that a great idea?" [Let them express that this isn't a great idea from their perspective.] Talk with the children about how this would only be a good idea for you and it certainly wouldn't be a good idea in terms of the instructions you received about giving the little bags of M & M's to the children. If you don't carry out the instructions given to you, you wouldn't be very trustworthy. Would they want you to work for them? Relate this to the dishonest manager in the gospel lesson. Then: "It wouldn't be very honest of me to keep the candy for myself -- would it? And you know something? I want people to trust me more than I want all this candy for myself -- so here you are. [Hand out the bags] "Now aren't you glad I am an honest person? Don't you want to be an honest person too?" |
|||||||||||||||||||||