The Ninth Sunday after Trinity - August 21, 2011

The Church Season of Trinity

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (August 21, 2011)

Readings:   
    Psalm 51:1-12
    2 Samuel 22:26-34
    1 Corinthians 10:6-13
    Luke 16:1-13

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the New Testament Lesson from 16th chapter of St. Luke, especially the following verse:

Luke 16:1-13 (NIV)

1 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ 3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ 5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 “‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’ 7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ “‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ 8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 13 “No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.”

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Christ our Lord speaks of the money and goods of this world as "unrighteous mammon."  We should not misunderstand what He is saying.  He does not mean that the physical blessings we have are somehow evil in themselves.  Even money itself is not the root of all evil.  Rather, it is love of money that is the root of all evil.  In themselves, each creation of God is a good gift from His loving hand. Yet Christ speaks of them as unrighteous mammon because they belong to this unrighteous world.  They are only temporary blessings, as opposed to the eternal blessings in the world to come.

Since they are temporary, do not get too attached to them.  Do not hold onto them.  Spend them freely and generously.  You are not owners, but only stewards of God's gifts, and must give account for your stewardship. So we rightly examine ourselves.  Are we giving generously, as God has generously given to us?  Or are we too often selfish and self-centered?  I do not only speak of giving to the Church, although that is indeed a command from God.  But in many other ways we are to think of our vocation and remember how God wants us to give of our substance to others.  If we are husbands, then our substance is to be for our wife; if a father, then for our children; as citizens; and so forth. This does not mean that we must never use the blessings we receive for our own pleasure, as if any enjoyment in life were sinful.  Certainly not.  Yet we must be certain first and foremost to take care of those for whom God has given us responsibility.  In fact, to use blessings also for our own care and enjoyment helps to keep us healthy and happy, and therefore more able to care for others.  We should not feel guilty for the responsible use of God's blessings to us, since it is His intention that we take joy from His good creation.

Of course, we should never think that we are giving our money or property in order to earn eternal blessings.  We know that Christ alone gives us our heavenly reward.  It is so easy to slip into this mind-set.  If a person gives generously, then we might say, "Surely they are going to heaven!" Yet that is not necessarily the case. If we forget this, then we may get confused by the words of Christ in our Gospel, "They will receive you into an everlasting home."  This cannot mean that our works of charity earn us a place in Paradise.  It also does not mean that we will win people into the kingdom by the persuasion of our charity.  Our works earn salvation for neither us nor for our neighbor. Yet our works done in Christ will follow us.  On the Last Day, witnesses will rise up to praise us for the deeds of sanctification that the Spirit produced in us.  In so doing, they will not really be praising us, but praising God who created these works in us.

As the story of the sheep and goats shows, these are works done by believers to Christ Himself.  So in truth, it is God through Christ who receives us into eternal dwellings.  It is not as though we must convince a jury picked from among our peers.  There is only one Judge, and He is only pleased with His Son.  So all who are in Christ will enter eternal glory. But as we examine our lives according to our sinful flesh, we find that we have failed to be as charitable and generous as we should.  Our hearts have sometimes been stingy, no matter how loving we try to be.  Although we hold the example of Christ before us, yet we fail to live up to His perfection.  Too often we give grudgingly or bitterly or with thought of reward.

In truth, we are not worthy of the mercy of the Father.  But that is what mercy is - love given to the unworthy. So we see the perfect Giver only in God.  He always spends generously.  He gave away His prized Treasure, which was His beloved, only-begotten Son.  Christ in turn spent Himself.  He gave His life away generously into death and has given to you more than could be imagined. He has canceled all your debts.  You owed to God an eternity of slavery because you could not pay back the debt for your sins.  Yet Christ has written down in God's book that you are free of all debt.  You are paid in full by the Blood of your Savior.

When we have failed to give freely, He gave with the freedom of pure grace.  His generosity has covered up the selfish fruits of our flesh.  His Blood has covered and erased our lack of charity. Now He has given eternal goods to you that are not bound by this temporary world of unrighteousness.  No, His blessings do not fade or rust.  He has given a new heaven and a new earth.  He has given physical blessings that you have not seen yet - perfect food and drink, perfect life and health and body, and a perfect home in which to enjoy His blessings.

You cannot even understand how great the blessings are you are to receive.  But consider this: that your reward was earned by the sufferings and death of Christ.  Since that price is infinite, then your reward is also of infinite value.  Therefore the glory of the resurrection that awaits you will far exceed all expectations. This Christ has earned for you, by the Father's free gift of mercy.  For this is the charity of God, that He has freely given to us poor beggars all that we could ever need, and far more.

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