Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus
In today's Gospel Reading, Jesus asks us to understand some
unusual teachings of His. Let us look into His parable in St. Luke 16:1-13. We
all know Jesus usually taught with the help of parables. Here Jesus is using a
parable of a steward and his master. Who is a steward? A steward is a person
who looks after some one else's property and goods, today we call such a person
a store manager.
In the parable, Jesus says that the steward was a thief and he was
caught by his master in his thievery and he was demanded the books to show
all the accounts so that he could be penalized. But for
self-preservation, he took the little bit of time that he had been given to
turn the situation to his advantage. He went to many of the customers of his
boss and started reducing the money owed by them and gave them discount. Thus
he started making friends out of them so that he could go back to them for
favor for the favor they received.
This really was an act of thievery; the steward
was using money owed to his owner to make friends for himself. It’s easy
to be generous with someone else’s money.
But what happened to the steward? Anyone
listening to the story would have guessed that the steward would get double the
punishment he deserved. God hates sin. He had commanded thus, "Thou shall
not steal." So naturally we would guess that Jesus would say the story in
such a manner that the steward is punished. But surprisingly, it does not
happen. Instead, the owner of the steward actually compliment the steward for
his shrewdness for taking care of himself with the owner's money. Then,
Jesus deliver's the punchline:
"Use worldly wealth to gain friends for
yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal
dwellings." - St. Luke 16:9
Jesus asks us to be like the shrewd manager. You
might think that Jesus is kidding. Right? No. Jesus never instructs us to lie
or cheat. So what then is the instruction Jesus is giving? How are we as God's
children to imitate the liar and thief?
Before that we have to realize that just like the
steward, even we as God's children have been entrusted with some estate of
God's to manage. Every single thing that we own belongs to God, it all comes
from Him and returns to Him. The early fathers of the church wrote about it
thus - Gaudentius writes:
“In this world nothing is really ours. … we have been entrusted with the stewardship of the goods of our Lord, either to use them, with giving of thanks, according to our needs, or to distribute them to our fellow servants according as they need. … it is not lawful to misuse indiscriminately the means that have been committed to us, or to claim the right to extravagant expense and display; for we must render an account of our stewardship to the Lord when He comes.”
Likewise, Chrysostom writes:
“We are not placed in this life as lords in our own houses, but as guests and strangers … He who is now rich in a moment is a beggar. Therefore, whoever you may be, know that you are but an administrator of things that belong to Another. You have been given the right of brief and passing use of them. Therefore cast out of your soul the pride of dominion, and put on instead the modesty and humility of a steward.”
It's so easy to imagine that whatever you have worked for and
earned belong to you alone. Right? And it is correct to always hold on to it
with an iron grip. God says, "Think again. I am glad to let you use these
things for a little while. But don't get too attached and don't get proud that
you have these things. Use them wisely. Especially use them to make friends for
you and for Me, as did that steward."
How do make friends with money, and other goods? You know the
answer to that! By giving it away. It's easy to be generous with someone else's
money, as Martin Luther wrote:
Whoever wants to be a Christian must gladly, willingly and benevolently help the one who is in need and give wherever he can. This is serving God, and He will ultimately reward you. On the other hand, the skinflints and profiteers who can do nothing but pinch pennies and give nothing to anyone, or very sparingly, served the accursed devil, who will also reward them in kind.”
Don't misunderstand what Luther when he says God will reward you.
You can't buy your way into heaven by giving money away, whether to a beggar or
the Church. But when you give it way, two things happen. First, being a Christian, you make friends for God – people
come to see the God you serve as generous, loving and good through your
generosity, love and goodness.
Second, when you give it away
you are fighting the good fight of faith. Faith believes God when He
says, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from
the mouth of God.” Faith trusts and thanks God for all that you need to
support this body and life, but ultimately believes that this world is not your
home; that you are but a stranger here, heaven is your home.
Such faith is given to you by
God, is exercised by fighting the good fight of faith, and ultimately is
rewarded when you receive the goal of your faith, the salvation of your
soul. That salvation is the one thing that God wants you to have and hold
forever.
Our God, Jesus the Christ, was
willing to give it all away for you. He laid down His entire life at the
cross that you might His life up as your own, and live under Him in His
kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness,
just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.
No one can serve two
masters. You cannot serve God and mammon. As for you and your
house, may you serve the Lord who gives eternal life!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
Jobin George
Source: http://www.historiclectionary.com/2009/08/sermon-trinity-9-st-luke-161-13/
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