Loving God, sometimes we need a wake-up call, just like the manager in today’s gospel. Help us always to hear your Word for us, and teach us always to seek your will, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

When Jesus tells a parable, there is always something in the story that makes us go, “Say what?”! In today’s parable, it is more obvious than in most and comes in the very last line of the parable. “And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly” (Lk. 16:8). It is definitely not what we would expect Jesus to say. And so – really – what is this parable all about?

The main character, who is a steward, or manager, is facing a crisis. He has been wasting his master’s property, and now he has been found out. And so his master says to him, “Give me an accounting of what you have been doing. You can no longer be my manager.”

Only then does the manager realize that he has had it pretty good in this position. He doesn’t want to make his living by digging or begging. He doesn’t want his family to starve. So what is he going to do? He decides to make friends with some of the people who owe his master the most. One by one, he takes them their bills showing how much they owe. He gets each one of them to write out a new bill which significantly reduces how much they owe. And then, his master commends him.

How come? Why would his master praise him for falsely reducing how much his debtors owe him? At least one commentator suggests that the master would have received much honour and praise as a result of the manager’s actions (Harry Wendt, The Parables of Jesus). The debtors would have assumed that it was the master who was reducing their debts for them out of the goodness of his heart. They would have thanked him and praised him for his mercy. Although the master would have lost a great deal in terms of the goods that were owed him, he would have gained much in respect and honour in the community.

At the same time, there might be another reason for commending the dishonest manager. As it turns out, the manager actually does have the ability to set a goal and come up with a plan and work to achieve that goal. With proper motivation, he is quite capable of managing things well. He is even able to take resolute and decisive action in a time of crisis. Perhaps the master is commending this man’s resourcefulness. Whatever the case might be, the man is called to give an account, takes action to deal with it, and is commended for his actions.

Now – let’s switch things around here for a moment and imagine that you are the one who is being called to give an account. God comes to you and says, “I gave you your life. I gave you your abilities and the earth for your home. I gave you your time and your talents and your treasure, and all you’ve been doing is wasting it – squandering it – keeping it all for yourself.” God says, “It’s time for you to give an accounting of your management, for you cannot be my manager any longer. It’s time for me to take these things from you and give them to somebody else who will manage them wisely.”

God is calling you to give an accounting of your management, and what are you going to do? Do you go and tell some people who are the biggest sinners that they are forgiven? Do you take what you have been given and give it away to others who need it more than you do? Do you repent and ask for forgiveness and place all of your hope on Jesus Christ? Do you come in Jesus’ name asking for mercy and give all that you can to others in need? Does God commend you for your action?

This may seem at first like a far-fetched scenario, but it may be fairly close to what Jesus was getting at in this parable. After all, we really are stewards, or managers, of God’s property. A picture comes to mind from some of the Crossways Bible study courses where there is a label attached to both the earth and every human being. It is signed by God and it says, “My property and instrument for service. Care for and use responsibly.” At some point, each of us will be asked to give an accounting of what we have been doing with God’s property. The day of judgment is coming, and what are we going to do about it?

At the same time, as Christians we are called to be collective stewards of God’s property. What if we change the scene once again and imagine God saying to this congregation: “I’ve given you many resources. I’ve given you time and talent and treasure. I’ve given you these things to manage, and you have been wasting it – squandering it – keeping it all for yourselves. It’s time for you to give an accounting of your management. It’s time that I take these things and give them to others who will use them wisely.” If God were to say this to us, what would we be doing about it?

Would we ask about the needs in the community and see what we could do to help? Would we announce God’s mercy and forgiveness to those who need to hear it the most? Would we say to God, “No! You can’t have it!” Would we come to God in repentance and prayer, putting our trust in Jesus Christ and asking God’s will for us? Would we give everything away to those who need it the most? Would God commend us for our action?

Once again, this whole scenario is not particularly far-fetched. All that we have been given, whether as individuals or as a congregation, does belong to God, and are we going to manage it wisely? Are we going to use it to accomplish God’s mission rather than our own?

At the study conference this past week we were introduced to a process that can be used in order to discern what God is calling us to do in this time and in this place. The same process will be used at the synod convention this coming Spring so that teams of people from each congregation can reflect upon the questions: “What is God’s mission here?” and “How can we help?”

Part of this process involved taking the newspaper and cutting things out under two headings. One heading was “What God is doing in our community” – in other words, stories, headlines and pictures that are signs of hope. The other heading was “Areas where help is needed” – in other words, stories about needs and brokenness in the community. Having put all of these things into a collage, we were then asked to write some new headlines for 10 years down the road. The question was, “If we are doing our job – if we are engaged in God’s mission in our community – how will these headlines be different 10 years from now?” The goal of the whole process was to choose one thing to work on over the next few years.

It is a process that is designed to get people looking outward. One of the refrains that sticks in my mind is this: The church is so not the point! Jesus did not come to found an institution. He did not set up shop in the Temple or in the synagogue, but in Capernaum, at the crossroads of the nations (Mt. 4:12-17). Jesus loves the church and gave his life for the church (Eph. 5:25), but the church is so not the point. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn. 3:16). When we are only concerned about ourselves, we, too, are missing the point.

Jesus came for the salvation of all people. Jesus came to heal and to save a hurting and broken world. Jesus came to show all people God’s Way. The church is here to help in fulfilling Jesus’ mission, but it is so not the point. The people for whom Christ died are why we are here.

Today we are being called to give an accounting of our management. We are being reminded that we are stewards of all that God has given to us. Let us then live in thankfulness and praise for all that God has given, seeking to be participants in God’s mission for the sake of the world. Amen.

Lectionary 25(C) Luke 16:1-13
September 23, 2007
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore

(c) 2007 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved