Faithful Stewardship of God’s Gifts

[Prayer]

Almighty and Most Generous Lord, forgive us for our unrighteous use of Your gifts. Grant us repentance that we receive from You the True Wealth of Your Son, Jesus, who took our unrighteousness to the cross and grave, and granted us everlasting life in Your heavenly dwelling. Sanctify us with Your Spirit, that we use your riches rightly and enable us to cling alone to the faithfulness of Your Son. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

[Introduction]

Our reading from Luke 16 ... the Parable of the Unrighteous Steward ... is widely considered the most difficult reading of the lectionary to understand. It’s riddled with problems of interpretation, not the least of which are, Is Jesus commending a man for being dishonest? And Where’s the Gospel?

So I will start today by telling you what this parable is not about. It is ... NOT ... encouraging you to be dishonest. It’s NOT about what WE NEED TO DO to pay off our debt to the Lord. And it’s NOT about what WE need to do to gain access to our heavenly home.

Instead, as always, it’s all about Jesus and what He does for us.

4. To help us understand that ... we need to remember context.

Immediately before our reading, we find the Parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Sons. Today’s reading is a continuation of that discourse.

These parables all have something in common: They tell us about our Lord’s superabundant mercy and grace. They tell us that he receives tax collectors and sinners ... that he seeks the lost and rejoices when he finds them ... that he waits patiently for his sons to repent ... and at the right moment, he runs out to embrace us ... that he is first to announce absolution, to clothe us in righteousness, and to host a great feast ... that he invites young and old alike to join him in celebrating that your brother once was dead but is alive ... was lost but is now found.

More than that, Jesus has been catechizing us to be merciful just as your long-suffering Father is merciful ... to forgive, just as you have been forgiven ... to do good, because it is good ... to be reconciled because he has reconciled himself to you and me, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5 ... to be ministers of reconciliation ... forgiving ... renewing ... because that’s what he does.

3. This sets up our parable in Luke 16.

Luke writes, [Jesus] said to his disciples, There was a rich man who had a [household manager], and he was accused of squandering [the rich man’s] possessions. When [the rich man] called him, he said to him, What’s this I hear concerning you? Give an account of your management, for you are no longer able [to manage my house].

And the household manager said to himself, What will I do? My lord is taking away the management from me. I don’t have the strength to dig. I’m ashamed to beg. I know what to do so that when I am removed from management [others] will receive me into their houses.

You should notice first that the Lord didn’t fire the unrighteous steward on the spot. Nor did he jump to conclusions about what he heard.

Also notice that the manager of the house doesn’t try to deny his unrighteousness. He knows there’s nothing he can do or say to set things straight with his lord. He knows there’s no decision he can make to reconcile himself to his lord. He knows he is a sinner who sins ... that he’s at the mercy of God. So he does something prudent ... he becomes a minister of reconciliation ... befriending other debtors with forgiveness.

Jesus said, And calling near each one of his lord’s debtors, he said to the first: How much do you owe my lord? Then he said, a hundred measures of oil. And [the manager] said, take your bill, and sit down: Quickly, write fifty. Then to another [debtor] he said, And how much do you owe? He said, a hundred measures of wheat. [The manager] said, take your bill, and write eighty. And the lord praised the manager of unrighteousness because he did [something] shrewdly because the sons of this age are more considerate than the sons of light in their own generation.

Then Jesus said, I tell you: Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon in order that, when it fails, they may receive you into eternal tents.

2. This is Jesus’ call for you to repent ... You who are unrighteous stewards in the Lord’s House.

Though we cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus or come to him, the Holy Spirit has called us by the Gospel, enlightened us with his gifts, sanctifies us and keeps us. He enables us to take account of our sin against your Heavenly Father and mourn our unrighteousness. He enables us to remember what the Lord of Righteousness has done for us ... living, dying, rising into eternal life ... reconciling himself to us ... giving us a faithful account of his life, death, and resurrection ... uniting us with him in baptism so that we are saved so that we are one ... announcing to us his absolution ... feeding us his Supper as he proclaims to us the Gospel that the Lord is with us and, therefore, that we have peace ... forgiveness.

JESUS IS THE RIGHTEOUS AND FAITHFUL STEWARD WHO FORGIVES OUR UNPAYABLE DEBTS AND ADMINISTERS ALL THE GOOD THINGS OF GOD

1. This is what Jesus is telling us that he does for us.

The Lord of Heaven and Earth richly and daily provides all we need to support our bodies and lives, and he still takes care of us. He supports and defends us. He clothes us in his righteousness.

Jesus, the Righteous Son of God who knew no sin and was falsely accused, became a steward of unrighteousness, carrying our unrighteousness to his cross of despair, shedding his righteous blood and dying in our place. In doing so, he has forgiven ALL of our unbearable debt ... not just 20 percent of it ... or 50 percent of it. He has redeemed us, the lost and condemned, not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood and innocent suffering and death, that we may be his own and live under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness. And now, brothers and sisters in Christ, he is risen!

Thanks be to God for his righteousness.

Thanks be to God for his faithful stewardship.

And thanks be to God when we do the same.

As the children of the world are wise in their generation, we as the children of light should also deal wisely with one another, using the gifts that God has given us for the benefit of all ... serving our neighbors ... sharing the Lord’s mercy with one another. Jesus has freed us to do good by sharing the Gospel with the world around you.

[Conclusion]

So what are you waiting for?

Be good stewards of the riches your heavenly Father has given you. Tear up the debts others owe you. Use the wealth of this world for good. Share the free gifts of salvation ... baptism, absolution, and the Lord’s supper. Join in fellowship with one another. Teach your children to do the same. And show the world what it means to be a Christian ... in Jesus’ name.

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