Sermon on "the Unjust Steward" Lk 16:1-9

Some have requested to see a copy of the sermon I gave in Chapel last week. I believe that sermons and such liturgical expressions are only in context at the given moment - a word spoken once, for a specific time. Therefore, I ask you to keep this in mind when reading it. None-the-less, I have copied it below in hopes that it would be helpful or inspirational in some way beyond the chapel. May it be a blessing.

Luke 16:1-9 (New King James Version)
The Parable of the Unjust Steward

1 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’
3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures[a] of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures[b] of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail,[c] they may receive you into an everlasting home.

Sermon:
"Doing the unexpected thing…"

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

You’re going to get what you deserve. If you’re wasteful you won’t be rewarded. And if you don’t measure up by now, you likely never will. So says the world, even today.

Then comes Jesus, our Lord, who shows that this worldly justice is really no justice at all. Even unto His unjust death on a cross for our sake, He spoke to a condemned criminal on the cross next to Him – and this one entered paradise that day with Christ.

We serve an unexpected God – No one was looking for a messiah like this! He asks us to go to unexpected places – even to the ends of the earth to proclaim His Gospel. He asks us to do unexpected things – and this is why he has commended the unjust steward to us today.

We don’t really know the heart of this steward. We only know that someone has made an accusation against him – maybe the accuser, the devil, himself, but, nonetheless, his master has called him to account for his stewardship. And if the Steward was wasteful it is likely that he set a little aside for himself, enjoyed the privilege of being 2nd in command of the household. He likely lived a fairly rich, some might say a full, life. But the privilege he enjoyed was not his own. And his being called to account shook him up to the core.

What the steward realized in that moment was that it was not only his job that was at stake, but his future – he awoke that morning and realized that what was at stake had life and death implications! And with this weighing heavily on his heart, maybe even as he thought of his wife and children, he resolved to make provisions for his future.

When we get up in the morning do we think in this way? When we pray Thy will be done, do we really know what that might mean for us by the time the day is out? Or do we to neglect to make provisions for our eternal future also? Have we not become far too comfortable and wasteful in our vast wealth and fullness that we have been given charge over?

But it is worse in fact…In St. Luke’s Gospel time and again we read that it is only the poor, the lame, the maimed, the blind that receive eternal salvation in an everlasting home… So where is the salvation for rich folks like us?

Brothers and sisters our salvation is that today we, like the steward, have been called to account for our stewardship by our master. Called to account but not yet been called to hear the verdict of our accounting. It may be the first time you have been called to do so or the 100th, but friends, what is clear, is that this is quite possibly the last. You have heard the Master’s voice today and there will be no other chances offered than that graced to us in today’s Gospel.

We, like the steward have two choices now:

1. We can be angry with our accusers and our Master, ignore our opportunity, try to justify ourselves by beating the debt from the debtors – they get what they deserve right?
2. Or, we can be more shrewd/ wise, showing greater concern for our future – this could almost be seen as merciful to the debtors in spite of the steward’s obvious selfish ambition.
The steward chose the second way and thus was commended. Jesus does not commend to us the Steward’s unjust actions; this is not condoned. Rather, He praises the steward’s concern for the future and his skillful means to a desired end.

This is the lesson meant for the sons of the light, the Christians. We are to be as shrewd in our desire for the Kingdom as non-believers are about obtaining their desires.

But Christ I believe calls us to go even further… For being called to account we recognize that all we have is God’s – we are utterly poor without Him. We are atrophied, in spirit if not in body, because of our comfortable lives and are unable to dig, like the steward. Unable to dig ourselves out of the hole of our sins. And we are blind. We do not see how comfortable we are enjoying God’s great wealth. This is why the Advent fast is so prudent for us now.

Being called to account and realizing the true state of our souls is the beginning of salvation. Christ teaches us to deal shrewdly in the things of faith and therefore to love in tangible ways, ways that are unjust in the world’s eyes because of the humility required and the forgiveness freely given.

It would be nice to stop here and ponder these things in our hearts but unfortunately the Lord doesn't allow it - he gives us one last verse: Make friends with unrighteous mammon so that when you fail they may be the first to receive you into the Kingdom.

In other words, without the ACTION the steward is no story. We are to give freely of our vast wealth and fullness, starting with our worldly goods. That when out best foot forward falls fathoms short of the mark, our gracious God might receive us into an everlasting home.

The rubber meets the road when our humility and forgiveness is proved by proceeding out of our hearts and into the hands of our neighbor.

We can’t waste or hoard the great wealth our master’s wealth that we have been given charge over and we can’t operate from a scarcity mentality. There is nothing to fear! Our God has cattle on a thousand hills and there will never be a dwindling supply of blessings, vocations, parish assignments, monies, love or other good thing.

There is no reason why we Orthodox Christians should not be known as the MOST generous people - wise sons and daughters of the light who embrace with radical abandon the holy unjustice of a life lived on God’s terms, seen from God’s perspective.

That one day our gracious God will receive us because we confessed and followed an unexpected God, into unexpected places and serve him, and him alone, as a shrewd steward of his wealth by loving all in unexpected ways.

Amen.

The Great Physician of our souls and bodies - an update on Jodi's health

Friends and Family:

For all of you who did not know, we have been quietly praying about a situation that arose with Jodi's health in the last 2 months. There was the possibility that what appeared at first to be 2 very large cysts on her ovaries could have been malignant or some form of tumor.

She under went a painful surgery 2 weeks ago and has been at home recovering since - hence the silence for the last couple weeks. She is doing quite well now. Our friends, extended seminary family and our moms were so helpful - staying with us, cooking dinners for 2 weeks, praying for us, cleaning, taking the kids while I was in class... God has been so generous to us to be sure! THANK YOU!!!

The great news is that God has answered our prayers and what could have been a very bad situation is not - all is benign and she is healthy!

In preserving Jodi's privacy we did not want to make the situation public widely until we knew what we were dealing with. We thank God for your general prayers for our family and continued support in our preparation for ministry. More to come from Jodi hopefully soon but we did want you all to know that Jodi is well.

To the Glory of God, the Great Physician of our souls and bodies,

J&J