The Voice of the Winged Ox presents Dig a Little Deeper
You can read the lessonshere.
Here is Father Eric's sermon outline.
Sermon for Pentecost 17, Proper 20-C
September 22-23, 2007
St. Luke's Church
The Rev. Eric M. Williams
Real Character
Tough Parable?needs a step by step walk through.
What did it mean then?(What lessons can we draw today?(
How can we apply these lessons to our lives?
Exegesis of Parable
- A master hears that his steward has been misappropriating funds. His honor and status in the community are threatened by the public perception that he cannot control his employees, so he resolves to save face by immediately dismissing the employee.
- The steward faces a crisis. Being a steward is the only thing that he knows how to do, but the fact that he now has a reputation for dishonoring his master means that he will not be able to secure employment anywhere else as a steward. He tries to get himself out of trouble by restoring his master's honor and salvaging his reputation as a good, loyal steward. He forgives a portion of the amount owed by his master's debtors. People would assume that the steward was acting on the master's orders, so these gestures would make the master look generous and charitable in the eyes of society. The prestige and honor gained by such benefaction would far outweigh the monetary loss to the master.
- The master hears what the steward has done and praises him for his actions since his honor has been restored. Moreover, the steward is now in a position either to keep his position with this master or to secure one elsewhere, since his reputation for loyalty and good service has been recovered.
What lessons can we draw?
This is a shocking story and clearly Jesus anticipates objections. Why would he commend anyone who had anything to do with "ill-gotten gains", whether they had finally used them shrewdly or not? Jesus' answer is that one's use of dishonest wealth is a kind of "test case" that reveals how one would handle "real" things. Only those who, like the steward, have proven themselves trustworthy and reliable in lesser matters will be entrusted with things of greater significance. Jesus suggests here that his followers should not ignore or separate themselves from the "messy" things of this world in favor of more pure and lofty pursuits. On the contrary, it is precisely in how we handle the difficult and morally ambiguous situations presented to us in real life that we reveal our true character, just as the true character of the steward is revealed by the crisis he faces.
How can we apply these lessons to our lives today?
Very tempting to totally separate two realms of "spiritual" and "earthly". From way back Christians thought of the world as corrupt and evil and longed to get away to the pure, holy spiritual world. Southwest Airlines "Want to get away?" Some churches today encourage members to separate themselves from the world as much as possible and live in a spiritual bubble: Christian friends, home schooling, vote for Christian candidates, shop at Christian stores, watch and listen to Christian movies and music.
But even if we try to live in a totally spiritual world, it's not possible. Passionate Spirituality is not lived away from this world but in it, in the messiness of life, in the joys and problems and crises. This means that we are not called to avoid the things of this world, but instead to use them in the service of the kingdom. If that weaselly manager could save his own skin by using his intelligence and shrewdness, how much more can we advance the kingdom of God by doing the same.
That means it's OK to have and to use our skills and knowledge in money and accounting, real estate, business, media and the world wide web. A few examples recently at St. Luke's:
- TV commercial,
- podcasting and using the internet,
- managing the church's endowment,
- partnering with bike shops and other businesses for the Loop the Lake bike ride,
and many other examples.
Retreat on passionate spirituality. Key is to turn all that over to God. To make sure that we are using these not just for selfish personal gain, but to carry out God's work of reconciling love in the world. By practicing with these earthly things, God is preparing us to handle the heavenly things.
Core belief must stay at the center as we try in and through the things of this world to serve
God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all.
1 Timothy 2:3-6
Reference
Honor Restored: New Light on the Parable of the Prudent Steward (Luke 16:1-8a) David Landry, University of St. Thomas and Ben May, University of Minnesota-Duluth Medical School
Our music is Dawn by Josh Winiberg available at beatpick.com
