Luke 16:1-13; 1 Corinthians 10:6-13; 2 Samuel 22:26-34
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus begins today's Gospel with these words: “There was a rich man who had a manager.” At first glance, the parable seems to be about dishonest business practices. But that is not Jesus’ point. The key to understanding the parable is the relationship between the rich man and his manager. The manager owns nothing. Everything under his care belongs to someone else. His responsibility is simply to manage faithfully what has been entrusted to him. So it is with us.
Everything we have belongs to the Lord. Our bodies and souls, our reason and senses, our homes and families, our possessions, our time, our talents, and our money are not truly ours. As Luther reminds us in the Small Catechism, these are all gifts from our heavenly Father. We are not owners. We are stewards, entrusted with managing what already belongs to Him.
That truth is difficult for us to accept. We live in a culture that prizes independence and self-sufficiency. We speak of my home, my career, my savings, and my accomplishments. Before long we begin to believe that what we possess exists primarily for our own comfort and security. Jesus says otherwise.
C. F. W. Walther expressed it well: “Though a person may have control over thousands and millions of dollars, he is still only God’s treasurer. Though a person may possess a most profitable business and control vast resources, he is still only God’s manager. Though a person may call many homes and palaces his own, though he may hold clear title to a great tract of land, he is still only God’s tenant.” That changes the way we see everything.
Stewardship is not first about money. It is about faith. It is confessing that everything comes from the Lord and belongs to Him. The question is no longer, “What do I want to do with what is mine?” but, “Lord, how would You have me use what already belongs to You?”
Jesus returns to this theme again and again. In the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, the master reminds the grumbling workers that he is free to do what he pleases with what belongs to him. In the Parable of the Talents, the master expects his servants to put his gifts to work rather than bury them in the ground. God’s gifts are meant to be used, for our families, for our neighbors, and above all for His glory. Yet before this parable teaches us how to live, it first exposes our hearts.
We have not been faithful stewards. We cling to God’s gifts as though they were our own. We fear losing them. We envy those who have more than we do. We are slow to show mercy and reluctant to forgive. Instead of receiving God’s gifts with thanksgiving and using them in love toward our neighbor, we often hoard them out of fear and selfishness. That is why we need more than instruction. We need a Savior.
There is one faithful Steward. Though He was rich beyond measure, possessing all things with the Father from eternity, Jesus did not cling to His glory. As St. Paul says, He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant and becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross.
Everything Adam squandered, Christ restored. Everything we have mismanaged, Christ redeemed. He poured out the riches of His Father’s mercy without measure. He forgave sinners. He welcomed outcasts. He fed the hungry. He healed the sick. Finally, He gave Himself into death for the forgiveness of the world. In Jesus, the riches of God’s grace are not hoarded but lavished upon sinners. Having received such mercy, we are now free to live as faithful stewards.
This helps us understand the surprising conclusion of today’s parable. The unjust steward is not commended for his dishonesty but for recognizing that wealth is meant to be used. Jesus tells His disciples to use the possessions God has entrusted to them in ways that serve their neighbor and bear witness to the kingdom. The Lord does not ask us to bury His gifts in fear. He calls us to use them boldly and generously, trusting that He who has given them will continue to provide.
This has nothing to do with political ideologies or economic systems. Jesus is not preaching capitalism, nor is He preaching socialism. He is preaching repentance and faith. The issue is not who owns the property. The issue is that God owns everything, and we are His stewards. The Christian therefore receives God’s gifts with thanksgiving and uses them in love.
The day will come when each of us will give an account of our stewardship. Not because our works earn salvation, but because faith bears fruit. Those who trust the Lord gladly use His gifts for His purposes. They support their families, care for those in need, forgive as they have been forgiven, and give cheerfully because they know that nothing they possess can compare with the riches they already have in Christ. Of course, none of us does this perfectly. We remain sinners who struggle against greed, envy, and fear. But our hope has never rested in our stewardship. Our hope rests in Christ’s.
Martin Luther scribbled these words on a scrap of paper shortly before his death: “We are all beggars. This is true.”Indeed we are. We brought nothing into this world, and we shall take nothing out of it. There are no U-Hauls behind our hearses. Left to ourselves, we are beggars before God. Yet because of Christ we are beggars who have been made rich. Our Lord continues to pour out His treasures upon us. He gives His Word. He speaks His absolution. He remembers our Baptism. He places into our mouths His true Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins. Here are the riches that never perish.
So come, you beggars. Come and receive what your gracious Lord delights to give. Eat and drink without price. Receive His mercy with empty hands. Then go into your homes, your vocations, and your community as faithful stewards of His abundant gifts, using all that He has entrusted to you in love for your neighbor and to the glory of His holy Name.
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment