September 23 Sermon on Luke 16:1-13
Parable of the Dishonest Manager
Why would Jesus tell a story
in which the main character is a crook – a crook who
gets away with his crime? Maybe he wants
to get our attention – or even shock us into looking at a subject from a new
perspective.
His master commended the dishonest manager because he
had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more
shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of
light. Luke 16:8
The crook is commended rather than arrested. Jesus says there is something to be learned
from his shrewd, if dishonest behavior.
The manager was a crook, so it’s not that we should imitate his
underhanded tactics. Just to make that
clear, after the parable Jesus said:
Whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest
also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who
will entrust
to you the true riches? 16:10,11
Godliness is the opposite of dishonesty. We are to be trust worthy in even the little things
– honest when no one is looking.
What could we learn from the dishonest manager?
First, When his boss said “You’re fired.”, he
immediately acted. He didn’t sit around
moping – feeling sorry for himself. At
least he made a decision, and then didn’t procrastinate, but followed
through. He took the initiative – and
when put to the right purposes, initiative is a good thing.
Today we’ll welcome new
members. They took the initiative by
saying “yes”, they want to be a part of this
fellowship of faith. While they could
have just continued to come to worship without joining, instead they chose to
publicly reaffirm their commitment to the Lord and His way. By taking the initiative they made another
step in their faith journey – one that will strengthen their bond to Christ
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Second, that dishonest manager looks ahead. He thinks about his options. I am not
strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 16:3
He’ll take drastic action to provide some long term security. So he takes a risk and marks down the amount
his master’s debtors owe, so that when he’s out of job they’ll owe him
something – provide for him.
*
A business man told his friend that his company was looking for a new
accountant. His friend asked “Didn’t
your company hire a new account a few weeks ago?”
The business man replied, “That’s the new accountant we’re looking
for.”
Disappearing is drastic action, but staying to face the music, like the
accountant in the parable, can also involve drastic action.
Those of you who are familiar with AA or NA or ALANON know that the
first step in recovery is to take drastic action – to admit that you’ve got a
big problem and you can’t solve it on your own.
You’ve got to change, and you need help in doing it. Taking drastic action for
your long term good.
In the Bible, that sort of
thing is called repentance. There may be
something in my life that stands between me and God – the Bible calls that sin. From my point of view, turning away from that
sin seems drastic – it’s a change in my life. But I am called to turn away from the sin that
separates me from God, so I repent – turn toward God and ask His help. I know I can’t do it on my own - I need to be
strengthened by God. I even know that
should I slip back into my old habits, He’ll be there for me – to forgive and
put me back on the right path.
*
A woman rushed to the pharmacy to get
some medication for her sick daughter. When returning to her car she found that
she had locked her keys in the car. She didn't know what to do.
She looked around and found an old coat hanger. But "I don't know
how to use this." So she bowed her head and asked God to
send her some help.
Within five minutes an old car pulled up, with a dirty, greasy man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head. The woman thought, "Great God! This is what you sent to help me????"
The man got out of his car and
asked her if he could help. She said "Yes, my daughter is very
sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked
my keys in my car. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock
my car."
He said, "SURE." He walked over to the car, and in a
minute the car was opened. She hugged the man and said, "THANK YOU SO
MUCH..... You are a very nice man."
The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out
of
prison today. I was in prison for car theft.”
The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out
”THANK YOU, GOD, FOR SENDING ME A PROFESSIONAL!"
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When that dishonest manager faces his new situation, he says to
himself:
I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed
as manager, people may
welcome me into their homes.' 16:4
That crooked manager realized
that when things get tough, what he really needs are friends. He has access to his master’s accounts, but
he doesn’t steal money for himself. He
adjusts the accounts of others in their favor so that they we welcome him and befriend him - thus
create a community of support after he has lost his job. Dishonest, cooked, but
shrewd and discerning. Friends will be
more important than money.
Maybe it sounds like an odd way to build friendships. But that’s the point Jesus draws from his
parable, for He concludes the story by saying:
And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. 16:9
Jesus isn’t saying we should be dishonest; instead he’s advising us to
use what we have – what he calls dishonest wealth – to make friends and build a
community that can endure.
Make friends –
What kind of friends?
The ones who may welcome you into the eternal homes – the kind of friends
whose
mansions you can visit in heaven.
Hopefully, these are the kinds
of friends you’ll make in church. Folks who are also on a journey of faith – who are looking ahead to
the
Which of
course is another reason to join a church and get involved. So you’ll make some friends – get to know
other believers – and get connected to others as brothers and sisters in
Christ.
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Last Sunday we studied the parable of the lost sheep and
looked at repentance
from God’s point of view. The objective is the restoration of
community. The lost sheep is
returned to the flock. The lost are
found that they might be brought back into fellowship with others.
Jesus invites people to become part of His
community.
In the New Testament, that
community is denoted with the Greek word “koinonia”. Sometimes it’s translated into English as communion
and other times fellowship, or even participation.
Its literal meaning is “life
sharing”.
And koinonia
is the word the Bible uses to describe what the church is to be for its members.
We belong to a church that we may share life – connect - that we may participate in the fellowship of
believers.
Koinonia - life sharing, community - can be found in the company of other believers
- our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Worship is one sign of that fellowship.
We express it by sharing the peace, holding hands during the Lord’s
Prayer, and kneeling together at the altar rail, sharing the same loaf of
bread.
Common meals
- like the Italian Luncheon after worship - are another sign Koinonia – life
sharing fellowship. In the Book of Acts, sharing meals
together is one of the activities of the very first Christian congregation.
Remember WWJD - What would Jesus do?
After worship, he’d have lunch.
So I hope you will join us
for the lunch after the service. If
you’ve been a member here for many years, please find a seat at a table with
someone you don’t know well.
Today’s lunch is a koinonia opportunity for us to get to know one another better, and
to become the beloved community of which the Bible speaks.
As we’ll sing
Christ is able to make us one
at the table he sets the tone,
teaching people to live to bless
love in word and deed express
It is Jesus who calls us
in -
Gives us love to tell, bread to share
Pass the word around, love abounds HERE