“YOU ARE CHILDREN OF LIGHT”
Saint Luke 15. 1-9
9th Sunday after Trinity: 21 August Anno Domini 2011
Fr Watson S.S.P.
We don't interpret the truth of JESUS by just the nine verses of this morning's parable. We interpret this interesting story of comparisons and contrasts by the totality of JESUS found in all of His Holy Word.
Christ commands you through Moses: "thou shalt not steal." [Ex. 20.15] And again He says: "do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity." [Lev. 19.35] Christ commands you through Paul: "let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good." [Eph 4. 28]
From Aachen, who stole in war lust for plunder; through Gehazi, who stole by lying about his own Master Elisha; to Zacchaeus, who misused official sanction of the government to defraud and extort: stealing is stealing is stealing. You know that. You know that God condemns the taking of what does not belong to you. You also know thanks to Luther that the command has a positive prescription and duty as well as the negative: "we should fear and love God that we may not take our neighbor's money or goods, nor get them by false ware or dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and business." [SC pt 1.7]
So, put out of your head spurious and silly questions and stop acting puzzled, Jesus is not commending dishonesty and the spoiling of one's employer. You know better.
Who is Jesus speaking to in this morning's text? The Lord is speaking to you, to His followers yes of course, but most specifically He was speaking to the "12," to "the" Disciples. His strange story is filled with words for them about endurance and spiritual warfare. This is not a lesson to be preached to a pagan or one who needs to be converted by Law & Gospel. These are words to stir up the faithful to use what they (what YOU) have been given!
Do not misunderstand, Jesus tells this story with the characters He chooses and they are who they are and must be understood by the Lord's own choice of words-and by Saint Luke's own Holy Spirit inspired Greek words in the text. But in addition to the direct meaning you have the Christ's own summation at the end of the story (in verse 9) and thus you can see the full application of this strange scenario in your life and life of all His present day "12" and other disciples as well.
There is a certain "rich man" but is this not the Lord God Himself? Your God/Man is rich in power, majesty and lordship as the King of Creation. Your God/Man is rich in Grace and Mercy as the suffering servant, donkey-king, and Calvary-King of Redemption. Your God/Man is the calling, gathering, nurturing, quickening, and sustaining Spirit-King of Sanctification +.
And who is the steward? In the story, as mere story, the steward seems to be a thief and a very able and resourceful one at that. But for the purposes of reaching you with Christ's message of Himself, and what that Gospel MEANS to you…the steward is even more than a character in a word play. Does or can the steward represent the lost potential converts that we send missionaries to find, no, not really. Is the steward a "type" for all Christians, all followers of Jesus, yes that is as it must be-but not in his conniving, rather in his reliance on his own knowledge of His Lord's beneficent and forgiving nature. Likewise this steward is all pastors, not as crook (heaven forbid) but as one "placed into office and under orders; as "stewards of the mysteries of God" as the Apostle calls us [1 Cor. 4.1] and also all disciples in their (in your) respective callings and stations. But we are all only to be "like" this steward insofar as Jesus explains, by way of contrast, in the concluding solution to the parable.
A steward, in the Greek of Saint Luke, an oikonomon, is a house-master. The steward is not just a bar-tender running the saloon for the actual owner but the rich man's very own "right-hand-man," the "first assistant," the executive's "chief-of-staff." The steward is the Joseph for Pharaoh, the Aaron for Moses, the Gehazi for Elisha, the Timothy for Paul, and the Pastor for Christ. The steward is the ambassador and viceroy who has the very power-of-attorney and binding legal seal of His master. On behalf of the rich man in this parable, the dishonest steward has full control of the rich man's possessions, property, servants, business interests, and money. We might say that the steward is "in the stead" and "by the command" of the rich man.
In Christ's story, the steward was "accused" of "wasting" the rich man's goods. This is good enough for all of us and we need not question whether the allegation was true or quibble over exactly what kind of "wasting."
The man with the responsibility, power, honor, and calling, to use what he had been generously given-failed. Of interest is fact that the word Luke uses for "accusation" is of course the same root word for Satan himself, i.e. diabolos (diabolical, the accuser). For who is it that delights in your failings, sins and shameful thefts but the devil himself. Who is it that constantly tries to turn you away from your master (the rich man) by accusing you over and over again-the devil!
What is the Lord going to require of all His pastors and bishops; what is the Good Shepherd going to need from His own under-shepherds, but FAITHFULNESS. What does the Judge require of all His servants, all his house-fathers and house-mothers who have been entrusted with so much (not just talents and minas, but children, spouses, clothes, bodies, minds, homes, vocations etc) but FAITHFULNESS.
What does the rich man say but: "give an account of thy stewardship." That's the problem is it not? For God says "let me see the books; have you been perfect in all law keeping?"
And you sin and lie and twist and pervert in self-justification. You try and work your way out of condemnation. You blame the other guy. You attempt to balance the "scales" of justice with your own deposits on the balance plate. Is this not what the steward in the story does? Well, not really. He instead presumes that the debtor-creditors of the rich man will believe that the rich man is being merciful. The steward relies and trusts that the rich man will not only be assumed to be this forgiving but will in truth forgive him even more. This is faith in the goodness of one's Lord.
The Law had crushed him. He had been caught and "found-out." The Law has taken away anything he could do: "I cannot dig, to beg I am ashamed." When the law convicts you of your sin you should feel ashamed. If you never feel ashamed, Lord have mercy upon your soul. You should feel shame every day of your life when you look and your sin. But then, as the Holy Ghost drowns your "old Adam" in contrition you should beam with the "aha" smile of Gospel certainty: "I am resolved what to do." There was an answer even for this thief in our troubling parable to the question: "what shall I do." And what did he do?
He used what he had. He used his quick-thinking and shrewd personality to concoct a plan whereby a whole bunch of people were going to really love and appreciate him and his former Master. Since he did it with more illegality, you know of course, that the methods are not being commended by Christ, but rather the "using what you've been given," or better yet in your context: "being what you are" living as you've been made anew; trusting in your new identity + and reality. You are Christ's brothers and sisters-be who you are!
As Luther said in comparing the "children of this world" (the unbelievers represented by the steward) with the "children of light" (the faithful-you) they have their money and greed; they have their cunning and stealth, they even have their hard-work; but you dear Saints, you have the Lord's gifts. Your rich man has given you everything that was His when he poured it out upon you at Calvary. You have His word of remission and total pardon. Your accounts are wiped clean and you are innocent of all theft and wasting: "It is finished." Your debt of embezzled silver and gold has been substituted and balanced and paid back by His Blood and His Body. You've been bought back from the jailer and the accuser's tongue has been silenced even as his snakey-head has been crushed! You have Baptismal Grace and Daily Absolution. You have the Meal of Love and Fellowship. You eat and drink and wash and refresh and live in Christ and His Word!
So Jesus' own message, His own interpretation to "use what you have" isn't the law of telling you what to "do" but of what you are!
You do make friends of the "mammon (the stuff) of unrighteousness" by simply using all those things of the profane kingdom of the left for the good of your neighbor, the glory of your God, and the strengthening of the family of faith. The mammon of bread makes the earthly element of the Holy Host, the Body of Jesus for our table fellowship. The mammon of grapes, the bottles of wine provide for the Consecrated Blood of God which is the drink of life itself and our Eucharist. Your own unrighteousness and dirty rags of works makes the perfect exchange with Jesus when you cry out by faith "Lord have mercy" and He does. The Lord takes away your stained garments of trespass and clothes you with His own robes of pure white…white in the Holy Blood of the Lamb. The books are audited and balanced with his arms on both ends.
The Lord Himself became the guilty servant (your guilt and shame) upon the tree so that you would become the rich man in Him!
Thus fully-filled with this evangel of Grace, Forgiveness, Love and Peace, you can even look at this (least favorite) parable of Jesus' and see Him everywhere in it.
The rich man (Christ) can compliment even His sinful, guilty and wasteful pastors; even His slothful, negligent and thieving brothers and sisters when we all nonetheless act PRUDENTLY by the gift of the Holy Spirit: "[we] are resolved what to do!" We hear the word of Jesus. We remember + to Whom we belong. We repent and believe. We eat and drink with Him in paradise and this very morning.
In the Name of The Father + and of The Son and of The Holy Ghost