According to Luke: What Are You Investing In?

According to Luke: What Are You Investing In?

Luke 19:11-27  (NRSV)

As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. So he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, ‘Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.’ He said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’ Then the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ He said to him, ‘And you, rule over five cities.’ Then the other came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’ He said to the bystanders, ‘Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ (And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds!’) ‘I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.’”

We made it!

12 months ago --- on December 1st we began our journey through Luke's Gospel.

We started with the birth stories

Then we jumped ahead to Jerusalem during Lent and Easter

And for the last few months we went back and have been traveling with Jesus as he headed toward Jerusalem and his confrontation with the authorities

This is the last story in Luke's Gospel before Jesus makes his triumphant entry into the Holy City of Jerusalem

And, I believe, he placed it here for a very important reason

As Jesus prepared to enter into Jerusalem --- Luke is asking us

          Which king are you going to follow?

                   The king of our parable --- or Jesus?

This parable sounds familiar because there is the related parable of the talents that is found in Mathew 25 (the parable of the talents)

But this parable is very different

Matthew's parable is all about Stewardship

Which, of course, is very important

·         especially this time of year when we are in the midst of our annual stewardship campaign

·         we are doing our stewardship campaign differently this year

·         NO STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY

o   You can turn in your faith promise card anytime before December

o   do it with a physical card or online

·         Every Sunday is an opportunity for us to be good stewards

This parable is really about a contrast between the Kingdom of God and a political kingdom

Do you remember how our story last week ended?

Jesus went to the home of the tax collector Zacchaeus and while there, Jesus declared to Zacchaeus that "today, salvation has come"

In our parable today, Jesus seems to want to make sure that we understand, that --- while the kingdom of God is near --- just because Jesus is getting ready to enter Jerusalem doesn't mean that it is coming immediately

Our parable starts with a noble man traveling to a distant land . . .

William Barclay writes that everyone, in 1st century Judea would know that this was referring to Herod Archelaus.

Archelaus --- when his father Herod the Great died --- was forced to go to Rome to ask Caesar Augustus to grant him his inheritance and the title of king of Judea

Augustus ultimately grants him the right to rule Judea but not the title king

We know from the parable of the prodigal son --- that when Luke tells us that somebody goes off to a "distant land" that nothing good can come of it

Allan Culpepper in his commentary on Luke writes:

This parable cannot have the same meaning as the Matthean parable of the talents.  It features not a lesson on responsibility and stewardship but a portrait of greed and vengeance.  The king is acquisitive.  He seeks a royal title and expects others to multiply his property five and tenfold. 

Culpepper goes on to suggest that we have a hard time understanding this parable because of the social codes invoked by this parable. 

We function with an economics of unlimited goods --- we believe that anyone can rise up starting from nothing and become fabulously wealthy.

If we are just cleaver enough

Ambitious enough

Lucky enough

But in first century Palestine --- nothing could be farther from reality

It was an economy of limited goods.

There was only so much wealth and property to go around

So if one person acquired more --- somebody had to lose it.

The king in our story is greedy --- seeking power --- and taking whatever property he could.

The Palestinian peasant who would have heard this story would have identified with the fear that the third servant in the story possessed --- and with the bystanders protest of this redistribution of wealth.

But this king believed that the rich should get richer and the poor poorer.

If Zacchaeus, as the chief tax collector, was despised and hated --- think how much more this greedy and vicious king would have been hated

Luke seems to place this story right before the entry into Jerusalem so that we (and the hearer in the 1st century) could clearly understand the distinction between the kingship of Jesus and that of the common or typical king of the day.

The kings of the day Lord over their subjects

They were corrupt, greedy and violent

Jesus seeks justice for his followers

His kingdom is diametrically opposed to that of the kingdom in this parable

This parable invites us to reflect on what it means to call Jesus king and Lord.

God's kingdom isn't going to appear immediately --- even though it is breaking in with the advent of Jesus.

This parable calls for us to have faithful allegiance to a king whose kingdom is in conflict with the world who seek profit at expense of the poor.

The protest by the bystanders in verse 25 is a call for justice --- and an invitation to us to join them in that quest for justice.

When we --- who have access to medical care protest against the expense of providing it for those that don't --- Jesus is calling out to us and challenging us

What should we say when regressive taxes are proposed that protect the assets of the wealthy at the expense of the poor?

Luke ends Jesus journey to Jerusalem right here

The rest of the story is of Jesus entrance into Jerusalem, his arrest, trial, crucifixion --- and of course --- his victory through the resurrection.

As we end our journey --- we need to decide where we stand.

          Will we be hailing Jesus as king?

                   or

          Shouting for his crucifixion?

It all depends on what kind of king you want?

On my Facebook page this past week, someone posted about their daughter not being welcome at a church --- not here.

I think one of the reasons that the church is dying is we have turned Jesus into the king in this parable.

As I explained why I felt like the church was dying --- another friend replied with this:

I'll offer a different reason -- the rise of big government. Hundreds of years of history have now taught us that the bigger government gets in people's lives, the more secular society gets and the less people think they need religion and God. Europe was the cradle of Christianity, and now church attendance is at dismal lows in countries where government is now here to take care of everybody's needs. After all, why tithe 10% of your income to a church when 10% of your income is already taken from you in taxes for social programs? In the most extreme cases of big goverrnment -- socialism and communism -- religion is all but expunged from culture. This is why I scratch my head at religious leaders in this country who keep preaching for more and more social programs and government sponsored income redistribution. Liberalism at its very core is about replacing faith in God (and faith in family and community) with faith in government

There may be a kernel of truth to what he writes --- but if we think that the government was not intrusive in Jesus day they we don't understand history.

Jesus wasn't calling for government to solve society's problems. 

But he also wasn't telling the rulers that they could ignore the problems either.

He is calling for us all --- those who rule and those who don't to seek a better, more just world

It is up to us --- you and I to choose

          Which kind of king will you follow?

The Prince of peace that Isaiah speaks of

Or

The Prince of Machiavelli?

According To Luke: OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN DOORS

Luke 19:1-10  (NRSV)

He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

We all know the story of Zacchaeus --- most of us learned it as children.

Do you remember?

Zacchaeus was a wee little man,
A wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
For the Lord he wanted to see;

And as the Savior passed that way,
He looked up in the tree,

(and he said)
Zacchaeus you come down
For I’m going to your house today.

For I’m going to your house today.

According to the story ----

          why does Zacchaeus climb the sycamore tree?

He climbs so that he can bet a better view of Jesus because he wants to see him

·         He is intrigued by Jesus

·         He wants to meet Jesus.

He is the hero of our story

          Doing whatever he can see who this Jesus is

He doesn't seem to really know who Jesus is --- he just wants to check him out

But what if we were to hear the story in a different way?

What if, instead of Zacchaeus being the hero of the story ---

          What if Zacchaeus was the villain?

Listen to this version of Zacchaeus according to the RSV (Revised Steve Version)

Jesus came to Jericho and was walking through on his way to Jerusalem

There was a man who lived there --- his name was Zacchaeus and he was filthy rich because he was the chief tax collector.

He had come to check out who this Jesus was, but as he drew closer to the parade route, the crowds saw him and grew angry. 

He had cheated them, stolen their money and was in cahoots with the Romans.

The crowd began chasing Zacchaeus and as he was running away he saw a sycamore tree and he climbed up it to get away from the angry crowd.

Just then Jesus walked by.

Jesus stopped at the tree, turned to Zacchaeus and said to him: “Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home.”

Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him.

All the people who had chased Zacchaeus, became angry and indignant.  And they said among themselves:

          “What business does Jesus have getting cozy with this crook?”

What if we heard the story told that way?

Very different isn’t it!

Why do I think that way of telling the story is possible?

For a number of reasons.

Think about who Zacchaeus was?

Luke tells us that he was Chief Tax collector and that he was Rich

A "chief tax collector" was an entrepreneur who was under contract with Rome to collect taxes, tolls, tariffs, and custom fees in a designated area.

The way it worked --- this "chief tax collector" would pay Rome a contracted amount in advance, and then collect whatever taxes they wished from the people and whatever was above what he gave to Rome, was his to keep.

It was a very profitable profession --- as our story tells us.

But as you can image --- a tax collector was not one who would be loved, or even respected by the people.

The assumption was that they were dishonest and they were hated by other Jews because they were seen to be collaborators with the Romans who were busy oppressing the Jewish people.

So instead of being the hero of the story --- Zacchaeus becomes the villain.

          And that changes everything

Zacchaeus, when we read the story this way is an outsider --- outcast and not welcome in the Jewish understanding of the kingdom

And think about what Jesus does.

Instead of Zacchaeus inviting Jesus into his home ---- Jesus invites himself.

We have all been there haven't we?

We are planning a nice family dinner, and as you are busy in the kitchen getting everything ready, your child comes in and says: "Hey mom, Zach scan stay for dinner, can't he? Pleaseeeee!"

And at that moment --- what choice do we really have?

          Throw poor Zach out on the street?

Zacchaeus, for whatever reason --- either to escape the mob, or to get a better view of Jesus --- is approached by Jesus who calls out to him and simply invites himself over for dinner.

Jesus chose him --- Jesus chose Zacchaeus!

Let's go back for a second.

          Who is Zacchaeus?

TAX COLLECTOR

          THIEF

                   SINNER

Yet it is to Zacchaeus' house that Jesus invites himself

WHY?

Jesus models something that you and I seem too often forget

That if we want to make a difference in somebody's life we have to get to know them and listen to their story.

And that is exactly what Jesus does.

Jesus goes to Zacchaeus home so that he can get to know him

Jesus sees Zacchaeus not as a sinner --- but as a "child of Abraham" (which really means a child of God)

What Jesus models for us is the United Methodist model of

          OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN DOORS

But boy that is tough

More often than not, we say that our doors are open --- but not open with open hearts and minds.

People are welcome as long as they are like us

The problem is --- we are in a time of cultural change and we are not comfortable with some of those changes.

I am not comfortable with many of these changes.

And so when that happens, many of us begin talking around the issues, rather than talking with each other.

Let me try to illustrate.

Over the last few weeks, The Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission met as did Leadership Networks' The Nines (Culture Crash: When Church and Culture Collide) and a group of Bishops from the United Methodist Church.

All of these forums were wrestling over the issue of human sexuality.

Not much has come out of any of these forums except maybe one thing. 

At all three --- the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi, and transgender) people were talked about --- but they were not a part of the conversation.

They all forgot the lesson that Jesus teaches us this morning.

Jesus wants us to sit down with those that we disagree with (or don’t understand) and get to know them

But, you understand, as long as we don't get to know each other --- it is easy to objectify them and not see them as children of God.

And I don't care what the issue is

·         sexuality

·         divorce

·         race

·         financial inequities

·         different faith groups

As long as we keep them at arm's length we never have to deal with the realities of who they are and what their struggles are.

          We can stereotype and make grand pronouncements

But Jesus this morning tells us to reach out and get to know each other.

It is easy to claim to love people we don't know

It is easy to mentally wrestle with the issues

The hard part is the open door --- to love, grow and interact

We are a people who claim that we have         

OPEN HEARTS, OPEN MINDS, OPEN DOORS

It is time we start living it

ACCORDING TO LUKE: WHAT MUST I DO

Luke 18:18-30  (NRSV)

A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’” He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” He replied, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”

Then Peter said, “Look, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

OK are you ready for this --- this is one of my favorite passages in the Bible

          SERIOUSLY!

This is one of those passages that tell us exactly what we are supposed to be doing.

I don't what to hear it

YOU don't want to hear it

But Jesus is pretty clear!

Today we celebrate ALL SAINT'S DAY

Sheri and I read through a list of all kinds of people who have died in the past year

Some of them you know

Others are just names to you

I average about 25 funerals a year that I preside over

          I attend a number of others

What is it --- at a funeral --- that makes a person stand out?

          How much money they had?

                   How much stuff they had accumulated?

Or is it

          How much they loved?

                   How many people were changed because they knew them?

When I die ---- when you die --- WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED FOR?

That is the question that Jesus is really asking each of us this morning.

We have been sold a bill of goods and are convinced that possessions bring us happiness --- but they really don't

So let me share with you SEVEN lies that most of us have come to believe, that rob us from living to our full potential.

Now you may not have fallen into the trap of all seven

          But I am going to be honest with you

                   All seven of these have some level of reality in my life

and to be honest with you . . .

I am pretty convinced that my health issues this year (my vertigo and back issues) are a warning

God (and Nancy) are, not so subtly telling me, if you don't rearrange your life, you are going to get that funeral a lot sooner than you bargained for

Are you ready?  SEVEN LIES THAT ROB US

1.       MY POSSESSIONS ARE ADDING VALUE

          Books --- make me look intelligent

          Cars --- Make me look successful

                       Honda fit vs. Hyundai Sonata

          House

·         The United States now has 2.3 billion square feet of self-storage space. (the self storage association notes that, with more than seven square feet for every man, woman and child, it’s now “physically possible that every American could stand — all at the same time — under the total canopy of self-storage roofing.”)

·         Fifty percent of [self-storage] renters are now simply storing what won’t fit in their homes — even though the size of the average American house had almost doubled in the previous 50 years, to 2,300 square feet.

2.       MONEY WILL BRING HAPPINESS

          ACCOLADES WILL BRING FULFILLMENT

Always want more and think that will make us happy

Bigger raise --- means I am better person

1 Timothy 6:9 (NRSV)

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

1 Timothy 6:9 The Message

But if it’s only money these leaders are after, they’ll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.

The thinking goes like this: The busier we are, the more we can accomplish and the more respect we can earn.

And the more respect and accolades we receive, the more we can surely prove our worth and value to others.

Unfortunately, if you are trying to find fulfillment in someone else’s opinion of you, you will never find it. You will always be left searching (and working) for more.

3.       EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT

Our world has a tendency to make everything appear urgent, important, and beneficial to our lives.

But not everything is.

Those small things add up and rob us of our happiness because we are too busy chasing . . . EVERYTHING

Warren Buffett ---

"The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say NO to almost everything.

4.       I AM NEEDED

Pride is defined as holding an excessively high opinion of oneself or one’s importance. And it leads to overwhelmed schedules because of the foolish thinking that follows it: “Nobody else can do what I do.”

5.       I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE

          We almost always have a choice

We choose the debt we have

the house we live in,

the car we drive,

the stuff we by on credit.

Sure there are seasons when we have no choice --- illness is a good example, but they are the exception and not the rule.

6.       I AM MORE PRODUCTIVE IF I AM BUSY

You know the saying --- if you want to get something done, find somebody who is busy.

But is that the goal?

Aren't we searching for opportunities to make a lasting impact --- not just chasing.

And we can't do it all --- I CAN'T DO IT ALL!

Myth of multi-tasking

          Seminar on how to multi-task better

                   Their answer DON’T multi-task

We need to say no to some things, so we can say YES to the right things

7.       QUIETNESS IS LAZINESS

Have you ever just tried to be quiet?

Turn off the phone, the music, the computer and TV and just be quiet and spend time with God.

It is hard as heck to do --- because we have convinced ourselves that doing that is WASTING TIME --- but there may be no better use of your time then just a quiet conversation with God.

Seven lies that rob us of our happiness

1.       MY POSSESSIONS ARE ADDING VALUE

2.       MONEY WILL BRING HAPPINESS

          ACCOLADES WILL BRING FULFILLMENT

3.       EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT

4.       I AM NEEDED

5.       I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE

6.       I AM MORE PRODUCTIVE IF I AM BUSY

7.       QUIETNESS IS LAZINESS

How many have you bought into?

So, what am I going to do?

I am going to work with the SPRC and the staff of Ridge Church to look at my schedule and determine

What are the things I need to do

What are the things the staff needs to do

What are the things YOU need to do

          (Sheri)

I have to discover when to say YES

          But even more importantly --- HOW TO SAY NO

When we ask Jesus what we must do to inherit eternal life (life in Jesus) the answer is remarkably simple --- love people more and stuff less

And when I die --- and my name is read at Ridge Church on All Saints day, I want you to stop and remember --- not how busy I was --- but how much I loved!

And I want the same for you!

Can we pray about this?

According To Luke: The Ice Bucket Challenge Disconnec

Luke 16:19-31 New   (NRSV)

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

I am willing to bet that all of you are familiar with what was known as the Ice Bucket Challenge this past summer.

Starting sometime in late June or early July --- people all over the world began to pour ice water over their heads.

The rules of this challenge were not set in stone --- but in general it went something like this.

A family member or friend would challenge three friends (over the next 24 hours) to either dump a bucket of cold ice water over their heads or donate $100 to the ALS Association --- or do both.

Many of you are probably familiar with ALS. 

The disease was first identified in 1869 --- but it wasn't until Lou Gehrig announced that he had the disease that it really garnered any attention. 

Most people know the disease by his name: Lou Gehrig's disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body.

The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death.

When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost.

With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.

Many of us experienced ALS on a more personal level and we watched the gallant battle that Eileen Hasse fought with the disease. 

After a six year battle she passed away this past March.

I am not certain how accurate this numbers are, but the ALS Association reports that the Ice Bucket Challenge resulted in about 3 million donors raising well over $115 million.

          WOW!

I have to admit, I was shocked at how well this campaign did.  3 Million donors!

But not only all the money donated --- we also got to see friends get soaked, hear them squeal and watch them shutter! 

          It was fun.

What is amazing to me is just how successful this campaign was. 

It demonstrated the power of social media to rally people around the cause.

For those of us who heard about the Arab Summer in 2011 and all the talk of how it was driven by social media, got to see it first hand with the Ice Bucket Challenge.

I think it was successful because it was so simple --- it was easy to participate and easy to share.

This weekend we celebrate REFORMATION SUNDAY --- remembering when Martin Luther accidentally kicked off the Reformation --- in a great part helped by the new fangled technology of his day --- the printing press.

Not surprisingly the response to the ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE has been mixed.

Of course there are those people who want to push the concept farther

·         better video

·         more creative

·         more donations

Then there those who donate but keep it to themselves --- never creating a video or even sharing the challenge

But there have been all kinds of people who have responded in the negative.

·         don't want to donate

·         offended to be challenged (either to do the ice bucket or open their wallet)

·         People who have said WHY --- Why ALS, why not something else

And that may be the most intriguing of the critiques

          Why single out ALS

I think I find that most interesting because it raisings some interesting questions . . .

Why single out any causes that are bigger than ourselves?

That critique really challenges us to look at why we reach out and help others at all.

What I loved about the challenge was it helped many of us do SOMETHING

Before donating --- or even dumping water on our heads we had to decide!  Decide if we would . . .

Should I donate?

Or should I just spread the word and make a video

Or should I do both?

Just think about it ---- 3 million people thought about whether they should donate to ALS and decided YES

But there was a side benefit from the ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE

All those who chose not to participate --- because of all the social pressure were forced to answer (sometimes just to themselves) NO, I don’t want to participate because . . .

That means they thought deeply about how, when and why they contribute to causes beyond their budget.

And when they told their friends, "I decline because," those friends received an invitation, explicit or implied, to think through what their own because looks like.

In our story this morning we are reminded of the opportunities to make a difference NOW.

Archbishop Richard Trench, in his Notes on the Parables of Our Lord, almost 100 years ago wrote:

The sin of {the rich man} in its root is unbelief: hard-hearted contempt of the poor, luxurious squandering on self, are only the forms which his sin assumes.  The seat of the disease is within

Remember how our passage ended last week?

          You cannot serve God and wealth.

The rich man becomes the poster child for Luke

As we get to the end of Luke's Gospel we will encounter two men whose hearts "were strangely warmed" as the scriptures were shared with them.

A stranger --- whom we understand to be Jesus --- joins them and explains the law and the prophets to them. 

They share a meal together and they too see that it is Jesus.

You have to wonder what would have happened if the rich man had shared a meal with Lazarus --- would he have then seen his need and cared for him --- because he was the embodiment of Jesus.

George Buttrick, in The Parables of Jesus reminds us that however important that it is that we share food --- this parable is really about an even deeper and more pervasive attitude of neighborliness towards others.

The story offers no support to the glib assumption that [the rich man} would have fulfilled all duty had he dressed Lazarus' sores and fed his hunger.  True charity is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not spasmodic or superficial.  Ameliorations such as food and medicine are necessary, but there is a more fundamental neighborliness.

While the ICE BUCKET Challenge isn't going to end ALS --- and it probably hasn't created a whole new group of people toward charitable giving.

What it has done is opened up many people to the conversation of helping others.

We sometimes forget that everything we do has an impact on the kingdom.

Whether it is splashing a bucket of water over our heads

          writing a check

          seeing the person who is hungry as our neighbor

          how we vote in the coming weeks

Who knows what will come of all those conversations that people had as they decided to participate (or not) in the Ice Bucket challenge.

My prayer is that we have dumped a bucket of cold water over the head of all of us --- waking us up so that we can see the Lazarus' that are all around.

According to Luke: A Lake County Politician

Luke 16:1-13  (NRSV)

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ And 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. 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.

This has to be one of the most challenging parables in all the Gospels. 

As it was read to you --- did you ask yourself --- what does it mean?

It was late in August when I began working on the idea for this sermon, and I have to admit that some of the news of the time influenced my title for this sermon.

George Van Til, convicted of miss using county resources for his own gain was once again in the news.  I have known George for a number of years.  He used to regularly come to our fish fries --- but our lives really intersected during the flood.

Also, around this same time, Jeff Langbehn was fired from his job at the Solid Waste Management District over buying a purse for an employee with our money.

As I read this parable --- over and over again --- I had to think

Just what point is Jesus trying to make?

·         That we should be dishonest if it gets us ahead?

Like I said --- this is a tough parable to figure out.

Even the scholars have a hard time finding consensus with it.

Most of them seem to skip quickly over verses 1-9 and focus on a part of the passage that I chose not to look at.  Verses 10-13

“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and 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? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

But even tagging those four verses to the end of our parable doesn't really help --- in my mind

In my studying on this parable let me share with you what I have figured out.

First, we need to recognize right off the bat who Jesus is addressing this parable to.

He has been engaging with "the Pharisees" but now our focus shifts in this parable to the disciples.

It starts quite simply:

          "Jesus said to the disciples"

In this story we have two major characters

1.       A Rich Man --- a person who was most likely an absentee land owner

2.       A Manager --- who was the person who managed the landowner's property

You have to love the "honesty" of the manager.  When he realizes he is about to be fired he begins to run through his head all kinds of options.

‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig (in other words to do manual labor), and I am ashamed (too proud) to beg.

In the very first verse, Luke takes us back to the story of the prodigal son because he levels the same charge against this manager as was leveled against the younger son.

Both were charged with squandering property

Even that interior debate that was doing on in his head harkens us back to the prodigal son story.

This parable also seems to have had a second ending added to it --- one that tried to explain the parable because even to the early Christian community --- this parable was a paradox

The amount of debt that the manager was seeking to collect was huge!

The debt was from tenant farmers --- who "rented" the land from the landowner and would pay the rent in either olive oil or wheat.

The first debtor owes a hundred jugs of olive oil. 

The Greek word, for jugs, that was used, and from what we know from other sources suggests that this is about 9 gallons of oil in each jug. 

          In other words he owes 900 gallons of olive oil

The second debtor owes 100 containers of wheat.  Again the Greek word used suggests anywhere between 7 - 12 bushels of wheat.

BOTH OF THESE ARE VERY LARGE AMOUNTS

The landowner in this story would be very wealthy man

But there seems to be some sense of arbitrariness in how much of the debt the shrewd or dishonest manager was seeking to eliminate.

The wheat was reduced by 20 containers

The oil by half

By reducing the amount that these tenant farmers owed to the landowner, while these tenants still believed the manager was working for the landowner, the manager was trying to ingratiate himself with these people

And once the debt was reduced the landowner would not be able to go back and raise it back up without losing face

Thus the manager would have acquired a debt of honor from each of these families that would ensure that they would show him goodwill in the future.

BUT THE PROBLEM with this parable is WHAT EXACTLY WAS THE MANAGER DOING?

Was the manager dishonestly falsifying the records in order to gain the favor of the debtors --- or was he shrewdly sacrificing his own prospect of short-term gains for long-term benefits?

There seems to be three ways to look at this story

1)       The manager was cheating the landowner by simply reducing the size of the debts.

2)       The manager was acting in a righteous fashion by excluding or reducing the interest that had been figured into the debt

3)       The manager reduced his own commission that he included in the debt that he was charging the tenant farmers.

I don't think we can --- with any certainty --- say which one of these ways Jesus intends for us to understand the story

The first two scenarios have financial implications for the Landowner.

In the third --- only the manager would be harmed financially --- there is no cost to the landowner

Let's look at what the Landowner had to say to the dishonest manager

"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"

The third option doesn't make really make sense because he wasn't acting dishonest.  The actions the manager would have taken would have been completely legal

The second has problems as well --- but it is rather complicated.

Most commentators find the amount of interest being charged to be highly unlikely. 

Especially since charging interest of another Jew would have been considered a breach of the Torah.

Deuteronomy 23:19-20  (NRSV)

You shall not charge interest on loans to another Israelite, interest on money, interest on provisions, interest on anything that is lent. On loans to a foreigner you may charge interest, but on loans to another Israelite you may not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings in the land that you are about to enter and possess.

Many of the commentators on this passage lean toward the third solution because it seems to take the issue of dishonesty out of the equation and then we can focus on how one uses the resources that are at one's disposal.  And since the manager reduced his fee (even if it was exorbitant in the first place) he was being shrewd to create a sense of goodwill toward himself.

For whatever reason --- most Christian commentators of this passage --- especially if they come from a more conservative bend want to do everything possible to take the story way from the idea that Jesus might be condoning --- or even encouraging one to be dishonest.

But the simplest solution, and the one that gives this parable a real punch is the first alternative.

Quite simply: The manager is dishonest, and he continues to squander the master's resources by arbitrarily slashing the amounts owed by his tenant farmers

With this understanding the force of the parable is found in the first half of the 8th verse.

"his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly"

The master praises the manager for his foresighted --- shrewd action

The manager casts an aura of honesty and goodness on his master and shrewdly provides for his own future.

The tenants (the debtors) are now bound by honor to reciprocate the manager's benevolence

But it still leaves us in a quandary!

What does Jesus want us to get out of this parable?

What is the point of the story?

This parable seems to be challenging us to be as clever and prudent as the manager in ensuring our future.

Jewish tradition is filled with stories of tricksters.  Maybe the most famous is Jacob who deceived his father, cheated his brother, and then made off with most of his father-in-law Laben's flock.  Even Jacob's name in Hebrew means trickster.

There is a great story told by the rabbi's

A man once caught stealing was ordered by the king to be hanged.  On the way to the gallows he said to the governor, who was in charge of carrying out the execution, that he knew a wonderful secret, and that it would be a pity to allow the secret die with him. He also said that he would like to disclose the secret to the king. The poor man told the governor, further, that the secret would allow someone to bury the seed of a pomegranate in the ground and then make it grow and bear fruit overnight. Well the governor thought this sounded wonderful so the thief was brought before the king and all of the king’s high officers of state. Standing before these powerful men, the poor man dug a hole in the ground and said, “Here’s the secret: this seed must only be put in the ground by a person who has never stolen or taken anything which did not belong to him. I being a thief cannot do it.” 

So the thief turned to the prime minister who, frightened, said that in his younger days he had retained something that did not belong to him. Next the thief turned to the treasurer who said that while dealing with such large sums of money, he might have at one point or another entered too much or too little. Finally the thief turned to the king, who embarrassingly admitted to keeping a necklace of his father’s without his permission. Then the thief said, “You are all mighty and powerful men who lack no material comfort, and yet you cannot plant this seed, while I who have stolen a little because I was starving am to be hanged.”  The king, pleased with the shrewdness of the thief, pardoned the man.

Like in our parable this morning --- the man is accused of stealing and by shrewd actions wins not only a pardon but also a commendation from the king.

Our parable seems to invite us to understand that we too are in the midst of a crisis that demands an urgent decision if disaster is to be avoided.

We who have been called to stake everything on the coming of God's kingdom know that we too must act decisively.

And if we were to add those additional verses to the story as it seems the early church did, it gives us another lesson.

“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and 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? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

It seems to be telling us that we must be faithful with whatever we have in our relationship to God.

The early church developed a significant understanding about what a manager or the more correct understanding of the word --- steward --- is to be doing.  And this has significant influence still to this day

Throughout the new testament a steward is expected to be faithful with whatever they have --- large or small.

Faithfulness is the steward's highest duty.

Fred Craddock vividly illustrates this when he wrote:

Life consists of a series of seemingly small opportunities. Most of us will not this week christen a ship, write a book, end a war, appoint a cabinet, dine with the queen, convert a nation, or be burned at the stake. More likely the week will present no more than a chance to give a cup of water, write a note, visit a nursing home, vote for a county commissioner, teach a Sunday School class, share a meal, tell a child a story, go to choir practice and feed the neighbor’s cat.  "Whosoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much."

Mother Teresa is quoted as saying:

What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do.  The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.

Or as it is often remembered:

          We are called not to do great things, but small things with great love.

Jesus is calling us to be shrewd --- Like Jesus we are fighting against culture.

And everything we do should be about how we share --- how we live out --- the absolute, unconditional love of God that we found in Jesus.