Living in Reality, by the Light of Christ - Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Ninth Sunday after Trinity
July 28^th, Year of Our + Lord 2024
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
Living in Reality, by the Light of Christ
Luke 16:1-13

Sermon Audio available here.

   You are not living inside a movie.  You are living within an alternate reality, and that’s good, the very best, the only way to live, actually.  But, no matter how it may seem lately, you are not living inside a movie. 

   It’s easy to understand why we might feel as if we were extras in a movie.  Politically
speaking, the last months, and especially the last few weeks of our national reality have been wild.  I mean, if late last year you had presented recent events in America as a screen play to a big shot Hollywood producer, you would have been laughed out of the room.  Can you imagine pitching your idea?  The plot twists of your presidential politics drama would begin with 34 felony convictions for the Republican candidate, and three more trials in the wings, all of which results in a bump in his poll numbers.  Next, one conviction for the sitting President’s prodigal son.  Then, there’s a painfully bad debate by the Democrat incumbent, followed by weeks of political knife fighting to push him aside, interrupted by a nearly successful assassination attempt on the Republican, carried out by an untrained 20-year-old who got himself and his rifle onto a roof 150 yards from the candidate.   An enraged Hulk Hogan would rip off his shirt, while giving a convention speech.  Then the sitting President withdraws from the race, less than a month from the Democratic convention, entirely resetting the contest.  What would Hollywood say to such a plot?  “Try again, buddy, that’s simply not believable.”

   Hard to believe.  But it’s reality.  As unlikely and strange as it all is, it’s our reality, and we need to figure out how to deal with it, because we are not living in a movie. 

   I am not up here this morning to tell you how to deal with our current political pickle.  That’s not my call, and I really don’t have any great ideas, other than stay close to Jesus and His Word, love your family, speak the truth in love, with gentleness and respect, and pray. 

   How we might best navigate our current national reality is a tough question.  But this difficulty we are all facing, trying to understand and deal with our current reality, the challenge of taking wise action within these crazy political days, these do provide us with a good frame for rightly understanding Jesus’ parable about the dishonest manager.  And, despite what the media and our politicians tell us, it is ultimately far more important to understand Jesus and His parables than to decipher this freak show of an election. 

   There are at least three principles we can draw from this strange parable.  First, listen closely to the Holy Spirit so you rightly understand the reality in which you live and act.  Second, take actions in keeping with that reality, for your own good, and for the good of others.  Third, use your money and other material blessings.  Go ahead, put your wealth, your ‘mammon,’ to use Jesus’ actual word, put your mammon to good use.  But don’t be used by mammon.  Don’t be enslaved to your money or your stuff.  Rather, use your wealth in keeping with reality, for the good of yourself and others. 

Let’s unpack these three wise principles a bit.    

   First, listen closely to the Holy Spirit, so you understand the reality in which you live and act, especially important with today’s parable of the Dishonest Manager.   Maybe you recognize it better with its King James title, the Unjust Steward.  Unjust Steward is a more churchly translation.  While ‘dishonest’ is a fair translation of the Greek ‘adikias,’ and might go well with our political climate, ‘unjust’ can remind us of the true stakes.  Justice words take our thoughts to courtrooms, to verdicts, and that’s good.  Because, in the end, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God, to hear His eternal decree concerning us.  Those declared just will enter into the joy of the Lord, forever and ever.  Those declared unjust will join satan and his demons in the place prepared for them.  ‘Dishonesty’ makes us think of how we can best get along with each other in this life, and that’s important.  But ‘justice’ reminds us that the stakes are much higher.  

   Likewise, ‘manager’ carries an almost entirely worldly sense, while ‘steward’ will likely make us think of either the environment, (being good stewards of the land, air, water, etc.), or it will remind us that we are all blessed by God with certain things we are to care for and use well, in His Name.  ‘Management’ tends to narrow our focus to turning a profit, making more money, for ourselves, or for the corporation.  ‘Stewardship,’ Lord willing, reminds us that we are caretakers of our Father’s things, free to use them for ourselves and others, but always with His priorities in mind. 

   We often struggle with this parable, because a hasty read can give us the impression that Jesus is praising the unjust steward.  Jesus does encourage Christians to deal with our reality wisely, as the unjust steward deals wisely within his sphere.  But it is the rich man who praises the unjust steward, and the rich man does not represent God.  Both the rich man and the steward are children of this generation, worldly souls who deal craftily in the dark reality they inhabit, because that’s how it works.  “Honesty is the best policy” is a band-aid slogan that moral people use to try to cover up the ugly wound of this truth: in this world, strict honesty does not guarantee that you will do well.  We children of the light have other reasons to be honest.  But let’s deal with reality:  Often, in the short to medium term of earthly life, strict honesty will cost you. 

   The unjust steward understands well the rules of the game he is playing, the way of this generation, that is to say, of this fallen world.  And he acts shrewdly, in keeping with this reality, leveraging the last days of his authority to take action in the name of the rich man.  He abuses his authority as a steward to purchase future friendships, by giving away his master’s money.  “Well played,” complements the rich man, for he too knows how the game works, and has likely become rich by similar shrewd-but-not-so-honest actions. 

   We children of the light should also act shrewdly in keeping with our reality.  But first, what is our reality?  Our reality is that while darkness covers the face of this broken, dying world, a new light has come, a piercing, bright light, and that light is the life of mankind.  Jesus has come, and brings pleasure eternal, Alpha, Omega, beginning and end.  The Light of Christ has shone into the darkness, and the darkness has neither comprehended nor conquered that Light.  For Jesus is the very Light of the World, who brings new life.  In the Light of Christ, the unjust are declared to be just, righteous, holy, for Jesus’ sake.  This is the new reality, for all who see the Light with eyes of faith. 

   Sin and death ruled, casting a dark pall over every soul.  But Jesus has come and
conquered death, swallowing sin in His own body, draining it’s claim on sinners by paying the last penny, all debt canceled with His perfect life, and with His own blood, sweat and tears.  Now, in the bright light revealed by the Empty Tomb, your reality has changed, forever.  You do not manage affairs for a greedy, miserly, scheming rich man.  Your life is not a grimy striving for a bit more scratch, a step up the ladder, scrambling to get on top, but never reaching the light.  Because there is no true light for children of this world; every glimmer of earthly promise leads to an even darker abyss. 

   But there is light for you, in God’s Son.  By baptismal faith in the risen Jesus, you are reborn as a Child of the Light.  At first glance, it may appear that you just work 9 – 5 for some uncaring worldly boss, like everyone else.  But the truth is you are free, and fabulously wealthy, an heir of God’s heavenly kingdom, and no earthly nor satanic power can take that away from you. 

   So, seeing clearly the reality in which you live, the reality of Christ and His Kingdom of Light, our second principle is that you are free to take action, in keeping with your true reality.  You are free to faithfully steward the time, talents and treasures your Lord has given you.  You are free to be honest, despite the short term negative consequences honesty sometimes brings.  You can be honest, and generous, because the truth of Christ has set you free, and made you eternally wealthy. 

   An earthly manager may well resent his or her dependence on the boss, but stewards in Christ’s kingdom rejoice in their dependence.  Seeing that every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights, Children of the Light happily stay connected to Him.  Planted and abiding in the Vine named Jesus, we joyfully take in His nourishing sap, storing up treasures in heaven, by regularly feeding on His Word and His Supper. 

   Children of the Light live and act in keeping with the new reality set up by the Master, first, because they want to, and also, for their own good.  And in the mysterious plan of God, such wise living is also the way that we can best serve others.  To steward God’s grace, first I must receive it, be filled up to overflowing, so that what God has done for me can spill over to those around me.  If I try to serve others without continually receiving the light of Christ for myself, my service will quickly turn dark and grudging, a blind, bitter striving that does little good for others, and even threatens to rot my soul from the inside. 

   Children of the light are called to understand the true reality they have in Christ.  They are called to act in accordance with this new reality.  Thirdly, children of the light use wealth, they use mammon.  They use money, and they do not get used by their money. 

   God in His wisdom and mercy does not whisk His new Children out of this world in the moment the forgiving Light of Life shines in their hearts.  No, He leaves us here, in this world.  Until the day Christ calls us home, we live down here, and we must deal with unrighteous mammon and the ways and things of this world.  We will get our hands dirty, dealing with dishonest managers, corrupt officials, miserly masters and lazy workers. 

   In the midst of all this, we will need to acquire some unrighteous money, to feed ourselves and our family.  As Children of the Light of Christ, we steward things according to His wonderful, alternate reality.  But we must recognize that we do this holy work within the reality of this fallen world. 

   So we live in a dual reality: we are Children of the Light, yet still dealing in this kingdom of darkness.  This puts us at risk.  We all recognize the dishonest shrewdness of the unjust steward, and the all-too-willing complicity in his theft by the various debtors of the rich man.  We all understand the admiration of the rich man for the manager’s worldly-wise dealing.  We recognize all these things, because we can see all these characters, within ourselves.  We struggle with this parable, not so much because Jesus seems to be praising sinful acts, but rather because part of us wants Jesus to praise sin.  Part of us is drawn to serve mammon, to make money and material wealth our idols, not our tools. 

   And so our third principle takes us back to the first.  Understanding the reality of the Kingdom of Light and Grace that we have entered by faith in Jesus is the flip side of the coin of this third lesson.  We are to use our earthly wealth, not be enslaved by it.  You cannot serve God and Money.  You may try, but you cannot.  There are only two realities, only two options: either serve God and use earthly wealth as a stewardship from Him, or serve wealth, and end up despising God, thereby cutting yourself off from all His greater blessings. 

   And so, we are called to wisdom, to live with our eyes open to the darkness of this
world, but with hearts made new and joyful by the Light of Christ, His forgiving love.   Which He brings and offers to us, day after day, through Word, Water, Wheat and Wine.  Living in the Light of Christ, we enjoy purpose, and a promise, and a peace, the peace of God, which passes all understanding, and keeps our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, unto life everlasting, Amen.