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INJ
St Luke 16:1-13
“Make Friends for Yourselves”
Morning Service
13 August 2006 | 9th Sunday after Trinity
Dear Saints,
This is a difficult parable, a difficult text, the Gospel reading that we just heard. Why?
Well, at first glance it appears as if Jesus is praising the unjust steward, commending his unrighteousness and his sin.
A certain master had a steward who was cheating him and stealing money. When the master finds out he calls him to give an account. Knowing that he is going to be fired, and despairing that he won't be able to find work (too weak to dig and too proud to beg), this cheating steward goes to his master's debtors and cuts their debts. Thus befriending the debtors so that they would return the favor and take care of him when he would shortly be unemployed. This is what his master commends, and is the first apparent difficulty. “So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.” Jesus then adds, “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation that the sons of light.” [16:8]
The unjust and unrighteous steward is not commended for his theft and his sin, but for his shrewdness. He sees his immanent destruction, and he puts all his wits and efforts into doing what is best for himself. The sons of the world with single-minded devotion work and labor and strive and plot tirelessly to get what they want, they exhaust all their resources and endure all manner of pain and hardship to get their desired end. Compared to the sons of this world the sons of light, that is Christians, all who believe the promises of Jesus, are lazy, listless, negligent, having the hardest time doing any good thing.
While the wicked are examples of industry who strive day and night to do what is wrong, sparing no expense, the Lord's dear Christians who have the forgiveness of all of their sins and the assurance of eternal life in heaven can barely get off the couch to do what is right and good in God's eyes. Business men will travel across the world to make or save a few dollars while the Lord's people will barely drive a couple miles to hear the preaching of the Lord's Word. The unbeliever runs like mad to his eternal ruin and destruction, while we Christians loligag our way to eternal bliss; they rush pell-mell toward hell while we crawl toward heaven.
So the question raised by the text, by Jesus, is this: If an unbeliever can serve the devil with such diligence, sparing no pains, why shouldn't I want to serve my Lord in the same manner, with Whom one day I hope to share eternity? Jesus does not commend wickedness, but industry, their desire and effort spent to serve their god. The worship of mammon, of money, is carried out with much more fervor and devotion than the worship of the one true God.
Then Jesus drives the point home for us, “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they man receive you into everlasting habitations.” [16:9]
And this is where the real difficulty in the text is, that Jesus is telling us what to do with our money. We wish, perhaps, that Jesus was talking about things more spiritual, more heavenly, but not in this text. “Make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon.” That's the command of Jesus for us, His followers. He is telling us how to spend our money.
We can't take it with us. There is no bank in heaven, at least not for our cash. So, what do we do with the money with which the Lord has entrusted us? We are to make friends who will welcome us into heaven. And how do we do that? How do we make eternal friends with our money?
First, we give it away, helping the poor and needy. Jesus says, “Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, and treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” [St Luke 12:33-34]
Second, we give money to support the preaching of the Gospel. The chief way we do this is by supporting the church. We give to the church because we love the preaching of the Gospel, and the Lord has built His church, even this church, Hope Lutheran Church in Aurora, Colorado, to be a place set apart for the preaching of God's Word and Jesus' love and teaching of the Gospel, and the distribution of the forgiveness of all of our sins. So it is that we support this church in order to support the preaching of the Gospel that we love, and that we need. It is by the Gospel that we make heavenly friends, for it is by the Gospel that the Lord Jesus makes His Christians. As Paul tells us, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” [Romans 1:16]
In this way we understand our offerings to the church as the beginning of the keeping of this command of Jesus, “Make for yourselves friends by unrighteous mammon that when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.” [16:9] We give cheerfully, generously, even sacrificially, and by this generosity the Lord supports His church.
But in this life our generosity is only begun, and it is always tainted with selfishness and greed. The efforts of the unbeliever toward sin will always put to shame the efforts of the Lord's church toward good, but the efforts of the Lord Jesus puts unbelief to shame and covers all of our shame with mercy and forgiveness. Through it all the Lord continues with His patience and generosity toward us. He, indeed, has given everything for us and for our salvation. He did not even spare His own Son, but sent Him into the flesh, into sin, into death for us. And He continues to work tirelessly, never slumbering or sleeping, but day and night rushes to us with His comfort, His promises, His forgiveness, His love. He does all for us, for our life and salvation, that He might welcome us into our everlasting habitation.
While are just beginning our good works, the Lord Jesus has finished. “It is finished,” He said and He sat down at the right hand of the Father. Our salvation is accomplished and won, our everlasting habitation is secure, as He promised, “All who believe in Me shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
May the Lord Jesus grant us His Holy Spirit, that we would begin to keep His commandment and make for ourselves friends with unrighteous mammon who will welcome us into everlasting habitations, and more, that we would continue in the true faith, trusting His promises of life and salvation and the forgiveness of all of our sins, even unto life everlasting. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Hope Lutheran Church | Aurora, CO
Hymns for the Service:
The Lutheran Hymnal 14, 366, 437
[Many of the ideas in this sermon and some of the language come from Dr Luther's 1532 sermon on this text. Complete Sermons of Martin Luther, 6.350-357]