Sermon for the 14th Sunday after Trinity – 18 September 2022: AMOS: 8:4-7,! TIMOTHY 2:1-7, LUKE 16:1-13
Deacon Chris Saccali – St Paul’s Athens
I speak in the name of the Triune God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit AMEN
As we continue reading the Gospel of Luke and have wended our way with Jesus and the disciples to Jerusalem, in step with the journey and ministry of Jesus, the parables become even more testing and trying, to my mind, but we can’t just skip over the difficult bits of scripture.
All our readings today are challenging, lifted only by the words of the Psalm, but then we are in challenging times and we are also in the season of Creationtide which runs from 1st September through to the feast of St Francis on 4th October. As Fr Leonard explained in a previous sermon, this year we are invited to listen out for the Voice of Creation, groaning. The theme text and illustration chosen by an ecumenical group this year is Moses and the Burning Bush from Exodus chapter 3 . Interesting to note how Moses is already on Holy Ground and the fire burns but does not destroy.
Sometimes this parable in Luke 16 is called that of the shrewd steward, both those words bear examination, I think, for they are not in everyday use, like the word old fashioned word duty and many other words like servanthood which has been used many times in reference the late Queen.
Shrewd could be replaced by wise or astute maybe and this helps reinforce the idea of parables exemplifying Wisdom literature. However, one person suggested to me shrewd has a more cunning connotation in a modern business sense. Steward or manager of the estate is oikonomos in Greek, the law of the house, the householder, who deals with the budgeting and running of it. The two words oiko/nomos together paint a picture of smooth management. Not so though here in this parable or in the relationship between God and Israel which is typically portrayed between the land owner and the person employed to manage the estate.
This story comes just after the Parable of the Prodigal Son in chapter 15, could that be significant? It really can seem that Luke chapter 16 is a nonsequitor yet the author must have had a reason to put them back to back. Certainly, there seems to be a connecting theme of squandering wealth as opposed to true worth, honesty, integrity and putting God first. It helps to know that the early church fathers and theologians have wrestled with this text down the ages.
As I said before, if you think that the parables of Jesus are pleasant stories about people of integrity then think again. The manager gets given his notice by the CEO and decides, while he still can, to even up the tables for those who are struggling to pay their debts. The manager’s debts are also to be written off, maybe as a way of currying favour with the master. Don’t forget that the manager was virtually a slave to the owner and relied on him for his board and lodging. Now he had been sacked he was on the streets. What about those released from debt, will they help him out? Did the friends help the prodigal son when he fell into desperate circumstances through his own squandering? No, he returned home to His Father and here the owner does not discredit the manager. Make friends wherever you can seems to be Jesus’ strange message, if not the moral of the story if a parable has a moral, for you will need them.
The twists and turns in this passage are reinforced as the listeners, then and now, are never quite sure where their sympathies are supposed to lie. With the prophets, like the text from Amos, it is clear that he is railing against injustice and on the side of the poor. Here the manager is praised for his wisdom, for being fronimos, go figure that out! But actually the amount cut from each debt may have been the interest charged which was illegal anyway under Jewish law. However, many did so, and the steward had found a way of making friends while putting his master in a position where he could not charge him for dishonesty without admitting what had been going on. Cunning or shrewd.
What can we carry forward for these times? How we steward our power, money and privilege is very important. Our epistle today urges our prayers for all in power and for the common good. ‘First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions so we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.’ We have been reflecting on the wisdom and service over the long reign of Elisabeth 11 and praying for her repose. While at the same time, finding ourselves in a new era praying for King Charles whose ideas about the environment and those of his father before him, do not seem at all wacky now. In fact, they seem ahead their time, listening to the voice of Creation although maybe not talking to trees, I don’t know though.
We need to take a look at our own management skills, at church funds on a local and wider level. Every euro or cent counts and we do need to constantly revise our giving in terms of time, talent and cash. It is a way or a rule of life and living out of the Kingdom on Earth. Hear that word Earth. We must not squander resources, our own or those held in common.
How we transfer this giving to the stewardship of the earth is equally important and it is but a short step when we acknowledge that everything we have is from God and of his own to we give Him. Climate change and injustice is all of our own making and human activity. The earth is hallowed ground along with the air and seas and everything therein. Once that is acknowledged, stewardship follows naturally or should do in every sector of our life personal and common life and our prayer life.
As world events unfold and we, in the Western hemisphere move into colder weather with energy price hikes and consumption in the news, we need to protect the poor, share resources and act against those companies that are unethical and unscrupulous in chasing after profit. I despair when I see and hear European governments upping reliance on nuclear energy and turning their backs on agreements made at COP20 in Glasgow less than a year ago, panicking and clutching at straws for their own need and greed. Will we never learn to listen to the voice of Creation? It is crying out to us.
As members of the Christian family we are offered a rich entry point for dialogue and conversation into debate and discussion. The World Council of Churches has been doing just that in their meetings in Karlsruhe in Germany and you can find out more about climate change from those proceedings which both Bp Robert and Archdeacon Leslie attended. Later on, one of our project partners Rebecca Misthou from the Salvation Army and the Green Light project will give us a short update and explain how we can help others less fortunate during the colder months. She will stay to chat over coffee too to share more of their work.
I am afraid I have covered a lot of ground. Let us return to the image of the burning bush and standing on holy ground – we are doing just that and hear a poem by the theologian Rob Bell entitled Walk don’t run:
Walk, don’t run.
That’s it. Walk don’t run.
Slowdown, breathe deeply,
And open your eyes because there is a whole world right within this one.
The bush doesn’t suddenly catch on fire,
It’s been burning the whole time.
Moses is simply moving slowly enough to see it.
And when he does, he takes off his sandals.
Not because the ground has suddenly become holy,
But because he’s just now becoming aware that the ground has been holy the whole time.
Efficiency is not God’s highest goal for your life,
Neither is busyness,
Or how many things you can get in one day,
Or speed, or even success.
But walking, which leads to seeing,
Now that’s something.
That’s the invitation for every one of us today,
And every day, in every conversation, interaction, event,
And moment, to walk, not run.
And in doing so,
To see a whole world right here within this one.
AMEN
No Comments