STEWARDS OF WHAT WE ARE WORTH
SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON September 19th, 2010
Luke 16:30 “No servant can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
This past week, in Chicago, there was an event that had people yelling and screaming in great excitement. It had repercussions all over the world, with a similar response in, of all places, Australia. What happened on Monday was that Oprah Winfrey announced on her TV show that she was going to Australia, to film one of her shows. Not only was she going to Australia – but she was taking her audience of 300 with her. They would all be flown in a Qantas jet by non-other than John Travolta.
Yes, Oprah’s show is going to be filmed live from the Sydney Opera House. This has caused the Australian Tourist Bureau to rename the Opera House, The Oprah House! After the show Oprah and her 300 fans are going to the Great Barrier Reef for sight seeing.
Then to finish up what is going to be an exciting trip, they are going to my hometown, Melbourne – to go shopping, of course! So you can imagine all the excitement amongst all those Chicago housewives last Monday when this was announced. Who wouldn’t want a free trip to Australia?
To get something for nothing is always exciting. Who among us hasn’t welcomed the idea of something free? Isn’t that why people go to Las Vegas regularly, buy lottery tickets, and collect two-for-one vouchers from all those publications we get in our letter boxes?
I remember earlier this year, standing in line at Ralph’ supermarket, and watching a man purchase 24 jars of laundry detergent. Each was purchased with a $1.00 discount coupon.
Who among us has not enjoyed a bargain or a discount? My thing is collecting frequent flyer miles, so that I can get those free upgrades to Australia. But I’m certainly not going on that Oprah Winfrey flight!
Getting something for nothing leads naturally, of course, to today’s gospel – the parable of the dishonest steward. He wanted something for nothing, and so he pinched from his employer. The steward took some money on the side and tossed it around as though it belonged to him – when, in fact, it didn’t. These days, we call that white collar crime.
The steward was a white collar criminal. He was also a clever man. To gain his master’s confidence and trust back, as well as keep his job, he gave others something for nothing. He discounted the debts of those under him. How clever is that?
Jesus concludes the parable by saying: “The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.”
Now we who follow Jesus are children of the light. Perhaps we are a little more innocent, naive, or honest than those Jesus calls ‘sons of this world.’ I know what Jesus is talking about, and I think you do too. I usually take people as I find them. I try and see in them an image of Christ – I hope we all try and do that. Sometimes when you take people at face value, you get deceived. That’s the risk we, as Christians take, when we see Christ in the other person.
Indeed, we follow our Lord’s teaching, “He who is faithful in a very little, is faithful in much.” In our relationships with people, we are bound to take them as we find them. By being faithful in relationships, we will be faithful in larger and bigger things. We are compelled by Our Lord to be faithful – even if leaves us open to being tricked, or used, or even attacked.
In the middle of this gospel reading, Jesus says something quite strange. Following the parable, He says: “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon.” What does he mean? That we should use money to gain friends? It does seem strange, and the opposite of what he is teaching us.
This saying does have to be taken in the context of Luke 16:13, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” In other words, Jesus is saying – don’t be a slave of money; let it be useful to you; but don’t let it control you.
There is a fine line between using money and being controlled by money. When we think of what Our Lord has said, we think of very rich millionaires, those who own great properties, or those who live expensive lifestyles. But this lesson can also apply to panhandlers and street people. They always ask us for money, don’t they? In a reverse way, money seems to control their lives too. They exist purely to get money. It’s the same as the millionaires.
Money is important for Christians, of course. It is important for a church like All Saints’. We use it for God’s work. So its’ importance is right and proper. Like most Churches, October is Stewardship month. We will be asked to consider our giving to All Saints’ and to make a pledge. We could not budget without your pledges and your commitment. The Vestry is charged with seeing this financial responsibility and the administration of it. It is necessary that we are good stewards of what has been given to us. All of us, whether we are millionaires or street people, are called to be stewards of money, and not slaves of money.
There is a very close relationship between money and power – for one begets the other. Politicians and world leaders are called to be stewards of power, and not slaves of power – but many easily fall for that trap. Although having lots of money can be an exciting thing, having power is the most supreme excitement of all.
In a church, a stewardship campaign is more than about money, budgets, and meeting our expenses. Traditionally, in the Episcopal Church we say it’s about time, talents, and treasure. That means that we give back to God in thankfulness for his blessings to us not only our money, but with our time and our talents.
I think a better way of describing time, talent, and a treasure is: our presence, our labor, and our material worth.
These three words -: presence, labor, and material worth – convey what we are worth as individuals, and are a representation of who we are. Who we are is surely what we are giving back to God as stewards.
Firstly: our presence in the community of faith, the church, is at the heart of being a Christian. Of course, we can pray to God anywhere and many of us do. However, Our Lord Jesus Christ commanded his people to celebrate the Eucharist together, and to be his body on earth. Our presence is required for that to be possible.
Secondly: our labor is also essential. St. James said, “Faith without works is dead.” If being a disciple of Jesus was only a matter of good intentions, we would be as dishonest as the steward in the parable today.
Finally, our material worth. Sadly, very sadly, the world judges us by our material goods and possessions. We fall for that, too. Pledging not only reverses that mistake, it shows what our values are. When we pledge and tithe to God we are not only showing what our values are, but what we truly value: the Church of God, and our savior, Jesus Christ.
Maybe we do have to take notice of what Jesus said, “The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light”?
We ought not to be casual about these matters. As children of light, we should be like the sons of this world when it comes to stewardship. We should be definite, determined, and purposeful. Above all, we ought not be afraid to take the risk of giving.