The Ninth Sunday after Trinity, 2018. The Shrewd Steward

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity, 2018

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10AM Central Daylight Time

The melodies are linked in the hymn title. 

The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.

• The melody site is linked here.
• TLH Lyrics site is linked here.

The Hymn #657          Beautiful Savior

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #660    I'm But a Stranger Here

        

Even Bad Stewards Can Serve as Examples

The Communion Hymn #312        Lord Jesus Christ Thou Living Bread               

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 649     Jesus Savior Pilot Me             

KJV 1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

KJV Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

Ninth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, who hast bountifully given us Thy blessing and our daily bread: We beseech Thee, preserve us from covetousness, and so quicken our hearts that we willingly share Thy blessed gifts with our needy brethren; that we may be found faithful stewards of Thy gifts, and abide in Thy grace when we shall be removed from our stewardship, and shall come before Thy judgment, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Background for Sermon

Luther makes a great distinction in his sermon, since many look at the words of a passage and wonder how they can play with the  meaning, to serve their purpose. So, if they spot something unusual, they build a cathedral on that spot.

Luther saw how the issue of works drove people to despair, because that was a great way in the Middle Ages to extract work and money from people. As long as they thought, it was never enough, they kept working and giving. This was also Luther's experience as a monk and priest. Since he was always looking at works, he thought of God as angry and demanding, never forgiving.

Staupitz helped Luther see what was in the Gospel, and the Gospel itself was a powerful force on him as he studied and lectured.  It is easy to see how these attitudes developed. Once a theme is developed and overlaid on the Gospel, then every phrase seems to serve that purpose. That leads to people being blinded by the efficacy of the Word, because they rejoice in error and in their shame.

Faith plus works is the Roman Catholic theme. Faith is good but not enough. Works must be added to adorn one's faith. Since this is a Law demand, it turns the Gospel into man-made Law and blinds people to the comfort of Gospel forgiveness.

The Christian life immediately follows faith in Christ, just as plants must flower and fruit.

Most of the Biblical "scholars" and "theologians" are trained in the rationalism of Zwingli, Calvin, and Barth. Once faith is whittled down to almost nothing, works necessarily dominate. That is why the so-called Evangelicals are getting involved in social justice activism, just like their mainline counterparts. Once Justification by Faith is removed, people are going to rely on the glory of their works. We once attended Community of Joy Lutheran Church, famous for its gigantic attendance, entertainment evangelism, and then for disappearing almost overnight.

Even Bad Stewards Can Serve as Examples

KJV Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.

This is called the Parable of the Unrighteous Steward, not that we should imitate his bad behavior but note his earnest efforts when caught.

A steward is someone who manages something belonging to another person. When we talk of Christian stewardship, that describes how we handle what God lets us manage for a few years.

Luther on What Jesus Commends:

27. In the third place it has been a matter of very great concern to many to know who the unjust steward is whom Christ so highly recommends? This, in short, is the simple answer: Christ does not commend unto us the steward on account of his unrighteousness, but on account of his wisdom and his shrewdness, that with all his unrighteousness, he so wisely helps himself. As though I would urge some one to watch, pray and study, and would say: Look here, murderers and thieves wake at night to rob and steal, why then do you not wake to pray and study? By this I do not praise murderers and thieves for their crimes, but for their wisdom and foresight, that they so wisely obtain the goods of unrighteousness. Again. as though I would say: An unchaste woman adorns herself with gold and silk to tempt young boys; why will you not also adorn yourself with faith to please Christ? By this I do not praise fornication, but the diligence employed.

28. In this way Paul compares Adam and Christ saying: “Adam was a figure of him that was to come.” Romans 5:14. Although from Adam we have nothing but sin, and from Christ nothing but grace, yet these are greatly opposed to each other. But the comparison and type consist only in the consequence or birth, not in virtue or vice. As to birth, Adam is the father of all sinners, so Christ is the father of all the righteous. And as all sinners come from one Adam, so all the righteous come from one Christ.

Thus the unjust steward is here typified to us only in his cunning and wisdom, who knows so well how to help himself, that we should also consider in the right way the welfare of our souls as he did in the wrong way that of his body and life. With this we will let it suffice, and pray God for grace.