The Ninth Sunday after Trinity, 2020
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The melodies are linked in the hymn title.
The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.
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 Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Let Thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers
of Thy humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions, make them to
ask such things as shall please Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord,
who liveth, etc.
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Strangest Parable - Worth a Study
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 #657 Beautiful Savior
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 #657 Beautiful Savior
In Our Prayers
- In treatment for cancer: Mary Howell, Christina Jackson, Carl Roper, Randy Anderson, Rush Limbaugh.
- Testing and treatment: Pastor Jim Shrader.
- The flowers mark the birthdays of Jeshra Palangyos, Christina Jackson, and Alicia Meyer.
- Pastor Jordan earned his driver's license. Continuing prayers for Jeshra, who is much better, and our mission in the Philippines.
- Dr. Lito Cruz' new work opportunities.
- Our country's leaders as justice is served to the criminals and traitors. The storm is upon us.
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.
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| Norma Boeckler's Christian Art |
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 the Gospel Sermon - Luke 16:1-9
The parables of Jesus are vivid and easy to remember. The reason is the action involved (division of the estate, wasted money, repentance, forgiveness) or things we easily visualize (yeast in dough, seeds growing, glorious wildflowers, cheerful birds with no bank accounts). There is a long tradition in Judaism, telling stories to illustrate a Scriptural lesson. The difference is that Jesus teaches based on His role as the Creating Word (John 1:3; Genesis 1) and individuals teach based on their own observations and experience.
Because the parables of Jesus are so concise, we do best when we pay attention to every detail and do not use them as our own springboards. Instead, we have to see the intended lesson and how that harmonizes with everything in the Scriptures. Instead of skipping over a parable because "we know that one," we should meditate on its meaning with great care. That is especially true for this one, because 1) It is very difficult to read and explain, hinting at great wisdom to be revealed; 2) It is repeated in the historical readings, so the ancients felt the parable was good to study and preach about - year after year after year.
The Strangest Parable - Worth a Study
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 a parable Jesus taught to His disciples. Details matter, and therefore details overlooked or misused divert the meaning of what Jesus taught the future leaders of the Christian Mission to the world. The wording - a certain rich man - means this is a parable, a story to illustrate His points. This parable should be studied and taught each year because it is difficult, since the best insights come from spending more time with those passages.
The steward (house ruler, literally, eco-nomist) is the manager of a vast estate. Because his role is that of manager, he deals with large sums that belong to the rich man. This is more like a warehouse operation. I used to go with my father to wholesale houses for discounted items. Vast areas were filled with truckloads of goods. The reduced price were for cash, but too good to resist.
This steward is accused of squandering the 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.
The steward is already fired - his work there is done. He has to give an accounting, which is his parting effort after being incompetent or lazy.
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.
The steward does an old fashioned self-examination, the ancient equivalent of LinkedIn - what will serve him in the future now that his job is over. Two things are immediately clear - he is too weak for manual labor and he is too proud to beg for a living. Those skills show he has zero endorsements, and they remain a bit humorous. He should have thought of his shortcomings long ago.
4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
This man is not a good example, but a bad one. He is example of how the vast majority of unbelievers conduct their lives. Just as before, he is taking care of himself so that he can do well, in spite of being too weak to dig and too proud to beg. He will make friends with the business partners of his boss.
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.
Lenski observed that these amounts show it is not a simple farm but a large warehouse operation. They are like the antique bookseller that offered me a special gift edition of Dickens, inscribed as a gift by the author, for $40,000 instead of the stated price of $50,000. (Unfortunately, I left my checkbook at home.) She had the right to do this, as a part owner of the very large store, which was packed with valuable books.
I advise first-time book writers that they might think there is a huge profit margin in the typical exchange, but they will be expected to give away review copies and even more copies to friends and relatives, exhausting their potential market. If they could sell 1,000 books right away at double their cost - that would be something. Mark Twain bankrupted himself by printing a life of the pope in every language of the world, not thinking how little people wanted that. Someone said, "A writer cannot be in business. He imagines too many things too well - they never happen in real life."
It seems surprising that the owner is impressed with the unrighteous steward - in a positive way. I think he is happier with the cash than with debts still on the books. A warehouse has debts too, and a pile of I.O.U.'s is not the same as legal tender. The owner in this case is not God, but another unbeliever, impressed that the other unbelievers were also impressed with the cleverness of the steward.
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.
As Luther wrote in his sermon, all the turns on the meaning of the good tree. The good tree produces good fruit, which means the believer produces fruit that glorifies God. In contrast, the evil tree can only bear corrupt fruit.
Luther:
9. If they thus attack us we must answer. Above all things it must be remembered that there is indeed no doubt whatever, that faith and love are the only source, as you have ever learned, that through faith we become inwardly pious, and we outwardly prove our faith by our works of love.
For I have often said, that the Scriptures speak of man in a twofold manner. At one time of the inner man, and then again of the outer man. For the Scriptures properly make distinctions, just as when I speak of a foot, I do not mean a nose. So the Scriptures at one time speak of us as of the Spirit, spiritual, how we must stand before God by faith, for this purpose he sends forth his Word to which we hold, and afterwards he follows or endows with his Spirit. Thus the tree must be good beforehand, as you have recently heard.
In contrast, mammon is simply an excess of money and goods, with an emphasis upon having more than enough to live on and to share. Few think they have enough, as we see with billionaires making money from vaccines, as if they need more. The mammon is unrighteous because it has no value by itself. So the vast majority of people worship mammon and think of it as promising them all the happiness they could dream about. Warren Buffet's son said, since he has inherited at least $1 billion in funds, "Now they laugh a long longer at my jokes."
for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
If the unbelievers are shrewd about mammon, then the children of light should be shrewd about the treasures of the Gospel.
#1
Have people guarded the Scriptures and made sure everyone had an accurate translation of the traditional text? No. They have turned the Bible into a printing press for money - theirs. They shrewdly own their fresh-every-week translations, so they can charge fees for the Bibles, Bible commentaries, and Biblical teaching materials.
If they have the truth, why do they allow so much confusion and contradiction concerning the Word of God? Unrighteous mammon is more important to them.
#2
Have they honored the basic Biblical doctrine of the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace?
No, they have taught the opposite - Calvin's dogma of the Spirit working independently of the Word, so no one every knows or trusts the effectiveness of the Gospel. This promotes the Gimmick-of-the-Month Club. The latest fad is Unstuck. If church members study how their congregation is stuck at a certain level, they can study how to become unstuck (like the tongue on the frozen pipe?).
#3
Have they honored the faithful teachers of the past? No, they mock Luther and the Book of Concord, barely know the authors of the Formula of Concord. Instead, they chase the latest fad and newest celebrity church leaders (hurry, before they crash and burn, as so many have).
#4
Do they take the Treasure of the Gospel to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness? And do they see the need of neighbors and help them, without expecting thanks or wondering what they will get for that?
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.
I say unto you -
Jesus is speaking directly to the disciples, for this is a message of major importance to them and all church leaders.
Make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness
This cannot be the conventional meaning of business buddies working together, to prosper together. So this means using the resources available in this world to reach and help those who need the Gospel as long-time and as new Christians. Mammon itself has no value to God, because it all belongs to Him, comes from Him, and goes back to Him. Everything is rented; nothing is owned. It passes through our hands and is used well or poorly.
when you fail -
That means when we have died. Then mammon has no value at all, but what does? The people who become believers because of us will rejoice with us as we enter eternal life. Here is one example.
Pastor Jordan Palangyos wanted to serve as an independent Lutheran pastor. So Dr. Lito Cruz (a Lutheran pastor in math and in business) suggested he pick one place. Jordan and his wife Amabel picked the area of the Philippines where they came from.
I was assigned the role of distant supervisor. They needed a place to worship, and an elderly lady donated some land. They built their first chapel mostly with labor.
I suggested they use the unrighteous mammon of social media:
- Facebook (done) plus links to media.
- A blog (done) with links to FB and our blog (done).
- Video (done) links to their blog and FB (done).
- They also received our Lutheran books and visits from Glen Kotten.
Many different people have helped in various ways. This is an example of unrighteous mammon being used to bring the Gospel to an area which needs the Word.
Not only adults are converted but babies too, by the power of the Gospel in infant baptism, taught and practiced by Jesus and the disciples - Let them come to Me and do not forbid them. (Forbid has the meaning keeping children outside of membership.) For to such belongs the Kingdom of God. As anyone can discern, if we must believe as small children to enter the Kingdom, then children have faith.
The blessings go back and forth, because those who participate in this mission are strengthened in their faith -allowed to see the value of the Gospel and the material needs of people in harsh times.
receive you into everlasting habitations.
This is especially poignant with respect to the disciples. They were soon persecuted and killed. Perhaps John lived the longest. They did not write biographies because they honored Christ and the Gospel first of all. Many were martyred in those days, so the welcomes into heaven grew with the numbers of believers. It continues today in China and Africa.
So the children of darkness still take care of their things, which they value, with great diligence. Three years ago I would never have imagined the power of the Satanic in our own country, and the extent of its influence across the world. Everything they do will dissolve and take them down.
The irony is that all the powers of Hell cannot stand up to the Word, and we can send that Word out everywhere, for almost nothing and provide it to people for very little.
- 99 cent Kindle versions.
- Free PDFs of the same books.
- Free Word copies, so people can edit, translate, copy and paste for whatever region they serve.
I also think preserving the great, classic hymns is a goal worth pursuing when many churches offer "warmed over bar music played by praise bands."
The invaluable TLH lyrics archive suddenly failed, so I copied them all into a new blog, The Bethany Lutheran Hymnal Blog, which gets 2500 views per month already.
That takes me back to pre-Y2K. I was doing some writing and wanted to use a website to reach more people. I took classes in website design and graphics, but the Unix class got me into teaching online. (I was going to edit Unix materials for a good income and teach basics to an MD. Neither materialized.)
Online teaching trained me to do more with the Internet, and blogging became the way to have easy, free websites. From that came most of our members. Twenty years later, I am still learning from the youth about computer possibilities.
Gutenberg invented the printing press for the West (China had it already), and various people gave us computers for today. God's Word has been sent out inexpensively in both modes, using the mammon of unrighteousness.
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| Norma Boeckler's Christian Art |
