Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Every parable that Jesus told is meant to teach us about the kingdom of God. Most of the time, when we look closely, we can find Jesus as one of the chief characters in each parable. Jesus is the Good Samaritan who binds up the wounds of the man lying in the middle of the road. Jesus is the merchant who sells everything, including his own life, to purchase the treasure hidden in the field. But our parable this morning is different. Jesus is not, so to speak, one of the central characters. Certainly, he is not the dishonest manager who gets fired for wasting his Lord’s possessions. Neither is he one of the men who owed debts to the master.

Many Bible scholars have been confused by this parable. If we don’t immediately find Jesus as the central character, then what’s the point? What do we do with this parable? We listen to what Jesus is teaching us. There was a rich man who had a manager (Lk 16:1). A manager is someone who takes care of another man’s possessions. A rich man often finds a steward to handle his accounts. The steward is given the authority to make decisions. He can speak in his master’s name and represent his master’s interests in public. He may invest some of his master’s wealth here or there, but none of the resources that he handles actually belongs to him. Our steward was a bad manager. He wasted his master’s possessions. Perhaps he thought he was getting away with it, but eventually the day of reckoning came. “What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager” (Lk 16:2).

Jesus tells this parable as a warning to us. We are managers, not owners, of the resources that God has entrusted to us. Your time, talents, property, and even your life, do not belong to you. They are on loan from God. You are a manager. Have you forgotten this? The parable is a reminder. You are not your own. You were bought with a price. You belong to God. Everything you have belongs to God. And the day of reckoning is coming. The day is coming when you will be called to give an account for your stewardship.

Ever since the fall of man, we have wished to be our own master. This is the root of our ruin, the original sin. “You will be as gods.” By nature every person is convinced that he is the absolute master of all that belongs to him. If a person has outstanding gifts, a sharp mind, excellent skills and ability, he supposes that this is his property, which he can use for his own needs, and no one dare ask him, “What are you doing?” This is especially true with the so-called good things of this world. If a man has prospered by the work of his hands, or through his business, or by receiving an inheritance, he supposes that he may use his possessions in any way he pleases. He intends to speak as God, saying, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?” (Mt 20:15).

What does our Lord say about this? He tells a parable that begins with the words, “There was a rich man who had a manager.” The Master of all things is God. He is the only wise Being, the only almighty Being, the only rich Being, to whom all praise, glory, and honor is due. In himself, man is destitute. Over against God he can call nothing—absolutely nothing—his own, except his debt of sin. Every good thing you have, including your next breath, is lent to you by God. This means that God can reclaim his property and take it back again at any second. You belong to God. You are his manager.

We confess this in Luther’s explanation to the Second Article of the Creed: I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be his own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him…” Here is the truth about you: You belong to Christ. Your body belongs to him. Your soul belongs to him. Your possessions belong to him. You are, as St. Paul calls often introduces himself, a slave of Jesus Christ.

Now here in 21st-century America, we are allergic to the word “slave.” That’s because we’ve seen what happens when sinful masters act as tyrants. But what about a master who is perfectly good and loving? What if he cares about you and provides everything you could possibly need? What if it is his good pleasure to give you every good gift, including eternal life in the kingdom of God? It’s ironic that with all our talk about freedom, every person on earth is a slave. Bob Dylan was right – “Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Every one of us is born a slave to sin, and the wages of sin is death. But you now belong to Jesus. He bought you with his blood. He purchased you out of the hand of Satan. Why? “That I may be his own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.”

Here are three phrases that sinful man doesn’t like: 1) That I may be his own. “I don’t want to belong to somebody else. I want to be my own master. I don’t want to be accountable to anyone.” This is why so many people are opposed to the existence of God. They don’t want to have to give an account of their stewardship. 2) And live under Him. The natural man cannot stomach the idea of living under anyone. “I should be at the top. I don’t want to take orders from anyone. I should be god.” This was the desire that moved Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. 3) And serve Him. “Why should I serve anyone but me? I look out for #1.”

How does a man who spends his life and resources serving himself end up? He will face death alone without any hope. How much better to be a slave of Christ? How much better to be His own and live under Him in his kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness? Your Lord and master wants more good things for you than you could desire for yourself. To live under him is to live in righteousness and innocence, free from slavery to sin, clothed in the garment of his righteousness, with every blessing in this life and the next. It is a wonderful thing to belong to Christ.

This parable reminds us of the truth. Everything you have is a gift from your gracious Lord and Master. Use your gifts wisely, for the day of accounting will come. Blessed is the steward who is found faithful on that day. To be faithful means to be full of faith. Let us then not only seize Christ by faith but also let us show our faith by our stewardship of our gifts and possessions. Let us pray. Lord God, heavenly Father, how richly you have endowed every one of us! How could we name all the possessions which you have entrusted to us? They are countless. We must confess that we have often forgotten that we are not masters but only managers of what you have given us. We have squandered your property. We have been dishonest managers. Your judgment would be righteous if in your anger you would say to us, “You may no longer be manager.” But, O Lord, in your longsuffering and goodness you have not carried out this sentence against us. Instead, you sent your Son to purchase us back from sin and death and restore us to blessed life in your kingdom. Today through your Holy Word, you give us a gracious warning. Let your Word prosper within our hearts, so that by faith we may be properly prepared for your accounting on the Last Day. In the name of your son, our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. Amen.