The Ninth Sunday after Trinity

 The Ninth Sunday after Trinity – August 17, 2025

Psalm 54; Proverbs 16:1-9; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

St. Luke 16:1-13

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today’s parable is the most difficult parable of our Lord to understand. It seems as though the shrewd and unrighteous steward is being praised for lying, cheating, and stealing. He is accused of wasting the master’s goods and is being fired. When the master sends him to collect the financial records, the steward quickly brokers deals with all of the master’s debtors, seeking to gain favor in their eyes so that when he is kicked out of the master’s house, he will have friends to stay with and possibly even job opportunities. The master commends these shrewd actions and the parable ends.

Thankfully, our Lord summarizes the parable with the words, “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.”[1] He is telling us to take notice of how hard the steward worked to secure for himself a future. The master did not have to give the steward the opportunity to fetch the books. He could have had the steward immediately thrown in jail while another servant was sent to gather the financial records. The steward recognizes his golden opportunity and seizes it. He analyzes his situation, seeing that his job prospects are minimal. His body is unfit to dig ditches, and he is too proud to beg. So, he concocts the plan to forgive portions of the debts owed to the master to gain goodwill among the debtors.

This plan is not without risks. The master might become more angry and invoke his right to have the steward jailed for his crimes. The debtors might turn out to be greedy, and although the steward helped to lower their debts, they might still turn him away in his time of need. But the steward has already considered these as well. By lowering the debt of the debtors in the name of the master, he has increased their view of the master. It appears to the debtors that their master is generous and has done a kind thing for them. His reputation is improved by the actions of the steward. The steward’s plan puts the master in such a position that to punish the steward would only increase the steward’s reputation before the debtors while harming his own.

As for the debtors, it is true that some of them might turn out to be greedy and refuse to help the steward. That is why he did this for all of the master’s debtors. He wasn’t putting his eggs in one basket, to use a common phrase. The steward has carefully thought through every aspect of his plan and then put it into action.

And for what? He is planning for his future security, safety, and provision. He can’t take the physical work of digging and he is too proud to beg, so he works diligently to make for himself a future where he can provide for himself.

If we understand our Lord to be referring to the steward as one of the sons of this world, who is cunning in providing for himself in this world, then what of the sons of light? The primary distinction between the two is the goal for which they are striving. The sons of this world are looking for rewards on earth. They are looking for security for their future days in this world. The sons of light are striving for something else. They look toward eternal life. The sons of light are sons of the Light of the world, which no darkness can overcome.[2] Their source is the Light of Christ, and their goal is eternal life in the world without end.

So now, we can understand the rebuke and admonition of our Lord. He is saying that the sons of this world work diligently and think shrewdly about how to achieve their goals in this life while the sons of light are lazy when it comes to achieving their goal; lazy both in thought (or planning) and in deed.

In terms of planning, the sons of light are called to plan for eternal life through diligence in the Word of God. Notice, that as the shrewd steward is forming his plan, he is considering all the information he has at hand. For the Christian, this information is the Word of God. No matter how many times you’ve read the Bible, there is always more to learn. New insights will occur every time you open the pages of Scripture. It is an unending well of insights into God and His actions working toward your salvation.

However, if this gaining of information is kept within the pages of Scripture, then it will be of little use. As you read the words of Scripture, it also necessary to lift your eyes from the page and consider how these Words apply or affect the world around you. For instance, it would be an error to read the words of creation but look at the world around you as having developed over billions of years. Rather, take the words of creation and see how wonderfully designed the world is; how everything has been formed by the hands of God to work in concert.

More directly connected to our text would be any Word of God which concerns the fleeting nature of this world and the eternal nature of the world to come. As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are being thrown into the fiery furnace, they tell Nebuchadnezzar that the Lord is able to deliver them from the burning fiery furnace and even if He doesn’t, the Lord will save their souls.[3] That is, they trust that the Lord is on their side and that they will endure unto life, whether life in this world or in the glory of the next. They count their temporal lives as but one step on the journey toward glory.

As for putting this wisdom gained from God’s Word into action, we have another word of Christ, “Make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.”[4] This is where Christians are called to be shrewd, to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves;[5] to use the things of this world in service to God, both for the benefit of their neighbor and the benefit of their own souls. We are called to put our time, our abilities, and our resources to the best use we can, according to the Word of God and the vocations into which God has called us, so that this mammon, the things of this world which are unrighteous by the fact that they cannot offer salvation, would be used for God’s glory. Then, when our bodies fail, we will be welcoming into our everlasting home with great rejoicing among the angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven.

Lest there be any misunderstanding, our stewardship of the things of this world does not gain, nor secure, our everlasting home. Our reading from the Proverbs makes this clear: “In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.”[6] It is not our stewardship that provides for iniquity, nor is it our preparation for forgiveness, nor even our sustaining of righteousness. It is the Lord alone, through His great mercy and truth, who has covered our sins and paid the penalty they deserve.

Christ taking your sins upon His shoulders, dying upon the cross, and rising the third day that has satisfied the wrath of God against you. His atonement provides for iniquity, and it is the Holy Spirit who sustains you in that righteousness. Your stewardship of the unrighteous mammon of this world is the result of this atonement provided for you. The call to righteousness is what follows salvation. Even at that, it is not as though “you better do it, or else…” The admonition of Christ is the guide for the sons of light who desire nothing more than to be conformed to the righteousness of Christ.

It is the attitude of the sons of this world to look for gain, how they might work and position themselves for the greatest gains. The sons of light already possess everything they could ever need in the atonement of Christ. However, the sons of light also see the darkness clinging to their flesh and the darkness of the world around them. They need guidance in how to conquer that darkness, continuing to bring the light of Christ to those around them. Hence, Christ gives admonition into how to steward what you’ve been given so that you would continue to live within the mercy and truth which He has provided.

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”[7] All the shrewd planning, consideration, and actions of even a righteous man have no guarantee of results. It is the Lord who directs the outcome of our steps. It is the Lord who has guaranteed the result of our salvation. And thanks be to God for that fact, because if it were left to us in even the smallest of ways, we would stumble and fall. “He so cared for and esteemed me that the Son He loved so well, He has given to redeem me from the quenchless flames of hell…So my many sins and errors find a tender, pard’ning God…Grant me grace, O God, I pray You, that I may with all my might, all my lifetime, day and night, love and trust You and obey You. And, when this brief life is o’er, praise and love You evermore.”[8]

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Luke 16:8.

[2] St. John 1:4-5.

[3] Daniel 3:16-18.

[4] St. Luke 16:9.

[5] St. Matthew 10:16.

[6] Proverbs 16:6.

[7] Proverbs 16:9.

[8] I Will Sing My Maker’s Praises, LSB 977, stanzas 2, 4, 5.

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Trinity 9 – July 28, 2024

Psalm 54; 2 Samuel 22:26-34; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

St. Luke 16:1-13

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

To understand the parable before us today, it is necessary to understand the words that are used in the parable. A “steward” is someone responsible for using and caring for the possessions of someone else. In the case of the parable, the steward is responsible for managing the money of the rich man. Your accountant is the steward of your finances. Parents, when you send your children to school, the teacher is the steward of your child. Hiring Door Dash is hiring someone to be the steward of your supper. A steward is responsible for the use and care of some else’s possessions. “Stewardship” is simply the way of describing the way in which the steward cares for those possessions. It does not necessarily only mean money.

The word “shrewd” might have negative connotations. It sounds evil, or at least mean. Perhaps it even rings in your ears as someone who is miserly and lashes out at those around him. The word just refers to practical wisdom, knowing what actions to take in a particular situation. This is different from the “wisdom” we usually think of. Wisdom is generally reserved for theoretical wisdom, that is, having the knowledge of the best course of action. To be shrewd is to have practical wisdom of the situation and knowing the best steps to take.

For example, it might be wise for a carpenter to soften the corners of a table to give it a finished, beautiful appearance. It is shrewd of the carpenter to soften the corners and the edges to reduce splintering. The wise Christian knows the value to his body and soul of attending the Divine Service every Sunday and every other day it is offered. The shrewd Christian bathes the children the night before so that Sunday morning is efficient and attends the earliest service so that the children are still slightly subdued by the early rising.

“Mammon” refers to all earthly possessions: clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and home, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods. In itself, mammon is good because it is a creation of God. However, Christ calls it “unrighteous mammon” in the parable. That is because, in this context, “unrighteous” doesn’t mean “evil;” it means “something that can’t save you.” Righteousness is not found in mammon, therefore it is “unrighteous mammon.”

We may now begin to understand the parable. The master discovers that his steward has been stealing his money and wasting it on extravagant living. Because the master can’t trust the steward, he fires him and demands the steward return the master’s ledger (the book where the master’s money is recorded). On his way to get the ledger, the steward quickly calls those who owe the master money and lowers their debts. This, of course, makes the debtors happy. The steward does this so that when he is forced out of the master’s house, he can go to the debtors and say, “Hey, remember how I got you a break on your debt? How about you help me out by giving me a job, a place to sleep, or at least a meal.” The debtors, remembering what the steward did for them, will certainly welcome the steward into their homes.

Now, we know that the steward is a scoundrel. He is dishonest. He had been stealing from his master and his last act as steward was to cheat the master out of even more money. And yet the master commends his shrewdness, his wisdom.

Neither the master, nor Jesus, commends the steward for stealing or lying. He is to be commended for his wisdom; for thinking ahead; for striving so hard for what matters to him most. It is this effort, this wisdom, that our Lord is commending to us today. ‘Do you see,’ He says, ‘what lengths the steward was willing to go to in order to reach his goal? Think now of your goal, baptized child of God. How does your goal (eternal life in the presence of and in communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost) affect your actions and the way you use the gifts of this life: clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and home, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all your goods?’

 These things, this mammon, cannot save you. Every possession in this world is mammon, it is unrighteous because it cannot save you. But all mammon can certainly damn you. It is dangerous. All earthly possessions are dangerous because they so easily become idols. Thanks be to God He has given to His children the Holy Ghost, by which we are made wise. We are wise as serpents and innocent as doves.^[1]

Then again, we must use this wisdom, this shrewdness, given by the Holy Ghost to “make friends” by means of unrighteous mammon. What does it mean to “make friends” in this context? It doesn’t mean buddies. It doesn’t mean lifelong friendships. The goal of the steward is that when his lifelong career fails, he is received into the homes of others that will care for him the rest of his days. The goal of the Christian is that when you fail, that is, when your body gives up its final breath, you will be received into the everlasting heavenly mansion prepared for you by Christ.^[2] You will be received into the bosom of Abraham, gathered into the general assembly and church of the firstborn, to God the Judge of all, and to Christ the Mediator of the new covenant, whose blood of the sprinkling speaks better things than that of Abel.^[3]

The friends you are to make are those who are gathered into glory. Some of our theologians consider these friends to be the poor to whom you’ve shown charity by giving your mammon to them. That could be, but I am inclined to see these friends as the general assembly and church of the firstborn, that is, your fellow Christians, the martyrs, and the faithful poor; as well as the Holy Angels and the Triune God.

To make friends with them by means of unrighteous mammon is not to earn their favor by storing up good works or merits. Rather, to make friends with them is to show that you are of one mind, one spirit, one Baptism into one Lord. This is seen in how you order your life. What is most important? Nostalgia? Longing for the past? A comfortable life? An easy life? Or is eternal life most important? Longing for unity with the general assembly of the firstborn? The worship of the Triune God? Citizenship in heaven? Receiving the forgiveness of sins? Repentance for the times you’ve fallen short and the many ways in which you have failed to be shrewd?

The parable of the Shrewd Manager is about the orientation of your life, shown through your use of the things of this world. Is your life oriented toward God or does your life only pay Him lip service? Do you care about pure doctrine or your own opinion? Is a college education more important than faith? The sons of this world are incredibly shrewd in striving for their goals, more shrewd, in fact, than the children of light. Perhaps, there is something to be learned from them, afterall.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. Matthew 10:16.

[2] St. John 14:1-3.

[3] St. Luke 16:22; Hebrews 12:22-24.

Good Friday

Good Friday – April 7, 2023

Hosea 6:1-6; Habakkuk 3:2-4; Exodus 12:1-11; Psalm 140

St. John 18-19

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It is profitable for one man to die on behalf of the people.[1]

The term “Passion” as we use it to describe the “Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ” refers to something that is experienced, something that happens to someone from the outside, and it usually carries a sense of something evil that is happening. For this reason, “passion” is sometimes equated to “suffering.” In fact, older uses of the term “to suffer” meant “to experience something happening to you,” without the expectation that the experience is evil.

Caiaphas, the illegitimate high priest, declares that it is profitable for one man to die on behalf of the people. In this statement, he is correct. Despite his unbelief, his blasphemy, his hatred of God, Caiaphas speaks the truth. It is profitable for mankind for one man, Jesus Christ, to die on behalf of the people.

It is profitable because only this man, only Jesus Christ, could bear the sins of the world and make atonement for them. Only the blood of this man, Jesus Christ, could appease the Father, who has rightfully judged mankind to be wicked and evil in all his thoughts and ways.[2] Only this man, Jesus Christ, could submit Himself to the bitter scorn, abuse, torture, and death delivered by Judas, Pilate, Caiaphas, and the Jews when at any moment, He could have called five legions of angels to deliver Himself.

The suffering and death of Jesus is profitable because He is God in human flesh. His suffering and death are profitable to you because His holy blood is more precious to the Father than all the blood of beasts. His suffering and death fulfills the debt of every sin from the first taste of the fruit in the garden to the sin born in the flesh of the last child conceived in the womb. And only the body and blood of Jesus is never ending. The blood of a human eventually runs dry. The body of a human eventually returns to dust. The Blood of Jesus is life giving Blood. It never runs dry. It is the source of life for all creation. The Body of Jesus never returns to dust. In Him is life. His living Body encompasses all who believe in Him and this number continues to grow with each passing generation.

Yet if the suffering and death of Jesus has fulfilled your debt to God why is it that you still suffer? The idea that Jesus has taken away the sting of death is commonly heard from Christian pulpits. The thought that death is now a portal for Christians because the death of Jesus has ended eternal death for all who believe is a comforting thought but it is something far off. It is the end of this mortal life and something that we do not necessarily face every day. But every day that we wake up in this life we have some sort of suffering. Much worse is the great suffering which marks life on this side of glory.

The daily suffering we all endure is simply the result of the fall. Aches and pains, annoyances, fits of anger, lust, or greed. All of creation experiences these. They are not unique to Christians. But what of the great sufferings. What of the serious threat of poverty? What of the serious threat of bodily harm? Or significant illness? Or threats of prison, persecution, or execution? What of terrible wrestling with conscience in a world that requires you to participate in your own demise? What of the struggle to raise children in a world that will call you a bigot, racist, or Nazi for choosing to protect your children from degeneracy?

This great suffering is caused by the devil and his ungodly minions because you Christians hold to the Word of God. You hear it, read it, learn it, and practice it. For this, our Ancient Foe would have you scorned, abused, tortured, and killed. Satan is pleased enough if you are killed for your faith but he is far more elated when he can destroy your faith for the sake of his pleasure. You are hated because of the Word of God. Sometimes this hatred is explicit, as in the murder of children and teachers at a Christian school in Tennessee.

Far more common is an implicit hatred for you who love the Word of God. From birth, you are trained to view Christianity as evil and the teachings of Scripture as false. Satan and his ungodly followers love to abuse the truth by giving you only part of it. For example, we have all been taught in school and constantly throughout our lives that slavery is evil. We’ve even been taught that slavery is sinful. And yet, how does St. Paul treat slavery when he writes to Philemon, concerning the runaway slave, Onesimus? Not once does he rebuke Philemon for sinning by having slaves. In fact, he encourages Onesimus to return to his master as a dutiful slave. St. Paul does encourage Philemon to free Onesimus and treat him as a brother in Christ and pay him a wage as a laborer, but he does not rebuke him for the supposed sin of slavery.

Is it possible to commit grievous sins in the name of slavery? Absolutely. It is possible to establish a sinful form of slavery in which man is treated as sub-human, beaten and abused for the pleasure of the master? Of course. It is also possible to establish a marriage in which a man abuses his wife but that doesn’t make marriage sinful.

This digression into the supposed sin of slavery is not the topic of today’s sermon nor the purpose for our gathering today. But it is illustrative of just how skilled Satan is at teaching you to ignore the Scriptures. Take a little truth and spread it thin over a great lie and suddenly you can deceive the masses. Caiaphas said, “It is profitable for one man to die for the people,” by which he either meant, “Killing this one man will return power to me and my fellow Jews, by which the people will be easier to control and have a manufactured peace,” or he was speaking blasphemously and sarcastically. Either way, Caiaphas used a thin veneer of truth to hide his wicked desires.

The suffering caused by the devil and the world is certainly something which we experience, and which comes to us from the outside. However, the suffering of Christians is also caused by God. It is caused by God on account of our own sins.

It would be more fitting to say that such suffering is allowed by God and is caused by our own sins. Again, I am not speaking of the aches and pains of age or the minor frustrations of the world. I speak of the serious suffering which occurs throughout life. This suffering is experienced by Christians on account of our sin. God allows this suffering not just to punish, but to drive us toward Him. Such grievous suffering will produce one of two reactions within man: either we will spurn God and turn away from Him, in which case we are choosing our own damnation, or it will drive us ever more firmly to God and the promise of salvation won by Jesus Christ.

“God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”[3] What is our strength? “Thee I will love, my Strength, my Tower; Thee will I love, my Hope, my Joy; Thee will I love with all my power, With ardor time shall ne’er destroy. Thee will I love, O Light Divine, So long as life is mine…for Thou my Redeemer art.”[4] God certainly is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your strength because your strength is in Jesus Christ your Lord!

When you are tempted, when you are enduring the greatest suffering you have yet known, the only source of strength you have left is to look to Christ and the promise of salvation. Where do you find this strength? Where do you find this promise? In the Word of God. In your Holy Baptism.

When you are enduring this terrible suffering on account of the devil and the world or on account of your own sin, the only refuge you have in this world is to remember that you are a baptized child of God. The blood that Jesus Christ shed on Calvary has been sprinkled upon you and God has promised never to leave you or forsake you.

What then? Should you stand up in your suffering and say, “This isn’t so bad. Jesus died for me so I can do whatever I want and sure, there will be consequences, but they don’t matter. I can do what I want!” Of course not. You repent. You repent of your sins and cry out to your Father, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned! Forgive me for the shed blood of Jesus! Strengthen me to endure the suffering of this world and grant that Your Holy Spirit would strengthen me to hold on to the promise of salvation!”

In this spirit, in the spirit of repentance and endurance, you can then face your suffering and say, “Come what may, I am baptized into Christ. Should all things fall down around me, I am baptized into Christ.” It is in this spirit of repentance and endurance that we can suffer boldly. We can suffer boldly because we know that such suffering is only for a time. Should that suffering result in our earthly death, then we know we have eternity with Christ to look forward to.

God is faithful and has given you the suffering and death of His only begotten Son to bless your suffering, to bless you in your suffering. By the suffering and death of Jesus, the suffering of all Christians has in fact been sanctified. It is not as though your suffering somehow atones for sins. Rather, your suffering is a participation in the suffering of Jesus. Your suffering is following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. His suffering and death not only atoned for your sins but also set forth the example of a Godly life.

This sanctified suffering is not the suffering of your own choosing. This is the error of the papists and fanatics alike. The papists believe that by forcing themselves to suffer, by inducing a sense of suffering, they can make themselves more holy. They fast and beat their bodies believing this self-chosen suffering will please the Father. They have fallen prey to the deceits of the devil. By inflicting their own pains, they are not suffering. Suffering comes from outside and is experienced. They are doing it to themselves; therefore, it is not suffering.

Christians fast and endure physical disciplines to train the body. Christ expects that Christians would fast not to induce a sense of suffering but to prepare the body for a time when eating the food given to idols might be sinful or when food might be so scarce that feeding your children is more important than satiating your belly.

The fanatics choose all sorts of manmade suffering but worst is the suffering they induce in their own consciences. They believe that God has so ordered their lives that they must work to retain their faith or that they must make all decisions according to some secret plan of God. Their false doctrines concerning the will of God induce unnecessary suffering that does nothing but drive them away from the comfort of the promise of salvation.

The Christian, however, endures the suffering of this world as he walks in the way of Jesus. Christ has promised to do something remarkable with our suffering and thus we have trust that God is faithful.[5] It is among the highest arts in the life of a Christian, which we must all learn, to look to the Word and away from the trouble and suffering that lies upon us and weighs us down. “Even though it hurts, so be it, you have to go through some suffering anyhow; things cannot always go smoothly. It is just as well, nay, a thousand times better, to have suffered for the sake of Christ, who promised us comfort and help in suffering, than to suffer and despair and perish without comfort and help for the sake of the devil.

“You should also accustom yourself to distinguish carefully between the suffering of Christ and all other suffering and know that his is a heavenly suffering and ours is worlds, that His suffering accomplishes everything, while ours does nothing except that we become conformed to Christ, and that therefore the suffering of Christ is the suffering of a lord, whereas our is the suffering of a servant.”[6]

It is truly profitable that this one man, Jesus Christ, True Son of God and True Son of Man, should die on behalf of man, on behalf of Christians, on behalf of you. It is truly profitable that this day we should share in His suffering and death not by our own choosing or by evoking some emotion of suffering, but by receiving His suffering and death in His holy Word and Sacrament.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. John 18:14.

[2] Genesis 6:5.

[3] 1 Corinthians 10:13.

[4] Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower, TLH 399, text: Johann Scheffler, 1657, trans: Catherine Winkworth, 1865, alt.

[5] St. John 16:33; 1 Corinthians 10:113.

[6] Martin Luther, “Sermon at Coburg on Cross and Suffering,” (1530), AE 51:197-208, edited and translated by John W. Doberstein, general editor Helmut T. Lehmann (Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1959), 208.

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity – August 14, 2022

Psalm 54; 2 Samuel 22:26-34; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

St. Luke 16:1-13

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What man intended for evil, God meant for the good, to save many people alive.[1] Such is the assessment of Joseph when reflecting on how his brothers tried to kill him and he ended up a slave in Egypt. Joseph is one of very few people in the Old Testament who is portrayed as being nearly flawless. He is a prophet of God and works faithfully for his masters in Egypt. Even when Potiphar’s wife repeatedly tempts his flesh, Joseph remains faithful to God and his Egyptian master.

Being thrown into prison, Joseph is such an exemplary inmate that he is eventually given charge over other inmates. Such loyalty leads to him being made the second most important man in Egypt, steward over all that belongs to Pharaoh. Joseph had complete authority over everything in Pharaoh’s household, having the complete trust of someone the Egyptians believed to be a son of the gods. Joseph is the picture of the ideal, the faithful steward.

The steward in today’s parable is found to be much less deserving of faith. This steward has authority similar to that of Joseph. He has complete control over all of his master’s possessions. He may do with them as he sees fit. The primary concern of the master is that the steward uses his possessions to increase the wealth of the master. Yet this steward has demonstrated himself to be wasteful. He is the prodigal steward, using money that doesn’t belong to him to indulge the lusts of his flesh in food, drink, and women. He is like the prodigal son throughout the first half of that parable.

We join the parable as the master learns of his steward’s wasteful actions and brings the accusation before the steward. There is not a moment of denial by the steward. His actions speak for themselves. He can’t deny it because his sins shine brighter than a spotlight on a dark stage. Once the account books are turned over to the master, the steward will be cast out of his position, having gained a reputation that will certainly prevent him from ever working in this town again.

Most of us are well trained in reading parables. We know to look for the “God” figure and the “man” figure, locating the forgiveness of sins or a similar description of God’s character and mercy toward man. This is especially true of the parables in St. Matthew’s Gospel. It is also generally true of St. Luke. But St. Luke also has much to say about possessions and the right use of possessions by the Christian.

The Parable of the Shrewd Steward does not have a “God” figure. The master is not standing in the place of God. Rather, this parable is revealed in the concluding sentence, “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.”[2] This is a parable concerning the actions of the sons of this world and how it is an example to the sons of light.

When the steward calls the debtors together, he still technically has the authority to write and rewrite the contracts of debt. Until the account books are in the hands of the master, the steward retains the authority to change them. He is acting according to the letter of the law as opposed to the spirit. This man, who has lived wastefully on another man’s wealth, is too proud to beg and is too weak to dig ditches. He is not a paragon of virtue. He is, however, shrewd.

This word, “shrewd,” has negative connotations. It sounds evil, or at least mean. Perhaps it even rings in your ears as someone who is miserly and lashes out at those around him. The original word carries no such meaning. It simply refers to practical wisdom, knowing what actions to take in a particular situation. This is different from the “wisdom” we usually think of. Wisdom is generally reserved for theoretical wisdom, that is, having the knowledge of the best course of action. To be shrewd is to have practical wisdom of the situation and knowing the best steps to take.

For example, it might be wise for a carpenter to soften the corners of a table to give it a finished, beautiful appearance. It is shrewd of the carpenter to soften the corners and the edges to reduce splintering. The wise Christian knows the value to his body and soul of attending the Divine Service every Sunday and every other day it is offered. The shrewd Christian bathes the children the night before so that Sunday morning is efficient and attends the earliest service so that the children are still slightly subdued by the early rising.

At the end of the parable, the master does not commend the steward’s lies or prodigal living. He commends his shrewd actions. The steward knows his future is bleak unless he takes action. He decides to use the remaining few minutes of his authority to craft deals with those owing debts to the master. This is not an act of revenge. It is an act of practical wisdom. By cutting the debts, the debtors will look upon both the steward and the master with great favor.

Make no mistake, the actions of the steward will cost the master financially, but those same actions will benefit the master in reputation. From the perspective of the steward, he has benefited both himself and the master in the eyes of the debtors. The master understands this and commends such shrewd actions. The steward will still lose his job but has virtually guaranteed himself a place to stay and new job prospects once he is fired. He has also strengthened the loyalty of the debtors toward the master, probably making him more money in the long run.

Do not imitate the actions of the steward in obeying the letter of the law to benefit yourselves in this world. That is not the message of this parable. The teaching of the parable to is to align your actions with your priorities for the future. The actions of the steward guarantee him a comfortable future in this world. He is a son of this world and acts shrewdly to improve his life in this generation.

You are sons of the light. What future are you prepared for? Do your actions speak of shrewd preparation for that future? Do not be anxious about what you will eat or wear or where you will lay your head.[3] These are short-term concerns, and your Heavenly Father has promised to take care of them for you. Compared to the parable, worrying about tomorrow is like the steward worrying about which path he will use to walk home after the master fires him. It is something you need to make decisions about but not something worth your anxiety.

The goal of the steward is that when his lifelong career fails, he is received into the homes of others that will care for him the rest of his days. The goal of the Christian is that when you fail, that is, when your body gives up its final breath, you will be received into the everlasting heavenly mansion prepared for you by Christ.[4] You will be received into the bosom of Abraham, gathered into the general assembly and church of the firstborn, to God the Judge of all, and to Christ the Mediator of the new covenant, whose blood of the sprinkling speaks better things than that of Abel.[5]

The steward took action toward his goal. He used practical wisdom, he was shrewd, in deciding what steps he can take to ensure a desirable outcome. How shrewd are you? It is true, there are no steps, no actions, no amount of wisdom that will give you heaven. Salvation has come unto you. You have been called by Christ and delivered from sin, death, and the devil. This was done while you were yet in your sin. Even now, as a baptized child of God, it is not up to you to keep yourself in the faith. It is not by your own reason or strength that you continue to be a Christian. This, too, is a gift of God.

Yet there are plenty of actions, steps, foolish thoughts, and sins that can drive you away from salvation. Being lazy and not attending to the miraculous gift of faith you have been given is the sin of sloth. Sloth is enough to turn you away from God. Idolatry, wrath, envy, greed, pride, and lust all easily turn you away from God.

So, I ask again, how shrewd are you? For what are you preparing yourself? Make no mistake, every action today is preparing you for something tomorrow. Honestly reflect on how you spend your time and evaluate what it is that you are preparing yourself for. Are you preparing to have a conversation about a foreign war with no direct impact on daily life? Are you preparing yourself for retirement? What about when the war is over, or you find that you are retired? What if you die before you retire? For what have you prepared yourself for?

There is some debate among Christians whether video games are themselves sinful. Some say yes, and some say no. What cannot be denied is that time spent in a video game has produced nothing. Oh, it might produce the topic of a few conversations, perhaps a basis for a friendship. But what happens to that friendship when that video game is obsolete? What has happened to the foundation? Minecraft has been described as virtual Legos. I’ve seen the ability of Minecraft to help children with autism relate to the world around them. But then again, at the end of the day, if it is virtual Legos, what has the child built? Even the child with autism—he has become better able to communicate with other people on computers, but has it helped him communicate with his mother? Or his peers?

 Such leisure activities as movies, television, and even video games might have their place, but we must remember that not only do they produce nothing, they do not prepare you for anything. They are virtual—that means they are not real. If such idle activities have a place, it cannot be for a considerable length of time.

So, I ask again, how shrewd are you? What are you preparing yourself for? You do not know what will happen tomorrow, let alone next week, or in 5 years. You can plan so that you give your family the best opportunity to have a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs, but you should not be anxious over these things. They are auxiliary. What you know for certain is that death will come. So long as Christ waits to return, death will come. That is the certainty of the future. What are you doing to prepare for death?

You can select a funeral package at Bross and Spidle and you can begin making payments, but these too are auxiliary. What about eternity? With the time that you have been given, are you preparing yourself to walk further away from Christ, staring at your smartphone, your favorite 24-hour news station, and chatting on social media? It is very easy to use the settings on your phone to see just how much time you spend looking at it and even which apps are demanding your attention. Or are you making for yourself friends by unrighteous mammon?[6]

“Unrighteous” in this case does not mean “evil” but rather “that which cannot save you.” Are you using your time, talent, and treasure to build up the Church—both the building and those called by God to gather around His Word and Sacraments? Every possession in this world is mammon, it is unrighteous because it cannot save you. But all mammon can certainly damn you. It is dangerous. All earthly possessions are dangerous because they so easily become idols. Thanks be to God He has given to His children the Holy Ghost, by which we are made wise. We are wise as serpents and innocent as doves.[7]

The unbelieving world hates God; hates Christ; and hates Christians. Persecution is on our doorstep. Are you shrewd enough to handle it? Or will you fold when you get sick, when your neighbor gets sick, or the government tells you to stay away from Church? Are you preparing for a long, comfortable life on this side of glory or an eternal life with Christ? Are you willing to endure the short fires of suffering in this life to avoid the eternal fire of hell or is such delayed reward too much for you to endure?

This is the lesson of the Shrewd Steward. You have been given such wonderful gifts of God. You have been given the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. You are an eternal being, created by God to endure forever. Prepare yourself for eternal life with Christ by using the temporal gifts you have been given in the ways that God has commanded. Serve God and your neighbor by forgiving each other, covering the sins of your brother, walking alongside the erring and the weak, and by devoting your time, efforts, and treasure to the work of the Church.

This is what it is to be a shrewd Christian. Learn from the actions of the Shrewd unbelievers but do not work toward their goals. Use their dogged determination toward the goal which you have already been promised, lest you should lose that eternal reward. ‘What is the world to you, with all its vaunted pleasure; when Christ and Christ alone is your treasure! The world seeks praise and wealth—all that mammon offers—yet it is never content, though gold fill all its coffers. Jesus is your treasure, your life, your health, your wealth, your friend, your love your pleasure, your joy, your crown, your all, your bliss eternally. Once more, then, declare, what is the world to you?’[8] You have Jesus.  

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Genesis 50:20.

[2] St. Luke 16:8.

[3] St. Matthew 6:25-34.

[4] St. John 14:1-3.

[5] St. Luke 16:22; Hebrews 12:22-24.

[6] St. Luke 16:9.

[7] St. Matthew 10:16.

[8] A summary of “What is the World to Me,” Lutheran Service Book #730. Text is public domain.