2025 09 21 Proper 20 Pentecost 15
Jeremiah 8.18-9.1
Psalm 79.1-9 1 Timothy
2.1-10 Luke 16.1-13
A few years ago a movie came out called “Shazam”. It was about a family of foster kids and one
in particular who was chosen to inherit a dying wizard’s magical powers to
fight the previously imprisoned and now released demons. Those demons were the seven deadly sins: Lust,
Sloth, Pride, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed and Envy.
In our Gospel reading today, we are told that you can not serve both God
and Mammon. Serving Mammon is the sin of
Greed.
While it makes a great story to have these sins
personified as demons, and clearly defined, in everyday experience, the
influence of those “demons” are sneaky and entice us to a path of destruction
that looks like a path paved with gold. The Israelites of Jeremiah’s time didn’t see
their acts as leading to destruction.
Then, it was too late.
The opening from our reading from Jeremiah is this; “My
joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick.” Jeremiah looked at his beloved nation. They had strayed from following God. Many were in exile, and he refers to them as
the “daughter of my people”… He refers
to her, like a grandfather. Now as a
grandmother myself, there are some things that I understand. As a grandparent, all that love and worry and
care that you had for your own children is just as present with your
grandchildren, but the difference is that you have a lot less say and control
over the circumstances. When you can see
things going wrong, it is heartbreaking, and this is where Jeremiah is at. He has seen the actions of the nations and
knew the long-term consequences, but he was powerless to change them… the
overseers were not listening.
I wonder if there are times that you might look at our
own nation and feel, ““My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is
sick.” Those who govern have a
tough job, to oversee and make hard decisions, and even unpopular ones, but
ones that will prosper the nation. Responsible
stewards, must make decisions for the good of the nation rather than decisions based
on keeping their own seats, and keeping themselves in a job with well lined
pockets….
We, like Jeremiah, may mostly feel powerless to step in
an save the nation when we see things going the wrong way. Both in the case of grandchildren and our
nation, we can’t change the events or manipulate the outcome, because each one
of us has God given free will, and we need to respect that free will. However, like Jeremiah, there is always something
we can do. What is God calling us
to do? Jeremiah was called to speak. He did this with love and because of
love. And we too, can, and must sow into
the future, by our God directed actions.
In our Psalm the situation is the same. The Psalmist is grieved because of the
situation of the nation, and the psalmist turns to God and implores his
intervention. A good reminder for us in
times that we feel that despair and feel that sense that the situations are
beyond our control. A sign in the Mercy
Seville centre says; “Don’t think that just a few good people can’t change
the world, for indeed that is all who ever have.” A good thing to remember as we navigate dark
times.
Saint Paul, in his letter to Timothy, tells us that
supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for
everyone. Prayer gives God permission to
act. Prayer helps us know which action
to take, and through it we become people of faith and hope and people who
witness miracles. Special mention is
made of praying for kings and those in positions of power. We can, and are meant to pray for our
Government, but what should be the focus of our prayer?
God wants all to come to knowledge of him and salvation
through Christ. From Timothy; “…God our Savior, who wants all people
to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth…” Our prayers for
our leaders are this; that they will come to accept that salvation that is
offered to them in Christ. Our leaders
have a tough job. They are overseers who
are called and chosen to be responsible over much. They are called to be people of integrity and
good stewards over all of which they are in charge.
Jesus tells the story of an overseer, a manager, who has
been accused of squandering his master’s wealth and not being a responsible steward. He is told that he will lose his job, but he
needs to show his accounting to his master.
So, the man sets out to make things right. Commentaries suggest that in cutting the
bills for the debtors, the debtors believe the manager is acting on the master’s
behalf and therefore the master’s honour is raised in their eyes. The master is aware of this and praises the actions
of the manager. The manager is also seen
as a loyal and honourable servant by the debtors. Yes, he was being manipulative, but he was using
wealth to sow into his future. He won
approval by using wealth to help both his master and the debtors – and
himself. It was a win, win, win
situation.
The sentence that seems most out of place in our Gospel
is this; “make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that
when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” To put this in context; tax collectors were
seen as unsavoury characters because their job was about ‘dishonest
wealth’ - in a religious context, to
have this almost obsession was perceived as sinful. Having great wealth was NOT sinful, as
Abraham and many others were incredibly wealthy, but to have a business where
the only concern was money – was seen as… hmmm … well, working for the demon of
Greed (Mammon). (Also, the tax collectors were somewhat seen as traitors
working for the Romans).
When Jesus says “Make friends for yourselves by means of
dishonest wealth”, The outcome is so that we will be welcomed into eternal
homes– in other words, invest that wealth in eternity. What do you think is the way we can use money
to impact, such that we are welcomed into eternal homes?
We are to use our wealth to sow into the Kingdom. In other words, we need to wisely deal with
wealth to enable us to feed the poor.
God’s concern is for the needy.
But also, we know that God’s concern, even more so, is for the salvation
of all. Therefore, we need to be sowing
into programs that are evangelistic – such as Religious Instruction in schools
and outreach programs and events like the Gospel Garden Party, The Light Party. Care initiatives such as the Op Shop and
Coffee ministry and other activities where we connect with people. When we sow into promoting faith, we grow the
kingdom. When we feed the poor, we are
being the children of God.
Today we are challenged to think about our own personal sowing
into the kingdom of God. In the Bible
the principle is to give God a tithe… that is to give a tenth of our income to
God. What we give is between us and
God, but we owe our eternal life to God…. Our whole life. What is that worth? And what part should we sow into the concerns
of God – into his kingdom?
Is our world suffering from a lack of understanding about
who God is and his ways? In everything that God has done, His
desire is for people to be saved; to come into relationship with him. The question is; how can we bring the
good news of God’s love and salvation to the people around us? How can we be wise stewards of the wealth
(not just financial, but in knowledge), that God has given us. We are that servant called to give account. God is the Master.
In the movie, Shazam, the foster kid, Billy, discovered
that he needed to share his power with his foster brothers and sisters. He overcame the seven deadly sins, not on his
own, but through the shared responsibility.
We too, need each other. We need
to work together to invest in the Kingdom… financially, but also in all
ways. What exact way God wants us to
invest is something we need to pray about.
What is our part in this? And
what is MY part in this?
We CAN make a difference, and we are called to make a
difference. We are ALL called to be
faithful managers of the Gospel. None of
us are called to watch others do something… we are all called to some
action. All that we are– our skills,
talents, knowledge etc and all that we have is ultimately God’s, but he has
made us the managers or stewards of all that we are and have. Are we faithful, responsible and being good
managers? God loves and blesses us. With his blessings we can do immeasurably
more than we can imagine.
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