Pentecost 18
“Giving Sons of a Giving God”
Text: Luke 16:1-13
(For many of the thoughts and phrases in
this sermon I am indebted to Dr. Normal Nagel, sermon for Pentecost 14, in
Selected Sermons of
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our God is a
giving God. He gives life, He gives riches, He gives salvation.
None of it deserved; none of it earned; none of it really ours. All belongs to the Giver, who has generously
and graciously given it to us for our use.
The question is then, how are we using that which we have been given?
If we give what has been given to us, we show
ourselves to be sons of God. Sons who do
what their Father does. But if we
selfishly keep for ourselves what has been given to us; and if we try to get
from others what has been given to them, we show ourselves to be sons of the
evil one. Sons who also do what their
father does.
Our God is a
giving God. And so what happens if we claim to be sons of
God but live as sons of the evil one live?
What witness are we giving the world?
What will they think of God? What
we will have shown them our Father is like?
A giver or a taker? A good and gracious God or
a hard and demanding God? The
answer is an uncomfortable one, isn’t it?
And so perhaps we should ask why we do what we
do? That we are sinners is true, but
that is too easy an answer. Perhaps we
even use that as an excuse, thinking that it isn’t our fault that we are as we
are. But it is our fault. For don’t we do what we do because we believe
that that is where our happiness lies?
If I have, if I can get, if I can acquire, then I will be happy. But that is the lie and deception the devil
has been spinning ever since the beginning.
And the result is very little contentment, very little happiness, in our
world today. And what happiness there is
is often frail and fleeting.
Our God is a
giving God,
and the secret of happiness and joy lies in Him – in Him who has nothing to get
and everything to give. In giving away
His gifts, God has His happiness. And so
if we are to be faithful stewards of all that our Master has given to us, and
share in His joy, it will be in that we show ourselves to be as generous givers
as we have been given to. In not only money, but especially in time, in compassion, in
forgiveness, in care, in love.
And then we are faithful – not because we have done good deeds – but because through our lives we have shown
others the true nature and grace of our Father.
That our God is
a giving God.
And so it is that when the manager in the parable
told by Jesus today is found to be unfaithful in carrying out His duties, the
master is concerned and upset. Why? Because he will be not-quite-so-wealthy as he
was before? Hardly. He will collect his debts with or without
this manager. There is always another
that could be hired. Is the problem not
rather because the manager has borne false witness against his master? Is it not rather because through the actions
of the manager, the reputation and good name of the master was hurt?
And so we can now also understand why the master
commended his manager at the end. It was
not because of his dishonesty, but because he shrewdly used the gift of time
that he had been given to restore the good name of his master. It took a great loss to make him realize that
his life was not in getting, but in giving.
In being like his master. As long
as his loyalty and thinking was divided, in serving both himself and his
master; in seeking gain for both himself and his master, he could serve
neither.
And so too with God. Our God
is a giving God, and so He is not pleased when we take what He has given to
us to use and to manage, and use it in a way that shows our Father to be what
He is not. He is not concerned with the
riches; He doesn’t need them. He is
concerned about His Name, and the salvation that comes
by His Name. And He is concerned about
this not only for others, but for us as well.
Because when we are so concerned and consumed with
getting, we become also concerned about getting from God. No longer receiving from Him, but now
thinking: How can I get from God
what I want? How can I get from God my forgiveness and
salvation? How can I get from God my happiness? And our relationship with God has been turned
onto its head. We have forgotten that our God is a giving God; now He is a
God who gives as reward. He is now a God
we must get from, at a price. Therefore
we will show God what good and splendid people we are!
But that is exactly what God does not want to do, or
want us to do. O
And the gift that God gives is above all His
Son. His Son Jesus, who was the perfect
steward – always giving, and showing perfectly the nature and grace of His
Father. For though we be unfaithful, joining
the long and notorious line of God’s unfaithful people from the very beginning
– God does not stop being who He is. He
does not stop giving. No, He gives even more. Our
God is a giving God, which means even when we don’t deserve it. Especially
then, for is that not our constant state?
Is that not what it means to receive?
. . . And so God gives; He gives
His Son. His Son to
take our sins. His
Son to die on the cross in our place.
His Son to “get” what we have earned, that He might
give us instead forgiveness. The
forgiveness won by Christ’s atoning death and victorious resurrection. And with this forgiveness,
also the gifts of salvation and new life. In Christ, we have been set free from the
endless cycle of getting and wanting, getting and wanting. That futile cycle that robs us of our joy and
happiness.
Once we understand that, we can then understand our
stewardship, our managing of all that God has given to us. Not trying to serve both
God and ourselves, God and money, and thereby serving neither – but
showing ourselves to be sons of God. Not
striving to get, but to receive and to give.
For that is God’s way of doing things.
And so we come to this house, not to get or to do,
but to receive. To receive the Name of
God, to receive His forgiveness, to receive His Word, to receive His mercy, to
receive His Body and Blood, to receive His blessing, to receive His kingdom. And we leave this place and give these same
gifts. . . . When it comes to the things of this world, it
is a little different. God gives those
gifts to the just and the unjust – what separates us then is not the receiving,
but the giving. The
use. And we show that we have been
given the eternal, the greater, the true riches, by how we handle the lesser,
the riches of this world.
And the opportunities to show this are
plentiful. To give to spouse, to family,
to friends, and to those knocked about beside the road. To give to our enemies, which
provides the greatest opportunity because we cannot so easily mix giving with
getting. And in so giving, our
joy increases. We are faithful
managers. Showing others who our God
truly is, and increasing His happiness.
Our God is a giving
God, “desiring all men to be saved and to
come to the knowledge of the truth.” This truth:
that He wants to give Himself and all that He is to you. Freely and graciously,
without any merit or worthiness in you.
That you may not only receive this gift, but that you may also give the
same, and have His happiness and joy.
For this is the way of God. This
is the way of His kingdom. And this
kingdom has been given to you.
In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
Now the peace of God which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.