Pentecost 17
“Giving Sons of
a Giving God”
Text: Luke 16:1-15
(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 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. But what else has the manager done with his
dishonesty? He has borne false witness
of his master. He has represented him
falsely and carelessly and dishonestly, and so through the actions of the
manager, the reputation and good name of the master was hurt.
And so we can now also understand why not
only those whose debts were reduced, but also 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, and in so doing began also to restore the good name
of his master. It took a great loss to
make him realize that his life was to be found not in getting, but in
giving. 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 (like the Pharisees
and the folks we heard about from the prophet Amos), we forget what God is like
and become concerned about getting also
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 once we get, then move on to other, more
important, things, relegating God to just one more thing on our list. And our relationship with God gets turned
onto its head. For with such a model whose
in charge? And we forget 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. Our God is a giving God. He is a God of gifts, not wages; of grace,
not works; of promises, not demands. He
gives and we receive. That is the only
way of it with Him. His giving what we
do not deserve is grace, and our receiving what He gives is faith. “Getting” has no place here; it is the
intrusion and diversion of the devil.
Our Father’s way is that He graciously gives, and our response is that
we thankfully receive. That is what
makes God happy, and it is what alone will make us happy.
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, salvation. Salvation to stop what
we’ve been up to, and give us a new
life. To save
us not only from our sins, but to save us from ourselves. That in Christ, we might be 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, to receive all His gifts! 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.