Dearly beloved saints in Christ Jesus,
Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father, and from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
The text for our mediation this morning is from the sixteenth chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel account.
This parable hits a subject that a lot of people either highly dislike or a subject that we love. It predominantly is about worldly possessions and how we are either good or bad stewards of the “unrighteous wealth” that God gives us.
The parable is about a man who is dishonest with the finances of his master.. The master that is implied is God, himself, while the manager has certain implications that this parable is talking directly about us.
The dishonest manager has been cooking the books for many years, and the accusation of being a terrible manager is a gut-shot to him. He has to think of his next career. He is physically not able to farm, so that idea goes out the window. He is too prideful to go and beg for a living. The idea is out as well. Instead he goes to the debtors of his master and is shrewd in his business tactics. He is like the modern-day credit card debt collector. You call them and negotiate a price to get a portion of your debt forgiven, and that is what he did. He wrote off smaller debts to garner the ability to live once again his old job went away. It was so that he could remain in good graces with the community he served. It was so that he could gain good employment in the future, especially with the disaster that he caused regarding his master’s accounts.
We are never told if His plans succeeded or failed. But if it did, he probably gained at least a reputable job.
So what is the heart of this parable? Well the analogy is that this man was not a good and faithful steward of the account of His Master. That’s true. But how does it apply to us today?
Are we faithful in what God has given us in this daily life? The short answer is no. We have not been faithful in the “daily bread” that God provides us.
Our text says, “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.” Jesus here is not telling us to defraud people and make wealth from that, rather He is teaching us that we should bless others with the gifts that He bestows upon us. For example, if you are wealthy, your family is provided for, and you have an excess in money. You shouldn’t squander your riches on yourself, but help the poor and needy. Be outwardly generous and live like no one else. It is not to make a name for yourself, but rather honor the gifts that God has given to you.
But what if I have no way to be outwardly generous?
Our text says, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”
If you haven’t been blessed richly in this earthly life, being faithful with what you have matters. For example if you have a modest income in a small town in the United States. Being faithful with your paycheck goes a long way. Paying for the necessities such as food, water, and shelter is being faithful with very little. But if you squander money on materialistic items and have nothing to pay the bills, you are being a dishonest manager of the gifts God has given you.
Scripture tells us plainly that, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8.) Which is why we ask for forgiveness, whenever we fail and fall short of being honest managers.
As Christians we are not the owners of our stuff, but rather a steward of the “daily bread” that God provides for us each and every day. We are not to squander our possessions as the prodigal son or remain in debt our whole lives. Proverbs chapter twenty-two, verse seven paints a different picture, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.”
God does not want us to finance our future to keep up with Joneses, but rather be faithful stewards of what He has given us. For He does not want us to be trapped in situational poverty, but generous in what we have, even if it is very little.
Like the dishonest manager, we will have to get an account of how we did our finances on earth. We will have to turn in our books to God. This seems weird to our ears, but that is our scenario. We are not to make treasures on the earth, but think of eternal treasure we have in Heaven. Have we been good stewards of the gifts of God?
Honestly all of us have made some questionable decisions with materialistic possessions, money, etc. Which is why we ask for repentance and forgiveness from our God each and every week we come to church. It is not just a ritual we do, but for good reason. God wants to forgive you for all the sins you have committed in your earthly life. He wants to embrace you as He did the prodigal son and have you as a son or daughter in Christ. He is not going to destroy you for not being generous. Rather He has already loved you enough, to the point He died for your sins on the wooden cross, shedding His blood for you.
God does not want you to focus on your wealth, but rather He wants all of us to be good stewards of what He has given to you. He wants you to be faithful and honest about your finances and the small things. He wants you to know the love that He has for you. He does not want to love money more than Him. He wants you to have a future with Him in paradise. And that is peace all of us have. Peace knowing that Our God provides for all of all our “daily bread, whether that be our food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. God provides all of that for us, so let us give Him thanks and praise for the “unrighteous wealth” He gives us and recognize that we are worth more “than many sparrows”.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
13th Sunday After Pentecost
09/07/25
by: Pastor Matthews
The True Cost of Discipleship
The text for our meditation this morning is from the Gospel of St. Luke, the fourteenth chapter. I am going to be honest, sometimes passages in scripture make me laugh, especially in my current situation. For those who do not know, I am in the process of packing and moving into a different place by the end of the month, or early October. So this passage made me chuckle.
Our passage says, "For which of you, desiring to build a tower; does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish."
Trying to find a home to buy or a place to rent comes down to the cost and the ability to go through the process. Our passage also says, "Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?" A wise king realizes that his men will be slaughtered at the hand of the enemy with being outnumbered, so "he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace."
Jesus gives us perfect example of what it is like to count the costs. It would be financially irresponsible to buy or rent a place above your means, but how many people fall into that trap? In a study from LendingTree, "approximately 18.3 million people homeowners are what the housing industry calls cost-burdened, or "house poor." This refers to homeowners who pay more than 30% of their monthly income on housing, including the mortgage, utilities, and other costs. Most people do not count the costs when they buy a house.
Any same king, queen, dictator, or even president also considers the costs of waging war against another country. Right now wars cost countless lives and wheelbarrows of money, and for what? Normally for the glory of man and the destruction of people.
But Jesus also warns us about the cost of being a Christian, specifically one of His disciples. He says, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?"
The English translation here brings out the word "hate," which in Greek the word is miseo (pronounced mee-SEH' - o), which can mean different meanings in different contexts. It can mean to hate, to persecute, or to love less. Here the definition "love less" works the best. For where is our true love to be? Is our love, our parents, our spouse, our children, or our siblings? No, none of these should be the true love in your lives. You first and most important love should be for your God, then your spouse, your children, your siblings, etc.
God forbid you ever have someone that you love dearly, whether that be a spouse, a child, or parent, etc., who is not a Christian. But they make your life miserable by constantly belittling your faith. That life would be tough, and to bear it would take courage and strength. That is the real-life example that Jesus gives us today in our text.
Jesus is warning us that the path of discipleship may come down to this: hating the very own flesh and blood of your family. Of course scripture tells us to love our parents, siblings, etc. But it also tells us that we are "to hate" those whom we love. As earlier, the Bible means to love less. One of the first times the term hate is brought out, is in Genesis chapter twenty-nine, verses thirty through thirty-three, and was used in the context of the story of Jacob when he marries Leah, and also Rachel. He loves Rachel more, but loved Leah less. There can only be one who is loved above all else, and that is God.
Today we see Jesus' trip to Jerusalem, which is Him constantly getting closer to the cross, which is an indication to us that we also will have crosses to follow. These crosses take courage and strength. So what are some crosses we carry as we follow Christ? The possibility of falling out with a family member who does not accept you being a Christian?
Some other crosses might be not going to the lake house on a weekend, when you could be in church. Or at a sports tournament for children or grandchildren. Or extracurricular activities which are hosted on weekends. For scripture says, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." But that is what we do whenever we do stuff on Sunday, and we are not worshipping God. We are telling God that church is a non-priority, and we do not need His service. We cannot have both, my fellow saints in Christ. Otherwise, we might be the people described in the Parable of the Sower, where seed was planted in rocky soil, which says, "And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away."
All of us know someone who has fallen away from the faith, and that is because their roots where shallow, and the sun scorches them, and they give up. As a Christian we cannot do that. Being a disciple of Christ will be weighty. We are always going to be out-numbered in this world as Christians, simply due to the fact that only 25% of the world is Christian. We are out-numbered three to one. So it takes courage and strength to not fall into the clutches of this world.
This is why Jesus says to us, "Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Salt used to be used in fertilizer, it would break down elements in the soil which are beneficial to it. Salt is used for many things, such as flavoring food, preserving food, and even cleaning things. But what if it lost its saltiness? Would you keep it? No, you would throw it out.
Jesus is talking about us as Christians. With being the salt of the earth, we are to not to withdraw from this world, be renounce the ways of it. We are to go out and spread the word of God, so that others would believe in it as well. Jesus does not want us idle, but to be proactive. Through the Holy Spirit you were given the greatest gifts of all, eternal life, salvation, and the forgiveness of sins. Jesus wants you to tell people these gifts. We are to be useful. Will earthly relationships suffer because you are a Christian? You betcha! Being a Christian is not an easy task. Being a disciple of Christ has its drawbacks, it is a weighty cost, but not a weighty as the cost that Jesus poured out on the cross for you.
This journey of being a Christian is not all unicorns and rainbows. It is either eternal damnation or eternal life. It is black and white. It takes courage and strength to stand up to the wickedness of this world and say no to its wickedness!
You may be called names and threatened in this earthly life, but Jesus says in Matthew chapter five, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Blessed are you that you are a child of the Heavenly Father, whose kingdom has no end. In Him we have strength and courage to live this life of discipleship.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.