Shepherd of the Springs
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

From the Old Testament of the Day: "And the afflicted people Thou wilt save; but Thine eyes are upon the haughty, that Thou mayest bring them down." [2 Samuel 22.28]

From the Epistle: Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. [1 Corinthians 10.12]

From the Holy Gospel: "And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done shrewdly." [Luke 16.8a]

Parents have the awesome responsibility of raising adults. From the first day that a child enters the family, to the day when that child packs up for the first year of college or the first time in an apartment, the responsibility never changes. It is to raise an adult.

It doesn’t always seem to be this way. The child goes from cute infant to intolerable toddler, back to cute youngster, back to intolerable teenager, and only then to, hopefully, responsible adult. But in each stage what happen to shape the child will appear in the adult, from early learning to resented adolescent curbs that hang on from then on.

This single-minded view of parenting is not only the truth, it is also the key getting through the daily grind of parenting. This simple truth puts everything in perspective. And the child, who is instructed throughout childhood that his or her destiny is adulthood, likewise is given a perspective not only on himself, but also understanding her parents.

I.

God, our heavenly Father, has a similar focus in His eternal fatherhood over us. His goal is to raise up saints – not to encourage sainthood and hope for the best – but rather to do the job on us Himself, as St. Paul teaches: "God gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers: [1] for the perfecting [the healing, the mending] of the saints, [2] for the work of the ministry, [3] for the edifying [the up-building] of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness o Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but [rather] speaking the truth in love, [we, these children of God] may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase in the body unto the edifying [the up-building]of itself in [God’s] love. The church does experience the up-building toward the complete man, which is Christ.

God is doing this with every one of His children, that is, with every one who has been born again of water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism and thus turned from being a creature of God’s creation to being a child of God’ handiwork. In Christ, God sees us as we shall be for all eternity. In Christ, we do not see ourselves, but we see Christ for us, Christ in our stead, and thus we understand God our heavenly Father’s goal for us.

II.

It is for this purpose that our Lord Jesus teaches His disciples the lesson that you heard in the Holy Gospel this morning. It is a lesson that puzzles many, for it seems to present God praising sinful behavior. But when this teaching device is understood as Christ intends, the point is the manner in which God raises us up toward the fullness that is in Christ.

It is important to note that this selection from the Gospel according to St. Luke, follows immediately that portion that is often called the "Lost and Found" chapter, presenting the image of you as the Lost sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost prodigal son. In each of these episodes, God’s acts so that the lost is found and restored to God’s intended purpose and design.

This is immediately followed up by this teaching session from Christ to His apostles-in-training, a lesson in which a wicked, self-serving, sneaking, and unjust steward, or manager, having been caught at his cheating, does some more cheating, and then Jesus states, as the puzzling point: " and the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done [shrewdly]."

It appears that Jesus has the lord of the estate, the rich owner, praising larceny, stealing, cooking the books, all so that the wicked steward would make some friends among the rich owner’s debtors, that he might be hired by one of them, having been fired by the rich owner. It appears that the owner praises evil, but this is not so.

Every year we are given the key to this lesson, and we again pick up the key only to misplace it again, so that when the 9^th Sunday after Trinity rolls around again, our mind is searching itself to find that key again. Well here it is: the rich man displayed his character of mercy in that, when he was informed of his steward’s thievery, he confronted him, and he fired him – but, that was all! He did not follow up with the usual punishment of having the stealing steward locked up in the debtor’s prison, until the man’s family and friends could raising up the funds to repay the rich man for the amount of his wealth which was stolen by the unjust steward. That is normal. That is how life is conducted.

But instead, the rich man showed mercy to this steward, who had cheated him. And – you still don’t have the key in hand, just the background, but here it is now – the steward knew that this is the character of the master, to show mercy; it was not just an occasional behavior pattern – it was the very center and core of the rich man to show mercy. Thus, the rich man would not change his verdict when he found the steward doing further cheating that he might be hired by one of the beneficiaries of his thievery. That is the bet, the wager, the only way that the unjust steward can actually pull this deal off.

And he was right! It worked! "And the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done shrewdly!" You see, in an odd, earthly, story-land way, the steward has faith in the master’s mercy, and he acts accordingly, he lives by that faith.

Jesus tells this story specifically to His disciples as the capstone to the Lost and Found parables. You are lost – God searches you out. God finds you. God brings you to Himself. God restores you. God the Father sets you before Himself, already perfect in His eyes – by seeing you through His Son – and God promises you His love, His mercy, and His faithfulness, as He leads you through the childhood and adolescence of the Christian life, into the fullness of the manhood, which is found in Christ and which covers you now and always. That is the key that unlocks this mysterious teaching moment: and the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done shrewdly: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light."

III.

In the Old Testament and the Epistle of the Day, this same point is underscored. From the prophet Jeremiah, you hear how God sorts out His faithful and says concerning them "And the afflicted people Thou wilt save; but Thine eyes are upon the haughty, that Thou mayest bring them down."! You see, God is not the doting grandpa who never chastises, but only hands out quarters from his pockets! God is just, and those who spurn His mercy will be brought down. But those who are His children by grace and mercy, remain under that mercy forever. It is pure gift! It could have been otherwise, for without the mystery and miracle of God’s election, choosing, calling, and keeping, we’d all be among the lost. But have been chosen, shown by the waters of Holy Baptism, and for you there is God’s perpetual mercy.

This is not an invitation to do whatever we are tempted by sin to do – that is twisting the story too far. Lest you do that, God warns in the Epistle: "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take head, lest he fall." This warning simply says: Don’t abuse God’s grace! At every instance where God’s law shows you your sin, stop and flee to God’s mercy, for you are His child. He makes promises to you that you might live by faith – the seemingly crazy measure of faith! Here, He shows the basis for such faith. The basis is in Him. He will heal. He will mend. He will raise up. He will never let you go. He will for all eternity present you unto Himself in Christ. It is His character. It is His nature upon which He urges you to lean, as His chosen child – in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost!