[Propertalk] Proper 20 c 2016 - part 1

[Robert P Morrison]

Here's the draft, part 1
Bob

	THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER
PENTECOST

	JEREMIAH 8:18 – 9:1 PROPER 20 c

	1 TIMOTHY 2:1-7 18th SEPTEMBER, 2016

	LUKE 16:1-13 PSALM 79:1-9 

	 How many “close shaves” have you had in your life so far? Some
may have been pretty minor, like stepping barefoot on a Lego ® left
on the floor, or having the cat run between your legs while you have
something in your hand. Some may have been more critical, like not
noticing right away that the truck on the freeway is pulling out in
front of you. Some may be slightly embarrassing while others might
have placed you or me in severe discomfort or danger. Some close
shaves may have been completely avoidable, through paying a little
more close attention. Some may appear to be outside of our control.
Yet even in those situations, there ARE a few things one can do, like
driving at a safe distance in order to be able to react, or simply
being aware of what might go wrong. It may be a matter of making the
best, making the most, of who we are and what we have.

	 Brother Curtis Almquist wrote a couple of comments about how it is
– how it should be – to be a steward.

	 “We don’t possess our own lives,” Brother Curtis wrote. “I
would say we are stewards of the life that God has given us, and for
however long God continues to give us breath. I think of it as being
loaned back into life after baptism.” 1

	 His second remark is similar, but adds a little.

	 “We are not ‘owners’ of anything but simply temporary stewards
in life, entrusted with various ‘goods’: qualities, gifts,
distinctions, appointments, gadgets, properties, relationships which
– sooner or later – are going to pass away from us. And in the
meantime we take what we’ve been entrusted and offer it back to God,
recognizing that all of it is very temporary.” 2

	 “When we lived in the city, we used to leave the lights on to keep
away the burglars. Now we leave the lights off to keep away the
neighbours. My Mum says it’s because there’s always a CHANCE
we’ll like the burglars.” 3

	 That makes about as much sense as the parable Jesus told His
disciples.

	 Maybe the audience is part of the key to understanding what on earth
Jesus was saying. These folk had been with Jesus for quite a while.
They’d seen and heard a lot. Even if they weren’t quite ready to
admit that He was Divine, at least they’d be able to take in some of
the hard sayings He offered. But what a strange story!

	 A friend asked on Friday, “Anybody loving the steward yet?” 4

	 It’s a reasonable question. The steward seemed completely corrupt.
He’d mismanaged, he’d probably cut corners. Whatever it was that
he did, the word used about him was that he was a squanderer. A
squanderer – someone who waste something, especially money or time,
in a reckless and foolish manner – he had been given charge over
something extremely precious, something from which there must have
been great hope not just of esteem for the rich man, but for the
entire community. What was he thinking of? Not only did he defraud his
employer, he affected the livelihood of every one of his fellow
employees. He put them in jeopardy. And if the owner of the business
or the farm, or the estate had been defrauded enough, quite possibly
the actions of that one man could have brought down the whole
community. Heaven only knows, we’ve seen that not just here, but
around the world, in the last couple of decades.

	 Anyone feel any love for the steward now? It brings to mind a
heading saw last Friday. “Narcissistic, manipulators, defenders of
their own causes, auctioneers of vain crusades.”

	 And, no, it’s not likely that know where that came from! I took me
completely by surprise too. It came from the lips of a relatively
mild-mannered, yet steely-spined, oldish man who wanders around in a
long white coat.

	 What was Jesus getting at when He told this story? Remember, He was
engaging His closest friends. He was trying to give them a sense of
the importance of His ministry and the ministry with which He was
about to charge them. This parable is one of a series which started
out with discussion about the wedding banquet – the incredible
celebration with God, the everlasting Joy which awaits everyone.
We’re talking here about Life with Jesus forever. What is being
outlined in each successive parable is what is expected of those who
walk with Jesus.

	 We know by know how limitless is the invitation which Jesus brings.
We know by now, surely, how Jesus was helping to turn everyone’s
expectations on their heads, and how economic class, social standing,
religious upbringing, countered for nothing. The only thing that
mattered was how one treated one’s sisters and brothers, how well
one listened to Jesus and applied everything He said to how we live
our lives and use whatever resources we have.

	 So –

	 If Jesus is talking to the leaders who will birth, nurture and
emancipate His Church; if Jesus is talking about someone who knowingly
takes what is not his own, regardless of what it does to everyone
else; if this is so, then can we not assume that Jesus is talking
directly to and about the Church?

	 What a terrible judgement!

	 But Jesus knew what lies in the human heart and soul. Jesus, the
Light, can see the dark in us, and how easily it can pop out.

	 We’re working, through Jesus, under the guidance and influence of
the Holy Spirit, to make sure not only that people see, hear and
receive the invitation to the Banquet, but that they’re kept in
health, strength, and desire so that they’re able to attend. It's
not enough to proclaim the Gospel. We have to be sure that no one is
prevented from accepting the invitation because she or he is hampered
by any kind of pressure. And if you or I should take what is not ours
and try to squirrel it away for ourselves – well I know I don’t
want to go there, and I’m sure you don’t either.


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://stsams.org/pipermail/propertalk_stsams.org/attachments/20160917/cc3a4db0/attachment.htm>