"Jesus Autobiographic Parable" September 22, 2013

Jeremiah 8: 18 – 9:1 Luke 16: 1-17 This morning's sermon is not a sermon preached in most churches today, but a word that needs to be heard. I dare to preach this word only because I have served as your pastor and preacher for over 16 years. Most pastorates today last three to five possibly ten years if we are fortunate, as such, we rarely get down to what matters. For this morning's gospel is about Money, specifically about the satisfaction of debts we cannot repay. In the Pentateuch, the first Five Books of Torah, the People of Israel were given a gift never before experienced in all humanity. Every Nation of the world has a story of Creation. Every different people believed they were blessed by a God or Gods. Some believed God dwelt on mountaintops, others that God could be found walking in the Garden or Woods. Some sacrificed to Gods of War, some to Fertility Idols, some dared to speak the truth that they worshiped luxury, excess, wealth, power, and all that it can buy. The Hebrew people were Slaves. People without Rights, without Voice, without Property, or Identity, or Name, a mass of humanity that were denied belief in the future, in their Immortality because they could not own the land where their bodies were buried, they could not even lay claim that their children were their own. This people cried out to God from their need, and God heard them and God set them free, and for generations in the Wilderness God provided for them. The prophecy of Jeremiah is that the People abused God's gift, God's love. The people prayed to God, and God answered. This people had a particular name for God, but instead of recognizing that that name which means “To BE” reflected that God is in everything that has ever been or will ever exist; the people used the name of God like a Mastercard, for getting whenever they had wants or desires. There is a basic reality to human nature, “WE WANT” possessing a FREE WILL we are filled with DESIRES. When we are in need, hungry, thirsty, afraid, alone or lost, we cry and we pray, and we seek satisfaction. The difficulty is that when we are depressed, when we are lonely, when we are sad, we seek satisfaction. The satisfaction in each of these cases is not REDEMPTION, but the satisfaction of having our desires met. Fill us and make us fat, so full that we can want no more. But human desire is endless. The relationship of God to humanity is like being vulnerable to a child. When that child cries, we respond, we want to pick them up and soothe. We hurt even more than the child does. There is a helplessness because we cannot fill all the desires, and fix all the problems, and sometimes all we can do is to bear the pain. This passage from Jeremiah describes that at one time the people had legitimate needs, and God salved and soothed and provided for them. But times have changed and the people who could provide for themselves, who could do without and who could do for others, continue to cry to God. There is within God a desire to satisfy human need, that aches hearing human cries, but all the desires of all the world cannot be met. Truly, there is no balm in Gilead to heal all the sin-sick souls. God cares. God loves. God can accomplish miracles. God wants us to be happy to be fruitful, to enjoy all Creation. But our role and function in life is not to possess more than anyone else, to satisfy our desires. Our role and function is not to live without feeling need. Our role and function is to be Stewards of God's Creation, using our God-given gifts. Of all the Parables of Jesus, this one has frustrated scholars and preachers. Was Jesus encouraging people to be dishonest? Was the Messiah suggesting that we would be encouraged and praised for deceit? Our agony about the economy is that we have heard the Parable of the Talents, even those who did nothing are able to return what they were given in life. We are willing to trade and to make investments, because in that parable those who risk were able to return more, those who risked more returned more. But our risks have not been returned. We are having to become accustomed that all the things we used to have, we can no longer afford. This morning's Gospel reads like a story of our world. This is Bernie Madoff being judged, but instead of judgment is forgiven. There was an affluent and powerful individual, some of whose dealings were a little less than moral. Rumors begin to circulate, and one day they are called in and given two weeks notice. Recognizing they are over 50, they are unwilling to start over, unable to perform the physical work and hours of a 20 year old. So they call in every account of their master and find a way to settle. There are those who have read this, and interpreted that this Steward was Dishonest, though in Jesus' parable it is only that there were rumors about him. These have come to the conclusion that when accounts were settled he was able to give something instead of nothing. Others have been mindful of the role of Stewards and middle management, interpreting that his business allowed him to charge for his transaction fee, and this is what he economized on. So when accounts were settled, he was in fact able to return to the owner every penny actually owed. But recent experiences have also given us interpretations I have not found written elsewhere. Last Christmas Eve, the computer processor in the Organ stopped working. We were able to play around the problem, discerning that a battery had gone dead. The part was under warranty, the manufacturer sent it out, and we paid our Organ Tuner to install the part. But a few months later, the part failed again. The Organ Tuner contacted the manufacturer who supplied a new and upgraded part free of charge with a new extended warranty. But by the time everything was installed, we now had a bill for Labor in stalling the same part twice for over a thousand dollars. The Organist at the time refused that this be paid and threatened the Tuner that we would find a different Organ Tuner. For other reasons, that Organist left our employ, and the invoice was among the papers left. I contacted the Tuner, emphasizing that we appreciate their quality of work and commitment to us, and suggested that instead of $1,000 for replacing the same part twice a ore equitable settlement might be $500 and we were able to keep the commitment of the organ tuner. They took off half and we took off half and compromised to meet in the middle at what we each believed was fair to maintain the relationship. Because the relationship was what was truly most important. Two weeks ago United Airlines had a key punching error in which for 15 minutes anyone could purchase a flight anywhere for free. To their credit, the airlines honored their mistake and is honoring these purchases, which may make you honor them with your business. I am reminded of the Tylenol tampering twenty years ago. When the company learned their product had been tampered they removed all of their product from store shelves, until they could repackage and assure the public their product was safe. This set the standard for what businesses could do to maintain the public trust. Yet tragically, I do not recall another case where businesses acted this thoroughly... they have issued recalls, but not pulled everything to repackage and earn our trust. Yet another possibility is that the Steward may actually have be about our allowing accounts to slide and not doing our work. When called to account, the called in one who owed 100 Barrels and demanded 50% and called in a second demanding 80%. The message might be that too often we allow matters of justice or righteousness to slide and we need to be called to account. But I believe another possibility exists, one which I cannot find in any commentary or authoritative interpretation. WHat is in this Parable Jesus was being autobiographic? Chapter 14 and 15 had been focused on sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors, all those like us who had chosen to not respond to God's Wedding Feast. And Jesus will do whatever it takes to bring us home. Throughout the Gospels, when Jesus identified "A Rich Man" or "A King" he was always referencing GOD. That our Lord and Savior, the Messiah sent from God, would be compared to a "dishonest steward" is sacrilegious, is scandalous, but that is what the Saducees had said. Jesus did and does what ever is needed, what ever it takes, to bring us back into new relationship with God. So this morning, I had a homework assignment for us all. When you get home, lay this Pledge of your Estate beside you. Then take out a yellow legal pad, or sit down at a blank page on your computer. Consider your life. Review the mistakes and the sins, the times when you wish you had not said or done what you did. When you know you should have stepped in to act, to speak up and you did not. Each of the broken relationships and wounds. Now, draw a summary line, to total what you owe God. And underneath write PAID IN FULL. Now, knowing what we owe to God, knowing our debts are paid in full and forgiven, what will you choose to write as a pledge of your estate?