He Was Wasting His Goods

In Nomine Iesu!

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Sermon Text: St. Luke 16:1-9

“‘And He said also unto the disciples, ‘There was a certain rich man, who had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he was wasting his goods.’”

Prayer in Pulpit before Sermon:

Lord God, heavenly Father, Who hast appointed us all as Thy stewards, grant that we may not waste the goods entrusted to us, but rightly employ them, and with our temporal things make to ourselves friends, that we may be received into everlasting habitations; through Thy Son, + Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior + Jesus Christ. Amen. 

My dear friends, the unjust steward and the children of this world are wiser than the children of light because they recognize how desperate their situation is and go about their business with a single-minded zeal for improving it. 

Consider the foolishness of children of the light as exemplified by the rescued Israelites who grumbled and complained in the desert. They grew complacent. They forgot how dependent upon God they were. They fell for the devil’s seduction and tried to serve two masters; to have the best of both worlds. We cannot have the pleasures of the flesh, and the peace that passes all understanding. All fence-riders, all moderates, all the waffling undecided waiting to see which way the wind will blow belong to the devil, whether they know it or not. They are cowards. And the Lord God spits them out like sour milk. The Chosen People chose to abandon the One Who delivered them out of Pharaoh’s slavery. Their foolishness brought them no peace or joy. They found only the bone crushing, tearing jaws of the wolf that seeks to devour. 

This is a warning for us. We cannot run with the devil, thinking he likes us, for very long. Soon he will destroy us. There is no lasting comfort, no real joy or satisfaction in the things he promises. idolatry, fornication, murmuring—none of them ever delivers. Those evil things, which smell so sweet, seem so attractive, so full of wonderful things, turn on us. They betray us and hand us over to embarrassing diseases, awkward failures, shame, and haunting memories. The sirens’ alluring song always crashes sailors on the rocks. It never, ever leads to our vain and adolescent, lusting fantasies. When will we learn to stop pursuing the things that hurt us? When will we look after ourselves with the same zeal as the unjust steward? Why do we seek sappy sentiments and shallow praise when the Lord God Himself speaks in His Word and invites us to feast upon Him? Why do we prefer comfortable lies to the liberating truth? “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider.” “My people:” the baptized, the confirmed, the members of My churches—they doth not consider.

Beware. Be on guard. Let us turn before it is too late, with zeal and single-mindedness, like unto the unjust steward’s, and seek our own good. But unlike him, seek it where it may be found—in the promises declared in the Lord God’s Word. Let us live our lives; use the mammon entrusted to us, toward the account we will give on the Last Day. 

For there is an account to be given, an explanation, a running through of the events. And what will we say to the Lord Almighty? Will we point to our deeds, to our sincerity and good intentions, to our charity and life? No. We will rejoice and not be afraid. For we will say: “I am Baptized! I belong to the Christ. His works are mine. I am clean, pure, and righteous. I have come for my inheritance. For the Innocent Blood of the Son shed by violence has been recklessly poured out for me in compassion to purge me of violence. He has made it so that I might be His own. He has forgiven me, adopted me, and rescued me. He has named me. I have no debts, no dishonor, no guilt, no shame, or regret. I have Christ. His Voice has called me here. The One begotten before all worlds is my Bridegroom, and my Savior. “Though [our] sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool”—for the Blood of Christ has not stained them. It has washed them and made me clean. It cries out to heaven for my salvation.” 

And while we wait that culminating, account-giving Day—consumed by its approach and the hope that is in us—we are generous with the mammon that is not ours. We demonstrate the mercy, the philanthropy of the Creator, by giving away the gifts of creation and by offering forgiveness and salvation in His Name without cost or price. All things are brought into His service: the arts and architecture, labor, food, recreation, family—all of our lives. Everything is pressed into the service of this proclamation, this hope: “The Lord God, Who sacrificed His Son to make us His children, will not abandon us to this fallen world, to the abuse of unjust stewards, to the abuse of our own foolish, selfish flesh, or to the abuse of the devil. He will not send us to Hell. He is merciful in Christ. He is faithful unto death. He is coming back to claim His own. We have a Friend in heaven, an Advocate before the Father, Whose goodwill has been bought with what is not ours. He will receive us into eternal tabernacles for He has paid for our sins. We are forgiven.” 

Everything hinges upon this. There is nothing else. Therefore, my dear friends, let us not be wasteful of the goods entrusted to us by our Master. Let us be as shrewd and wise as the unjust steward who looked after himself. Let us come the Last Day at His bidding, and feast upon that which is truly good, and good for us—the risen Lord + Jesus. His Body and His Blood shall free us from the grasping cords of death that cling to us like cobwebs from a dark passageway. We are now liberated to be devoted, to be compulsive, and to be obsessed. Let us be zealous to obtain the life of the world to come. Let us not be ashamed, for Christ is our Savior, our future, and our reward. He is the account we shall render on the Last Day. In Him, our Father is well pleased—with us. In the Name of our Lord + Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

Prayer in Pulpit after Sermon:

Almighty God, be pleased to accompany Thy Word with Thy Holy Spirit and grant that Thy Word would increase faith in us; bring into the Way of Truth all such as have erred; turn the hearts of the unrepentant; and for sake of Thy Name grant succor to all heavy hearts and those who are heavy-laden, that they may through the mercy of the Lord + Jesus Christ be relieved and preserved so that they succumb not to the temptation of despair but rather that they gain the victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil; through the same + Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with the Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

The Votum:

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!