Shrewd?
Luke 16:1-13
August 9, 2020 anno Domini – Redeemer
Shrewd. That’s not the word you want on your resume. It can mean keen or sharp, but it’s usually defined as cunning, sly, mischievous, even wicked. Who’s going to hire a shrewd pastor or accountant or salesman?
That’s the troubling word in this troubling parable. There’s something about this thieving embezzling self-serving manager that Jesus says would be good for us to emulate. In English that word comes as shrewd.
“The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.”
What does “shrewd” mean here? Jesus never uses this exact word anywhere else. So if we cannot find this word in Jesus’ mouth in other places we must look at the context of this parable. The important context is the last verse of the text. “No servant 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.”
The end goal of Jesus teaching this parable is that his disciples are faithful to Him alone – faithful in little things and faithful in large things. In order for them to accomplish that they need to have one master in their lives and only one master – they cannot serve God and money. They cannot serve God and their bellies.
Now stick with me – we’re almost done defining shrewd so I can actually start the sermon. The manager in the parable served only one master – himself. He did not care for the owner’s business. It didn’t matter if the books balanced. He had no difficulty stealing even more on his way out the door. Everything he did he did for himself. He had one master – his life. He was too old to dig ditches and to ashamed to work at McDonalds in his 60s. He was devoted to his life and lifestyle and used every tool, every trick, and the limited amount of time he had to secure his life. Now that’s not merely wisdom, that’s being shrewd. We might translate it “single mindedness.” Jesus uses a related word when he rebukes Peter for wanting Jesus to avoid the cross, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Peter was thinking more of himself than of Christ.
So if we were reading the Bruce Timm Sermon translation verse of this text it would read, “The master commended the dishonest manager for his single mindedness.” Let’s be clear – it was not good, right, or salutary for the manager to embezzle, lie, or cheat his boss. It was sinful to use his last moments with the books to steal some more to guarantee his future lifestyle. But what the master of the house commends is this, “There’s no doubt whom you serve. You are faithfully and loyally, totally living for yourself.” What is commended is that devotion, that practical singlemindedness, everything he did he did for his master – in this case his belly. His faith, his trust and love for his own life, affected everything he did.
We were born with the same single-mindedness of the manager. We were born with our minds set on me. That’s what sin is – I do what I want and I don’t care if God is against it or if it hurts you or even if it hurts me. Everything I have, think, own, do is for me. That singlemindedness is the result of our slavery to sin, death, and the Devil. Our heart is corrupted by sin. Our soul is afraid of death. And the Devil says, “There’s no hope – do what you can for yourself now.”
Christ Jesus came into the world to set us free, to free our will from fear and selfishness. Christ Jesus took away the power of our masters by bearing our sins on the cross. He died our death. He paid the ransom. The proof is Christ’s resurrection. When the ransom for sin is paid death must let you go. Jesus rose again on the third day. The forgiveness of Christ frees you. The cemetery is but a resting place. The Devil cannot no longer convince you, “This is all there is – you’d better grab it while you can.”
When you were baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection you were freed from the tyranny of self and made a subject in the Kingdom of God. Now your Master is not your belly, but the Lord who gives you daily bread. Your Master is not sin, because the Lord has forgiven you your sins. Your Master is not sickness, or fear, or death, because the Lord Jesus is your Master and He has given you health and courage and life. Death is not the end. The resurrection is the end, which means there is no end.
Now perhaps you see the trouble – you are double minded. You are slave and free at the same time, sinner and saint, wanting to serve your Lord and Master Jesus Christ and still feeling the whip of your old masters. You are forgiven all your sins yet you still sin. The Devil has nothing on you, but he is always after you. You’re going to live forever, but first you have to die (unless Jesus comes soon.) And here’s the rub – slavery is easier than freedom. It’s easier to go along with the world and keep your Christianity confined to the walls of Redeemer. Remember how Israel wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt. They pined for Pharaoh’s 100% employment rate and universal health care – if you got sick they killed you.
Jesus calls His disciples to serve one Master shrewdly, single-mindedly, like that manager in the text. Use everything at your disposal, in the time that you had, to secure your future. The call to faith and the gift of forgiveness does not leave anything in your life outside of Christ. You cannot keep even a little bit – for one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest with much. Your work, your wealth, your home, your mouth, your eyes, your marriage, your children, your parents, your hobbies, your health, your body, your suffering, your death – all of that is to be lived, used, endured under your Master Jesus Christ, with Him alone in mind.
The time is short – as it was for the manager. The day of judgment is coming. At the moment of death or at the time of Christ’s return we’ll all have the same bank balance (zero) and all our screens will disappear forever (praise be to God). You’ll either be face to face with Jesus or isolated in hell for an eternity of suffering. Our Lord and Master has given us a lot to manage. Our little congregation has been given Jesus Christ to preach, His holy body and blood to serve, and His soul cleansing waters to pour. He has given us life in the midst of death and health in the midst of a pandemic and hope instead of fear. There’s also a lot of other littler treasure he has bestowed on us – there’s millions of dollars in our respective pockets, there’s children and grandchildren in our families, there’s voices that can sing and hands that can serve and tongues that can confess Jesus. Because God has given you much in His Son He has also given you much to manage. It’s not yours. It’s His. You’re not going to get to keep it. At judgment He gets it all back. So while you have time be shrewd, be single minded, and He will commend you in the name of Jesus. Amen.