Few fans of reality television have
not heard the name, Donald Trump. Donald Trump is a real estate tycoon who
first came to prominence in the 1980’s. Daring deals, extravagant spending,
bold personality, and a colorful personal life, have ensured that “the Donald”
has not strayed far from the limelight. Through fortunes won, fortunes lost,
and fortunes regained, many have
followed this man’s career. It is no surprise that his own television
show, The Apprentice, has gained a widespread following, and earned high
ratings in North American television markets. The premise of the show is
simple. Young, aspiring, entrepreneurs, are given the opportunity to show Mr
Trump what they have-- in terms of
ability, intelligence, and business instinct. They must work
co-operatively, but must also compete against each other to succeed. Those who
don’t must hear those dreaded words come from the mouth of the boss himself: “
You’re fired!” Those who succeed hope to go on and enjoy careers with the
endorsement of Donald Trump himself.
Today’s
gospel lesson, is, in many respects, a surprising text, because Jesus provides
quite a surprising story to his disciples. Yes, we see how parables like the
lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son, fit into the message Jesus was
making to the world. But the message he provides in today’s reading has, at
first glance, a decidedly worldly ring to it. It almost sounds like it could be
taken from an episode of the Apprentice.
Here we
hear the story of a rich man. A wealthy land owner, who surely would have owned
much property. The rich man wasn’t happy, the land-lord wasn’t pleased. He wasn’t happy because the man he hired as his manager
wasn’t doing a very god job. To understand why, we have to put the story in its
proper historical context. We realize that we are looking at an ancient economy
based mainly on agriculture. Goods, rather than money, was the main medium of
exchange between tenants and land-lords. The tenants of this rich land-owner
were evidently over-due on their rent, and the manager in whom he had placed
his trust had not done a very gone job of collecting his rent. It would
therefore be understandable that the manager would be let go.
His
response to this news was exactly what we would expect: bewilderment, fear,
even some panic. But instead of accepting the bad news of his dismissal, the
manager went about showing his boss that he was worth keeping around. What he
did next was shred, it was calculating, and it was risky. In fact,
it required a high level dishonesty. The manager went around to the people that
owed his boss and he gave them a twenty percent discount on their rent. This
what you call “an offer too good to refuse”. How many times are people late on
their rent given a twenty percent discount? Not very often. In this case, it
had its desired effect as each person paid.
Now there
were two ways the rich man, the manager’s boss, could have responded to the
news of the deal which he had no idea about. He could have run his manager out
of town and annulled, cancelled, the arrangement. The second option was to do
exactly as he did. He let the deal stand. This had a two-fold benefit. First,
it meant that he got most of the
rent which he was owed. Yes, it wasn’t the entire amount, but it was better
than what he had from them so far, which was zero. Moreover, to annul the
arrangement would have been a very unpopular move. But to let the deal stand,
would have surely increased his popularity in the eyes of his tenants. In the
end, the rich man appreciated the shrewdness and brilliance of his manager.
Donald Trump would have been proud.
But what can Christians get out of this
story? What is the lesson for us
today? Why is Jesus upholding this example of dishonesty and shrewdness?
Well, the first thing we need to understand, is that our Lord is not telling
his disciples to engage in dishonest business dealings. He is not providing
this story as an example, but as a
way of admonishing and motivating his disciples. In effect,
through this story, Jesus asks a great question of his disciples. If worldly
people who serve money are able to bring so much talent and imagination in managing material wealth, why are you not able to do the same
with the great wealth which has been entrusted to you?
Many of you
know far better than I what it takes to be successful in the business world. It
takes hard work, it takes drive and it takes determination. But it takes more
than that. It takes intelligent and imagination, and a vision of the possible.
Donald Trump may not be on your heroes list. But you have to give him credit.
He is enormously wealthy for a reason. But
his fortune, ultimately, means nothing. His fortune is nothing compared to the
great bounty which has been given you, given us. This is the great gift of
eternal life, which comes to us through faith. The gift God has given us
through Jesus Christ is truly precious. Yet this is not a gift which we are to keep to ourselves. It is meant to be shared.
Almost two
thousand years ago, the resurrected Christ commissioned his disciples to
baptize in the name of the Triune God,
to spread the Gospel, to make disciples of all nations. Almost two
thousand years ago, Jesus sent down the Holy Spirit on that most Holy day of
Pentecost to form his church. His church was and is entrusted with the most
precious wealth of all—the gospel, the good news of eternal life and salvation.
We have been entrusted to be productive with that wealth. Every Christian has
been called into that service. Jesus has entrusted us to be the managers of His
great and glorious mission to the world.
Yet,
as we look at the city, this province, this country, this continent, we see a
troubling trend. Over the course of the last century we have seen a great
falling away. The church, across denominations, is shrinking instead of
expanding. Members across
denominations speak of restructuring
and downsizing and survival.
Do you see something wrong with
that picture?
Through
the words we hear in today’s gospel lesson, Jesus is giving us a wake-up call.
Most people work hard for their
employers, want to do the best job possible to please their bosses—will use
every once of brains and muscle necessary to get the job done and get the job
done well. Why not, then, for God? Why,
not, then, for the interest of
advancing the Gospel? Let’s be clear. We are not called by God to work for
our salvation and new life. That has been given to us freely through the life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus. But we are called to advance the kingdom of
God. This does not mean,
necessarily, within the walls of the church building. In fact, most of this
work will be outside of it.
A
popular question these days is: How do we
get people into the church? This is actually the wrong question. The better
question is: How does the church be a
presence where the people are? And we speak here not only of congregational
outreach projects, but also about the lives of individual Christians who make
up the church, who are members of the body of Christ.
An
important part of the Protestant reformation of the 16th Century
entailed a new understanding of Christian vocation—actually it was a return
to the lost biblical understanding
of Christian vocation.
You see, during the middle ages in
Europe, Christian vocation was associated exclusively with priests and nuns.
Almost over-night, that understanding changed amongst those who would become
evangelical Christians. All Christians are equal, and all Christians are called
to ministry. All Christians are called to ministry in the name of the Gospel—and
not just ordained clergy.
All
Christians have been entrusted
with Christ’s mission of sharing the Good News. Yet, still, the perception
remains among some that this is principally the work of the pastor. Yes, it is
indeed the work of the pastor to share the gospel. And it is also true that the
pastor ministers in a way that is the special. But it is equally true that
non-ordained people minister in ways that are special and unique, and as
important as the pastor. The questions we need to ask ourselves are “How do I
bring Christ’s mission directive into my everyday life? How do I carry out
ministry to those around me?
All
Christians have been entrusted with the great task of sharing the gospel in
their time and place through words and action. And in this time and place in
history, this requires tremendous determination and imagination and risk. It is
so because there will be a tremendous resistance. And no one wants to offend
others. But let us not worry so much about pleasing other people, but instead
affix our attention on pleasing God. We cannot afford to be quiet. Fifty years
ago, the Christian church held a privileged place in Canadian society. This is
no longer the case, and it is a fact which can no longer be taken for granted. The
church is in a mission mode. This congregation is in a mission mode. But the
fact is, the truth is, that a church regardless of its size, regardless of its
material wealth, regardless of its programming, must never stop being in the
mission mode—in mission for the God who, in the words of St Paul, desires
everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Doesn’t this most important mission deserve
our best effort possible?
This
afternoon, this congregation welcomes the neighbourhood, which is an extension
of Christ’s mission to the world. It is easy to overlook this, and see the
party as something the congregation is doing in addition to its mission. But
this isn’t the case. The great communication theorist, Marshall McLuhan, years
ago asserted that the “medium is the message”. What we do, tells others who we
are and what we stand for. And what we stand for is the Gospel of salvation and
new life, that all would have life and have life abundantly. This afternoon we
invite the folks in this neighbourhood to share in a part of the abundance
which has been so generously poured upon us.
We
live in a world where people are hungry, people are in pain, physical and
emotional, where people grope and claw in rhe darkness for answers to the
deepest questions of life. And we, as disciples of Christ, have real food to
give them. We must never lose sight of this fundamental mission.
We are in
the last weekend of summer. The signs of fall are here. It will not be long
before we are in the grip of winter, and the year will be winding down. But in
a very real sense, life is winding up. Children are back in school, families are in new programs,
university students are hard at it again, and mid term exams will soon be
approaching. Amidst all of this, God is at work, too—moving us to proclaim his
word of life to a world desperate
need to hear it. All Christians are called to proclaim the life giving word of
the gospel in spoken word and visible action. All Christians are called to use
their gifts in proclaiming in this time and place—for we have been entrusted
with the greatest treasure of all, the eternal life which has been given us
through the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Amen.
