Ninth Sunday after Trinity (29 July, 2018)

Wasn't Me

"With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.  You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.  For you are my lamp, O LORD, and my God lightens my darkness.  For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.  This God--his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.  "For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?  This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless.  He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.  2 Samuel 22:26-34

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.  Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.  Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.  Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.  Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.  Psalm 51:1-12

Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.  Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play."  We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.  We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.  Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.  Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.  1 Corinthians 10:6-13

He also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.  And he called him and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.'  And the manager said to himself, 'What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.  I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.'  So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  He said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' He said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.  And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.  One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.  If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?  And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?  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."  Luke 16:1-13

Honesty is the best policy.

David relearned that foundational lesson the difficult way.  Granted, it was his own fault.  He was the one who slept with another man's wife and got her pregnant, then had the husband killed to hide the guilt.  David though his actions were clever.

In His parable, Christ describes a manager with similar cleverness.  He was able to cook the books when it looked like his job was on the line.  Perhaps he had actually been dishonest in managing, or perhaps his master had simply heard an unsubstantiated rumor.  It doesn't make much difference.  HE knew that something had to be done to ensure he would still have a comfortable life.  So he convinced those who owed his master money to reduce their payments.  That way, when the master came to collect, and appeared to be overcharging, those who owed would see the manager as the hero.  Sneaky, sneaky.

Neither of these scenarios are "good."  And it seems to be contrary to what we are taught elsewhere in Scripture.  In some ways, Jesus is not encouraging anything more than being a good manager of money, of "unrighteous wealth."  If you can't manage the meager secular things under your stewardship, then how can you be trusted with truly important things?

The parable is really about idolatry.  "You cannot serve God and money."  You could easily replace "money" with sex, drugs, rock and roll, fast cars, cool houses, trendy clothes, popularity, the latest gadgets, politicians, strength, or just about everything and anything that isn't the Triune God.  The lesson is still the same.  While you are called to be a good steward of that which God has blessed you with, you cannot replace God.  To do so is detrimental to your faith and salvation.

David was brought to his knees with that revelation.  Having his sins laid bare, not just the adultery and murder, but the mismanagement of the kingdom, lead the man after God's own heart to repent.

It was that poor stewardship that was the start of David's most famous episode of sin.  Murdering Uriah, trying to cover up an affair, having sex with Bathsheba, even watching her bathe were all the result of David not leading the people.  Where was he when this all started?  Not leading the army against Israel's enemies, but back in Jerusalem lounging and letting other do the hard work.  Shepherds don't get to nap on the job.  They must be vigilant, lest a wolf come and snatch the sheep.  David was not being vigilant.  Only he was the one taken by the prowling wolf.

When Nathan called him out, he knew better than to try to hide things.  He threw himself on the mercy of God.  He knew what he did was wrong, and he begged for forgiveness.  His words were so right that we use them weekly in worship.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

It is this for realization that the Law is kept in place.  To show us that we are still sinners, from conception, steeped in unrighteousness.  But thanks be to God that we have a Savior in Jesus Christ who imparts His righteousness upon us.  That was the salvation that David looked forward to, and that we look forward to the return of, on the last day.