Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost 2010

The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
9/17/10
Luke 16:1-15
Bror Erickson

[16:1] 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. [2] 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.' [3] 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. [4] I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.' [5] So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' [6] He said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' [7] 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.' [8] 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. [9] 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.
[10] "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. [11] If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? [12] And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? [13] 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."
[14] The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. [15] And he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Luke 16:1-15 (ESV)


“The Pharisees, who were lovers of money heard all these things, and they ridiculed him, and he said to them, “you are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts, For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Justifying ourselves, that is the human tendency, to justify ourselves. It is a defensive reaction, one brought on by guilt. Of course those most notorious for justifying themselves are hardly self aware enough to know their guilt, to know what drives them. But you hardly see anyone trying to justify themselves for something they aren’t guilty of. Justifying ourselves. It is what we do when we know we have done something wrong, when we have been put on the carpet, so to speak. We try to justify ourselves, but to who? Ultimately I think we would like to justify ourselves before God, and we think we do when we justify ourselves according to the only court we really know, the court of the opinion of men. The temptation is to think that justifying yourself before men, you have justified yourself before God. But this can’t be our justification before God. Our justification before God is Jesus Christ who forgives sins.

This is the problem with the Pharisees, for all their sins, they justify themselves before men, but God seeing their hearts is not impressed. They justify themselves by appealing to the law, finding loopholes, making them up, twisting scripture, adding to it, taking away from it, but never actually admitting guilt. They justify themselves before men in how they spend their money. And they are popular.
People loved the Pharisees. They did. They were so good in the eyes of the people, and their money was seen as some sort of reward for being good. But God knew what was in their hearts, and it wasn’t the love of God but the love of self.

To justify yourself before men, there is temptation to do it as a congregation, and temptation to do it as individuals. I’m sure we have all caught ourselves being a bit hypocritical in how we interact with others, not wanting to cause offense etc. Not doing something we normally would, or acting in a way we normally would not. Maybe it isn’t even a matter of hypocrisy, but trying to be all things to all people. And sometimes it is right to sacrifice the freedom we have in Christ in love for others. Sometimes knowing you cause undo offense by doing something you are perfectly free to do, you don’t do it for the sake of the weaker brother, but when the weaker brother becomes a tyrant torturing the souls of others with his legalism, sometimes it is best to make full use of your freedom to offend this “weaker brother.” Because the weaker brother easily becomes a Pharisee seeking to justify himself before men, with his tyrannical actions towards those who are truly weaker brothers, maybe even those who have not yet heard the gospel.
Legalism, it needs to be squashed where ever it is found. I’ll give you an example, if you will permit. Drinking coffee. Perhaps it causes offense for some of our Mormon brothers and sisters in this area to be seen drinking coffee. Are they weaker brothers? They aren’t brothers in the faith at all. But we could forego drinking coffee in front of them, perhaps, if it afforded us a chance to speak with them the gospel. On the other hand, we dare not let them tell us that we can’t drink coffee, or if they are harassing a coworker for drinking coffee, perhaps it is at that point you drink coffee in defense of the one being harassed, maybe even if you don’t like coffee. Because we need not justify ourselves before men. And when we give up doing something that we are perfectly free to do, in an effort to make us look better before men, then we have lost sight of the gospel. The same principals can be applied to a whole host of things declared sinful by American Evangelicalism without any warrant in scripture, tobacco and alcohol, and the use of Ned Flanderisms.
On the other hand as a congregation, as a Christian community. We follow God’s law in love for our neighbors. Today the temptation is to relax practices in an effort to justify ourselves before men, or make ourselves a bit more palatable to them. Here again we let society and not God’s word decide what is right or wrong. Today, so much of what we stand for as Lutherans is anathema to the culture around us, and even other Christians. We take a stand on things like women’s ordination, clearly prohibited in our Epistle lesson today, and the world hates us for it. So many other churches do it, why can’t we? Because it means giving up God’s word. Or take closed communion. I struggle with that one at times. But it is there, and I need to know the people who are taking communion from me know what it means, know what is at stake, know that it isn’t crackers and grape juice. That there is mystery here as we eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus Christ, mystery that can be both a blessing or harmful. But the pressure is to just let anyone take it, and it would neatly justify us before men.
I doubt we would have had a split 15 years ago if the congregation was more willing to bend to the pressures of society. But then I also doubt we would have the gospel anymore. That is what is ultimately at stake. The world does not care, society does not care for the gospel. And if you let it start calling the shots rather than God’s word, well then you lose the gospel. Because society justifies itself before men, and no one else. It does not care for the things of God. It does not care what it is in the heart. It will not be forgiven of sins, for it will not admit sin in the face of men, but will justify itself, and justifying itself it refuses to be forgiven.
But we, we have the gospel. We have the forgiveness of sins. Our master is a master of mercy who continues to forgive. And forgive he does. And that my friends is all we have, the forgiveness of sins. But that forgiveness allows Jesus to justify us before God for all our sins. And being justified before God, we do not care whether or not we are justified by men. They will not be judging us on the last day as they face judgment. No, but our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be judging us, and declaring us innocent. Not because we managed his law so well, or were perfect with our understanding of doctrine, or discerning a weaker brother from a tyrant, in all these things we fail no matter how hard we try, but Jesus does not fail. Jesus does not fail to forgive, and forgiving he works through all we do, sometimes even our failures, to bring his love to your neighbor, to all the world. To justify one before men is a small thing, but he with his death and resurrection for you, he justifies us before God.

Now the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.