Three stories with a common theme.

Kingdom
Once upon a time there was a kingdom. This was not a perfect kingdom to be sure. Slavery was common; warring with other nation-states the norm. But it was a godly kingdom. The people aspired to follow the Lord their God with all their –

heart,
soul,
mind.

Every seven years this kingdom practiced a year of Sabbath. It was a year in which all agricultural activity ceased. Plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting were forbidden. Only preventative measures like watering, fertilizing, weeding were done. Considered respite for both land and people; the year was a chance to –

heal,
be reenergized,
grow.

And any fruits or vegetables that grew on their own that year? They could be picked and consumed by anyone. For in this kingdom God’s bounty was available for all.

After seven cycles of these seven Sabbath years, during year 50, the kingdom people would do even more. Called the Jubilee, or Year of Release, Jewish law dictated that all –

Debt be forgiven.
Slaves be liberated.
Prisoners be set free.

Even more, all property was to be returned to whom it originally belonged.
It was a –

grand resetting of wealth.
flattening of who is who.

As a result –
The rich found themselves less so.
The poor now had means.

Experiencing Jubilee couldn’t help but be celebrated as so many people found themselves newly free.

Hope began to emerge.

Perhaps farmers can now buy seed.
Perhaps they can purchase a herd.
Perhaps they can become more financially secure.

Perhaps.
Perhaps.
Perhaps.

For so much more was now possible than before.

Manager
Once upon a time there was a manager. The manager had what was, to him at least, a very important job. His boss owned a vast farmland. The manager oversaw it. The manager’s task was clear: maximize the profit that comes from the land. Wealth accumulation, for the owner, was the goal. All else mattered less. The manager was quite good at his job. At least initially. Over time the landowner became rich. The manager benefitted from it too.

It was an arrangement that worked well for them both.
It was an arrangement that soon would end.

For the manager’s performance began to slip. At least that’s what people said. Charged with not accumulating wealth as well as he could, the landowner, wanting better returns, took action.

You’re fired.
Hand over your files.
Be gone.

Newly unemployed, the manager naturally worried. What next? He was –

too weak to dig.
too proud to beg.

What would he do?

The manager realized it was time –

to change.
to make new friends.

New friends that might help him when times were tough.

But who would he turn to?
What did he have to offer?

All the manager knew was connected to this land.

Perhaps he could do something for the people that farmed it.
People that, until recently, he had happily extracted money from.

Because that was, after all, what the manager had been compensated to do.

The tenant farmers, as was the norm in this era, paid an exorbitant rent to the rich man. All for the right to work the land. The tenant farmers also bought what they needed from the company store. The harvest was rarely enough to pay both rent and the store.

Over time the farmers fell deeper and deeper in debt.

It was an unjust system.
It was a never-ending cycle,

That continued, from –

One season,
to the next,
to the next,
to the next.

Unless something changed,
within the system itself,
this cycle of poverty,
for the farmers would not end.

Then an idea! The manager knew what he could do.

Gathering the indebted farmers – not telling them his employment status had changed – the manager spoke with them one by one.

How much do you owe?
100 jugs of olive oil.
Make it 50.
We’ll call it good.

And how much for you?
100 containers of wheat.
Make it 80.
We’ll write off the rest.

Down the line the manager went, forgiving a portion of debt for anyone he could find.

It was a resetting of wealth.
A flattening of who is who.

The rich landowner found himself less so.
The tenant farmers now had some means.

And the manager?

He who had only served wealth,
Now served the people.

The manager,
by their actions,
had changed.

Because of their actions the newly freed farmers couldn’t help but feel relief.

Hope began to emerge.

Perhaps they could now repay other debts.
Perhaps they could buy seed.
Perhaps they could purchase a herd.

Perhaps, the farmers could now imagine, they could one day even purchase land of their own.

Perhaps.
Perhaps.
Perhaps.

For so much more was now possible than before.

Country
Once upon a time there was a country. This was not a perfect country. Inequalities based on race, gender, sometimes even who you love were still the norm. But it was a country with Christians. Lots of them. Taken together these Christians were a people of faith aspiring to follow the Lord their God with all their –

heart,
soul,
mind.

The country valued education. But they didn’t always value educators. And at times the country struggled to make college education more affordable for all. Soon costs began to spiral upward. Which required students take more and more loans out by the day.

Students paid significant sums to lenders – both in principal and interest – for the right to a degree. So much so there was not always enough to pay for housing and food too.

Over time the students-turned-workers fell deeper and deeper in debt. The possibility of digging themselves out of this mess by themselves grew dim.

But then an idea! The country knew what they could do.

We can forgive students their debts! For some all. For others at least some.

The students-turned workers were thrilled. Many others cheered for their fellow citizens, happy for their newfound freedom. But not all cheered.

The students-turned-workers couldn’t help but feel relief.

Hope began to emerge.

Perhaps they could now repay other debts.
Perhaps they could better care for their kids.
Perhaps they could purchase a home of their own.

Perhaps.
Perhaps.
Perhaps.

For so much more was now possible than before.

Close
Today’s text is the Parable of the Shrewd Manager. In it Jesus praises a newly unemployed man who both –

rips off his boss (the rich landowner), while
freeing people from the shackles of their debt.

What a way to exit your old job.

To say clergy often struggle on how to preach this is an understatement. No less than St. Augustine is said to have remarked, “I can’t believe this story came from the lips of our Lord!”

Yet here it sits. In our –

scripture,
lectionary,
churches today.

What to do.

This passage from Luke shares elements with the story of Jewish Jubilee. And it provides the underpinnings of how we might respond to current headlines too.

It is human nature to –

worship our riches.
focus on always gaining more.
prioritize money above all else.

When we do it causes others very real harm.

As our Fall stewardship season heats up it’s worth considering how we might respond.

To serve God is to serve God’s people.
To serve God is to forgive debts.
To serve God is to give back to those with less.

Whether or not we believe they deserve it.

You cannot serve both God and wealth.
You need to pick just one.
On this Christ is crystal clear.

Every day we must choose. Amen.

 

When Kathi and I visited St. John’s on a sunny Spring weekend earlier this year part of our itinerary was the search for a potential new home. To prepare we first outlined our needs: # of bedrooms, square feet, commute time, public schools we hoped Graham and Hannah could attend.

There was, of course, the question of cost: How much can you spend? We reviewed assets, crunched numbers, estimated payments, giving our realtor, Carol Lunde, a price range we could live with.

And then, over the course of a Friday afternoon and Saturday morning we found it. The house we desired more than any other. Right at the top of our range. Hoping to get a bit of a deal we offered under asking price. But this was a hot market, other offers were coming in.

What is your best and final offer? The current owners wanted to know.

We sharpened our pencils, had a heart-to-heart talk, and prepared to let go of more.

Then came the phone call. Congratulations! The house was ours. Yes!

We were ecstatic. To prepare for this big upcoming change we soon began to –

toss,
donate,
pack,
box

– readying ourselves to move.

The kitchen in our new home is smaller, so we downsized there the most. Kids clothes and old toys they’d outgrown were easy discards too. But there was an awful lot of things from the old home we just weren’t sure about.

We should probably hold on to things, at least for now, we figured. Just in case.

Deciding to save many decisions for another day in the moving truck most of our earthly possessions went.

Tradeoffs
Before long all that stuff arrived in Des Moines. When unpacking kitchen wares – admittedly this was mostly Kathi – we were pleasantly surprised. Most everything fit and functioned in our new space well. Our efforts to downsize, prior to moving, at least in this one space, had paid off.

While our old and new homes are similarly sized unplanned challenges soon became clear.

We were moving from –

a split-level floorplan to a colonial style,
fewer, larger rooms to more, and smaller spaces,
lots of wall space to lots (and lots) of windows.

The homes were radically different.

It was time to –

toss,
donate,
let go of more.

The 7-foot bean bag I simply adore? Now it’s too big. A 5-foot version would do.

And that 8-foot-high ginormous Ikea library shelf? Here it makes no sense at all. At least for books. Instead, we found a long 2-foot-high shelf for the reading collection situated below windows that lets plenty of light in. For that to work even more books had to be let go.

The last house came with two 1990s floral print Thomasville armchairs. Here we only need one. If you’re interested in the other – it’s super comfy – let me know. Free to a good home.

Our theme of late when getting settled is a simple one.

Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.

Journey
The Jesus we encounter in today’s text finds himself center stage, with people gathered all around. Up until this moment he’d been busy –

Casting out demons,
Healing lepers,
Giving sight to the blind.

By then thousands had heard him preach.
Some had even seen him raise the dead to life.

What could this mean? The crowd was energized, excited, exuberant as they pondered who this man was. Sensing a teachable moment Christ offers those gathered some advice.

If you want to move from –

The sidelines to the playing field,
Watching a performance to acting in it,
Humming the tune to singing the song –

Don’t go into it lightly.
Know what you’re getting into.

Count the cost, Jesus tells them.
Do the math before starting the job.
Make sure you can finish it well.

Your family may not appreciate this new you.
For it is a grand reordering in all you –

think,
believe,
do.

Because being a Christ-follower requires something. For to become my disciple, Jesus reminds, you must give up everything you’ve got. To do it well you’re going to have to start letting go.

The crowd, all about Jesus and what he represents had suddenly been thrown a curve.

It’d be like going to a concert, seeing your favorite band, loving every second. And then, afterwards, some news: there is space for you to join the road crew. Sweet! Anyone who wants to can take part.

A job description is shared.
A life of sacrifice is required.
Packing light a must.

You want to do it.
You *love* this band.

But you realize something. You’ll have to let some things go. For it’s the only way to do this journey well.

Today
Claimed in the waters of our baptism, each day we are offered the chance to join Jesus on the road. More than a concert, or weekend worship, we are –

called out of the crowd,
called to carry the cross,
called to serve.

To do that well we’re asked to consider all that we have, including what’s in our –

head,
wallet,
heart.

We’re asked to give it all up in service to God, in service to neighbor. And to start in on that path we’ve got to get comfortable with letting more go.

For that which we possess often ends up possessing us.

Being a Christ-follower represents a grand reordering in how we go about our days, placing love of God and neighbor above our –

Physical possessions,
Need to acquire,
Jealousy of others,
Need to control,
Partisan politics,
Everything.

We are asked to place –

Love of God over love of country,
Love of neighbor over love of money,
Love of serving over love of self.

We’re asked to evaluate all that we have, both externally and within, and then –

toss,
donate,
pack up,
set aside –

that which holds us back.

Because not all our stuff fits well in God’s house.

These verses have been used to make a case for giving up all your earthly possessions. The passage concludes with those exact words.

So if you feel led to give up all you physically own, and give the proceeds to the church, well we won’t turn you down. Tho perhaps speak with your spouse or financial adviser first 😊.

That said, the textual takeaway today is much broader than even that. For Christ asks us to also evaluate the contents of our head, the contents of our heart. In that personal inventory review you can’t help but find unhealthy hurts, habits, hang-ups that have been holding you back from faithfully following Christ.

I guarantee it. We all have them. It is part of our fallen human nature.

When you do find that stuff, take the words from a beloved Disney movie to heart:

Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.

Amen.