Shame and Mercy
Grace to you and peace from God our
Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The steward’s scheme would never
work in America.
In our culture, the owner would simply have the manager arrested, and his
insurance would likely cover any loss. The worst that would happen would be some
mention on the evening news. In order for us to understand the genius of the
manager and the point of the parable, we have to get into the mind of first
century Judaism. In our Lord’s day, the culture was much more closely defined
by shame than we are. Reputation was everything. This wasn’t simply a matter of
worrying about what other people think. They were a more community-minded
culture. That means they value rugged individuality quite like we do. They had a
much stronger sense of the group, of those around them, and how each person
shaped and defined their neighbors, and how they in turn were shaped and defined
by their neighbors. Sadly, we have lost a great deal of this sense of honor and
shame.
The shrewd steward is counting on
this. He is sure that, though the master would be perfectly justified in throwing
him into prison, he won’t do it. He won’t do it because it would shame the
master. If the master throws him into prison, then he has to admit that his
steward swindled him, and more importantly, now he has to demand higher prices
from all of his clients. This would ruin his reputation as a kind and benevolent
master. He would now be seen as stingy, vindictive, and cruel.
The steward banks everything on the
reputation of the master. He is willing to risk his well-being, prison, and even
his own life to be sure that his future is secure. This steward may have been
dishonest, but he knew that the master was honest and honorable to a fault. And
to be fair, in the eyes of the steward, it was no risk at all. He knew his
boss. His boss could no more turn him in than he could change his own skin.
This is our lesson on the parable
of the unjust or shrewd steward. But what’s the point? Where is Jesus and the Gospel
in all of this? It is a great temptation to make this into a stewardship
sermon. The Law would be pretty clear: nothing that we own is really ours, so
we must be wise in using what God has given us to His glory. This is true, and
such a sermon would not be a bad thing. God has
given us His gracious gifts, and we should use them to His glory, for the good of our neighbor, and certainly
to fill the offering plate at Church…but that’s not really the point of the parable.
The point is this: the mercy of God
is everything, and everything else must be seen and understood in light of this
mercy. Jesus, the very Mercy of God in the flesh, does not lower your debt to a
manageable amount; He cancels it. The Father does not commend your sinful
lifestyle; He forgives your sin. If a worldly master can commend his servant
for selfishness, how much more will our Father show mercy and forgive our sin? Because
the mercy of God is everything, you can bank your whole life on it. You can
live freely, knowing that you emulate God by handing out His gifts to you.
Finally, because God’s mercy is
everything for you, you know that God will feed you and clothe you with the
very best of food and drink, even the body and blood of His Son. You won’t have
to dig your own grave. And although we are all beggars, as Luther put it, God
does not require your begging. You are sons and daughters of the King. He has
lifted you up to His heavenly banquet table, so that you need not be ashamed to
stand in His presence at the Last Day.
Trust in the mercy of God. His
wisdom is beyond all understanding, and His mercy toward His children knows no limit. In
the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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