Faithful in Little

Proper 20 September 22, 2019

Jesus said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, `What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.' Then the manager said to himself, `What will I do, now that my master is taking the position 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 dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.' So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?' He answered, `A hundred jugs of olive oil.' He said to him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.' Then he asked another, `And how much do you owe?' He replied, `A hundred containers of wheat.' He said to him, `Take your bill and make it eighty.' And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

"Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." Luke 16:1-13

It's a small thing to change from paper to cloth napkins. It's a small thing to stop using plastic straws. Yet all of these small things might just save our planet. The more we practice car of others, the more time we have for others. Small changes in habits, changed practices, often bring large changes. In reverse,when we serve ourselves, when we serve comfort and wealth, rather than those around us, we whither and are isolated.

Jesus is pressing back against the religious leaders who are trying to trap him. They want him to deny the things of the world, as they luxuriate, and are care for by others. He wants us to see how we can use the little or the lot we have for the good of the Gospel, for the good of the world. We are invited to make the changes we need to, in order to bring God's love into the midst of greed and corruption.

Today, I ask God to help me have the discipline to build small habits that bring about loving changes in me. May we use the blessings we have well, so others might thrive.

Collect

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.