From Helen
Who do you turn to in times of need ? Who do you look to for advice ? Who do you trust ?
In our epistle reading (1 Tim.2:1-7) and gospel reading (Luke 16:1-13) we heard about who do we trust. In the epistle reading we heard of the need to pray for our leaders for all those in authority over us. The people to whom the epistle was written lived among people who trusted in other gods, some of these people even had authority over them. Yet they are told that they are still to pray for these people. Then they were reminded that none of this matters when you know that there is one God and this is the God that we worship. It seems like a question with an answer straight away – the question is do we turn to others instead of God and the answer is no, you turn to God He is the only one.
In our gospel reading (Luke 16:1-13) we heard the parable of the dishonest manager. This story is one filled with suspense really. Like a pantomime you start with the good rich property owner, who is always viewed with favour because he has a manager who collects the money and does all the dirty work. Or maybe the manager is good and the owner isn’t, after all he is absent and gets someone else to do the dirty work. Although the manager isn’t painted well either as it turns out that he may be keeping some money back for himself.
It is not clear who to trust and who to rely on but Jesus points out that we can’t have two masters. We have to make a choice. The choice is money or God.
There was once a man in America who entered a competition to win $10,000. To win the money you had to do something outrageous. This man called Jay Gwaltney decided to eat an 11-foot tree. For the event, he wore a tux and dined at a table set with china, silver, candles and flowers. Armed with pruning sheers, he began chomping from the top of the tree and worked his way, branch by branch, to the roots. It took him 18 hours over three days to complete this task.
He won the money but when it was all over, he complained of an upset stomach. Evidently the bark was worse than his bite.
Money really does seem to lead people to do ridiculous things at times.
Jesus offers a choice money or Him. This doesn’t mean that we have to get rid of all our money and possessions it means that we need to do a stock take. Who or what do we rely on most ?
The gospel makes it clear that we can’t serve two masters. This is all part of Jesus’ teaching on what following Him means. We can’t put anything before Jesus, whether that’s the things that we feel we need to do or say to others, or maybe it’s the way that we want to act, anything that doesn’t fit in with the way of God is going to get in the way and stop us from putting Him first and being like Him.
The two masters are God and anything that takes us away from Him. We as followers of Him are to ask ourselves what Jesus would do? For the believers to whom the epistle was written they were reminded that they weren’t to judge and say, ‘ O well they’re different to us we won’t listen to them, and we won’t pray for them.’ They were to listen to those in authority and pray for them but to always remember that God both should and would come first.
Being a follower of Jesus is not easy, it is not a call to the easy way of living it is a way that has tough things along the way but the reward is amazing. To be in a relationship built on love and trust.
It means to seek to follow Jesus by learning more about Him through scripture, to pray, to think about what Jesus might do and do the same. I once read a book called ’In His steps’, this book is a fictional story of a minister who was challenged to think of what following Jesus really meant. In order to do this he continually asked, ‘What would Jesus do?’ He then asked his congregation if any would like to pledge to do the same for a year, many did and there was a huge success and a complete change in the lives of the people who lived in the town. The movement spread to other towns and cities.
If we all sought to do exactly as Jesus would do can you imagine the change we would see? The world would be turned upside down as the ways of Jesus to love the unlovable, to touch the untouchables, to befriend the friendless, to seek justice and righteousness rather than riches and our own ways became a daily reality for all around. It would be amazing, but we are called to begin this work right now as we follow Jesus always asking what would Jesus do.
As we look to follow one master, as we put God first always asking how He would have us live.
There is something in faith, about putting God first and above all others that feels like home. In our collect for the day today the words used are from St.Augustine, his prayer is a very famous prayer and it is a reminder of the change that a relationship with God meant for him. Augustine had lived a particularly wild life always looking and searching for something more he tried his luck with different faiths, with different philosophical ideas, with women, he had a concubine with whom he had a child, his life was wild he was never settled and he kept searching. His mother prayed for him and one day he turned to Jesus and said that his heart had been restless until he found rest in God.
This was home for Augustine, this is home for us… we worship one God, the God who needs to come first, God who is with us, God who understands that following Him can be hard but God who knows that when we find Him our hearts are no longer restless.
I would like to finish by praying that collect again. Let us pray:-
Almighty God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you: teach us to offer ourselves to your service, that here we may have your peace, and in the world to come may see you face to face through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. AMEN
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