Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Mercy Manager

Luke 16.1-15

“You get a good job with more pay and you’re OK.

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash

New car, caviar, four-star daydream, think I’ll buy me a football team.

I’m alright, Jack, keep your hands off of my stack.

I’m in the high-fidelity first-class traveling set, and I think I need a Learjet.

Money, it’s a gas.

Money, it’s a hit.”

In case you didn’t recognize the words I just shared, they are the lyrics from Pink Floyd’s 1973 song Money.

Every day, each one of us makes decisions about what to spend our money on and what not to spend our money on.

The band members of Pink Floyd were using their money to purchase luxury cars, fancy meals, football teams, posh vacations, and private jets.

In this morning’s Biblical text, chosen for us by the lectionary, Jesus tells a parable, which is a story with a spiritual point about God and His Kingdom.  Today’s parable deals with the resources we have at our disposal and what the true purpose of those resources is.

Let’s hear from Luke 16.1-13 now.

Luke 16:1–13 says this:

[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.” (ESV)

This morning, as we continue on in the Gospel of Luke, or, Luke’s biography of Jesus, we hear another one of Jesus’ parables.  When we hear this specific parable, if it easy to be left scratching our head and asking, “What the heck is going on in this weird story?”

After all, some of the details are:

  • A boss fires one of his managers for wasting resources.
  • The manager goes into “survival mode.”  He will do whatever it takes to maintain his lifestyle.  He lies, cheats, and steals to ensure his comfort, as he defines comfort, in life.
  • The manager, after he is fired, goes to some of the business’ clients and takes money off of their bills without the boss’ knowledge.
  • The boss then praises the manager for using his intelligence and insight to his advantage (even though the manager did the wrong thing).
  • The boss says that the people defined by evil and darkness are better at getting things done than the people of good and light.
  • And, the boss says that money should be used to gain friends.

I have to admit this is a very difficult Biblical text to understand.  It contains some of the hardest teaching of Jesus.  A surface reading of this text without any context just leaves us confused.

However, once we have the key piece to the puzzle, the picture becomes very clear.

And, the key to understand this text is the master/owner’s mercy.

Mercy is compassion and/or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.

Let’s see how mercy unlocks the good news in this text.

The master, who represents God, first shows mercy to His manager by allowing the manager to use goods that don’t belong to him in order to make a living for himself and his family.

Second, the master is merciful, that is compassionate and forgiving in that he does not exercise his right to throw the dishonest manager in jail for the rest of his life as punishment for the things he stole, cheated on, and lied about. 

Third, the master’s mercy is even the driving factor when the manager is acting dishonestly to lower the debts of some of the master’s customers.  The manager knows that his master has always been generous and merciful toward everyone in his life, even those who have done him wrong.  Therefore, the manager trusts in the mercy of the master that he and the customers have experienced.  The customers don’t question the reduction of their debt because they know this is something their merciful master would do for them.

A summary of this morning’s Biblical text goes like this:

  • God is the merciful master and owner of everything in the created order.  
  • Psalm 24:1–2 tells us this when it says, “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” (ESV)
  • In God’s mercy, God gives you some of His stuff—money and possessions—to use in this world for your own benefit and the benefits of others around you.
  • You are the manager of what your merciful God owns.
  • In Sin, you mismanage what you have been given by God.  You see money and possessions as a god that will get you everything you want and think you deserve—relationships, fun, power, position, prestige, comfort, etc.  In other words, you take what God wants you to use for the good of His eternal Kingdom and use it solely to build your own little kingdom here on earth.  In this way you are actually stealing from God.
  • In Sin, you love money and serve money.  
  • However, through God’s grace that shows you mercy in the person and work of Jesus Christ, you are given a new heart and new eyes that see that what you have right now, whether it is a little or a lot, has been loaned to you by God for your eternal good and the eternal good of others around you.
  • In the grace of Jesus Christ’s mercy toward you, the grace that forgives your Sin of placing your faith, trust, and hope in the wealth and material goods of this world, you are filled with God’s Holy Spirit which drives you daily to love God and serve God by loving others by being generous with what God has given you in this life.

Two years ago, when my wife received a promotion at her job, a promotion that came with an increased salary, I immediately thought to myself, “Thank God! We can finally pay off some of our debt and go on vacations every year without worrying about the money aspect of the trips.”

However, before I had a chance to voice that thought out loud, my wife’s first response to the increase in her salary was, “Now we can give more money to the church!”

After she made that statement, I immediately felt the crushing guilt of my self-centered thinking about money and what it’s primary purpose should be.

In the first sermon that Martin Luther ever preached, dating to either 1510 AD or 1512 AD, Luther addresses what we just heard from our Biblical text for this morning.

Luther says,

“With these goods [—the money and possessions that God gives us in this life—], then, each person can conduct himself toward his neighbor in two ways.  First, with these goods he can do harm and evil to him or, second, he can advance and benefit him…An example of the second way is when one gives him food and clothing, or heals his infirmities, or protects his body, or teaches him something better and incites him to do good, and so on.

It is not sufficient for salvation that a man merely refrain from doing hard and evil to his neighbor with these goods.  It is required rather that he be useful to him and benefit him with these…goods.

[God] has given to us His seed, that is, the external, internal, and intermediate goods.  It is not sufficient that we accept this and not produce thorns, offenses, and tribulations, not injuring our neighbor, but rather we must bring forth fruit by doing good to others.

All the goods we have are from God and they are not given to us to retain  and abuse, but rather to dispense.”

What does this look like practically for me and you? 

Well, in order to use our money and possessions to make friendships that will introduce people to eternal life through God’s love for them in Jesus, we first and foremost give generously to our local congregation.  

There is a Biblical example of giving 10% of your pre-tax income to the local congregation to enable the church to have what it needs to continue sharing the love of God in Jesus with the members, parishioners, and community.  This 10% of your pre-tax income is what is referred to when we hear the Bible use the word “tithe” as your personal responsibility to the church that you call home. 

I will say this, if every Christian trusted God’s ability to provide for their needs and didn’t live in fear of ending up in a state of want, and if every Christian trusted the will and plan of God to save sinners through the teaching, preaching, and exalting Jesus as the only Savior that rescues our friends, family, children, co-workers, school acquaintances, neighbors, etc., from the wrath of God and condemnation in Hell, and in proper response gave 10% of their income to their church home, no church would struggle and the work churches could do would be multiplied exponentially.  

Ensuring that your church and other church related ministries are funded is the major way that you use your money and possessions to provide a place to make friends and include new friends that will have the peace and hope of outliving this current world with you.

I ask you this morning, in light of the Biblical text chosen for us by the lectionary for this day, to evaluate your understand and attitude toward the money and goods you have been given by God in this world.

Do you grab cash and make a stash to be used on yourself and your personal enjoyment?  Or, do you grab cash and dispense it in a flash to God’s Church to help God’s Church preach and teach the mercy of God that has compassion on sinners like me and you so that those that are lost to God can be found and rejoice in an eternal love and hope that their Creator has for them.

This morning, I do ask you to consider your views toward money and evaluate where you have been greedy, stingy, and ungodly, not putting the good of others and their salvation over your desire to accrue wealth to live in luxury.  Where have you served money by working more hours than you should to the detriment of spending time with your family and being involved in the life of your Savior’s Church on earth?  Where are you stashing cash because you don’t trust God to fulfill his promise of meeting every one of your needs?

When money comes your way, money that ultimately belongs to God, do you think, “Now I can buy a new car, get a new cell phone, buy $400 sneakers, purchase a $1000 handbag, go on vacation, or gamble it away.”

Or, when money comes your way, that ultimately belongs to God, do you think, before all else, I have to give a portion of this to the church, or, I get to increase the giving I already do to the church?

Jesus reminds you of this:

[19] “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

[24] “No one 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. (Matthew 6.19-24, ESV)

Look to Jesus this morning to put your earthly goods into God’s perspective which should be your perspective if you have faith in God’s mercy toward you in Jesus.

God gave Jesus the goods of His mercy and grace when Jesus stepped off of His throne in Heaven.  Jesus brought those goods of God’s grace and mercy fully and immediately to you through His death on the cross for your Sin and the establishment of the Church—God’s visible Kingdom on earth where you could continually be recipients of God’s mercy and grace leading you to outlive this world through resurrection from the dead and friendship with God in eternal life.

Jesus was the steward of God’s mercy and grace for your good.

Jesus was the faithful manager and used God’s mercy and grace in order to make you a friend who outlives this world with Him.

This morning, confess and repent of your sin that led you to mismanage the money and possessions that God has given you.

This morning, place your faith in Jesus who forgives you through His death on the cross where he properly managed God’s mercy and grace toward you.

And, as a friend of God, properly use your earthly goods to provide places and opportunities to ensure others are led to eternal life.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace and Mercy of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

September 21, 2025.

Prayer:

Generous God, thank you for providing what I need and so much more. Help me to live in your blessing and so be a blessing to others. Amen.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Money Talks

Mark 12.41-44

Tailored suits, chauffeured cars

Fine hotels and big cigars

A French maid, foreign chef

A big house with king-size bed

Hey little girl, you want it all

The furs, the diamonds, the painting on the wall,

Come on, come on, listen to the money talk

These lyrics, highlighting a luxury lifestyle that is all up for grabs if you have enough money, come from AC/DC’s 1990 hit song, Money Talks.

In a Westernized world, dominated by capitalism, we all know that money talks.  If you want it or need it, you have to flash the cash.

However, as the Bible warns us several times over, money is an addiction.  We can become so engulfed in wanting that new car or that next vacation, that we are willing to throw away and sacrifice, time with our spouse and kids, time building supportive relationships with our friends, and leisure time for stimulating our brain.

In Biblical terms, money can very, very easily become an idol.  An idol being something that we chase after and trust more than God our Father in Heaven who has created us and promised to provide for our every need.

In this morning’s text, we hear how two different people handled their money when it came to giving a financial gift to the Temple and how their money talked and what it said about their beliefs.

Mark 12:41–44 says this:

[41] And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. [42] And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. [43] And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. [44] For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” (ESV)

In this story, recorded for us by the disciple Mark, we see that Jesus was in the temple and observed people as they came to put their monetary gifts in the offering box.

If people were giving money at the temple, we have to ask questions like, “why were they giving money at the temple?, and “what was that money being used for at the temple?”

Well, the Jerusalem Temple had 13 trumpet-shaped offering boxes in the Court of Women, where people could place contributions for specific purposes: 

Offering boxes 1 and 2 were where you paid the temple tax. One chest was for the current year and one chest was for the previous year.

Offering boxes 3 through 7 were for turtledoves, pigeons, wood, incense, and golden vessels.

Offering box 8 was for money left over from sin offerings.

Offering boxes 9 through 12 were for money left over from guilt offerings.

And, offering box 13 was for voluntary contributions.  In today’s church language, we would call this a “free-will offering.”

The boxes were shaped liked trumpets so that coins could easily be dropped in while making a noise signifying the act of giving.

To sum all of this up, people would give money at the temple so that the temple had the resources it needed to continue operating and doing the work of God in the world.  

So, with all of that historical context, we can easily transfer the question and answer about financial giving to our monetary gifts at the church today.

Why do we give money at the Church on Sunday Morning?  Why do we bring money and put it in the offering box in the foyer?

We give money at the Church so that the Church has the resources it needs to continue operating and doing the work of God in the world.  To be more specific, the Church uses the money to share the love of God in the Good New of Jesus Christ alive, dead, and resurrected for the forgiveness of sins, the gift of righteousness, and eternal life in Heaven.

To be very specific, to do that work of God here at Bethel, the money given as an offering to God is used to provide Bibles and teaching curriculum to Children’s Church, Women’s Bible Study, Confirmation, Youth Group, Bethel Kids, etc.  

The money given as an offering to God is also used to make donations to people doing the work of God in our community and nation.  We are currently making monthly donations to Helping Hand Rescue Mission (a Huntington Station mission that provides food, clothing, and various other daily resources to those in need) as well as a chaplain at Urban Sky (who brings Bibles and teaches Bible Study at a women’s prison in Denver Colorado).

And, the money given as an offering to God is used to pay the utility bills, maintenance bills, the pastor’s salary, as well as other operating expenses, to ensure that the church is ready daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly to welcome people in to hear the proclamation of the Good News and be comforted by the grace and mercy of God for them in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Our text shows three reasons why people give financial gifts at the Temple and Church. Those three reasons are (1) Showing Off, (2) Obligation, and (3) Thankfulness.  

Let’s begin with giving money at the church to show off and increase our pride.

In our text, Jesus sees the rich putting large sums of money into the offering box.  By comparing them to the giving of the poor widow, Jesus illustrates that they weren’t using their financial donations as an act of thanksgiving and worship, but instead they were using their financial giving to put on a show and gain praise from others for being generous.

Jesus speaks about this wrong way of making a financial offering in His Sermon recorded in Matthew 5-7.  

In Matthew 6:1–4, Jesus says:

[1] “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

[2] “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. [3] But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, [4] so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (ESV)

Let’s move on to the idea of giving money to the Church because you feel like you have to and are being forced to.

Over the Christmas break, I was having a conversation about God’s command for us to financially give in the Church.  Those that I was having this conversation with shared that they did not like the part of the Church Service when the offering was taken.

They shared feelings of forced obligation.

The forced obligation would often cause them to scramble in their pockets and purses for something to put in the offering plate or box in order to save themselves from embarrassment.  

My conversation partners are not alone.  I am sure we have all felt those feelings (and maybe still do) when it comes to supporting God’s Church with our money.

However, when God commands financial giving to the church, He does not do so to embarrass us or strong arm us.  

Those feelings only come out of our sins of greed, pride, and showmanship.

We think things like:

“Who is the Church to request my hard earned money?”  

“I work so that I can do the things I want to do and buy the things I want to buy!”

And, “If I am going to give, I am going to make sure people see me give and talk about my giving and generosity to others.”

These selfish and self-centered thoughts, words, and actions, fly directly in the face of God’s design for money.

Deuteronomy 8:18 says:

[18] You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (ESV)

And, since God has given you the means to receive money for your daily needs, Proverbs 3:9 says:

[9] Honor the LORD with your wealth

and with the firstfruits of all your produce; (ESV)

Finally,

[6] The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. [7] Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:6–7, ESV)

So, that brings us to the poor widow who gave all that she had to live on.

Several years ago, there was a homeless man who came to Bethel on a regular basis.  Social services had placed him at one of the motels nearby on Jericho Turnpike and he would walk here on Sunday mornings and sit in the front pew.

Back then, before the COVID pandemic when we passed offering plates around, I would watch him every Sunday morning, reach into his pockets and pull out a few coins to place in the offering plate.  At one point, after a service, he said to me, “I don’t have much, but that will never stop me from giving an offering because I am so thankful for what God has given me and I want to make do my best to make sure other people will know that He has given them Jesus too!”

To say I was humbled to the very core of my being would be an understatement.  

Just like the poor widow in this morning’s text, this homeless man was giving money to God’s Church out of pure thanksgiving with joy.

This morning, are you concerned with,

Tailored suits, chauffeured cars

Fine hotels and big cigars

A French maid, foreign chef

A big house with king-size bed

The furs, the diamonds, the painting on the wall,

Or, are you concerned with,

The cross of Christ, forgiven sin

Righteousness, eternal livin’

Being generous, sharing love,

The will of God, in Heaven above?

The poor widow, in our Biblical text, was concerned and consumed by,

The cross of Christ, forgiven sin

Righteousness, eternal livin’

Being generous, sharing love,

The will of God, in Heaven above.

Hearing all of this, we know that we have not been faithful mangers of our money or good stewards of the money that God has given us.  We have been greedy, selfish, and stingy.  So, what do we do?  

We do what we do with every other sin, we confess it, repent of it, and place our faith in Jesus who always treated money in a God honoring way.

When asked about paying taxes by people who didn’t want to pay taxes, Jesus said, 

[21] …render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:2, ESV)

Through faith in Jesus, which fully unites to Jesus, we are given Jesus’ perfect record of always using money for God honoring purposes. 

The poor widow joyfully and thankfully realized that God gave to her more than she could ever give to God.  She realized that she could never out-give God.

The poor widow knew this because her Savior, Jesus, was standing before her in the temple.  She knew that she was wretched and sinful, separated from God.  But, she also new that God’s desire was to reconnect her back to Himself.  So, God gave His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, to forgive her sin, cleanse her of her lifetime of disobedience to God’s commands for life and love, and reconciled her relationship with Him eternally.

You can imagine her singing these words as she was placing her offering in the box:

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

  Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—

    “Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

God is the greatest giver.

He doesn’t give you nonsense.  He gives you want you need.

After providing for your ultimate need—forgiveness—God also promises and fulfills his promise to give you what you need on a daily basis.

The poor widow’s generously giving all of what she had financially shows her absolute trust in God’s daily provision as well.  

Continuing on in 2 Corinthians 9.8-15, we are told this:

[8] And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. [9] As it is written,

“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;

his righteousness endures forever.”

[10] He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. [11] You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. [12] For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. [13] By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, [14] while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. [15] Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! (ESV)

When your God-given money talks, does it say, “Look at me, I am so generous!,” or, does your money say, “I have to pinch and store up and watch every penny because deep down I don’t really trust God to provide for me?”

Or, when your money talks, does it say, “Look at the Grace of God for you in Jesus Christ!”

This morning and this year, put your money where your mouth is.

Joyfully and with thanksgiving, let your money talk and say, “There is Power in the Blood!”

Joyfully and with thanksgiving, let your money talk and say, God’s love for me is so great that it is actually fully, “Indescribable!”

Joyfully and with thanksgiving, let your money talk and say, “To God Be the Glory!”

I exhort you and encourage you, like the poor widow in this morning’s Biblical text, respond in thanksgiving to God’s giving of Jesus to you by honoring God with your money and give generously to His Church and her ministries that allow other people to hear, receive, and believe, the Good News of forgiveness and eternal life that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

January 12, 2025.