Rochester, MN UCC - "You Cannot Serve God and Wealth" - Luke 16:1-13

In 2023, former billionaire Charles Feeny passed away after spending his final years living in a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco. The founder of Duty-Free Shopping had amassed a fortune of over 8 billion dollars and then managed to donate over 8 billion dollars to charity before his death. To a certain way of thinking a billionaire who descends to the middle class is a classic case of failure. But Charles Feeny's goal was to give away all of his wealth, to use it to help others, and he succeeded in a most admirable way.

 In this Sunday’s lesson from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the story of the dishonest manager. A rich man accuses his manager of stealing and demands an account of his management before he is fired. The manager realizes that he is in crisis, that he must act swiftly to secure his future, and so he summons his master’s debtors one by one and reduces their debts. His hope is that some of these people to whom he gave a break will welcome him into their homes and help him after he is fired. Jesus compliments the dishonest manager’s shrewd response to finding himself in such a crisis. He says, “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.”

 The Word of God places us all in a moment of crisis just like that of the dishonest manager. The gospel calls us out of the ways of the world and into the new life of Jesus Christ. A question is put to us. How will we live? What will we serve? Will we live in service of wealth and greed and the ways of the world, or will we live in service to God and in the hopes of a place in God’s kingdom? Much like the dishonest manager, Charles Feeny acted shrewdly and decisively to secure himself a place in God’s kingdom. He decided to use his wealth in service of God and those whom God loves. Charles Feeny made many friends by his decision to serve God by giving away his wealth and Jesus assures us that they will welcome him into his eternal home. May God help each one of us to commit once more to God’s service, to use our blessings to bless others, and to live in hope that God will entrust us with the true riches of eternal life. Amen.

 Rev. Andrew Greenhaw