Sermon for Trinity 14

preached the Revd Lucie Spiers, at St Barnabas Jericho on Sunday 21 September 2025

It seems we live in a world dominated by accountancy. Last week, the latest league table of billionaires was published, and the businessman and entrepreneur Larry Ellison, who, according to recent national headlines, is buying up Oxford, briefly overtook Elon Musk as the richest man in the world. But does the creation and apparent fascination with these statistics imply that we have made the accumulation of wealth a virtue? Have we lost sight of the concept that wealth is actually not ‘ours’?

Of the four gospel writers it is Luke who has the most to say about wealth and poverty. His choice and organisation of material guides his audience to understand that how you handle your money is closely related to following Jesus.

Nine of the parables in his Gospel mention money, including two with the description ‘Rich’ in their titles - the Rich Fool and the Rich Man and Lazarus. Today’s Gospel text again speaks of a ‘rich man’, this time in the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, a masterful example of moral ambiguity and blessed opportunism.

It may seem difficult to draw a clear moral from this parable. Jesus does not say in today’s text ‘Go and do likewise’. He simply states, ‘This is how it is in this world. This is how the children of the world get by’. And once we understand this, the text, which initially appeared confusing, now begins to become clear, offering an important allegory that our earthly riches cannot be separated from our spiritual riches.

The manager is a scoundrel, and probably his master is too, and they both seem to attempt to exploit one another. The master is suspicious of the manager and suspects underhand dealings. So he asks to audit the accounts, at which the manager gulps. He has no proper accounts; that much is clear as he begins to alter what the debtors owe. The manager has likely loaned money, probably at a high interest rate. That is why, when it comes to quickly cashing in what he needs to replenish his master’s coffers, he can be flexible. With one debtor, he reduces half of what they owe, and with another, almost a quarter, depending on their need or perhaps their initial gullibility in agreeing to his terms of the loan. 

Now, through these apparent acts of generosity, his former clients can become potential benefactors for the future. And the master? Well, he observes all that is happening from a distance, likely with some amusement. At the end of this scenario, he congratulates the manager. Perhaps he recognises in the manager how he himself accumulated his wealth.

But is this all there is to the story? If so why did Jesus tell it?

I believe his point is not about how the manager handled things, but rather the urgency of his response when called to account by the Master. For then he made ready. He knew that if he didn’t, he would be doomed.

Jesus tells us that we will also be called to account, that we must be shrewd with our money and faithful with our earthly wealth so that we can do strategic heavenly good. So how should we respond? Are we setting our ‘accounts’ in order? Or do we simply think, and hope, that ‘It will work out somehow’ or that we’ll ‘deal with it later’?

The manager uses his shrewdness to win himself grateful friends, and pointing to this man's practical sense Jesus says, “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.” These words remind us of the nature of the church. For the church is not a disparate group of individuals vaguely navigating a shared course. It is a communion - a community. And we are all called to bear each other's burdens, helping each other reach a common goal.

So, when Jesus speaks of making friends with unrighteous wealth, he is not referring to bribery but rather to wealth over which we claim rightful ownership. We are not meant to view wealth as an end in itself to hoard or accumulate but to use it for the benefit of others.

That is, to prepare ourselves for heaven, where everything given is a gift. We are called to put this principle first, to keep our focus on God’s kingdom, rather than pretending to serve the kingdom while what we really seek is riches for ourselves. 

How concerned are we for the needs of others? Are we willing to share our goods? Do we understand that we are managers entrusted with means we cannot truly claim as our own, and that we will have to give an account for our choices in how we use those means, whether for good, for evil, or simply out of indifference? 

In the here and now we are shaping our eternity in the kingdom of God. That kingdom operates by the law of Christ, who sacrificed himself for us. He offered his life willingly so that others might live. This is the example we are called to follow. Beneath the manager’s shrewdness, dishonesty, and even desperation, Jesus uses this parable to point us to the reality that we are placed on this earth not to exploit one another, but to love and care for one another. As John Chrysostom, with his customary directness, preached: “Do you want to honour the Body of Christ? Do not despise him naked. Do not honour him here with silk vestments while you deny him outside, afflicted with cold and nakedness.”

The challenge is to see the bigger picture illustrated throughout the gospel: who exactly God is in comparison with money: our God, who seeks relationship with us, who does not use us, and who cannot be used. There is no doubt that Jesus cares about how we use money, but he focuses on our relationship with wealth and how it influences our connection with others and especially with God. 

Our treasure, talent, and time should be invested in compassion and love. We are called to give as Jesus gave and to love as Jesus loves us. The more we freely offer mercy and compassion to our neighbours—who need it just as much as we do—the more we are building up what our Lord called ‘true riches,’ the riches of salvation. If we forget or sacrifice this in our pursuit of material wealth, we have gone astray, for we cannot serve both God and money.

We must not forget that God, like the Master, is observing our decisions – the time to act is now. For Jesus, our soundest investment is to be in communion with His Father, loving God and our neighbour.

These are spiritual riches always freely available to us. All we need to do is be open to receiving them, desire them, and to strive for them, for everything else will pass away. 

For it is love - love given and received by the grace of God that never ends.