The Unjust Steward, Or, Sandwiches Anyone?
PASTOR KAREN: Before we begin the sermon, the youth actually
have a quick announcement to make. Sorry I forgot you earlier, guys. You can go
ahead now, while I run back to my office to grab something I forgot. It seems
to be my day for forgetting things!
ELIZABETH: Hi!
I’m Elizabeth Criss, and I’d like to talk to you for just a moment on behalf of
all the youth standing here, and a few who couldn’t make it this morning.
JEANETTE: Yeah – like it’s too early for some people to get out of bed – wish MY
parents got THAT memo—
Students around Jeanette giggle and roll their eyes in
agreement.
ELIZABETH: (Shooting a
look of annoyance to Jeanette) Yes, as I was saying, I am representing the
Grace Youth Group with an announcement about an upcoming fundraiser. We’ve been
working hard making and trying to sell these sandwiches to support our trips to
FreeRide and RoadTrip this year. We really need your support.
BEN: Yeah, so, we have some to sell today, we’re going to be
taking orders, and making the sandwiches, and selling them from now until FreeRide.
ELIZABETH: OR until they are all sold, so that we
can all go.
(gestures with hands as if praying/pleading and mouths,
“please, please!” – the rest of the youth mimic him/her)
BEN: So, if you have any questions, please contact Matthew
or Christopher. Matthew and Chris are two of our senior youth, and Mr. Kevin
has put them in charge of keeping track of this fundraiser.
Kevin has been standing off to the side. As he makes his way
to the front-center, he gestures with his hands while saying,
KEVIN: Yes, so if you have any questions, about the
sandwiches or the fundraiser itself, please call THEM and not ME.
JACK: But wait!........Jack looks all around.
I don’t see them. Where ARE Matthew and Chris? Since they’re
in charge, THEY should be here too!
JEANETTE: Right!
Like, WE all had to be here, and they’re in charge, so why aren’t THEY here?
All of the youth act like they are looking for Matthew and
Chris and grumble
KEVIN: loudly Christopher! Matthew! Yelling Christopher!
Matthew!
Matthew and Chris enter from the sacristy door, shoving food
into their mouths and eating quickly.
CHRIS: Mmph?
MATTHEW: Uh, yes?
NEVEN: Are you eating the sandwiches?
JACK: The sandwiches we’ve been working our fingers to the
bone to make?
JEANETTE: I’ve been smelling like ham and turkey and pickles
for weeks!
BEN: I dream – no, it’s more like a nightmare - that I’m
drowning in huge pots of mustard and mayonnaise!
Other youth start grumbling. KEVIN tries shushing them.
NEVEN: You are supposed to be leading us!
JEANETTE: Yeah! But you haven’t given us any direction!
You’ve just sat there eating sandwiches! Sandwiches WE all made!
JACK: What a waste!
Youth are ALL muttering, grumbling to themselves and each
other, gesturing toward Chris and Matthew, start shoving each other, a couple
sit down on the step of the chancel, head in hands.
 |
| Our Youth Managers are summoned by Mr. Kevin |
KEVIN: (to the congregation) I’m
sorry, um, please excuse us for a minute.
Kevin drags Chris and Matthew off to the pulpit side. As he
talks to them, the other youth shush each other and very obviously try to
listen in.
KEVIN: This is a warning. You guys need to take care of
this, but I have to tell you that I am really, really disappointed in you. You
get one more shot, or else.
MATTHEW: Or - else what?
KEVIN: Or else you are suspended from Youth Group for not
doing your part!
The youth all gasp. Kevin shoots them “a look” then continues
on.seniors are supposed to set the example for the younger
members.
CHRIS and MATTHEW hang their heads.
KEVIN: If you don’t shape up, Chris, I’ll call the synod and
there will be no going to FreeRide for you. Neither one of you will go on
RoadTrip in January. And you will not go on any of our outing between now and
then. This is serious. I – and they – are counting on you to do your job. Now
do it, or you’re out!
KEVIN gives the youth one last look, looks pointedly at
Matthew and Chris, then leaves via the pulpit side door.
CHRIS and MATTHEW begin to walk slowly toward the center
while talking.
CHRIS: I told you that was a bad idea
MATTHEW: That’s not important! We need to find a way to get
in the other kids’ good graces.
CHRIS: You mean, get them on our side so that maybe Kevin
will see and stop being mad at us?
MATTHEW: Exactly! But I don’t know what we’ll do…
The youth begin to talk among themselves.
JEANETTE: I’m having a hard time selling all these
sandwiches!
JACK: Yeah! Me too!
NEVEN: I still can’t believe we have to sell 10 sandwiches
EACH.
CHRIS: I have an idea! Walks over to one of the youth.
CHRIS: Okay, how many sandwiches have you sold?
JEANETTE: Three.
CHRIS: Okay, we’ll write down that you sold 5.
JEANETTE: Wow! Thanks!
CHRIS turns to JACK.
CHRIS: How many have YOU sold?
JACK: Uh, four.
MATTHEW: (to Chris) Okay, I get it –
MATTHEW: (to JACK) We’ll
write down you sold, (he hesitates, looks at Chris) – seven!
CHRIS nods approvingly, smiles.
MATTHEW and CHRIS go down the line quietly, continuing to do
the same for each youth. As they go, youth who have already gotten a break
compare notes with each other and high-five each other. This continues while KEVIN
reenters the room with PASTOR KAREN behind him. They stand there for a moment
while CHRIS and MATTHEW go on, unaware that KEVIN and the PASTOR are watching
them.
KEVIN: Christopher! Matthew!
CHRIS and MATTHEW freeze for a moment. They slowly turn to
face KEVIN while they say to each other,
CHRIS: Uh oh!
MATTHEW: I TOLD YOU IT WAS A BAD IDEA!
KEVIN: moving toward the boys Bad? Au contrair! Thank
you! You’ve done exactly what I asked of you – you showed leadership and you
handled this problem on your own.
CHRIS: Thanks? Oh! Um. You’re welcome!?
 |
| Youth receive relief from their indebtedness. |
MATTHEW: It was all MY idea!
KEVIN: You have truly shown compassion for your fellow
youth.
MATTHEW: We did?
CHRIS: Yeah, we know – that’s what we were going for.
JEANETTE: But for the right reasons? Or the wrong reasons?
Kids all start to talk amongst themselves, high-five each
other, laugh and playfully shove one another.
PASTOR KAREN Bangs “gavel”.
KEVIN: Turning to look at Karen. Why do I suddenly
feel like we’re on trial and you are the judge?
PASTOR: Just trying to restore a little order here. Okay,
thank you, Youth of Grace – for, um, your announcement, this would be a good
time for you to go back to your seats now.
KEVIN: But wait a minute. Jeanette asked a very good
question. A lot of people might question why I might think that what Chris and
Matthew did was a good thing.
PASTOR: And what would you say to them?
KEVIN: Well, you know, I got to thinking about it, and what
just happened here reminded me a lot about the gospel lesson we just heard.
PASTOR: Really?
KEVIN: Yes, really.
PASTOR: Please, say more.
KEVIN: Well, in the gospel, the manager went through his
accounts and he gave all of them a break on what they owed, right? I was
reading about this lesson last week. The amounts these people owed were worth
like one or two years’ wages for the
average worker. One or two YEARS! So he really, REALLY did them a favor –
PASTOR: That’s true,
KEVIN: So when I saw Matthew and Christopher bargaining with
the youth and letting them off the hook, I guess I just got carried away.
Because it seemed like the same thing, and it felt like I was cast in the role of the rich man. In the story from the
gospel, it seemed like he was pleased. And the kids were all stressing out and
suddenly they seemed so relieved. So that was a good thing, right?
PASTOR: You’re right Kevin, It does seem a lot like our
gospel, doesn’t it?
JEANETTE: Standing. But Pastor Karen, I’m confused.
PASTOR: Why is that, Jeanette?
JEANETTE: Because even though we kids were stressed out, and even though what Chris and Matt did helped
us out and made us feel good, it really wasn’t fair when you think about it. And in the gospel, it really isn’t fair what the manager did. The people
didn’t pay what they really owed. If you owe somebody something you’re supposed
to pay them back in full. It seems to me like cheating. The manager cheated and
Matthew and Chris cheated and we all benefitted. That’s not fair. But you’re
saying something good happened here and it’s like the gospel. Can you help me
out here?
PASTOR: Well, Jeanette, here’s one way to look at it. And
remember, it really is just one way to look at it. Parables like this
one are designed to make us think, and question, and continually look for
parallels on how they might help us to understand how the kingdom of God works.
They invite us to really think about how God’s justice looks different,
sometimes, from justice the way the world sees it. And to be honest, my
friends, this parable is one of the most difficult
to try and work with.
But this is how I think we can make sense of it today. In
the parable, the debtors owed amounts that were staggering, just like Kevin
said. It was unlikely that they would ever
be able to pay them off, no matter how hard they tried. Imagine having credit
card debt in this day and age, and owing an amount equal or better than one or
two years of your income - you would never
be able to pay it off. If you’re lucky you might
be able to pay the minimum payment due each month – if you’re lucky - but
with interest rates growing your debt each month, you become hopeless of ever
being able to retire the debt. After all, if you had that kind of money, you wouldn’t have the debt to begin with.
It’s the same way with sin. Sin is our debt, and we all know
that no matter how hard we try, we just can’t stop sinning and we can’t pay off
our debt. We can’t cancel the debt.
We just keep adding to it.
But then Jesus comes along. Jesus does even more than the manager was able to do in
this parable, he forgives our debt entirely – no, actually, the truth is
that he pays it for us. Jesus pays our debt on the cross, and it is at the foot
of the cross, when we come to understand the enormous cost of this gift, and the life-changing relief that it brings, that
we begin to understand the truth about grace. Is it expected? No. Is it fair?
No way! Does it look anything like
the system of checks and balances, what we think of as just, or in any way
resemble the way economy works in our world? Not on your life! But that’s how
it is in the kingdom of God. God does the most unexpected, unreasonable, unfair thing in the universe, when God
sent Jesus to set us free from the indebtedness of our sin.
When Jesus came to set us free, he turned the expectations
of the world, especially those having to do with what is fair and what is not,
upside down and inside out. Because God loves us enough not to play by our rules. That’s what we call grace. It comes to us freely. Grace comes to us unexpectedly, when
we are in over our heads in sin, drowning with it in fact, with our debt
multiplying daily, and God frees us from the debt we owe. When God does that
our lives are changed and transformed in ways we never thought possible.
When I read the rich man’s response to what seems like the
crazy dealings of the manager, I am reminded of God’s words regarding Jesus. “This is my son, with whom I am well
pleased.” I think that one way we can look at this parable and at what
happened here today, is to compare the good news of this gospel with the
reality of our lives – God’s grace means that no matter who you are, and no
matter how hard you are struggling or how deeply you feel your failings, Jesus
is always coming to you, standing there beside you, relieving the burden of your
sin so that you might live fully into the kingdom of God. Freed from the enormous
burden of our sin, we are able to share the good news of God’s grace and mercy
with everyone you meet, even, and especially, with those who are deeply
indebted to you.
KEVIN: You know, Pastor Karen that reminds me of the movie, Pay It Forward - you know, the one with
Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey? Well, in that movie somebody is given a great gift, with no expectation of paying
the giver back. Instead they pay the kindness forward - they can gift other
people in a chain of random gifts of kindness and I guess, using your word,
grace.
PASTOR: Well said, Kevin. Well, I guess the youth had more
to tell us about this morning than a simple fund raiser, whether they knew it
or not! I think that they have helped us begin to think about God’s love and
God’s sense of justice and how much bigger, more surprising, and liberating
they really are. Today, I think we can begin by thanking God for paying our
debt, for the gift of grace, and for freeing us so that we might “pay it forward” for the Kingdom of God.
Amen.
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