Faithfulness

This is the English-translated outline of the sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the congregations of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Sunday, September 21, 2025, drawing from Luke 16:1-13.

Today's Scripture passage can be quite a puzzling one, and it kind of makes you want to say - with our usual, Kansai-dialect bluntness - "Is that really ok? Making friends for yourselves with unrighteous wealth?" Is Jesus actually endorsing ill-gotten gains here?

It certainly seems that way, at least at first.

The master actually praised the steward who had been embezzling his property, praised him for making connections that would benefit the master even after his deceit was discovered. So...does this mean that we should just fudge our accounts, satisfy our own selfish desires, and just live a life focused only on our own needs, to the exclusion of all else?

That is how it seems to be written, but there's another more nuanced phrase in here which, I think, is important: “If you are not faithful in handling dishonest wealth... will anyone trust you with what is truly valuable?” Jesus's here seems to be to address our fundamental attitude. That is, someone who is desperate to save themselves—even using dishonest wealth—isn't actually fixated on the wealth itself, but focused on preserving their own life. On fear. Of course, this then begs the question, will that ill-gotten wealth truly do for them in the end? Will it save them from what they fear? When they realize there exists a more certain and trustworthy “salvation,” won't they ultimately seek that instead?

This is what brings us to the ultimate question: God or wealth?

That steward likely resorted to dishonesty because he wanted to satisfy his desires, or satisfy his fears, at that specific moment in time. But were they truly satisfied? Can the friends gained through ill-gotten wealth truly grant him an eternal dwelling place, or true security? How reliable are the friendships formed through such relationships? Even if everything went well for this steward at the time, he would likely come to feel a great emptiness, once he was locked into living that kind of life, day in and day out, just to survive. Perhaps what the master praised was not the dishonesty, but the steward's genuine desire to be saved. Even if he didn't say “I'm sorry” then, or couldn't say it, his very act of seeking help, seeking salvation—that way of life—was recognized, at the very least.

As long as there is a desire to be saved, all manner of other mistakes can be forgiven.

Let us pray.

God, we live our lives surrounded by various temptations. In the midst of them, you taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Yet even when we are facing great temptation, may we still lift our eyes to you, believe in the promise of your salvation, and continue walking with you, no matter how difficult the path may be.

We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who taught us this prayer.

Amen.