Proper 20, Pentecost 18, Ordinary Time 25
Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series II, Cycle C Gospel Texts
Liturgical Color: Green
Gospel: Luke 16:1-13
Theme: A Lesson in the Careful Management of One's Resources. How carefully do we manage the resources of our time, money, and energy; or do we only feel guilty on occasions, and do what we want anyway?
Remembering Who God Is
Music for Preparation
"Chaconne," Buxtehude.
Pastoral Invitation
Pastor and Ministers
(Have an alarm clock set to go off immediately after the prelude; let it ring for fifteen seconds.)
P: Wake up! Wake up! We will need our heart, mind, will, and energy available as we come to today's Gospel. We are not an audience, but a congregation; not spectators, but participants. God, as Active Audience, looks on to see what's going on, in the lives of those who are here, and in the lives of those who are not here. "Attention, please!" God says.
M: You, pastor, got our attention.
P: Good, that was my intention. Now, are you ready to be attentive to God; for our attention to God is more important than your attention to me.
M: We're ready, at least for now, so "hit us while the iron is hot."
Hymn of Praise
"Let All Things Now Living," Katherine K. Davis, 1939; alt.; Welsh folk melody; harm. Gerald H. Knight (1908-1979).
Prayer of Praise
Focus this prayer on God's perseverance and our prudence.
Facing Up To Ourselves
Introduction to the Act of Recognizing Our Humanity
Read the Gospel from the Cotton Patch Version; read slowly and deliberately; let the message soak in. In our business, neighborhood, personal transactions, how prudent are we? How about you children, when you trade baseball or football cards? How do you go about getting the best deal? Do you always tell the truth, follow the rules? (Three minutes of silence.)
Response
Offer a prayer which reflects what Jesus is saying; for Jesus is praising the resourcefulness of the dishonest estate manager.
Introduction to the Act of Receiving New Life
Let's understand that Jesus is not condoning or praising the owner of the steward, just as he refuses to condone our dishonesty. So, are we willing to see ourselves as God sees us, and to receive forgiveness for our dishonesty? Receive God's gift, and change your behavior.
Response
"How Blest Are Those," Fred R. Anderson, 1986; Memmingen ms., seventeenth century; harm. George Ratcliff Woodward, 1904.
Remembering Our Reason For Being By Hearing The Truth
Message with the Children of All Ages
Tell the Gospel lesson in your own words. The Cotton Patch Version may help. Make certain that the children know that Jesus is not condoning dishonesty. Instead, he is praising the steward's shrewdness. Define shrewdness, and illustrate it from your experience. Maybe this story from television's Dr. Marcus Welby (who always understood everybody's problems and pain) will help. Dr. Welby was tending a boy with leukemia. His parents refused to tell him the truth about his disease. He responded, "The young do not want it easy; they want it honest."
Response
"Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God," Jim Strathdee, from New Wine. (See Appendix I for address.)
Dramatizing the Scripture
Well ahead of time, ask someone to rewrite the Gospel in his/her own situation for today. Ask your drama group to enact the event.
Proclamation of the Good News
Ernest Trice Thompson, in a Presbyterian Outlook article (2/13/67), expresses the intent of this story. Faithfulness in the use of our money is essential if we expect God to entrust the heavenly riches to our keeping. Unfaithfulness in the use of our money will bar our promotion to higher service; for our earthly wealth is ours as a loan, a trust, withdrawn at any moment. Because people easily misunderstand this story, make certain that we realize it is not Jesus who commends the steward, but his master; and he commends the master, not for his unfaithfulness, but for his shrewdness. One commentator points out, "That which is commended in this manager is that, with the certainty of a day of judgment, he gets ready for it." In other words, people of the world are more prudent when it comes to considering their earthly interests than the children of God are when it comes to providing for their heavenly interests. You may want to divide the message into three points: (1) Farsightedness. (2) Imagination. (3) Perseverance.
Response
"Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service," Albert F. Bayly, 1961; alt.; Welsh melody.
Taking Responsibility For Responding To The Word
Stewardship Challenge
Jesus is saying in this story, "Oh, that my followers were as practical and as prudent in God's affairs as these worldly pagans are in their business; if only Christians were as keen on their faith and service as businessmen and women, industrialists, are in their affairs." So, how carefully do we manage the resources of our time, money, and energy?
Prayer Following the Offering
God, you hold us accountable for all that you have given us -- our lives, education, homes, business, friends, wealth. As we have been prospered, so inspire us to give to you through your needy world.
Charge to the Congregation
In the light of today's Gospel, we have two courses open to us: (1) We can carefully preserve the status quo; or, (2) we can emulate the unjust steward. Which do you choose?
Hymn of Obedience
"Take Thou Our Minds, Dear Lord." (See Pentecost 2.)
Meditation
"Thinking is easy; acting is difficult; putting one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world" (Goethe).
Music Possibilities In Addition To Those Already Suggested
Music for Preparation: "Before Thy Throne," J. S. Bach.
Prayer of Praise: "Here, O Lord, Your Servants Gather," Tokuo Yamaguchi, 1958; trans. Everett M. Stowe, 1958; alt., 1972, Japanese gagaku mode; Isao Koizumi, 1958.
Response to the Gospel: (Adult Choir) "Send Out Thy Light," Gounod.
Response to the Proclamation: "He Comes To Us," Jane Marshall; text, Albert Schweitzer.
Offertory: "Tallis' Canon," Thomas Tallis.
Hymn of Obedience: "We Give Thee But Thine Own." (See Easter 5.)
Response to the Benediction: "We're Gonna (1) Live ... (2) Give."
Music for Dismissal: "Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven," Henry Francis Lyte, 1834; alt., John Goss, 1869.
Gospel: Luke 16:1-13
Theme: A Lesson in the Careful Management of One's Resources. How carefully do we manage the resources of our time, money, and energy; or do we only feel guilty on occasions, and do what we want anyway?
Remembering Who God Is
Music for Preparation
"Chaconne," Buxtehude.
Pastoral Invitation
Pastor and Ministers
(Have an alarm clock set to go off immediately after the prelude; let it ring for fifteen seconds.)
P: Wake up! Wake up! We will need our heart, mind, will, and energy available as we come to today's Gospel. We are not an audience, but a congregation; not spectators, but participants. God, as Active Audience, looks on to see what's going on, in the lives of those who are here, and in the lives of those who are not here. "Attention, please!" God says.
M: You, pastor, got our attention.
P: Good, that was my intention. Now, are you ready to be attentive to God; for our attention to God is more important than your attention to me.
M: We're ready, at least for now, so "hit us while the iron is hot."
Hymn of Praise
"Let All Things Now Living," Katherine K. Davis, 1939; alt.; Welsh folk melody; harm. Gerald H. Knight (1908-1979).
Prayer of Praise
Focus this prayer on God's perseverance and our prudence.
Facing Up To Ourselves
Introduction to the Act of Recognizing Our Humanity
Read the Gospel from the Cotton Patch Version; read slowly and deliberately; let the message soak in. In our business, neighborhood, personal transactions, how prudent are we? How about you children, when you trade baseball or football cards? How do you go about getting the best deal? Do you always tell the truth, follow the rules? (Three minutes of silence.)
Response
Offer a prayer which reflects what Jesus is saying; for Jesus is praising the resourcefulness of the dishonest estate manager.
Introduction to the Act of Receiving New Life
Let's understand that Jesus is not condoning or praising the owner of the steward, just as he refuses to condone our dishonesty. So, are we willing to see ourselves as God sees us, and to receive forgiveness for our dishonesty? Receive God's gift, and change your behavior.
Response
"How Blest Are Those," Fred R. Anderson, 1986; Memmingen ms., seventeenth century; harm. George Ratcliff Woodward, 1904.
Remembering Our Reason For Being By Hearing The Truth
Message with the Children of All Ages
Tell the Gospel lesson in your own words. The Cotton Patch Version may help. Make certain that the children know that Jesus is not condoning dishonesty. Instead, he is praising the steward's shrewdness. Define shrewdness, and illustrate it from your experience. Maybe this story from television's Dr. Marcus Welby (who always understood everybody's problems and pain) will help. Dr. Welby was tending a boy with leukemia. His parents refused to tell him the truth about his disease. He responded, "The young do not want it easy; they want it honest."
Response
"Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God," Jim Strathdee, from New Wine. (See Appendix I for address.)
Dramatizing the Scripture
Well ahead of time, ask someone to rewrite the Gospel in his/her own situation for today. Ask your drama group to enact the event.
Proclamation of the Good News
Ernest Trice Thompson, in a Presbyterian Outlook article (2/13/67), expresses the intent of this story. Faithfulness in the use of our money is essential if we expect God to entrust the heavenly riches to our keeping. Unfaithfulness in the use of our money will bar our promotion to higher service; for our earthly wealth is ours as a loan, a trust, withdrawn at any moment. Because people easily misunderstand this story, make certain that we realize it is not Jesus who commends the steward, but his master; and he commends the master, not for his unfaithfulness, but for his shrewdness. One commentator points out, "That which is commended in this manager is that, with the certainty of a day of judgment, he gets ready for it." In other words, people of the world are more prudent when it comes to considering their earthly interests than the children of God are when it comes to providing for their heavenly interests. You may want to divide the message into three points: (1) Farsightedness. (2) Imagination. (3) Perseverance.
Response
"Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service," Albert F. Bayly, 1961; alt.; Welsh melody.
Taking Responsibility For Responding To The Word
Stewardship Challenge
Jesus is saying in this story, "Oh, that my followers were as practical and as prudent in God's affairs as these worldly pagans are in their business; if only Christians were as keen on their faith and service as businessmen and women, industrialists, are in their affairs." So, how carefully do we manage the resources of our time, money, and energy?
Prayer Following the Offering
God, you hold us accountable for all that you have given us -- our lives, education, homes, business, friends, wealth. As we have been prospered, so inspire us to give to you through your needy world.
Charge to the Congregation
In the light of today's Gospel, we have two courses open to us: (1) We can carefully preserve the status quo; or, (2) we can emulate the unjust steward. Which do you choose?
Hymn of Obedience
"Take Thou Our Minds, Dear Lord." (See Pentecost 2.)
Meditation
"Thinking is easy; acting is difficult; putting one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world" (Goethe).
Music Possibilities In Addition To Those Already Suggested
Music for Preparation: "Before Thy Throne," J. S. Bach.
Prayer of Praise: "Here, O Lord, Your Servants Gather," Tokuo Yamaguchi, 1958; trans. Everett M. Stowe, 1958; alt., 1972, Japanese gagaku mode; Isao Koizumi, 1958.
Response to the Gospel: (Adult Choir) "Send Out Thy Light," Gounod.
Response to the Proclamation: "He Comes To Us," Jane Marshall; text, Albert Schweitzer.
Offertory: "Tallis' Canon," Thomas Tallis.
Hymn of Obedience: "We Give Thee But Thine Own." (See Easter 5.)
Response to the Benediction: "We're Gonna (1) Live ... (2) Give."
Music for Dismissal: "Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven," Henry Francis Lyte, 1834; alt., John Goss, 1869.
