Ninth Sunday after Trinity – August 2nd, 2026

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and ourLord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

What do you have? That’s probably aquestion worth considering. It’s a broad question, and one with many answers,and many kinds of answers. Another question that is important is this:what do you want? This too probably has many answers, and many kinds ofanswers. There’s a word in our Gospel reading that puts these together, andthat is shrewd. Shrewdness is using what you have to get what youwant. God encourages us to know what we have, which has been given to usby Him, in order to get what we want when our wills our aligned with His.

The first things that might come toour minds for what we have or what we want are physical objects. A kid’s mindwill go to their toys. An adult’s mind might go to their toys as well, orperhaps the property and money that they own. Advertisers make bank over tryingto sell us things that we can see, touch, taste, feel, or experience.

It is natural and normal to thinkof things this way. After all, we are part of this creation. God does give usphysical enjoyments, and it is fine to have and desire the simple pleasures ofthis world. God has also given one of the Ten Commandments, the Seventh, toprotect people’s property.

But this is not all that we have,and it is not all that we should want. As part of a larger understanding ofGod’s gifts, it is fine, but by itself, it is destructive. Imagine someone whois only out to maximize their pleasure in this world, seeking solely to becomerich and enjoy the finest things of this world. They would be worshipers ofthemselves, chained to this life as all it is, disregarding anything outsidewhat can be experienced. We might call these people “hedonists.” It turns outto be a very lonely existence.

The next thing that we mightrecognize that we have and want are relationships with other people. This is astep in a better direction than the stuff we see. People, after all, are morethan their physical bodies. You remain in relationship with someone even ifthey have passed. My Grandpa and Grandma Woelmer are still my grandparents,even if I will never speak to them on this earth again.

You have many relationships. Youhave parents, grandparents, friends, and fellow congregation members. You mayhave a spouse or children or grandchildren, etc. You may desire to connect withsomeone better. Your kids may be estranged from you. If you are single, you mayhope to find someone to love.

Here’s the thing, you often usethings of this world to support your relationships. This is most obvious when aman is courting a woman. He will spend something that he has, like money, on anice date to get to know a young woman better. Grandparents take their childrenand grandchildren on vacations.

There is something else that wehave that we often never think of, and that’s time. We all wish we had more ofit, but there’s only so much that we are given. We can, however, use it to getwhat we want. Sometimes it’s as simple as spending time at a job to earn awage. Sometimes it’s spending time playing with or reading to a toddler.

Time is more exclusive than some ofthe other things though. Money can be spent on many things, until it runs out.But time can only be spent on one thing at a time, and you must choose how tospend it. Do you work some extra hours at work, or spend time with family? Doyou spend so much time with entertainment that you never get to know your ownfamily?

One thing that probably never comesup as an answer to “what do you have?” and “what do you want” is anythingrelating to God. And yet, that is precisely what God desires us to recognize.That’s what the First Commandment is all about: that we would love God aboveall things. We love Him because He first loved us. We have everything in thisworld—things, relationships, and time—because He has first given them to us. Hecould take those things away from us. There could be an economic downturn andwe are left with nothing. We could lose our loved ones to death. God coulddecide at any moment that our time on this world is up.

And yet, above all things, weChristians should recognize that we have a great gift. Not only do we know Godthrough Jesus, but we know His character. He is good and gracious, abounding insteadfast love. We know that He sent His own Son to this earth to die in ourplace and rise again. We know that He loves to forgive those who are repentant.

We can act on this knowledge. Wecan be bold in our dealings with our possessions, knowing that God has giventhem to us to do good in this world. We can be forgiving and merciful toothers, knowing that God has been forgiving of us. We can use our time wisely,knowing that time is never wasted when it is in service to God or the neighbor.All of this come together in the parable for today.

A manager was accused of squandering,not being faithful with his master’s possessions. We are not told what hissquandering involved. It was something more than laziness and less thancriminal negligence. Multiple witnesses bring charges against this man. He wasbrought before the master and let go.

What does he have? It’s a goodquestion. It doesn’t seem like much. He has his master’s books that he’ssupposed to return. He also has knowledge of his master that goes beyond whathas just happened. He knows deep down that his master is merciful. But, hecreates a win-win situation for himself: if this plan succeeds, he stays asmanager. If it doesn’t, he’ll be taken in by the master’s debtors.

So here’s his plan: he shares hismaster’s mercy with the creditors. He calls in the debtors and rewrites theircontracts so they get a huge bonus. They think all of this is coming from themaster. The cancelled amount is somewhere around two years’ salary. What hedoes was and is illegal. The master commends him not for doing what wasillegal, but for being shrewd with what he has. He knows his master loves beingmerciful to those who are indebted to him. All these farmers are now throwingparties in the master’s honor. They don’t know what was going to happen to themanager.

If the manager has misunderstoodhis master, then he’s also in a winning position because all the farmers aregoing to support him and grumble against the cruel master who voided thechanged contracts. He used what he had to get what he wanted. He had knowledgeof his master and he had the books. He used both to secure continuedemployment.

What this means for us if firstthat we should know the heart of God. The manager forgave people’s debts out ofself-interest, knowing that his master was a forgiving man. We too can forgiveothers, knowing that our God is a forgiving God. What else does God want? He “desires allpeople to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1Tim 2:4). We can use the things of this world to serve those ends. We pray inthe Lord’s Prayer: Thy will be done. We pray that God’s will would be done inand through us. We can use our possessions, relationships, and time to get whatGod wants, which is the salvation of those around us.

Jesus says, “One whois faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who isdishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not beenfaithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?”(10–11). Jesus exhorts us to be faithful in the little things of this world. Bea good manager, a good steward of the things God has first given to you. Knowwhat you have: possessions, relationships, time, and the knowledge of God. Whatyou want should be what God wants: your salvation and the salvation of thosearound you. So use what you have in this life towards that end. Spend time withothers talking about God or reading the Bible. Spend your money to support theneeds of your family and church. Invest in the relationships you have withothers, because relationships with those who believe in Christ will berelationships that never end but will be continued in Heaven. You have the Wordof God. You have knowledge of God and His character. So use it well.

Now may the peace of Christ, which passes allunderstanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.