Pentecost 18 (Luke 16:1-13) 9/22/2013

Listen to an audio recording <select here>

I am very happy to report that the Boston Red Sox have clinched the American League East and are heading to the playoffs! I like to say that football season does not officially begin until the Red Sox have finished playing for the year…so the NFL will have to wait a little longer. College football is a different story; college football seems to be an integral part of the beginning of fall. College sports retain various elements of the rich history and traditions of the school and watching the game allows us an opportunity to be connected with those who have gone before us. Just last weekend I was watching a Navy football game on TV, the first home game of the season: the bright blue and gold uniforms, the old cannon firing with every score, and the Navy goat dutifully standing on the sideline. The entire picture could be repeated at many colleges throughout the country, except perhaps for the goat…why a goat, you might wonder. We just heard last Sunday about the shepherd and the sheep, the lesson of how the shepherd know their sheep; but we have a goat on the sideline of the big game! As with many traditions, especially funny college traditions, there are many stories to tell. One story of the goat involves the very first Army-Navy football game, played at West Point in 1890. As the Navy football players approached West Point, they realized they were heading to a very important game and they didn’t have a mascot…every team needs a mascot! There on the side of the road, tied up next to someone’s house, was a goat…so they simply untied the goat and headed off to the big game with their new mascot. A bit dishonest perhaps, but the act of borrowing the goat showed some interesting insights, an understanding that the odd act of taking the goat might just rally the team. Certainly, the theft of a goat would not seem to be Navy Football’s finest moment, but the lesson is not too far from the odd story we find in the Gospel lesson this morning.

We listen in as Jesus continued to teach his disciples about living their lives as followers of God’s word. Jesus tells a curious story of a shrewd character who had been caught squandering his rich patron’s property. The rich man was understandably upset with the dishonest man and immediately dismissed him from his position. The manager was now caught in a horrible dilemma: he was suddenly without a job and apparently without the skills to obtain a new job in order to take care of his family. Faced with these circumstances, he quickly determined he would reduce the debts of people who were in positions to take care of him in the future. We might imagine the rich man would have further penalties in store for the dishonest manager, but instead he commended the man’s initiative – we hear in the Gospel, “His master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” (Luke 16:8)

How can such a story inform and inspire us to live better lives? Where is the example of the Golden Rule or some other solid Christian virtue that is the fabric of the Saints? If you read the Bible commentaries on this story, even some of the scholars seem to scratch their heads and wonder about this odd story, but the most insightful thoughts regarding this lesson point to the manager’s shrewd response to his nearly impossible dilemma. The man understood the critical elements of his circumstance and he took action, much as the Navy Football players and the theft of their goat. His initiative and determination were the praiseworthy elements of this story. We find Jesus’ point to the lesson in the closing words of this morning’s Gospel reading. “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?” (Luke 16:10-11) Jesus was speaking to his disciples; those who chose to follow him and his way of life. Jesus understood that times would be tough, life would be busy, and walking the way of Christian life would require shrewd actions and great initiative…in all things, big and little. The Christian life is not a collection of 3 or 4 marvelous acts of great morality. The Christian life is an ongoing sequence of small actions, some actions easy and straightforward and some difficult and full of self-sacrifice, yet actions that are powerful in their collective force. Fred Craddock, biblical scholar and author, wrote these insightful words about Jesus’ lesson of discipleship: “The life of a disciple is one of faithful attention to the frequent and familiar tasks of each day, however small and insignificant they may seem…it is easy to be indifferent toward small obligations while quite sincerely believing oneself fully trustworthy in major matters…Yet most of us will not this week write a book, end a war…or dine with the queen…More likely the week will present no more than a chance to write a note, teach a Sunday school class, share a meal, or feed the neighbor’s cat.”^[i] Craddock’s thoughtful insight of our daily Christian lives, as shown in Jesus’ odd story, speaks to our busy lives. The invitation Jesus extends to us, the challenge Jesus sets before us is the challenge to find the time to write a note, to find the quiet place to pray and open ourselves to the word of God, to find a new vision of the true necessities that form and fashion our lives. Only the shrewd disciple will discover how to set aside a portion of this world’s many demands in order to be faithful to the invitations of God’s grace.

So, exactly how important is a goat? Again, the Bible seems to say that all the good ones are sheep. But the shrewd actions of the Navy Football team inspired them to a 24-0 victory over Army on that first football game in 1890. And the goat, more than 100 years later, is still the mascot for Navy sports, of course it’s a different goat! And more than 100 years later, the most important part of the Navy mascot has nothing really to do with its size or its strength or its fearsome nature toward the opponent (although you should never upset a goat!); the most endearing and enduring part of the Navy goat is that it has been faithfully on the sideline for over 100 years, a companion in times both good and bad. Life is busy and promises only to get busier. Jesus invites us to consider the small actions of Christian discipleship. Jesus invites us to steal a few moments from our worldly routine in order to contribute some meaningful moments to our everlasting family. Discovering the time will not be easy, but the reward promises to be powerful indeed. “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much.” AMEN