A couple of years ago, I had an experience I’ll never forget. I was traveling to Minneapolis for a church-related gathering, and I had the chance on the airplane to sit next to a man who had dedicated much of his working career to Coca-Cola. He was high up in the company and had experienced success in as many ways as you could imagine.

            I remember him telling me the story of how he had moved, over the years, from being a worker in one of their bottling plants to having one of the top management positions in the world. And I remember asking him the secret to his success. And I still remember his one word answer. He said, “Shrewdness.” He said, “I’ve always prided myself in being shrewd.”

            From there, he went on to talk about how he had spent nearly every waking hour over the past thirty-plus years thinking and planning and developing and putting into practice anything that would help. He said, “I wake up thinking about Coca-Cola, and I go bed thinking about Coca-Cola, and nearly every moment of every day is given to finding new and better ways to develop and to market what we’re trying to sell.”

            I remember sitting there that day (as I listened to him tell his story), admiring his single-mindedness. He knew what he wanted and he had committed himself to following through. He worked hard to achieve his goals. Every thought and action, all the resources he had were dedicated to the same end.

            I also remember, when it seemed natural to do so, shifting the conversation to what he believed about God. And I remember him saying that he was a believer, but it wasn’t a big part of his life. And I remember challenging him with the idea that if he were every to give the same intensity and passion to his relationship with Jesus, (that he had to the career path he had chosen) that God would be able to use him in some powerful ways.

            Now, I have to admit, that conversation caused me to think about my own relationship with Jesus, and about the commitment I’ve made in my life to Him. It also caused me to think about the many people I’ve known over the years who have worked hard at what they were doing to get ahead.

            And, I remember wondering, also, what might happen in the church (and at times, I still do), if followers of Jesus Christ would give themselves as intensely and passionately to things that are eternal as so many do to things that are one day gone. (And therein lies the story we have in front of us today. And therein is found the challenge of the entire Christian life.)

            I’ll be upfront with you this morning. This passage has always been (at least for me) one of the most challenging parables Jesus ever told. It’s a story about a man who had squandered away his master’s fortune, who ends up losing his job, and then who tries to make up for his mistakes by cheating his master and protecting himself. Even more challenging is the fact that (in the story) the man is commended by his master (and seemingly, even by Jesus) for his “shrewdness,” and then held up as an example for us to follow.

            And so what do we make of this story? And what does Jesus want us to learn in telling it as He did? Let’s start today by remembering that this is a parable. (Just like last week.) It’s a story told to teach us a lesson. It’s not an allegory (one in which everything in the story has some hidden meaning.) It’s a parable. It’s told with one main point in mind. And it’s told because its main point is one Jesus wants us to learn.

            Last week, Pastor Judy talked about “the key” that opens the story. She said there’s one key to every parable of Jesus, and until we find the right one, it’s hard to get at what the story is all about.

            And so let’s talk for a moment about what it’s not. (Because it’s one of those stories that is easy to misread.) First of all, it’s not a story about money, although there is a good amount said about money in the story and a number of money-related lessons to be learned. Jesus said, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions…and so he called him in,” Jesus said “to give an account of what he had done.”

            The first lesson we find is that you and I are managers for God. He has entrusted to us the things we have in this life. And He wants us to use them wisely. He doesn’t want us to waste what we’ve been given. And someday (just like in the story) you and I will be asked to give an account for what we’ve done.

            My friends, don’t ever forget that what you have in this life is nothing more nor less than what God has entrusted you to manage. And it’s not yours. It’s His. It doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to Him.

            In fact, (and we’ve said this many times before), but the starting point for every good steward is an understanding that God is the owner, and you and I are managers. That’s what the word “steward” means. You’re a manager in this life of that which belongs ultimately to someone else.

            And Jesus said, “You can’t serve two masters. Either you’ll hate the one and love the other. Or,” He says, “You’ll be devoted to the one and despise the other. You simply cannot serve both God and money.” But this is not a parable about money, even though there are a number of money-related lessons to be learned.

            Nor is it a lesson about honesty or dishonesty, although (in the same way) there are lessons found about how we’re to handle ourselves in all kinds of matters. In the story, the manager was not honest when it came to dealing with his master’s wealth. He’s referred to as a “dishonest manager,” and there’s not even one word (from the man himself) to deny the accusation.

            Now, Jesus isn’t telling us in the story that dishonesty is to be commended. Nor is He saying that “the ends justify the means.” (Many in the world today operate as if they do. But they don’t.) Not in the story. Not for Jesus, and not for you and for me as His followers.

            No, it’s not a story about money. It’s not a story about honesty or dishonesty. Nor is it a story about being forgiving or generous in our dealings with others.

            The manager (in the story) was about to lose his job, so he forgave the debts of some of his master’s creditors, and he was generous with wealth that wasn’t his own. (And Jesus wants us to forgive, and we’re called to be generous.) And those qualities and traits are ones our Lord wants to find in you. But that’s not what the story is about.

            And so if it’s not about money, and it’s not honesty or dishonesty, and it’s not even about being forgiving or generous, then what’s it about? Today’s story is about being shrewd. It’s about using what God has given us for the work He has entrusted us to do. And it’s about committing the same kind of intensity and passion to things that are eternal as so many in this world do to the things that are soon gone.

            Shrewd Saints – that’s what our Lord calls us to be. Let’s talk for a moment about what it means to be shrewd. (I don’t know what comes to mind for you.) But when I think of the word “shrewd,” I often think about someone who is deceptive or conniving or whose means are unethical or immoral. To be labeled as being shrewd (I would imagine) has not been a lifelong goal many of us have pursued.

            But to be “shrewd” (as least as Jesus uses it in the story) isn’t such a bad thing. In fact, it’s a good thing. It’s what He wants to find in us. The word “shrewd” (as Jesus uses it) means to show “good judgment,” to have “common sense,” to be “clever.” It means to be wise, to be always thinking, and to be creative in what we do.

            The man in the story was commended for his shrewdness. Not for actions, and not for his moral standards. And not for the end result of what took place. But for his shrewdness. For his creativity. For his being clever and wise in what he had done. (Jesus wants us to be shrewd.)

            I received a copy of an article not long ago from one of our members. It was a write-up in the New York Times about some of the legal battles that had taken place in the past year in which the cases were so absurd (if they hadn’t been true) they would have been comical. The article was sort of a tongue-in-cheek spoof, playing off on some of these real-life court cases.

            One of the examples (and remember, these were hypothetical) was the story of a woman who had gone to church on a Sunday morning and who had been trampled on her way out by people rushing (after the service) to get out. The attorney for the woman argued that the church should have known that “most of the congregation stampeded after long sermons. And so,” he argued, “should have recognized the danger, and in not doing so had been negligent.”

            The church’s attorney (in response) argued that because the church is a “non-profit organization, manned almost entirely by volunteers, that no one has the right to expect it to be run with the smart efficiency of a business, and so the woman had no real claim.” The article closed by asking, “If you were the judge, how would you rule?”

            Now, remember, this was a hypothetical situation. (Don’t expect to win a court case on your way out the doors this morning!) But what I found interesting in this tongue-in-cheek article was the characterization given to the church. (Did you hear it?) “A non-profit organization, manned for the most part by volunteers…No one has a right to expect it to be run with the smart efficiency of a business…”

            Well, based on today’s story, Jesus would ask, “Why not?” Given what Jesus tells us in this parable, He would challenge us with the question, “How come?” Why shouldn’t we be as good at what we do as McDonald’s is at what they do, or Coca-Cola is at what they do? Why shouldn’t we commit the same intensity and passion to spreading the Word of God, to telling the story of the good news of what God has done for us in His Son (how He died for your sins, how He was raised for your life) as businesses do in winning new customers? And why shouldn’t the Church be as shrewd in its efforts to reach the world for Jesus (for things that are eternal) as so many in this life are for things that are only for this life?

            “Shrewd Saints…always thinking…turning in an account for what we have done.” Today is a big day for us as a congregation. We’ll be gathering together later on to make decisions about our future. And none of us have a crystal ball. There’s no way to know exactly where our decisions will lead. And so, as followers of Jesus, we do step out in faith, and we do trust that in so doing, God is working to carry out His will.

            But it’s not a blind faith we follow. And it’s certainly not an uninformed trust we have. Our leaders have spent a good part of the past two years working on the proposal we have in front of us. There have been long hours spent in discussion. There has been much give and take over those months to get where we are today.

            And over these past few weeks (with the mailings that have gone out and the informational gatherings), we’ve listened to and learned from the conversation that has taken place. There have been thoughtful responses shared on a number of fronts. Some good discussion has followed. It has been evident to me that the membership of this congregation cares deeply about what we’re doing together. Jesus would commend us in our efforts. He would also challenge us to not slow down in being shrewd.

            When all is said and done, we will make decisions later on today, and it’s my prayer that we’ll move forward together with the decisions we make. The opportunities we have in front of us and the challenges we face will not be met if we don’t all get on board and share together in the work.

            But it cannot stop with our decisions this afternoon. A vision (by itself) will never keep a congregation on track. A Phase One proposal (as good as it might be) will never accomplish a single thing. And even a Capital Campaign (and even if successful) is not going win anyone for the kingdom (at least not by itself).

            Our shrewdness cannot stop in bring forward a proposal. It cannot stop with what we do or not later on today. The next steps will be to get our heads together and continue wrestling with the bigger questions of how we can grow and what the next steps need to be for our vision to become a reality.

            In fact, in these next months, I plan to bring our leaders together around those very questions. We need to challenge ourselves in every area of our vision, and begin laying out reachable and recognizable goals. (And we have some good leaders. And we have a full pastoral staff. And we have some wonderful lay staff and insightful lay members who can share in the conversation as well.)

            My friends, it’s going to take all the shrewdness we can muster to turn this vision into a reality. (All of our shared wisdom and insight and good judgment and common sense.) And it won’t be easy. And it won’t just happen on its own. But it can happen. And I believe it will happen. And God has given us what we need. And He’s calling us to be shrewd.

            Let me close today with a few comments on some of the final verses of our text. Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with very much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth,” He says, “who will trust you with true riches?”

            We began today by pointing out that this is a parable. It’s not a story about money. It’s not a story about honesty or dishonesty. And it’s not even a story about being forgiving or generous (although there are lessons to be learned on each of those fronts). It’s a story about being shrewd and wise and about being as passionate for the kingdom as for anything else in life.

            My friends, the truth is that you and I have not been given little, we’ve been given much. The truth is that we haven’t been blessed only with worldly wealth. The true riches of God’s kingdom belong to us in Jesus Christ. And the truth is that if we are faithful with what we have been given, that God will entrust to us even more.

            And so the question we face today is one of faithfulness. Because, like it or not, what you have in this life is not your own. It belongs to God. You are a manager for Him. You are a steward of the things entrusted to you. And so, will you be faithful? Will you be wise? Will you use what you have been given in as clever and as creative ways as you can for the kingdom?

            “Shrewd Saints.” That’s who we are. “Always thinking, ready to turn in an account for what we have done.” Amen.