Diocese of Salt Lake City Stewardship Day June 15, 2013 Stewardship Themes in Luke s Gospel I. The new paradigm for Christians in Luke s gospel is stewardship. II. Who was Luke? A Gentile. Author of Luke-Acts, comprising almost one-fourth of the entire New Testament. A doctor Paul refers to him as the beloved physician. (Col. 4:14). An artist? III. Luke s Gospel Written in approx. 85 A.D. Probably written in Antioch, Syria Addressed to Theophilus. Special concern for the poor: the birth narrative, John the Baptist preaching on possessions; the Beatitudes: blessed are the poor, not just the poor in spirit; blessed are the hungry Using the parables of Jesus, Luke stresses the proper stewardship of wealth the rich fool, the dishonest steward, the rich man and Lazarus. Acts: goods are held in common; members are encouraged to sell what they have and give to the poor IV. The Sitz im Leben of Luke-Acts Luke s community would have been located in an urban setting steeped in the Hellenistic culture somewhere in the Roman East around the end of the first century CE. Its members would have been Gentiles in terms of their ethnic background, and in terms of 1
their socio-economic status, both the rich and the poor, representing the extremes of contemporary society. Kyoung-Jin Kim, Stewardship and Almsgiving in Luke s Theology, p. 284. V. Luke s View of Discipleship Differs from Mark s view of discipleship: Mark s community is threatened with persecution; disciples portrayed as not comprehending; disciple must literally leave his wealth behind; follow Jesus even to the point of death Luke s community is not threatened; the Parousia is seen as delayed; disciples of Jesus portrayed in a more favorable manner. Luke has two types of disciples: itinerant and sedentary Jesus is not portrayed as reproaching those disciples who have not abandoned everything to follow him; he accepts them as they are, enjoys their company, and is invited in to share meals Luke s idea of discipleship in view of Jesus injunction of a total renunciation of wealth is that a small number of the itinerant disciples were required to forsake literally everything, while the sedentary disciples who for Luke were identified with his congregation were asked to forsake the ownership of all they possessed. Kyoung-Jin Kim, at 285. VI. Luke s Requirements for Stewardship 1. What a steward owns does not belong to him but to his master; 2. Stewardship is provisional; a good steward may be summoned to account at any time; hence he must be alert; and 3. There will be judgment of a steward s work; if he turns out to be faithful in his duty, there will be a reward, otherwise punishment. VII. Almsgiving is a Key Motif in Luke-Acts Luke s concept of almsgiving was radical and differs from the Roman concept of reciprocity; its origin traces back to Judaism, the matrix of Christianity. 2
VIII. Functions of a Steward [O]ut of genuine sympathy towards the poor, Luke intended to urge the rich Christians in his community to remember their identity as stewards, and to distribute their wealth to the poor as alms, giving up ownership of all they possessed. Kyoung-Jin Kim, at 287. One who is in charge of the whole household; a superintendent with full authority to take care of other servants; An accountant or treasurer; A trader or banker. IX. Stewardship Themes in the Parables of Jesus 1. The Parable of the Faithful and Wise Steward (Luke 12:41-48) The duty and role of a steward is defined as a unique sort of slave who is entrusted with material possessions by a master The steward does not hold any possessions and property of his own: the master s property is entrusted to him; Everyone to whom much is given, of him much will be required unique to Luke; The time scale is limited, not indefinite the steward must be alert A judgment will come eventually but will vary depending on conduct The steward represents all disciples, not just the apostles 2. The Parable of the Unjust Servant (Luke 16:1-13) The usury theory: the steward gave up the secret interest he had earned The steward s behavior was unjust but prudent the equivalent of almsgiving throw it away to the poor to ensure heavenly credit Prudence is an indispensable element required of a good steward 3
[I]n Luke s mind the stress of this parable is laid on the right use of material possessions entrusted to the steward, the best way of which is to distribute it for helping the needy, which in turn may be regarded as heaping up treasure in heaven Kyoung-jin Kim, Stewardship, at 158. 3. The Parable of the Sums of Money (Luke 19:11-27) Stewards are given a temporary assignment of capital More is given to those capable of dealing wisely with what the Master has given The steward who earned nothing had squandered his master s assets The parable may have a spiritual application X. Secondary Stewardship Motifs in Luke s Gospel The right use of material possessions is not the sole concern in Luke, but it is one of the main theological ideas Luke has in mind. In some cases, the motif of stewardship is secondary to other themes. 1. The ethical teaching of John the Baptist What then shall we do? (Luke 3:10-14) Luke does not record the ascetic form of life the focus is on ethical reform and the right use of possessions 2. Love of enemies (Luke 6:27-38) Give to everyone who asks of you Give away or lend without expecting anything in return Your reward will be great children of the Most High 3. The devotion of the Galilean Women (Luke 8:1-3) That Jesus and his disciples were supported by a group of women is unique to Luke The women probably did not travel but were caring for Jesus out of their homes 4
The actions of the women is analogous to alms giving Joanna is the wife of Chuza, Herod s steward, from the upper circle of society 4. The Parable of the Good Samaritan Primary motif: love of one s neighbor Secondary motif: right use of possessions distributed for the sake of the poor and needy. 5. The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12: 13-34) First unit: One s wealth should not be stored up on earth for selfish avarice Second unit: Not to worry about worldly things discard care for material things The rich fool is in disguise the unfaithful servant who squanders his master s wealth 6. The Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:12-24) Addressed to member s of Luke s community who have the wherewithal to host festive meals The rich should help the poor and unfortunate without expecting recompense on earth Feasts by wealthy patrons was a way of helping poor, but too infrequent to be a permanent solution [T]his parable and the previous sayings of Jesus indicate that there is a profound gulf between the rich and the poor in Luke s community, and that although both of them share Christian faith in common, the rich still conduct themselves according to the customs of their contemporary culture in which the reciprocity ethic is predominant. Kyoung-Jin Kim, Stewardship, at 188. 5
7. The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). o Unlike the Unjust Steward who used entrusted wealth for the welfare of poor debtors, the Rich Man uses wealth solely for his selfish needs he is not received into eternal habitations o Luke offers encouragement and warning to his contemporaries 8. The Incidents of the Rich Ruler and Zacchaeus (Luke 18:18 19:10) Should be read as a single thought unit Luke s words are stronger than in other synoptics he is strongly attached to wealth Unlike Mark and Matthew, he does not go away he remains as representative of the rich Contrast with Zacchaeus who promises Jesus to give half his wealth to the poor and restore fourfold what he might have defrauded other people The Zacchaeus incident may be regarded as one of the most important in Luke s gospel NOTE: the importance of healing of a blind man that comes between the Rich Ruler and Zacchaeus incident: the spiritually blind are too attached to wealth XI. Conclusion and Summary In Luke s view total renunciation for the purpose of almsgiving is not intended No fixed amount or percentage of almsgiving is formally introduced Unclear whether alms should be distributed inside or outside the Christian community, or both The theme of the wrong use of possessions is one of the notable characteristics of Luke s theology on wealth and poverty Three categories of warnings: 1) adherence to wealth, 2) waste of wealth, and 3) hoarding of wealth 6