Is There a Balm in Gilead: Last Sunday's Sermon

The Readings

Old Testament

Jeremiah 8:18-9:1

My joy is gone, grief is upon me,
my heart is sick.

Hark, the cry of my poor people
from far and wide in the land:

"Is the Lord not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?"

("Why have they provoked me to anger with their images,
with their foreign idols?")

"The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved."

For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt,
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.

Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?

Why then has the health of my poor people
not been restored?

O that my head were a spring of water,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,

so that I might weep day and night
for the slain of my poor people!

The Epistle

1 Timothy 2:1-7

First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For

there is one God;
there is also one mediator between God and humankind,

Christ Jesus, himself human,
who gave himself a ransom for all

-- this was attested at the right time. For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

The Gospel

Luke 16:1-13

Jesus said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, `What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.' Then the manager said to himself, `What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.' So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?' He answered, `A hundred jugs of olive oil.' He said to him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.' Then he asked another, `And how much do you owe?' He replied, `A hundred containers of wheat.' He said to him, `Take your bill and make it eighty.' And 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. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

"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? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

The Sermon

There is an absolute sadness in this reading from Jeremiah. He says, “ My Joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick.” He mourns the transgressions of his people. He asks, “Is there no balm in Gilead.”

There is no perfume. There is no doctor who can fix a people who have a sickness that resides in their souls. Jeremiah sees no hope for his people. But time and again God reminds his people that their bond with Him is still there.

Paul, in his letter to Timothy does give hope and he tells us that that hope comes through Jesus Christ. His message of hope is not for one particular group of people. Paul says that salvation comes from God our Savior, who desires everyone (even you and me) to be saved.

Frankly, the gospel reading from Luke seems like a mysterious and murky read. Jesus tells the parable of the manager who was deceitful. This reading has always puzzled me. I researched five different sources and got basically five different interpretations, none of which I really found satisfying.

On a superficial level, it seems Jesus is saying that using dishonest wealth for personal gain is OK. However, I believe Jesus gives a real nugget of truth in his last statement, “you cannot serve God and wealth.” It seems like he is kind of throwing up his hands and saying, 'Eh wealth.... smelth. Wealth can really get in your way when it comes to your eternal soul. '

We see a lot of tv commercials about wealth management. I think what these commercials are actually telling us is that they have a way for us to get rich and hang onto our money. Getting rich has a lot of appeal in this world. Money gives us a sense of security. It puts food on the table. It keeps the lights on. It pays the bills.

In this gospel parable, Jesus is talking about paying the bills but he reminds us to keep things in perspective. He is telling us that life can be complicated if not troublesome. He tells us that if we let the things of the world be our master we will lose our sense of who is the true master. God.

Jeremiah tells his people that they had turned away from God, their true master. Paul reminds Timothy that God wants all of us to be saved and to find his truth. And, Jesus says we have a choice. We can be guided along the path of a God centered life or a life centered on material possessions. One is temporary. One is eternal. The choice is ours.

Amen