I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings (Luke 16:9).

Read Luke 16:1–9

This parable is one of the more difficult ones to understand. It is about a dishonest asset manager who gets found out by his boss and is given a short period to finalise the books before getting sacked. The asset manager then acts with further dishonesty by conspiring with his boss’ debtors to reduce their debts and gain their favour, hoping that these favours will extend to him being looked after by the debtors after he is sacked. The surprise of the parable is that the boss then congratulates the dishonest asset manager for his clever response to his impending sacking.

Jesus then makes the statement, ‘Realise that the purpose of money is to strengthen friendships, to provide opportunities for being generous and kind. Eventually, money will be useless to you – but if you use it generously to serve others, you will be welcomed joyfully into your eternal destination’ (from The Voice translation).

In the parable, the asset manager contemplates his future, makes plans, and executes them.

As a retired couple, my wife and I definitely did think while we were still gainfully employed about how we would fund our retirement. We sought financial advice from several sources and then implemented strategies we hoped would accumulate sufficient resources to live on in retirement.

Did we put the same amount of effort into planning for our eternal future? What about the effort to share the good news with others so we could celebrate in heaven together in the future? Am I prepared to review my priorities and goals so that God can use the resources he has given me more effectively in living out his love for others?

Heavenly Father, you have blessed us richly with your gifts to us. Please help us to remember they are a gift from you, and guide us in being clever in using all these gifts in a way that honours you and helps spread the good news to others who will greet and welcome us when we meet in heaven and celebrate together. Amen.

Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the Air Force, army and navy. He lives in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together they have four children and eight grandchildren with whom they love spending time. He keeps himself busy with pot plants, a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.

The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son'. But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate’ (Luke 15:21–23).

Read Luke 15:11–32

Today’s reading is the third of three parables Jesus told about the ‘lost’ being found. Yesterday, we looked at the parables of the lost coin and lost sheep. This parable has traditionally been referred to as the parable of the prodigal son, emphasising the wasteful life the younger son lived after receiving his inheritance from his living father. The emphasis of this parable is really about the love and compassion of the father of the two sons. Like the previous two parables, we have the contrast of the lost son and the ‘good’ son who stays home and faithfully serves his father. In reality, both sons are lost – one in a very obvious way as he rejects his relationship with his father and squanders his inheritance, ending up a pauper; the other in a less obvious way as he slavishly serves his father with little love in the relationship.

One son hits rock bottom and repents, and there is great rejoicing as he returns home. Remember the rejoicing in heaven we read about yesterday over each person who repents? The other son hasn’t yet seen the need to repent. Hold on, you say, what has he done to repent over? There is jealousy over his brother, who is welcomed back into the family, his sulking and the lack of respect for his father when he is invited to the celebrations – just for starters.

But the hero of the story is the father who responded in very unexpected ways. In western culture, we may find it strange how he welcomed the younger son back. In the Middle Eastern culture where this story was told, the listeners would have never experienced such a father who would run to a disgraced son to welcome him home.

Jesus, again, stresses to his hearers how much his Father is committed to welcoming his repentant children back to him and celebrating exuberantly over their return. There is no hint of punishment for their failures, just forgiveness and a welcome home.

Heavenly Father, we often fail to live as your children, sometimes like the younger son, and sometimes the older son. Thank you for your amazing love and grace to us in the way you openly welcome us back once we acknowledge our failures. Please guide us with your Spirit in sharing the good news of this love and grace with others in the way we live our lives. Amen.

Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together they have four children and eight grandchildren with whom they love spending time. He keeps himself busy with pot plants, a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.

I tell you that in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent (Luke 15:7).

Read Luke 15:1–10

In response to the comments from the Pharisees and morality police about Jesus welcoming sinners and eating with them, Jesus tells two parables, one about a woman searching for a lost coin and the other about a shepherd searching for a sheep that strayed off. (There is a third parable, which we will look at tomorrow). In these parables, there are three characters; the one who gets lost, the good ones who don’t get lost, and the one who goes looking for the lost one. It is interesting to challenge oneself to pick one of these characters to identify with.

I’ve generally thought that Jesus (and the Holy Spirit) would be searching for the lost one, but he invites us to be part of this activity, too. So we can, therefore, easily identify with the one searching for the lost, asking the Holy Spirit to help us recognise who they are and where they are hiding. And, of course, we need wisdom and sensitivity in reaching out to them.

Then there are the ones who haven’t got lost, the righteous ones who don’t need to repent. It would be nice to identify with these wonderful people; unfortunately, they don’t exist in reality (even though the Pharisees and morality police probably identified with them).

So that leaves us with identifying with the lost ones, although it does nothing for our self-esteem. But our verse tells us that there is rejoicing in heaven each time we acknowledge and repent of our failures, of our inability to live up to God’s standards. I find this picture very encouraging to think that the angels of heaven are cheering us on as we face the challenges of daily life. Our Heavenly Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and all the angels of heaven guide us in living out God’s love to our fellow lost ones.

Thank you, Jesus, for doing everything needed to rescue me from being lost in my relationship with you. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for continuing to find me from where I have wandered off and lovingly calling me back to the security of my relationship with Jesus. Amen.

Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the Air Force, army, and navy. He lives in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together they have four children and eight grandchildren with whom they love spending time. He keeps himself busy with pot plants, a community vegetable garden, researching his family history, and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.