A sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, September 21, 2025. The scriptures are Jeremiah 8:18-9:1, Psalm 79:1-9, 1 Timothy 2:1-7, and Luke 16:1-13.

“Is there no balm in Gilead?” The prophet Jeremiah asks the question on behalf of the people. He asks it of God, of the Universe. “Is there no balm?” The problems of his day feel overwhelming with the poor continually crying out, the seeming success of foreign gods, opposed to the will of Our God, and a collapse of all that seems good.

And while the problems of Jeremiah’s day are different from ours, with the state of our world and our country, we might add our voices to that prayer, Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no end to the suffering and warfare around the world? Is there no end to the meanness, dishonesty, and perversion of truth in our country? The killing of a political activist has thrown more fuel on the fire, with some suggesting he spoke truth like St. Paul, and others seeing him as the embodiment of bigoted small-mindedness— all the while, distracting everyone from the issue of gun violence, that kills far fewer famous people every day.

In his poem “The Second Coming,” William Butler Yeats, written in 1919, was reflecting on feelings of chaos and confusion just after World War I, writing

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere  
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst  
Are full of passionate intensity.

With violence and fear, the caving of institutions and refuges of free speech, Ukraine, Gaza, and all the hotspots of the world continued spinning out of control, and it can feel like Yeats was right—the center can’t hold, isn’t holding, and isn’t going to hold.

And so, what are we to do? As faithful people how do we respond when there’s no sign of “balm from Gilead” or any other place, and the center is crumbling?

One response for us might be to hide and ignore everything. One could check out with substances, with food, or drugs, or shopping, or whatever eases the anxiety.

Another response might be to join one of the extremes. Arm oneself with weapons of one kind or another, do what it takes to convince yourself of your claim on truth, while ignoring anything that might challenge or question.

But another—and I would argue, a more faithful way—is to pray through the messiness. Cling to the gray area. And keep working and praying for a center where there is the renewal of life, of peace, and of hope.

The Gospel suggests that the way to following Jesus is not to retreat from the world, but to use aspects of the world in ways that allow for us to live out our faith.

Jesus suggests that our living out the Gospel, our working with God to bring about his kingdom, may involve some strange relationships. It means that God calls us to be smart, shrewd and resourceful not in some future realm, but in the here-and-now. The Church becomes a place where we can be recharged with faith, with friendship, with the values that sustain like beauty and mercy and joy—and then we go into the world almost as God’s secret agents, to be love in a frightened and frightening world.

In today’s Gospel, we hear about a rich man who has a dishonest manager. This manager is not only underperforming but also seems to be either skimming off the top or manipulating the funds in some other way. The accounts don’t add up, and the rich man gives the manager notice.

But the manager sees some of this coming. He knows his days are numbered, so he makes plans, and his plans involve building up “credit” with others. Before he leaves, the manager goes around to all of those who owe the rich man. He cuts his losses. He lowers each person’s total, collects what he can and tries to prepare for the future. He is a pragmatist, and his quick thinking seems to get him back into the favor of his boss.

We should make no mistake that in today’s scripture, Jesus is simply telling a story. He doesn’t mean for his disciples or us to identify specifically with one character or another. He is not encouraging us to be cheats. He is not suggesting that the kingdom of God is achieved by dishonesty or duplicity.

But there is the suggestion that the kingdom of God benefits from a shrewd mind and from a willingness to make use of all the resources at one’s disposal.

The Christian faith is not helped by feeble-mindedness or by a kind of pious naïveté. Rather, in Jesus’ words, the “children of light” can learn a few things from the “children of this age.” That is to say that those who seek to follow Jesus can learn even from, and perhaps especially from some who are secular and even nonreligious. In the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus uses the great phrase of our calling to be “as sheep in the midst of wolves, to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)

Today’s readings suggest that we have a role to play in the ongoing life of God and the unfolding of God’s kingdom. It matters what we do with what we have, whether we have just a tiny bit or whether we have a whole lot. Whatever we have can be used for God’s good will. What we have in terms of our energy, our mind, our faith, our compassion, our talent, our money— all of this has a role to play in God’s unfolding kingdom.

Using what we have, for God, is the central message of today’s scripture. It is what Jesus is saying to his disciples—that even though the manager in the story is less-than-honest, perhaps he’s even a little shady and maybe even a little underhanded, the manager does everything he can to prepare for the future—he uses all of his resources in the most creative way he can, and it’s that creativity and resourcefulness that Jesus is lifts up for us.

Very soon, we’ll be talking about “using what we have” for God’s glory in very tangible ways, as our church enters Stewardship Season.  A pledge form is not only for money (though we use pledges so that we can create the operating budget for the next year, and we NEED your pledge—whether it’s a dollar or thousands of dollars).  A pledge form also has various ministries and efforts of the church listed, inviting you to consider where God might be calling you to spend some time, or spend some energy.  Don’t underestimate the things you have, the skills you possess, the relationships and connections you enjoy—God calls and consecrates the WHOLE person, and wants us to be creative and crafty as follow and serve Christ.

Maybe you can volunteer with HTNC (Holy Trinity Neighborhood Center). We also need new Board Members for HTNC. Maybe you can volunteer with the Saturday dinner, or help with the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner preparation and delivery. Or maybe you can volunteer with Trinity Cares our network of people who can help with odds and ends, going with you or picking you up from a doctor’s appointment, or just visiting. Mary Jane Gocher can add you to her list and call on you when there’s a need.

Or maybe you don’t have time, but you have a little extra money. Thing about how you might already support the great music and art of our city, but also consider how you might more fully support the programs here that invite people into God’s love through the “beauty of holiness.”

Moving faith into the world, maybe your energy is around protesting, and writing letters, and getting people registered to vote. You have until October 25 to register to vote in the upcoming NYC elections. Maybe you DO have energy and knowhow for social media and podcasts, well, do it for the glory and good of God.

Whatever our gifts, the Gospel calls us to move out of fear and where we can and we have energy and it’s safe to do so—engage the world.

Our Collect of the Day prays that even as we are surrounded by earthly things, that we would not be anxious about them, but hold on to what lasts, what endures, what helps others, and what furthers the community and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we learn to use all that we have and all that we are for God, and never be afraid to be crafty for the kingdom of God.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.