Sermon: "Making Sense of a Covenant Theology"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

[This sermon by Bishop vonRosenberg was delivered using the following notes.]

I am once again grateful to the people of St. James for your warm welcome of me. This is a special church and congregation for Annie and me, for - as some of you know - we actually made a visitation here prior to my election. In any event, it is good to be back once again.

Also, I am grateful for your ministries exercised in this place and beyond. Indeed, I give thanks that you live your lives according to the Baptismal Covenant that we have with God.

That Baptismal Covenant we will renew in a few minutes, along with our confirmation candidates today. In the Baptismal Covenant, we state the faith that we share, and we affirm our intention to live a Christian life, following the example of our Lord.

In the midst of church challenges of our day, we can be tempted to divert our attention and energy away from what is basic to our faith. For that reason, as I travel about the diocese this year, I will uphold aspects of our ministry that focus on our mission as the Diocese of East Tennessee. That is, I intend to call special attention to those areas of mission and ministry that are consistent with our living the Baptism Covenant that we have with God Almighty.

During the year to come, we will emphasize several diocesan ministries in particular. First, the Grace Point Camp and Retreat Center provides a wonderful resource for Christian nurture and for spiritual formation, for all Episcopalians in East Tennessee. Secondly, the development of lay ministries focuses our attention precisely on living lives consistent with the call of our Baptismal Covenant. Finally, outreach ministries with the people of Appalachia and with the native Americans in South Dakota give us practical ways to respond to Christ's call to love our neighbors - as well as to "seek and serve Christ in all persons," to "strive for justice and peace among all people" and to "respect the dignity of every human being."

The last year may have been one of trial, of sadness and of challenge for many Episcopalians - although not for all of us in East Tennessee. However, this year - with a concentration on the ministries I am suggesting - perhaps we can refocus our attention on the Baptismal Covenant. Let me suggest something else, too. If you take the first letters of those ministries - Grace Point, lay ministry development, Appalachia, and the Dakotas - then you may see that I am proposing a "glad" year for us in East Tennessee! On the one hand, I think we all need it. And, on the other hand, this will bring us in line with our Lord's call, as we live into the Baptismal Covenant. Therefore, may this indeed be a glad year for us!

In terms of the Gospel reading today, those words confront us with a rather complicated and troublesome parable. The main character in the story is called the "unrighteous steward" in some translations and the "dishonest manager" in others. But, by whatever name he is known, he is clearly not a very likeable fellow!

At the beginning of Jesus' parable, we hear that the manager's wasteful care of the rich man's goods has threatened to get that manager fired. However, in desperation, the manager makes deals with the rich man's debtors, thus realizing at least some profit. Then the rich man - or the "master" - commends the manager for his shrewdness.

Now, just following the parable itself come several apparent meanings or morals to the story. Taken as a whole, the list seems confusing - in part because the different morals really do not relate well to each other or to the parable itself. In all likelihood, this part of the reading represents an accumulation and listing of several of Jesus' teachings about the general theme of money. However, they probably come from differing circumstances and situations, and except for the general theme, they are unrelated. Thus, the list does seem confusing, for indeed it is.

Therefore, in order to consider the Gospel this morning, let me suggest to you that an understanding of covenant theology offers us one way to gain a grasp of the parable's meaning. That is, the rich man and his manager had a covenant - an understanding, an agreement - with each other. The manager did not live up to his responsibilities under the covenant to begin with. Thus, he was about to get fired. However, then he began again to function within the covenant - shrewdly making money for the rich man. Although we are not told for sure, we are led to believe that the rich man forgave the manager, and the covenant relationship subsequently was reestablished.

The covenant that we have with our Master - with God - is the Baptismal Covenant. It is a covenant of belief - the belief that we soon will reaffirm in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But it also is a covenant - an agreement, an understanding - that certain actions will result from our beliefs. You will notice that opportunities for repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation are built into this covenant, too. Nevertheless, because of the covenant, actions are anticipated, and results are expected. For instance, our intentions include seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves, striving for justice and peace, and respecting the dignity of every human being. Living in a covenant relationship with God results in certain expectations about how we will indeed live.

Thus, I put before you today the ministry opportunities of Grace Point, lay ministry development, Appalachia and the Dakotas as ways to live into our Baptismal Covenant with God. May we be faithful not only in what we say we believe, but also in what we do. May we be faithful in small things so that, by God's grace, we will be led to greater and greater faithfulness, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Copyright © 2004 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee