Daily Scripture:
Luke 12:
35 “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit, 36 like people waiting for their master’s return after a wedding feast; so that when he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him without delay. 37 Happy the slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes! Yes! I tell you he will put on his work clothes, seat them at the table, and come serve them himself! 38 Whether it is late at night or early in the morning, if this is how he finds them, those slaves are happy.
39 “But notice this: no house-owner would let his house be broken into if he knew when the thief was coming. 40 You too, be ready! For the Son of Man will come when you are not expecting him.”
41 Kefa said, “Sir, are you telling this parable for our benefit only or for everyone’s?” 42 The Lord replied, “Nu, who is the faithful and sensible manager whose master puts him in charge of the household staff to give them their share of food at the proper time? 43 It will go well with that servant if he is found doing his job when his master comes. 44 Yes, I tell you he will put him in charge of all he owns. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking his time coming,’ and starts bullying the men- and women-servants, and eating and drinking, getting drunk, 46 then his master will come on a day when the servant isn’t expecting him, at a time he doesn’t know in advance; his master will cut him in two and put him with the disloyal. 47 Now the servant who knew what his master wanted but didn’t prepare or act according to his will, will be whipped with many lashes; 48 however, the one who did what deserves a beating, but didn’t know, will receive few lashes. From him who has been given much, much will be demanded — from someone to whom people entrust much, they ask still more.
(Complete Jewish Bible).Reflection Questions:
Jesus used this story to remind his disciples that we are God’s servants. We are responsible to use God’s resources according to God’s will, rather than our own. His story reflected the Roman legal system where, in most cases, masters held absolute, life-and-death power over their servants. Jesus was not saying God acted just as Roman masters would. He was emphasizing the importance that we be responsible stewards of whatever God gives us.
In Genesis 12:2-3, God said to Abraham, Israel’s founding father (and likely one of his day’s 1%), “I will make of you a great nation and will bless you…. all the families of earth will be blessed because of you.” Jesus continued to teach that with blessing comes responsibility: “from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.” What are your biggest blessings? In what ways are you using them to bless others?
“Punishments [in Jesus' story] vary depending on how much the disciple knows; but none of Luke’s readers who hear these parables could claim they didn’t know the master’s will.”* Jesus said a great deal more about the proper priority and uses of wealth than about many other topics on which most Christians claim certainty. If last weekend’s sermon (you can click here to watch it) or this week’s GPS readings have challenged you, then you clearly know the master’s will. What will you do about it?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I know what you taught about how I should relate to my possessions, and how I should use them to bless others. Give me the inner freedom to act on your teaching. Amen.
* Richard B. Vinson, study note on Luke 12:47-48 in Joel B. Green, gen. ed. The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 139 NT.
Read today's Insight by Dr. Amy OdenDr. Amy Oden is Professor of Early Church History and Spirituality at Saint Paul School of Theology at OCU. Teaching is her calling, and she looks forward to every day with students. Her latest book (Right Here, Right Now: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness, Abingdon Press, 2017) traces ancient mindfulness practice for Christians today.
When I consider what Jesus has to say to the 1% of the world, I think about the Jesus-followers across history who warned about the dangers of power and wealth. Today we tend to assume that power and wealth provide security, the opposite of danger. Yet, along with Jesus, the Christian tradition teaches that it’s not that simple. Here are two examples:
- John Chrysostom, a fiery preacher in the 300’s in the capital of the Roman Empire, challenged the suspicions that many of his wealthy parishioners had about the poor. He says his parishioners are too quick to accuse those asking for help of “being idle” or “not willing to work.” Or, he says, the well-off refuse to share their resources because the needy are “just pretending they have need in order to get more than they deserve.” He closes his sermon with “We have not been made judges into other’s lives, because then we would have compassion on no one. . . Inquire, if you will, how Abraham showed hospitality towards all who came to him (Genesis 18). If he had been over-curious about those who fled to him for refuge, he would not have ‘entertained angels.’” *
- Another story is told about a bishop in the 700’s who spent the day going through the city giving out alms to the poor. In the afternoon, as he reached into his bag to give coins to a bedraggled man with an outstretched hand, the bishop’s assistant stopped the bishop and took him aside. “This man is trying to deceive you! You gave money to this same man in different clothes this morning on another street corner. He has changed his garments and rushed here to trick you into giving him an extra alms portion that should go to someone else!” The bishop replied, “Do not fear. I am happy to give, for it may be my Lord Jesus, coming to me as a stranger!” *
* adapted from Amy Oden, And You Welcomed Me: Sourcebook on Hospitality in Early Christianity, Abingdon Press, 2001.Like this post? Share it!
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- Prayer Tip: What Would Jesus Say to the 1%?
- Jesus, an extremist for love
- Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel
- Or download this week's printable GPS.
©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
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