While You Wait

If you’ve been following along this series in your Bible at home, you’ll know that we finished the series on the Sermon on the Mount last week. At that point, I returned to the Gospel passage from the revised common lectionary, which gives four readings for each Sunday and festival in the liturgical calendar: one Psalm, one OT, one Epistle, and one gospel reading. There are three cycles, beginning with the first Sunday in Advent, identified as years A, B and C. We’re in Cycle C this year, which uses the Gospel of Luke.

And what do you know? At this very moment, the lectionary finishes up Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount, and then adds a few extra warnings about the dangers of failing to take his words seriously. So if it sounds today as if I’m still harping on the same basic themes as I have been for the last 7 months, well, I am. Because Jesus did.

Now, the lectionary reading is actually a little different from the text I’m preaching from. The first part was a parallel passage to one I’ve already preached on. So, I started at verse 35 instead of at verse 32. And then, as I looked at the material more carefully, I realized that verses 41-48 are actually a repetition of the lesson in v. 35-40, but amplified for the disciples’ benefit. Because after Jesus said the words we read just a moment ago, Peter asked a question. Trust Peter to ask the question everybody wants to know but doesn’t want to sound stupid for asking!

What Peter said was, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” [v. 41] And Jesus answered with another illustration: “Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. That slave who knew what his master wanted but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. [v. 42-48]

What we have here are three stories addressing the same theme: what to do until while waiting for Jesus to come back. First is the story of household servants awaiting their master’s return from a wedding feast; [v. 35-38] the second one is really a footnote to the first, making the unexpected break-in of the thief equivalent to the unexpected return of the master. [39-40] Third is the story of servants at different levels of readiness for the return of their master. [42-48] These parables follow immediately on the heels of a story about a rich farmer God called a fool for gloating over his possessions without giving any thought to eternity - which came along much sooner than he anticipated. [v. 12:15-21] That’s the context in which Luke puts Jesus’ teaching about not worrying about possessions, but to store up treasures in heaven.

With that as our context, let’s take a look at how Jesus approaches this theme of paying careful attention to the important stuff, namely eternity, which is to say his final return at the day of judgment. He comes at us from two different angles. First he encourages the faithful, and then he warns the faithless.

Jesus gives three different examples or descriptions of being faithful:

First, he calls us to “be dressed for action” [12:35a]. Actually, the old English of the King James is helpful here - “Let your loins be girded.” Remember that in those days people wore long robes that literally dragged around in the dust. They were bulky and cumbersome. But they were also conveniently belted around the waist so that at need all the extra fabric could be tucked up out of the way. And so what Jesus is saying is, keep yourself ready to respond to the call of the gospel. Don’t burden yourself in such a way that you can’t take quick action.