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"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
"Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourself be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?" And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."
- Luke 12:32-48
Yesterday, we read that one from the crowd to which He was speaking said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you."
"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." My study bible tells us that "do not fear" is a recurring theme in Jesus' discourse that follows. "Little flock," it says, "refers to all believers. They are little in two ways: (1) they are insignificant in the eyes of the world, and (2) they are small in number when compared to the earthly and heavenly creation." So much depends on what we truly treasure, what we love.
"Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourself be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately." My study bible suggests that this is a call to be vigilant, echoing the imagery of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). Your waist be girded is a suggestion to be ready for virtuous action. Lamps burning: have spiritual discernment.
"Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." My study bible says regarding the rest of today's reading, "The mark of a true disciple is vigilance in performing the work and exemplifying the virtue of the master." To be ready is again the theme of vigilance. If lamps burning is an expression for spiritual discernment (as in the recent reading in which Jesus taught, "The lamp of the body is the eye"), then it would seem to me that spiritual discernment is also required for understanding and preparation for this return. The second and the third watch is between 9:00 PM and 3:00 AM; my study bible says that this is "interpreted as hours of heightened temptation. Thus, the servants are most blessed who remain faithful during the night." It says also, "It is not the place of anyone to try to predict the time of the return of the Son of Man, but rather to remain faithful and to be ready at every hour."
Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?" And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers." A note says that the previous parable was to all people, while the parable begun here is to the apostles and their successors, who are the rulers and teachers of the Church. It notes, "The exhortations to principles of virtue and the warnings against corruption apply specifically to those entrusted with spiritual leadership."
"And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more." My study bible teaches here: "The judgment of the teachers of the Church will be strict (James 3:1). The many stripes given to those who are willfully and knowingly disobedient symbolize condemnation. The few stripes are for those disobedient out of ignorance and indicate chastisement or correction."
So here we have it, in definitive statements, those who are responsible for teaching and guiding, and those who know better -- who have already been given so much teaching -- will be held to a stricter standard, a tougher judgment, than those who have not had the benefit of this teaching. I think we can safely say that "teaching" includes all that we have in terms of the whole of Scripture, and the understandings that have developed in 2,000 years of Church history. These are all among the "much that is given." This gives us an understanding of judgment with which it is important that we temper our understanding. So much depends upon what we already know, or have been given to know. Furthermore, those who stand as teachers must live lives that adhere by those teachings; they must take seriously the gifts that have been given to them. They are the ones who "know" something. If ever there is a doubt that somehow judgment is different from, or in opposition to, God's love and mercy, this understanding of standards being adjustable given the heart of each is very important. Jesus also tells us here that His followers are not to be those who lord it over others, but rather those who are capable of living out the teachings he teaches. There is no excuse for them; if He commands vigilance from His followers, they must be the ones who strive the most to truly live by His teachings. In this sense, there is an intuition that I think can be extrapolated that, in a sense, we're all to be good teachers by truly living the Gospel. Elsewhere we are told that we should shine our light so as to truly glorify God in the world. But here, He's directly teaching about the role of the leadership, and warning about being ready for the time of His return. He seems to imply that to be too secure about the places of the "elect" is a dire mistake, both in the Church and at the time of the Second Coming. Later on in Luke's Gospel, He will ask, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" The readings lately in Luke's Gospel have asked us to be aware that God's knowledge goes deep into our hearts, that there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, that even the hairs on our heads are numbered, that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without God's awareness. In all this, we stand most precious. A part of that love is the vigilance Christ asks especially from those who call themselves faithful and particularly those in any leadership position. The things we're given are priceless gifts, not treasures to be hidden away and somehow used for gain. Our leaders are to treat the littlest ones as if Christ Himself were in their faces -- and thereby the presence of the Father who sent Him. How can we doubt that His judgment is not also a part of love and mercy? Let us take these things to heart, and ask for the awareness that He calls from us.
