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Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."
And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'"
- Luke 17:1-10
In our reading yesterday, Jesus gave the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus: "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.' Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let then hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"
Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him." My study bible says that "little ones" primarily refers to children, but by extension to anyone whose "heart is humble and dependent on God." It seems to me also that "little ones" refers to those who come to the disciples, the nominal members of the Church who will be under their guidance as His stewards. Thus "brother" becomes those we are in relation to - and a model for others in the flock, all the "little ones."
And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." My study bible suggests that the mulberry tree is symbolic of the devil's works. "It is on the leaf of this tree that silkworms feed, worms being an image of hell (Mark 9:42-48). This patristic interpretation is confirmed by numerous scriptural images of evil being destroyed in the sea (8:33; Exodus 14:27; Matthew 21:21; Revelation 20:10). "
"And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not." A note says, "The servant plowing is mentioned first and the one tending sheep second, showing that one must first work out his own salvation (Philippians 2:12) before he can become a shepherd of others."
"So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'" My study bible tells us that the word for unprofitable here literally means "without merit." However, it doesn't imply that the servant is without intrinsic value. Rather, it means everything we have comes from God and is owed back to Him. There is nothing we can offer God that is not already His.
Jesus speaks to the disciples as those who will be future stewards of His Church. They will have the "jobs" of gathering and nurturing His flock, leading them, after Pentecost. But in this sense these words prepare all of us, as we look to Christ to teach us what it is to become a true servant. We need preparation, commitment, a kind of training in the work through experience. And above all, this work requires humility -- the capacity to remember "the little ones" and to take great care in what we do. Everything we do teaches. Everything we do is a part of this work. And if our attitude is like one of the "little ones," keeping in mind that we are always ready to learn more, to do more, and that we remain in this position, then we are on a good road. We are on the road He calls us to. Even in the highest positions of leadership, to be like the little ones, to take care of the little ones and remain humble might be the greatest task, but also the most difficult. For all of us, the learning is ongoing -- and in the learning is at once the doing, the work, and the leadership He asks for. He doesn't promise the disciples this will be an easy job. On the other hand, He's calling them to a discipline and a remembrance. He rebukes the Pharisees for a kind of elitism and ways in which power is used hypocritically; He tells His own disciples that they are to be nothing like this -- and that their greatest virtue will be to remain humble and without hubris. In some sense, the whole of the Bible can be summed up in that teaching! Even the ancient world of the Greeks taught above all against hubris, the kind of arrogance that leads us to forget that we are dependent upon God and that we are not gods unto ourselves. We are human beings; we always have flaws and blind spots, things we are learning -- and so things we must keep in mind. It's a tough road, not easy. But what good thing is truly worthwhile if it doesn't call us to awareness and discipline, if it doesn't challenge us to a kind of call for excellence? It would be wrong if we were to interpret Jesus' words in some sort of competitive spirit, comparing ourselves to others. Each one is called to be the servant they can be; each one of us reports to the Master and therein finds our duties and also the flaws we need to work on. We need humility for this job -- and Jesus constantly reminds the disciples that it is their job to mind how the fellow servants are treated! This is what He gives us, and it is a good road to be on, a kind of honor that has to do with personal integrity -- to God and to neighbor, and especially to the "little ones" whoever they may be in our lives and communities.
