Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding

 "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 yourselves 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 who 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 into 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, as Jesus spoke, one from the crowd said to Him, "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 tore 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 to 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 notes here that do not fear is a recurring theme in Christ's discourse.  Little flock refers to all believers.  How are they little?  In two ways:  they are insignificant in the eyes of the world; and they are small in number when compared to the earthly and heavenly creation.  His words here asks us where our treasure is.  He teaches that by our charity; that is, by living the love that God teaches us and the purpose for wealth God gives us, we store treasures that never fail us and cannot be taken away.

"Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves 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 calls these words of Christ a call to be vigilant.  Here Christ echoes the imagery in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.  Let your waist be girded is a call to be ready for virtuous action.  To have your lamps burning is to have spiritual discernment. 

"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 into 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."   When the master returns, what will we expect?  In this case, the master exemplifies the virtue to which His servants should aspire.  The second and third watch is between 9:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m., which are interpreted as hours of heightened temptation.  Therefore, the servants are most blessed who remain faithful during the night, says my study bible.  Otherwise, this may be also interpreted as those who remain prepared while others are sleeping, unaware.    We don't know when the Son of Man will return, and Jesus suggests here that it is improper to try to predict that time.  Rather, our focus is on remaining faithful, vigilant in our faith, and ready at every hour.

Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"  An 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."  Peter asks who the previous parable was for; to His disciples, or to all people?  The earlier parable is for all people, while the parable Jesus tells here in these verses is to the apostles and their successors -- those who will be the rulers and teachers of the Church.  Jesus charges His servants that they must keep in mind His standards, most of all guarding mercy and the practice of love, care and generosity to those under them.  My study bible says that the exhortations to principles of virtue and the warnings against corruption apply specifically to those who are entrusted with spiritual leadership.   In the end of this parable, Jesus gives an indication that the judgment of the teachers of the Church will be strict (James 3:1).  The many stripes which are given to those who are willfully and knowingly disobedient symbolize condemnation, according to my study bible.  The few stripes are for those disobedient out of ignorance, indicating a softer chastisement and correction.  However we look at this, Jesus makes it clear that for those to whom much has been given, particularly in the form of spiritual understanding, much will be required.  This is especially so for those who are to care for the Church, to whom much has been committed.

Jesus speaks of the master in the parable, who, when He returns, will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.  This is clearly an example to all of us, but especially to Peter and the apostles, for it is a signal to them about what they should be doing in the Master's absence.   What does it mean to gird oneself?   In the time of Christ, garments were long and loose, and could get in the way when doing work.  To gird oneself was to wrap up the garment around the body and secure it in such a way that it would not get in the way when doing any kind of physical work.  Cyril of Alexandria comments that "the girding of our loins signifies the readiness of the mind to work hard in every thing praiseworthy. Those who apply themselves to bodily labors and are engaged in strenuous toil have their loins girded."    This language reminds us of St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians, in which he speaks of spiritual struggle as a battle, in which we must gird our waist with truth (see Ephesians 6:10-20).  In both Jesus' words in today's reading, and in St. Paul's letter, we have exhortation to work, to struggle, to active duty.  While this duty may indeed be, as St. Paul says, to pray and to "work" in ways that involve the mind (implied by Christ's words let your waist be girded and your lamps burning), we must think of working and serving as involving all of ourselves in faith.  St. Paul tells us that participation in the battle means to "take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."  Our active service involves work which is not only what we think of as physical labor, but a constant service to be about the things of God:  in prayer, almsgiving, spiritual study, and above all a constant ongoing work of preparing ourselves in spiritual truth, righteousness,  the gospel of peace; and above all, of our faith (as St. Paul lays it out).  What's important is that we think of these things in the ways in which Christ has given them to us:  as active service.   To know spiritual truth, to grow in the wisdom of God, to think on the Scriptures, to pray unceasingly, is every bit a part and parcel of active work and service as any other work or activity we can consider "good" in the light of our faith.  Most importantly, we should consider the context of almsgiving, and dependency upon God as opposed to anxiety about possessions -- these are the subjects Jesus has addressed just before this passage.  We can't truly know or grow in true charity and compassion without the work of prayer and communion with God, consideration of the gospel of peace, and the knowledge that all together forms a complete life in Christ.  Jesus' message tells us we have no separation between our earthly lives and participation in God's kingdom, even as we await His return.   Let us consider what our true work is -- and where true treasure is.