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From the Pastor’s Pen
Sunday, August 8, 2010
When Preparation Meets Opportunity
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year C (2010)
Luke 12.32-40
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting
for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and
knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those
servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the
truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table
and will come and wait on them.
~ Luke 12.35-37 (NIV)
The Holy Spirit and Dr. Marion Soards inspire today’s lesson.
Setting. As Jesus taught the multitude (12.1), he turned directly to
his disciples (12.22) and spoke to them concerning the radical character of
discipleship, especially about their assurance of God’s love for them. That
divine love liberates disciples to devote themselves to God’s own purposes.
The verses of our lesson build on Jesus’ words about assurance and
liberation.
Structure. Various Greek and English texts of our lesson suggest an
array of ways to divide the verses of the reading into paragraphs.
Interpreters debate whether v. 32 should be regarded as the conclusion to
Jesus’ teachings in 12.22-31 or as the initial comment concerning laying up
treasure in heaven in vv. 33-34. While v. 32 seems more thematically
coherent with vv. 22-31, it both summarizes and works as a transition to the
thoughts of vv. 33-34. In using the text suggested by the lectionary, it is
perhaps most helpful to understand that vv. 32-34 and vv. 35-40 are two
distinguishable units of Jesus’ teaching. Either both sets of verses may
provide the basis of a sermon on the themes of having true concern with
God’s purposes and the necessity of vigilant readiness for God’s final or
ultimate act of judgment. The second part of the lesson, vv. 35-40, itself
contains two complimentary parts: vv. 35-38, a parabolic statement about the
necessity of being prepared.
Significance. The opening declaration of our lesson tells Jesus
disciples why they are free to live fearlessly according to God’s will.
God’s gracious granting of the “kingdom” is the basis and the standard of
the life to which Jesus calls his disciples. Disciples are not told to
strive for the kingdom, to achieve it, so that they may live boldly. Rather,
Jesus recognizes the priority of God’s grace. Because God is pleased to
grant Jesus’ disciples the kingdom, they are free to live as citizens of
that kingdom. What Jesus means by “the kingdom” is clear throughout Luke’s
gospel from the words of the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11.24). The kingdom of God
is established by God’s own giving of the kingdom. That kingdom is the place
where the will of God is actively done. In God’s kingdom human needs are
met, sinfulness is forgiven, and human beings are transformed so that their
own lives model the depths of the love of God (especially in forgiveness),
and God directs the very lives of the citizens of his kingdom.
Verses 33-34 are, in part, comparable to Matthew 6.19-21. These lines
explicate the life-style of those living according to God’s will. Jesus
teaches that the lives of his disciples are to be characterized by selfless
generosity. In earthly terms one recognizes such living especially in acts
of compassion toward those in need, but in spiritual terms Jesus’ statement
recognizes that one should understand that Christian generosity is an
expression of ultimate devotion to God.
The story in vv. 35-38 is somewhat similar in language and theme to the
parables found in Matthew 24.45-51 and 25.1-13, although these verses in our
lesson from Luke are without a strict parallel. Clearly, however, a central
theme of Jesus’ teaching was his insistence that his disciples should be
watchful and ready for God’s decisive action. A key thought in this passage
is that humans do not and cannot know the precise time of God’s future
actions; but they can be absolutely certain that God will act. The mention
of the Son of Man picks up the vocabulary and image of Jewish apocalyptic
(end time) thought, especially as expressed in books such as Daniel. The Son
of Man was a more than human heavenly figure who was expected to act at the
final cosmic assize as God’s agent of judgment. These verses may be read as
an indirect threat, but they are more words of promise and assurance that
motivate faithfulness than mere threat. The tone of the teaching is more
positive than negative, so in proclamation, one should work to develop the
promise of blessing as the motivation for watchfulness and readiness.
No matter when God acts, those who are prepared will be blessed. In the
context of Luke’s gospel, readiness is associated with the life of service
and charity discussed in the previous verses. Thus, watchfulness and
readiness are the active doing of God’s will, not simply waiting around
while doing no wrong. The ensuing verses, vv. 39-40, develop this line of
thought. Christians have an active job to do as they live in watchful
preparation for the coming of God’s grand judgment.
Love,
Lawrence T. Foster |
