The Intended Audience

Gospel: Luke 12: 39-48

Peter asks Jesus an important question: are these parables and teachings meant for us alone, or for everyone? In typical fashion, Jesus does not directly answer the question.  He instead relates another parable about the tending of the master's house - how some servants are faithful to those duties and fulfill their tasks well, while another group of servants are abusive of the estate and of other servants, taking advantage of the master's absence.  

At this point we are tempted to interpret this parable in various ways.  First century audiences would see this as condemnatory of Jewish religious authorities who failed to care for God's kingdom.  In later times up to our own day many will see this parable as a condemnation of bad shepherds in the Church who have neglected the tending of the estate and abused others with their authority.  Such readings are understandable.

But what if we see the master's estate as our own soul and our tending of the kingdom of God within us? Now we have to consider our neglect and our own abuse of that responsibility.  We would like to blame others for the state of our soul, and we seek to do so with vigor.  The master dwelling within will not allow such shirking of duty.  The parables of Jesus are intended for the examination of our own lives, not that of others.   

Unlikely Meals

Gospel: Luke 12: 35-38

In the ancient world it would never be the case that a master serve at table for his servants.  No matter how good a job his servants did, in the mind of the master such work is what was expected, requiring no rewards or special events.  The idea of a master serving anyone at table was unthinkable.  And yet here Jesus uses that image to reflect the portrait of God Jesus has, and how the kingdom of God operates in a very different way from kingdoms of the world.

So, in the kingdom of God the master serves a meal for his servants, just as a feast is prepared for the Prodigal Son.  In the ministry of Jesus we find him eating at table with tax collectors and prostitutes one day, while on another day he eats with Pharisees and scribes.  Jesus will have his final meal - the Passover meal - with men who would variously betray him, deny him, and abandon him in his moment of greatest need.  God's table is a vast and wide one.

The table in the kingdom of God is a place of encounter and transformation.  It is a place of celebration as well as one of forgiveness and healing.  The table is not reserved for an elite - the elite often reject the invitation, thinking themselves too good to be with everyone else.  Yet, the elite are not excluded from the invitation list; they exclude themselves.  We hope they will come to the table along with everyone else to enjoy the hospitality and service of the master.

The Hoarding Rich

Gospel: Luke 12: 13-21

It is easy for us to read this Gospel and apply it to the scandalous and sinful income inequality in our own times.  We could very well recall the age of the robber barons and industrialists who stored up vast quantities of wealth while exploiting their workers.  We might well note how our nation was founded through stolen land given to corporations who then brought cheap labor in the form of indentured servants and slaves in order to amass great wealth.  All of that would certainly be true.

Additionally, we might well apply this story to ourselves.  The average person has a vast quantity of things in their homes and storage units they do not use - clothes, kitchenware, our exercise museums, and all sorts of things that could be used by others who need them.  We might not regard ourselves as rich, but to the person from a developing country or the ghetto our comfortable home filled with stuff is a mansion in their eyes.  

If we ourselves are not willing to part with the excess in our own lives, it is then very likely that if we were to become rich we would hoard wealth just as the elite of our societies do in every age and place.  Today is a day to take stock and reduce it, living simply and helping others who have nothing at all.  This Gospel lesson is for all of us, not just the one percent.