Luke 19:11-28
While people were listening to Jesus speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God would appear there immediately. So he said, “A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’ His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.’ But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, ‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’ He replied, ‘Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.’ Then the second came and reported, ‘Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’ And to this servant too he said, ‘You, take charge of five cities.’ Then the other servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.’ He said to him, ‘With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’ And to those standing by he said, ‘Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.’ But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’ He replied, ‘I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.’” After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.
And now, the reflections. Cousins speak side by side. One Protestant and the other Catholic. Can you tell which is Catholic and which is Protestant?
The reflection on the left:I do not much care for this reading. I never have. Where is the warm, soft, and welcoming Jesus I expect to find in Bible? You know the guy I expect. The one who says please and thank you. The Jesus who said having good intentions are the same as good behavior.Here comes the guy who says if your hand offends you, cut it off or calls well-meaning but naïve Pharisees things you would not call a dog. How can he expect us to take this parable seriously? Would God really describe himself the way the new king seems to relish here? I like the Jesus who invites me to take up his yoke and to love one another but this guy? No thanks. What is really going here? Surely there more than we see at first blush. Let us look deeper. The analogy of the nasty new king would be as familiar to those of that time as the story of Trump and the election is to us. The listeners were very much aware of Archelaus, son of Herod, who went to Rome to get his “crown” and when he came back large and in charge he butchered the enemies who dared raise opposition to his desire. There is no mistaking Jesus was using the analogy to give us a picture of the future. Jesus was telling us he was going to be going away for a time and then would return and that when he returned there would be reckoning. I get it. Jesus was going to die, be resurrected, ascend into heaven, and then return again at the end of times to judge the living and the dead. There is another uncomfortable word, judge. Why, however, does he have to talk like Archelaus and suggest he was going to pick up what he did not lay down and to harvest what he had not sown? It is just mean spirited and out of place. Or is it. I want to stop and look across the bible for more perspective. The first thing is to recognize the style of communication in ancient Israel. Everything was exaggerated, histrionic and given to hyperbole. Look at the prophets. They did not pussy foot around. All manner of death, destruction and mayhem was going to rain down if the people did not quit doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. Check out this little gem from Zechariah that popped up recently: “I will destroy the pride of the Philistine and take from his mouth his bloody meat, and his abominations from between his teeth!” Ouch. Coming back to the parable, I have to accept there is no sugar coating the fact judgement day is coming and if we act like the 10th servant, we are in for a world of hurt. If, by my own actions, I deprive myself of being judged the worthy, I will not think it is my fault. It would be God’s fault for being mean to me. Never mind that I know full well that God does not want me to be slain in front of him. The message I need to hear is actions have consequences. Message heard, loud and clear. The bottom line is I need to get over how this passage makes me feel. My wife points out feelings are my enemy because they, my feelings, never get it right. The fate of the 10th servant does not have to be my fate. Thank God. Literally, thank God! He will pick up what he has laid down and he will reap what he has sown. I have free will to choose whether to be part of the harvest. We all do. You already knew the truth here. We all do. The message today is knowing the truth is not the same as living it. We gather around the virtual tables today to remind each other of the truth and to offer a helping hand to live out the truth it so others will see and believe. | The reflection on the right:Have you ever heard someone say, “My God would never ________!" or "I can't believe in a God that would _________!"? This passage is one of the passages that could lead someone to say one or the other of those things.In a passage that has a classic coffee cup quote-"Well done my good servant." we also read "bring them here and kill them in front of me." One of those quotes we are quick to believe and plaster on fridges, plaques, mugs, and bumper stickers. "LK 19 27" will only make it on the license plate of someone headed for the electric chair. But Jesus attributes to the same king. We cannot have one without the other. The context is Jesus telling a story because people around Him thought He was going to establish THE Kingdom immediately. So He is speaking to what that Kingdom will be like. There are two groups of people aside from the king-servants and subjects. The king is accused by one servant as being "...a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow." The subjects seem to all have a dislike for the king and reject him as king and in fact lobby for him to not be king. The servants were given a simple and specific task - take the money the king gave them and put it to work. The servants who did what they were told to do (obeyed) were rewarded with great responsibility. The one who did not was severely reprimanded and left with nothing. 8 years ago I would have not responded as I am about to, but now I am convinced that Jesus is concerned with His disciples obeying Him. The message to the servants is clear. Obey the king. Jesus is teaching obedience. If you obey the king, you will be rewarded. If you do not, you will be reprimanded and lose any hope of reward...but as a servant, not be killed in front of the king. The message with the subjects who rejected the king is far more disturbing. Kill them in front of me? While I do not like it, I have to accept the truth that there are only two kinds of people. Those who will accept Jesus as king and those who will not. Those who accept Him become His servants and can expect one of the two outcomes we just covered related to servants. Those who reject Him will be given an severe punishment. And there will be a day when those who reject Jesus will be judged and sentenced to eternal torment. Lastly, simply because the subjects and at least some servants did not like the king or thought him to be a hard man or unfair, does not make him unfair at all. It means my American, middle class, small town, church-going self has a different understanding of what a fair god would do than God actually does. Lastly, if this is about Jesus as King and subjects who reject Him get the just punishment of that rejection then it is incumbent on me, His servant, to obey Him and seek to bring subjects into servant status by explaining that the just God who will punish those who don't follow Him is the same God who paid the price of their rejecting Him so as to become the one who justifies all who willingly accept His sacrifice as full payment for their having transgressed the King's law. "Go therefore and disciple all peoples...teaching them to obey all I commanded you." |
