Readings:
- Wisdom 18.6-9
Psalm 33.1, 12, 18-19, 20-22 Response: “Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.” - Hebrews 11.1-2, 8-19
- Luke 12:32-48 (longer version) or Luke 12:35-40 (shorter version)
Reflections on the Gospel Reading
Today’s gospel reading offers a number of striking sayings attributed to the Lord, some of them found only in Luke’s Gospel. Luke arranges them skillfully to illustrate the demands of life and leadership in Christian communities toward the end of the first century.
It is important to recall the context. We are reading through a long section of Luke’s Gospel where he uses the literary device of a journey to Jerusalem as the frame for various teachings attributed to Jesus in his sources. Many of these sayings and parables occur in different contexts in the other Gospels. It is difficult, if not impossible, to reconstruct the context of these sayings in the life of Jesus.
As we have seen, the exclusive use of “Lord” rather than “Jesus” in chapters 11 and 12 seems to indicate that Luke is applying words of the Risen Lord (some of which seem to have come from the utterances of Christian prophets) to the concerns of the Church in Luke’s own time. This is abundantly illustrated in today’s reading where the Greek word kurios (usually translated as “Lord”) appears eight times, even though six times it is translated into English as “master.”
Throughout today’s reading the word kurios has a certain ambiguity. Although sometimes it refers to a character in a parable and is translated “master,” it always has overtones relating to the Risen Lord present and active in the community of believers, especially when they are at prayer.
A Transitional Passage
This Sunday’s reading begins with a saying found only in Luke: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms.” (Luke 12.32-33a) These two sayings conclude a section where the Lord is teaching his disciples (Luke’s readers?) that they must not be anxious about their possessions. They also introduce a passage about life and leadership in the Christian community.
Looking back, the Lord is saying that disciples should not fear. They should trust in the God who feeds the ravens and clothes the lilies to provide them with food, drink, and clothing.
Looking forward, they should sell their belongings, give them to charity, and rely completely on the power of the kingdom given them by their Father.
In his Acts of the Apostles Luke describes the fulfillment of this command. “There was no needy person among them [the community of believers], for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.” (Acts 4.34-35)
“Sell your belongings and give alms.” means that Christians should demonstrate by their action that both their treasure and their heart lie in heaven, that is, in complete confidence on God. What one values most is a good indicator of one’s true belief. If a person is preoccupied with amassing possessions the claim to rely completely on God and the power of God’s reign has a very hollow ring.
This is a radical challenge – an acid test of trust in God’s loving power manifested in the community of believers. However, this is not a solo act. Giving away one’s possessions cuts ties with the family into which one was born only to establish ties with the family of God or the household of the faith. Communal living was crucial to Luke’s understanding of the Church.
In what follows in today’s gospel reading Luke comments on the demands of life and leadership in the community of believers. He arranges sayings of the Lord from various sources around two beatitudes, each followed by a solemn proclamation prefaced by “amen” or “truly.”
The First Beatitude: “Blessed are those servants whom the master (Greek: kurios) finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them” (Luke 12.37)
This remarkable saying, found only in Luke’s Gospel, is a complete reversal of what one would expect. The Lord has just told his disciples to gird their loins, that is, hike up the skirts of their tunics; free their legs for work; be dressed for action. While emphasizing the certainty of the Lord’s return Luke stresses the necessity of active watchfulness. However, when the Lord returns he also will gird himself for action and get to work. He will wait on his vigilant disciples as they join him in the heavenly banquet.
A similar saying can be found in Luke’s account of the Last Supper. Unlike the other Evangelists, Luke places the argument among the disciples about which of them should be regarded as the greatest at the Last Supper. Jesus rebukes them saying: “Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant. For who is greater: the one seated at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one seated at table? I am among you as one who serves.” (Luke 22.26-27)
These passages help us understand the importance Luke places on table service in his Gospel and in The Acts of the Apostles. As Luke Timothy Johnson observes: “Authority is here [symbolically] expressed in table service.” (1991, 206) In Luke’s interpretation the Risen Lord is telling the leaders of Christian communities to serve the material needs of the members. This is the content of their active waiting for the Lord’s return.
Peter’s question, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” leads to the Lord’s reply about the prudent servant or manager whom the master (Greek: kurios) will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance, that is to wait on table. This leads to . . .
The Second Beatitude: “Blessed is that servant whom his master (Greek: kurios) on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, the master (Greek: kurios) will put the servant in charge of all his property.”
Essentially, the leaders of Christian communities are to imitate by anticipation what the Lord will do at his coming. As stewards or managers they are to provide food for the other slaves in the household of the Lord. If they abuse their fellow Christians and indulge in their own appetites they will be severely punished. (The Greek word translated “punish” is literally “cut in two.”) More importantly, they will be assigned a place with the unfaithful. Their treasure and heart were not in heaven. Their actions betrayed their lack of belief.
Luke sums up with a final warning to Church leaders. Adjusting for the use of the divine passive, this could be translated: “God will require much of the person entrusted with much, and demand still more of the person entrusted with more.”
Contemporary Application
In today’s reading we are in touch with an ancient tradition that very likely goes back to Jesus himself – the notion of servant leadership. By the mid-fifties of the first century “slave” had already become a title for a Christian. For example, the letter to the Romans begins with the words: “Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus . . .” Although over the centuries the word “slave” has been softened to “servant,” even today we talk about public servants and the Bishop of Rome styles himself as “the servant of the servants of God.”
Luke adroitly applies to the Christian community the metaphor of an ancient extended household with many slaves. Some of the slaves are stewards or managers, but all serve the master. As Luke sees it, the Lord sets a very high standard for Church leaders. The essential requirement is active concern for the most basic needs of their fellow Christians. Here the image is not of a king or even of a shepherd leading a flock, but of a slave waiting on table. This image sharply contrasts with the royal robes and titles, even throne names, assumed by Christian leaders – at least in the Roman Catholic Church.
Those who are free enough from their possessions to serve the least of Christ’s sisters and brothers are true leaders in the Church whether or not they preside at the Eucharist. They are truly blessed and a blessing to us all.
Explanatory Notes
Amen Prefacing his pronouncements with “amen” or “truly” seems to have been a characteristic practice of Jesus. It seems to have been his unique way of introducing solemn, authoritative affirmations. It was a way of attesting to the truthfulness of what he was saying without resorting to an oath that would call upon God as his witness. That would have been taking the Name of God in vain. (See, e.g., Pilch 1999, 38.)
Divine Passive The divine passive was a way that ancient Israelites avoided using the name of God directly. They did this out of reverence for the divine Name and as a protection against even inadvertently violating the commandment against taking the name of God in vain. Thus, “Much will be required.” implies “by God.” It can be rephrased: “God will require much.”
In preparing these reflections, in addition to the biblical texts, I consulted the following works:
Fitzmyer 1985 – Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke X-XXIV : Introduction, Translation, and Notes. Anchor Bible Volume 28A. (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1985), pp. 981-993.
Fuller 1984 – Reginald H. Fuller, Preaching the Lectionary. The Word of God for the Church Today (Collegeville [MN]: Liturgical Press, 1984), pp. 494-496.
Funk, Hoover & the Jesus Seminar – Robert W. Funk, Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar, The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993), pp. 340-342.
Johnson 1991 – Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke , Sacra Pagina Series Volume 3, A Michael Glazier Book (Collegeville [MN]: Liturgical Press, 1991), pp. 197-207.
LaVerdiere 1990 – Eugene, LaVerdiere, S.S.S., Luke. New Testament Message, Volume 5. A Michael Glazier Book (Collegeville [MN]: Liturgical Press, 1990), pp. 171-178.
Malina & Rohrbaugh 2003 – Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Second Edition (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), pp. 277-278. See also “Rich, Poor, and Limited Good,” pp. 277-279.
Pilch 1997 – John J. Pilch, The Cultural World of Jesus, Sunday by Sunday, Cycle C. A Liturgical Press Book (Collegeville [MN]: Liturgical Press, 1997), pp. 121-123.
Pilch 1999 – John J. Pilch, The Cultural Dictionary of the Bible (Collegeville [MN]: Liturgical Press, 1999), p. 38.