onthly MeditationMeditation for November 2009
Leave a comment at the bottom if you wish.
Judith reads:
Meditation for November 2009
This month, we are looking at another of the parables of Jesus, The Steward on Trial; it is the sixth of Christ’s parables found only in the Gospel of St. Luke.
Jesus begins the parable by saying, A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. Luke 12: 42 (New Living Translation).
As in last month’s parable, Be ready for the Lord’s coming, Jesus promises a reward if the servant does a good job. At the end of that parable, Peter asked Jesus if his illustration was for everyone or just the disciples. Christ doesn’t give Peter a direct answer to his question, but is prompted to tell the current parable of The Steward on Trial, which is, in fact, an expansion on the previous parable.
In today’s world, we might think that reward for obedience and work well done would be a good long vacation but, no, Jesus says the promised reward is that the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns—in other words, more work will come his way.
We often see in the Gospels that reward comes in the form of more responsibility. Promotion rather than rest is given to those who fulfil their assigned tasks and, indeed, this parable is summed up with the words, When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.
To whom, do you think, is Jesus speaking this parable? In the 21st century it could easily be read as a parable given to the official, upper hierarchy in the church—bishops, priests, ministers, and elders—but this is not necessarily so. Each of us has a responsibility to our fellow group members, our church, our co-workers, and our family; a duty to carry out faithfully that which has been entrusted to us.
You may think that you do not have any responsibility toward the group to which you belong; you may think that it is only the leaders that have an obligation to the members; but being a member of a group has an inherent duty in it, even if it is only to show up at the meetings that are part of the group’s undertaking.
Think about the groups to which you belong. What is your role in each of these groups? What do you see as your responsibility as a member of these groups? Do you take your commitment to these groups seriously and fulfil your obligations to them? Whether you are one of the leaders or one of the members, do you consider yourself to be what Jesus would call a faithful, sensible servant, one to whom the master can give responsibility?
© Judith Lawrence—November 2009
Leave a comment:
Meditations in the Archive
