A Decent Obsession
Preaching
Preaching The Parables
Series III, Cycle C
1. Text
The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" [6] The Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
[7] "Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here at once and take your place at the table'? [8] Would you not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? [9] Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? [10] So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, 'We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!' "
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
The disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith.
Second Point Of Action
Jesus offers the metaphor of a tiny seed. If you had faith the size of a mustard seed and ordered a mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea, it would obey.
Third Point Of Action
Jesus asks who would invite your slave who had just come in from plowing or tending the sheep to come at once and take your place at the table. Would you not command that the slave prepare and serve your supper and then later the slave may eat and drink?
Fourth Point Of Action
Jesus asked a second question. Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded?
Fifth Point Of Action
Jesus concluded that when we have done all that we were ordered, we also say that we are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done. This answers how we can increase our faith.
3. Spadework
Mustard Seed/Mulberry Tree
The mulberry is a strong tree, as shown in the other reference to the mulberry. "As a gift one chooses mulberry wood -- wood that will not rot -- then seeks out a skilled artisan to set up an image that will not topple" (Isaiah 40:20).
Ought
The "ought," the obligation or duty, the desirability, advisability, or prudence of an action, weighs heavily upon us. Of the 45 "ought" references, ten are from the four gospels, 21 from the epistles, and nine from Hebrew Scripture.
The "ought" advises in regard to wrongful sexual relations. (See Genesis 20:9 and 34:7.) The "ought" advises in regard to sinning by doing any of "the things that by commandments of the Lord his God ought not to be done and incurs guilt" (Leviticus 4:22). See also Leviticus 4:13, 4:27, and 5:17. Wise people and those who understand the times know what ought to be done. (See 1 Kings 2:9 and 1 Chronicles 12:32.)
The Holy Spirit teaches what ought to be said. (See Luke 12:12.) The familiar Romans 7:14-20 passage about our not doing what we want to do and doing the very thing we hate transposes to the "ought."
Servant
This Exodus passage suggests a distinction among "slave," "servant," and "bound or hired servant." "... but any slave who has been purchased may eat of it after he has been circumcised; no bound or hired servant may eat of it" (Exodus 12:44b-45).
Most of the 350 "servant" references come as "my servant Moses," "Moses, the servant of the Lord," "your servant Israel," "your servant David," "servant of," etc. Appearing 37 times in the Psalms, "servant" speaks of our relationship to God: "Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, / and teach me your statutes. / I am your servant; give me understanding, / so that I may know your decrees" (Psalm 119:124-125).
"Servant" is an important concept for Isaiah. See especially the "Servant Songs" -- Isaiah 42:1-4, 49:1-6, and 50:4-9. "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations" (Isaiah 42:1).
The "servant" metaphor is also key in Jesus' life. Mary, the mother of Jesus, saw herself as a servant of God. See the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-48) and Luke 1:38. God affirms Jesus: "Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles" (Matthew 12:18). Jesus defines relationship as servanthood: "The greatest among you will be your servant" (Matthew 23:11). Then there are the "first must be last" passages: "He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, 'Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all' " (Mark 9:35). See also Matthew 19:30, 20:16, and 20:26-28; Mark 10:43-44; Luke 13:30; and John 13:12-18.
The writer of John upgrades the relationship from "servants" to "friends": "I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father" (John 15:15).
Serve
First mention of the 163 references to "serve" as a command to a slave servant was from Joseph. (See Genesis 43:31.) Serving strangers in a foreign land was seen both as the result of defeat in battle and punishment from God. "When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon" (Isaiah 14:3-4). "And when your people say, 'Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?' you shall say to them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours' " (Jeremiah 5:19). See also Jeremiah 15:14 and 17:4.
As a result of battle defeat or negotiation, anyone could become enslaved. "When you draw near to a town to fight against it, offer it terms of peace. If it accepts your terms of peace and surrenders to you, then all the people in it shall serve you at forced labor" (Deuteronomy 20:10-11). Remember the familiar challenge by Goliath: " 'If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us' " (1 Samuel 17:9). See also 1 Samuel 11:1.
Those who served kings were a different sort of person. (See Proverbs 22:29.) Hear King Rehoboam's advisors, a possible prelude to today's parable:
And they sent and called him; and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, "Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke that he placed on us, and we will serve you." He said to them, "Go away for three days, then come again to me." So the people went away.
Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the older men who had attended his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, "How do you advise me to answer this people?" They answered him, "If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever." -- 1 Kings 12:3-7
The parable of the Watching Servants also refers to serving one's servants: "Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them" (Luke 12:37). (See Luke 12:32-40, Parable 9, Cycle C.)
Here it is again, a prophet asking a servant how he can serve her. When creditors threatened to take her daughters into slavery, the wife of a deceased servant of Elisha reminded Elisha that her husband had been God-fearing, whereupon Elisha asked what he could do for her. The generous man instructed her to borrow empty vessels "and not just a few" from neighbors. (See 2 Kings 4:3ff.) See also 2 Kings 4:12ff.
Levite priests were called from age 25-40 to serve the people. (See Numbers 8:26.) The man from Bethlehem of Judah came to the house of Micah saying he would find a place anywhere he could to live. Micah invited him to stay with him and be like a father and a priest. (See Judges 17:11-18:4.)
The New Testament offers the benchmark of service to others:
But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." -- Matthew 20:25-28
(See also Mark 10:41-45.)
In Jacob and Rachel's love story, the first seven years that Jacob voluntarily served Rachel's father "seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her" (Genesis 29:20). Because of his kinship with Laban, Laban would not allow him to serve for nothing and paid him a wage.
Serve Me [God]
Of the twelve references to "serve me" are those to "serve me as priests." (See Exodus 28:1, 28:4, 28:41, 29:1, 29:44, 40:30, and 40:15; Ezekiel 44:13; and Genesis 29:15.) Serving God requires following God. Serving is honorable: "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor" (John 12:26). See also Malachi 3:18.
Service
Most of the 117 "service" references occur as household service or service in the tabernacle by the Levite priests.
Slave
Jesus uses the term "slave" as an apt metaphor: The ungrateful son in the Prodigal Sons Parable complained he had worked like a slave for his father without appropriate appreciation (Luke 15:29) and "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever" (John 8:34b-35).
Slaves, bought from other Hebrews and taken as war booty, were referred to as "homeborn slave and the resident alien" (Exodus 23:12). For a man without a male heir, a slave might take on a special relationship: "And Abram said, 'You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir' " (Genesis 15:3).
Sometimes, living in bondage was merciless. "The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them" (Exodus 1:13-14). Israelites were encouraged to "remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt" and I (the Lord) redeemed you. Israel was a "slave in the land of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 5:15, 24:18, and 24:22). "[T]heir descendants who were still left in the land, whom the Israelites were unable to destroy completely -- these Solomon conscripted for slave labor, and so they are to this day" (1 Kings 9:21).
"When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person, without debt" (Exodus 21:2). When sent out as a free person, the former owner must not send him out empty-handed. (See Deuteronomy 15:13.) Certain other rules followed. See Exodus 21:6-10.
Even Hebrew slaves were at the mercy of ruthless slave owners. Exodus 21:7 and 21:20-27 and Leviticus 19:20. While slaves had no power with tenants and sometimes suffered by them (see Luke 20:10), there were exceptions: When the centurion's highly valued slave was ill and close to death, the centurion sent Jewish elders to Jesus requesting him to come and heal his slave. (See Luke 7:2-3.)
Of the 100 references to "slave," fourteen occur in Matthew, four in Mark, and fifteen in Luke. Jesus directs attention to the relationship of slave or servant to the head of the household, so common that all could follow the metaphor: the slave forgiven his debt refuses to forgive a debt owed him (Matthew 18:23); the faithful and wise slave put in charge of the household is found at work by his returning master (Matthew 24:45-46); the trustworthy versus the wicked slave (Matthew 24:46ff and Luke 19:22); the faithful slave entrusted with much because he could be trusted with little (Matthew 25:21 and Luke 19:17); "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth" (Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13); and "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master" (Matthew 10:24).
Three Pauline passages are worth noting. Paul merges physical slavery with obedience to Christ in a fashion that renders a deeper understanding of both types of service. Life in Christ transcends artificial divisions of "Jew or Greek ... slave or free ... male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ; not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women, knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free.
And, masters, do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality. -- Ephesians 6:5-9
"Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. Even if you can gain your freedom, make use of your present condition now more than ever. For whoever was called in the Lord as a slave is a freed person belonging to the Lord, just as whoever was free when called is a slave of Christ" (1 Corinthian 7:21-22).
Worthless
"We are worthless slaves; we have only done what we ought to have done" (Luke 17:10b). God counters the worthlessness of a slave by elevating the concept of servant through the servanthood of Jesus. That which is worthless lacks value or is of no use, as throwaway as a paper towel. It is a term of depression: "All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. Look, O Lord, and see how worthless I have become" (Lamentations 1:11).
"Worthless" appears in 33 other references. Among them are "worthless woman" (1 Samuel 1:16 ), "worthless and reckless fellows" (Judges 9:4 and 1 Samuel 10:27), "despised and worthless" (1 Samuel 15:9), "corrupt and worthless fellows" (1 Samuel 30:22), "worthless scoundrels" (2 Chronicles 13:7), "worthless physicians" (Job 13:4), "the worthless" (Psalm 26:4), "worthless idols" (Psalm 31:6 and 97:7), "human help is worthless" (Psalm 60:11 and 108:12), "a worthless witness" (Proverbs 19:28), "worthless pursuits" (Proverbs 28:19), "worthless and empty" (Isaiah 30:7), "worthless things" (Jeremiah 2:5 and 16:19), "worthless divination" (Jeremiah 14:14), "you are worthless" (Nahum 1:14), "worthless shepherd" (Zechariah 11:15 and 11:17), "worthless slave" (Matthew 25:30.)
4. Parallel Scripture
The parable of A Decent Obsession is special to Luke.
Mustard Seed
The writer addresses the disciples directly, using "you" three times: "The Lord replied, 'If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea," and it would obey you' " (Luke 17:6). Luke also speaks immediately of personal faith. Earlier, Luke is not as personal. He says "like a mustard seed that someone took." (See Luke 13:19.)
Matthew and Mark, as does Luke in the chapter 13 parallel, speak of the kingdom of heaven rather than personal faith. (See Matthew 13:31-32.) Making the "is like" analogy of the mustard seed, these writers keep the parable at a personal distance. They focus on the mustard seed, referring to "it" four times as they describe the seed and its growth into a tree that nesting birds see as welcome. (See Cycle A, Parable 4, The Parable Of The Sower and Cycle B, Parable 5, The Parable Of The Miracle Seed.)
Later, rather than the capacity of faith to move a mulberry tree, Matthew speaks of being able to move a mountain by command. Here, as does Luke in chapter 17, Matthew uses the personal, "you." (See Matthew 17:20.) This analogy is not in response to a request to be given faith. Rather, it answers the disciples' wondering why they had been unable to cure an epileptic. Jesus prefaces this response with "Because of our little faith" and speaks of the mustard seed/mountain. Matthew says that with this faith "nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20b), while Luke steps back slightly from the personal and says, "and it would obey you" (Luke 17:6b).
At The Table
Compare " 'Come here at once and take your place at the table.' Would you not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'?" (Luke 17:7b-8) with "For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:27-30).
Again, compare with "It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:26-28 and Mark 10:43-44).
5. Chat Room
Anthony: I suppose what frustrates me about this parable is also the very point Christ makes about increasing our faith. Become as "worthless slaves" who are just doing what they "ought to have done" without need for expression of gratitude or for advancement or elevation to the status of a freed person. Just let faith happen. It will take care of itself. A little faith carries far more than a dollop of impact.
Ramzi: So are you saying, be who you are and let your faith be what it is without making it a big deal? Your faith may seem as insignificant as a worthless slave, but look again. From God's viewpoint, you are beloved even if you were a supposedly worthless slave or even a servant. Christ submitted to a life of being a servant of God, a proclaimed beloved servant, at that.
Anthony: But a slave is at the bottom. I cringe at the thought of an enslavement. In Jesus' day, anyone could be made a slave, a political prisoner of sorts, at any moment, as a result of battle victories or in-house arrangements of servitude.
Ramzi: Fullness of life, fullness of being, a meaningful life, or however you want to say it is independent of temporal conditions of body, economics, or other circumstances that are beyond our control. Even a slave can transcend the involuntary enslavement to become a faithful and devoted servant.
Anthony: Are you sure?
Ramzi: As certain as I am that a sturdy, durable mulberry tree can emerge from its tiny seed.
Anthony: Well, yes, I get that, but I'm dubious about commanding the tree to uproot and plant itself in the sea.
Ramzi: Indeed. But then so might appear the tiniest thread of faith that somehow gathers to itself more fibers until it becomes a tightly woven, durable fabric.
Anthony: Or take my friend who was at first enslaved by a disability. It was so handicapping that his life seemed defined only by the disability. Then tenacity, perseverance, even stubbornness seeped in. He found new ways of accomplishing what was of greatest importance and transcended the disability to live the meaningful life of a whole person.
Maria: Faith that he could figure out the alternative route set him free. Oh, the discovered realm of freedom when constrained to live within a given limitation! Attitude, attitude, gratitude. Hi, I'm Maria. I just logged onto the chat room and want to add some thoughts.
Anthony: Welcome.
Maria: We do learn about serving from the Hebrews and early Christians. High quality people find themselves tossed into unexpected circumstances. Freedom is not the situation but how we respond to it and how we honor both ourselves and the one whom we serve.
Anthony: I find the "later" of most serving difficult. Serving takes time. In many daily relationships we must put ourselves last. That we all sit together at the Savior's table to receive the communion elements helps. We wait until everyone in the church, organist and worship leader included, holds the bread or juice. To me, partaking together erases differences and shapes an expression of respect. I remember Whose I am in spite of everything. Perhaps that is why such a tiny piece of bread and only a couple swallows of juice are so filling, so satisfying.
Ramzi: An attitude of service is not all that bad a way of relating to other people as long as we neither demean ourselves nor slip into thingification of those we serve. Whether physician or parent, schoolteacher or minister, airplane technician or a cook, clerk, or custodian, servanthood is honorable.
Maria: "Thingification," that is the exact feeling when you are served against your will as if you cannot do something for yourself.
Anthony: Or if you are told under duress to serve someone. Thingification is the opposite of our relationship to God and God's covenant with us.
Maria: The feeling tone of serving another reminds me of the journey of an assist dog from obedient response to devoted service above self. Devotion grows as surely as trust and as faith grow.
Ramzi: Where does devotion come from? Gratitude? How does faith grow? With service, the giving of one's self? With the discipline of service? When we know that we are free.
The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" [6] The Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
[7] "Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here at once and take your place at the table'? [8] Would you not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? [9] Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? [10] So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, 'We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!' "
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
The disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith.
Second Point Of Action
Jesus offers the metaphor of a tiny seed. If you had faith the size of a mustard seed and ordered a mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea, it would obey.
Third Point Of Action
Jesus asks who would invite your slave who had just come in from plowing or tending the sheep to come at once and take your place at the table. Would you not command that the slave prepare and serve your supper and then later the slave may eat and drink?
Fourth Point Of Action
Jesus asked a second question. Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded?
Fifth Point Of Action
Jesus concluded that when we have done all that we were ordered, we also say that we are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done. This answers how we can increase our faith.
3. Spadework
Mustard Seed/Mulberry Tree
The mulberry is a strong tree, as shown in the other reference to the mulberry. "As a gift one chooses mulberry wood -- wood that will not rot -- then seeks out a skilled artisan to set up an image that will not topple" (Isaiah 40:20).
Ought
The "ought," the obligation or duty, the desirability, advisability, or prudence of an action, weighs heavily upon us. Of the 45 "ought" references, ten are from the four gospels, 21 from the epistles, and nine from Hebrew Scripture.
The "ought" advises in regard to wrongful sexual relations. (See Genesis 20:9 and 34:7.) The "ought" advises in regard to sinning by doing any of "the things that by commandments of the Lord his God ought not to be done and incurs guilt" (Leviticus 4:22). See also Leviticus 4:13, 4:27, and 5:17. Wise people and those who understand the times know what ought to be done. (See 1 Kings 2:9 and 1 Chronicles 12:32.)
The Holy Spirit teaches what ought to be said. (See Luke 12:12.) The familiar Romans 7:14-20 passage about our not doing what we want to do and doing the very thing we hate transposes to the "ought."
Servant
This Exodus passage suggests a distinction among "slave," "servant," and "bound or hired servant." "... but any slave who has been purchased may eat of it after he has been circumcised; no bound or hired servant may eat of it" (Exodus 12:44b-45).
Most of the 350 "servant" references come as "my servant Moses," "Moses, the servant of the Lord," "your servant Israel," "your servant David," "servant of," etc. Appearing 37 times in the Psalms, "servant" speaks of our relationship to God: "Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, / and teach me your statutes. / I am your servant; give me understanding, / so that I may know your decrees" (Psalm 119:124-125).
"Servant" is an important concept for Isaiah. See especially the "Servant Songs" -- Isaiah 42:1-4, 49:1-6, and 50:4-9. "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations" (Isaiah 42:1).
The "servant" metaphor is also key in Jesus' life. Mary, the mother of Jesus, saw herself as a servant of God. See the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-48) and Luke 1:38. God affirms Jesus: "Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles" (Matthew 12:18). Jesus defines relationship as servanthood: "The greatest among you will be your servant" (Matthew 23:11). Then there are the "first must be last" passages: "He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, 'Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all' " (Mark 9:35). See also Matthew 19:30, 20:16, and 20:26-28; Mark 10:43-44; Luke 13:30; and John 13:12-18.
The writer of John upgrades the relationship from "servants" to "friends": "I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father" (John 15:15).
Serve
First mention of the 163 references to "serve" as a command to a slave servant was from Joseph. (See Genesis 43:31.) Serving strangers in a foreign land was seen both as the result of defeat in battle and punishment from God. "When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon" (Isaiah 14:3-4). "And when your people say, 'Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?' you shall say to them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours' " (Jeremiah 5:19). See also Jeremiah 15:14 and 17:4.
As a result of battle defeat or negotiation, anyone could become enslaved. "When you draw near to a town to fight against it, offer it terms of peace. If it accepts your terms of peace and surrenders to you, then all the people in it shall serve you at forced labor" (Deuteronomy 20:10-11). Remember the familiar challenge by Goliath: " 'If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us' " (1 Samuel 17:9). See also 1 Samuel 11:1.
Those who served kings were a different sort of person. (See Proverbs 22:29.) Hear King Rehoboam's advisors, a possible prelude to today's parable:
And they sent and called him; and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, "Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke that he placed on us, and we will serve you." He said to them, "Go away for three days, then come again to me." So the people went away.
Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the older men who had attended his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, "How do you advise me to answer this people?" They answered him, "If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever." -- 1 Kings 12:3-7
The parable of the Watching Servants also refers to serving one's servants: "Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them" (Luke 12:37). (See Luke 12:32-40, Parable 9, Cycle C.)
Here it is again, a prophet asking a servant how he can serve her. When creditors threatened to take her daughters into slavery, the wife of a deceased servant of Elisha reminded Elisha that her husband had been God-fearing, whereupon Elisha asked what he could do for her. The generous man instructed her to borrow empty vessels "and not just a few" from neighbors. (See 2 Kings 4:3ff.) See also 2 Kings 4:12ff.
Levite priests were called from age 25-40 to serve the people. (See Numbers 8:26.) The man from Bethlehem of Judah came to the house of Micah saying he would find a place anywhere he could to live. Micah invited him to stay with him and be like a father and a priest. (See Judges 17:11-18:4.)
The New Testament offers the benchmark of service to others:
But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." -- Matthew 20:25-28
(See also Mark 10:41-45.)
In Jacob and Rachel's love story, the first seven years that Jacob voluntarily served Rachel's father "seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her" (Genesis 29:20). Because of his kinship with Laban, Laban would not allow him to serve for nothing and paid him a wage.
Serve Me [God]
Of the twelve references to "serve me" are those to "serve me as priests." (See Exodus 28:1, 28:4, 28:41, 29:1, 29:44, 40:30, and 40:15; Ezekiel 44:13; and Genesis 29:15.) Serving God requires following God. Serving is honorable: "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor" (John 12:26). See also Malachi 3:18.
Service
Most of the 117 "service" references occur as household service or service in the tabernacle by the Levite priests.
Slave
Jesus uses the term "slave" as an apt metaphor: The ungrateful son in the Prodigal Sons Parable complained he had worked like a slave for his father without appropriate appreciation (Luke 15:29) and "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever" (John 8:34b-35).
Slaves, bought from other Hebrews and taken as war booty, were referred to as "homeborn slave and the resident alien" (Exodus 23:12). For a man without a male heir, a slave might take on a special relationship: "And Abram said, 'You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir' " (Genesis 15:3).
Sometimes, living in bondage was merciless. "The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them" (Exodus 1:13-14). Israelites were encouraged to "remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt" and I (the Lord) redeemed you. Israel was a "slave in the land of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 5:15, 24:18, and 24:22). "[T]heir descendants who were still left in the land, whom the Israelites were unable to destroy completely -- these Solomon conscripted for slave labor, and so they are to this day" (1 Kings 9:21).
"When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person, without debt" (Exodus 21:2). When sent out as a free person, the former owner must not send him out empty-handed. (See Deuteronomy 15:13.) Certain other rules followed. See Exodus 21:6-10.
Even Hebrew slaves were at the mercy of ruthless slave owners. Exodus 21:7 and 21:20-27 and Leviticus 19:20. While slaves had no power with tenants and sometimes suffered by them (see Luke 20:10), there were exceptions: When the centurion's highly valued slave was ill and close to death, the centurion sent Jewish elders to Jesus requesting him to come and heal his slave. (See Luke 7:2-3.)
Of the 100 references to "slave," fourteen occur in Matthew, four in Mark, and fifteen in Luke. Jesus directs attention to the relationship of slave or servant to the head of the household, so common that all could follow the metaphor: the slave forgiven his debt refuses to forgive a debt owed him (Matthew 18:23); the faithful and wise slave put in charge of the household is found at work by his returning master (Matthew 24:45-46); the trustworthy versus the wicked slave (Matthew 24:46ff and Luke 19:22); the faithful slave entrusted with much because he could be trusted with little (Matthew 25:21 and Luke 19:17); "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth" (Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13); and "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master" (Matthew 10:24).
Three Pauline passages are worth noting. Paul merges physical slavery with obedience to Christ in a fashion that renders a deeper understanding of both types of service. Life in Christ transcends artificial divisions of "Jew or Greek ... slave or free ... male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ; not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women, knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free.
And, masters, do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality. -- Ephesians 6:5-9
"Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. Even if you can gain your freedom, make use of your present condition now more than ever. For whoever was called in the Lord as a slave is a freed person belonging to the Lord, just as whoever was free when called is a slave of Christ" (1 Corinthian 7:21-22).
Worthless
"We are worthless slaves; we have only done what we ought to have done" (Luke 17:10b). God counters the worthlessness of a slave by elevating the concept of servant through the servanthood of Jesus. That which is worthless lacks value or is of no use, as throwaway as a paper towel. It is a term of depression: "All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. Look, O Lord, and see how worthless I have become" (Lamentations 1:11).
"Worthless" appears in 33 other references. Among them are "worthless woman" (1 Samuel 1:16 ), "worthless and reckless fellows" (Judges 9:4 and 1 Samuel 10:27), "despised and worthless" (1 Samuel 15:9), "corrupt and worthless fellows" (1 Samuel 30:22), "worthless scoundrels" (2 Chronicles 13:7), "worthless physicians" (Job 13:4), "the worthless" (Psalm 26:4), "worthless idols" (Psalm 31:6 and 97:7), "human help is worthless" (Psalm 60:11 and 108:12), "a worthless witness" (Proverbs 19:28), "worthless pursuits" (Proverbs 28:19), "worthless and empty" (Isaiah 30:7), "worthless things" (Jeremiah 2:5 and 16:19), "worthless divination" (Jeremiah 14:14), "you are worthless" (Nahum 1:14), "worthless shepherd" (Zechariah 11:15 and 11:17), "worthless slave" (Matthew 25:30.)
4. Parallel Scripture
The parable of A Decent Obsession is special to Luke.
Mustard Seed
The writer addresses the disciples directly, using "you" three times: "The Lord replied, 'If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea," and it would obey you' " (Luke 17:6). Luke also speaks immediately of personal faith. Earlier, Luke is not as personal. He says "like a mustard seed that someone took." (See Luke 13:19.)
Matthew and Mark, as does Luke in the chapter 13 parallel, speak of the kingdom of heaven rather than personal faith. (See Matthew 13:31-32.) Making the "is like" analogy of the mustard seed, these writers keep the parable at a personal distance. They focus on the mustard seed, referring to "it" four times as they describe the seed and its growth into a tree that nesting birds see as welcome. (See Cycle A, Parable 4, The Parable Of The Sower and Cycle B, Parable 5, The Parable Of The Miracle Seed.)
Later, rather than the capacity of faith to move a mulberry tree, Matthew speaks of being able to move a mountain by command. Here, as does Luke in chapter 17, Matthew uses the personal, "you." (See Matthew 17:20.) This analogy is not in response to a request to be given faith. Rather, it answers the disciples' wondering why they had been unable to cure an epileptic. Jesus prefaces this response with "Because of our little faith" and speaks of the mustard seed/mountain. Matthew says that with this faith "nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20b), while Luke steps back slightly from the personal and says, "and it would obey you" (Luke 17:6b).
At The Table
Compare " 'Come here at once and take your place at the table.' Would you not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'?" (Luke 17:7b-8) with "For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:27-30).
Again, compare with "It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:26-28 and Mark 10:43-44).
5. Chat Room
Anthony: I suppose what frustrates me about this parable is also the very point Christ makes about increasing our faith. Become as "worthless slaves" who are just doing what they "ought to have done" without need for expression of gratitude or for advancement or elevation to the status of a freed person. Just let faith happen. It will take care of itself. A little faith carries far more than a dollop of impact.
Ramzi: So are you saying, be who you are and let your faith be what it is without making it a big deal? Your faith may seem as insignificant as a worthless slave, but look again. From God's viewpoint, you are beloved even if you were a supposedly worthless slave or even a servant. Christ submitted to a life of being a servant of God, a proclaimed beloved servant, at that.
Anthony: But a slave is at the bottom. I cringe at the thought of an enslavement. In Jesus' day, anyone could be made a slave, a political prisoner of sorts, at any moment, as a result of battle victories or in-house arrangements of servitude.
Ramzi: Fullness of life, fullness of being, a meaningful life, or however you want to say it is independent of temporal conditions of body, economics, or other circumstances that are beyond our control. Even a slave can transcend the involuntary enslavement to become a faithful and devoted servant.
Anthony: Are you sure?
Ramzi: As certain as I am that a sturdy, durable mulberry tree can emerge from its tiny seed.
Anthony: Well, yes, I get that, but I'm dubious about commanding the tree to uproot and plant itself in the sea.
Ramzi: Indeed. But then so might appear the tiniest thread of faith that somehow gathers to itself more fibers until it becomes a tightly woven, durable fabric.
Anthony: Or take my friend who was at first enslaved by a disability. It was so handicapping that his life seemed defined only by the disability. Then tenacity, perseverance, even stubbornness seeped in. He found new ways of accomplishing what was of greatest importance and transcended the disability to live the meaningful life of a whole person.
Maria: Faith that he could figure out the alternative route set him free. Oh, the discovered realm of freedom when constrained to live within a given limitation! Attitude, attitude, gratitude. Hi, I'm Maria. I just logged onto the chat room and want to add some thoughts.
Anthony: Welcome.
Maria: We do learn about serving from the Hebrews and early Christians. High quality people find themselves tossed into unexpected circumstances. Freedom is not the situation but how we respond to it and how we honor both ourselves and the one whom we serve.
Anthony: I find the "later" of most serving difficult. Serving takes time. In many daily relationships we must put ourselves last. That we all sit together at the Savior's table to receive the communion elements helps. We wait until everyone in the church, organist and worship leader included, holds the bread or juice. To me, partaking together erases differences and shapes an expression of respect. I remember Whose I am in spite of everything. Perhaps that is why such a tiny piece of bread and only a couple swallows of juice are so filling, so satisfying.
Ramzi: An attitude of service is not all that bad a way of relating to other people as long as we neither demean ourselves nor slip into thingification of those we serve. Whether physician or parent, schoolteacher or minister, airplane technician or a cook, clerk, or custodian, servanthood is honorable.
Maria: "Thingification," that is the exact feeling when you are served against your will as if you cannot do something for yourself.
Anthony: Or if you are told under duress to serve someone. Thingification is the opposite of our relationship to God and God's covenant with us.
Maria: The feeling tone of serving another reminds me of the journey of an assist dog from obedient response to devoted service above self. Devotion grows as surely as trust and as faith grow.
Ramzi: Where does devotion come from? Gratitude? How does faith grow? With service, the giving of one's self? With the discipline of service? When we know that we are free.
