The Servant's Duty
Preaching
Preaching the Parables
Series II, Cycle C
Object:
5The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 6The 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'? 8Would 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'? 9Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 10So 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!' "
Question is sometimes raised about the lack of condemnation of slavery in the New Testament. Jesus never seems to have opposed it. In fact, in the parable about the servant's duty, Jesus uses the duties of a slave as a model. Elsewhere he uses the term for the proper relationship among persons, though it is frequently translated as servant rather than as slave.
In a time when governments did not provide a safety net for the unemployed and people without land to farm or other means of livelihood, becoming a slave to someone else in exchange for support probably seemed like a good, or at least the only, alternative. During the medieval period when no government provided security, the social system which developed was based on mutual obligations. Local lords provided security from marauding bands. In exchange, people worked the land and provided the means of feeding and clothing the local lords and related entourage.
In the depression years young people graduating from high school thought they were fortunate if they could find a farmer who would let them work for three meals and a dollar a day. They gladly worked from dawn to dusk at hard labor for the opportunity to be fed and have a little cash to buy clothes and other minimal necessities. It was close to the slavery Jesus describes.
Migrants from Mexico and other Central American countries face the risks of illegally entering the United States where they can find jobs, even though the wages scarcely raise them above U.S. standards of poverty.
Freedom is a luxury to people who are starving or fearful for their lives in conditions of chaos. Some order that enables them to survive gives a measure of freedom they may not have otherwise.
That in no way excuses the people who take advantage of such persons. Jesus calls his followers to take upon themselves the duties of the slave or servant toward God and toward others. Where everyone does that, slavery or servanthood is not oppressive. It is liberating if all persons in a society work in a mutual obligation to care for another's welfare as much as for their own.
Context
Context of Luke 17
Luke 17 seems to be a chapter where the author had a number of authentic sayings of Jesus that did not fit naturally anywhere else in his narrative. The chapter starts with the teaching about not offending children. It proceeds to the saying about having faith the size of a mustard seed. Then comes the parable, which is less a story than a series of rhetorical questions about the expectations of rewards for a slave's doing the normal duties required of such persons.
The chapter continues with the story of the healing of the ten lepers. It has some association with the parable in that only one leper expresses gratitude to Jesus for his good work. The others take it for granted that healing is Jesus' normal activity. The chapter ends with Jesus responding to the Pharisee's inquiry about signs of the coming of the kingdom.
Context of the Lectionary
The First Lesson. (Lamentations 1:1-6) The passage mourns the devastation of the city of Jerusalem. Its people have been carried into captivity. The city no longer displays its splendor and majesty because of the destruction. The celebrative festivities that formerly marked its life are no longer seen in its streets.
The Second Lesson. (2 Timothy 1:1-14) The writer of the letter addresses Timothy as a father to a son. He recalls the heritage of faith Timothy received from his mother and grandmother. The writer expresses a longing to visit him personally. In the meantime he encourages Timothy to remain strong in his faith despite suffering. He assures Timothy that his faith will provide him with a spirit of power and discipline. He assures Timothy that Christ Jesus is worthy of the trust and urges him to continue preaching the gospel with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Gospel. (Luke 17:5-10) The passage opens with the admonition to increase faith which, when exercised, has the power to grow like a mustard seed. The passage proceeds to ask the series of questions which calls for the disciples to work as slaves or servants without asking for rewards or special recognition.
Psalm. (Psalm 137) The psalmist echoes some of the same sentiments as found in the first lesson regarding Jerusalem. The setting is in captivity along the rivers of Babylon. The psalmist finds no joy and cannot sing the songs of Zion in a foreign land. He recalls the devastation urged on by the Edomites. He would be happy if they and the Babylonians who destroyed the city would suffer a terrible defeat.
Context of Related Scripture
The gospel accounts make frequent use of the slave, either as a model of what the disciples should do directly, or in parables which use slaves as part of the account. The word for slave in Greek is doulos. Less frequently the servant language is used, but it appears sometimes. In one passage the word for slave in one gospel is servant in a parallel passage. The Greek word for servant is diakonos. Some versions translate doulos as slave sometimes and as servant at others. The NRSV is consistent in translating doulos as slave and diakonos as servant in the passages cited below.
Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13 -- Both the noun and a verb form have "slave" where it says that a slave cannot be enslaved to two masters.
Matthew 8:9; Luke 7:8 -- Tell my slave to do this and the slave does it.
Matthew 10:24-25 -- A slave is not above his master. In Luke 6:40 this becomes a disciple is not above his master. In John 13:15 and 15:20, servants are not above their masters.
Matthew 18:26-33 -- The parable of the unforgiving slave.
Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19 -- Slaves are sent to the wicked tenants.
Matthew 24:34-36 -- The parable of the watchful slaves.
Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 12:42-48 -- Who is the faithful and wise slave?
Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27 -- The parables of the talents and pounds with slaves accountable.
Mark 13:32-46 -- The slaves to be watchful. In somewhat parallel passages in Matthew 24:36-44 and Luke 21:34-36 no slave is mentioned. Luke 12:35-48 does have a parable about watchful, faithful, and unfaithful slaves.
The use of servants:
Mark 9:35 -- Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all. In parallels in Matthew 18:1-5 and Luke 9:46-48 only to be like children is given.
John 12:26 -- Where I am, there will my servants be.
Parallels related to faith as a mustard seed:
Matthew 17:20 -- Faith the size of a mustard seed.
Mark 11:22-23 -- Faith to move mountains.
Content
Precis of the Parable
After a request from the disciples that Jesus increase their faith, he first uses the metaphor of the mustard seed to tell them that they could uproot a tree and have it cast into the sea if their faith were even that small. He then proceeds to ask three rhetorical questions about needing to act without expecting a reward. The first is whether a slave should expect to be set at the table with his master and fed after doing his normal tasks of plowing a field or tending sheep. The second was whether, instead of inviting the slave to the table, the master would be more likely to tell the slave to prepare and serve the meal. The third was whether a master thanked a slave for doing what his mastered ordered him to do. Jesus answers his question by saying that the slave would only acknowledge that everything he had done is what is expected to be done.
Thesis: The faithful disciple will do as the Lord expects him to do.
Theme: Christians will do the will of God as if they are obedient slaves.
Key Words in the Passage
1. "A Mustard Seed." (v. 6) Though the mustard seed is so small that it is difficult to plant just one, it packs enough genetic material to produce a large, substantial plant when it is full grown.
2. "Mulberry Tree." (v. 6) A mulberry tree has a deep root. It is difficult to pull up. It would be quite a feat to remove it simply by an act of faith. The contrast between the size of a mustard seed and the immensity of the task in pulling up a mulberry tree is the point made.
3. "Your Slave." (v. 7) A slave is expected to carry out orders without question. In Hebrew society slaves usually were those who sold themselves into slavery, known as bondslaves. They had a debt they could not pay. According to Old Testament law Hebrew slaves were to be granted freedom after six years. If they did not accept freedom, they stayed in slavery for life. Thus, some persons could be born into slavery as part of a household. While slaves were inferiors, slavery was restricted by certain conditions that respected their humanity.
4. "Plowing or Tending Sheep." (v. 7) Agricultural slavery was not common in Palestine. When it did occur, the master normally worked side by side with the slave.
5. "Take Your Place at the Table." (v. 7) Slaves were not considered equals. Their place would not be at the table to be served. They would serve the master and his family. They would eat later, probably apart from the family.
6. "Worthless Slaves." (v. 10) This translation is probably an overstatement of the character of the slave. It is more likely that slaves would say something to the effect that they were just slaves and should not expect reward or special treatment when having done their duty as expected.
Contemplation
Issues and Insights
1. Slavery. While the analogy of the parables draws upon a relationship between a human master and slave, it does not imply that our relationship to Christ is that of chattel slaves. In our own right and standing before God, we are unworthy. But it is clear from Jesus' other teachings that our relationship to God is love which bestows infinite worth on persons.
God is not a slave master who treats people as property or objects. While they are creatures and not fully equal with the creator, God confers value and worth upon persons. God is not a tyrant, as a slave master might be, but more like a parent in the usual image Jesus uses of God.
Indeed, persons find their full worth and real being as they enslave themselves to the will of God. It is in living disciplined by God's will that persons find their fulfillment. Thus they find their real freedom to become what they were created to be. It is the truth found in Philippians 2:7 ff. It says that Jesus took the form of a slave and humbled himself even to the cross. Therefore he was highly exalted. In a similar humility, Christians realize their fullest possibility and a shared glory with Christ.
Our status as slaves to God is accepted in gratitude for sins forgiven, and God confers the status of sons and daughters upon us.
2. Servanthood. It is interesting to note that as the terms slave and servant are examined in the gospels, the disciples are never called to be slaves to other persons. The parables which use slavery as stories to talk about relationships and behaviors always refer to the disciples' relationship to Jesus or to God as Lord.
When Jesus talks about the relationship between the disciples, it is in terms of being servants to one another, not slaves. Greatness is found in being humble enough to serve another. That is a status voluntarily accepted out of regard for the other's needs. It is not a service required or commanded by the other person.
Slavery under a human master can too easily degenerate into tyranny. The kind of servanthood which Jesus called for is one of mutuality among his disciples and, by implication, among all Christians.
3. Rewards and Punishments. The Christian life is not a bookkeeping affair. Our status before God is not determined by accounts being balanced so that we deserve punishment or rewards. Christians are saved by the grace of God. It is our acceptance and love that is its own reward. Obedience to God should not arise because of the possible reward or the fear of punishment.
The reward in knowing the presence of God's love and power in our lives is its own reward. It is the sense of the absence from God and being alone in the universe that is its own punishment.
When all our activity in faithfulness to Christ is added up, we are still unworthy. We have, at best, only done what is right for ourselves and that is good enough reward for us.
4. Faith Increased. Faith is not something anyone else can confer upon us. Indeed it cannot be measured in quantitative terms. It involves a trust that takes us into the realm of uncertainty. It only increases as we act upon it and find our faith confirmed in our actions. If it were already a certainty, by its very nature it would not be faith.
We find that certain exercises of faith are false. When we act upon them, they do not produce the results promised. It is an illusory or false faith. Some people look upon faith as something that depends upon our willing. If we only will something strongly enough, what we want will happen.
Faith does not depend upon the strength of our willing as such. It depends upon our perception of realities that may not be immediately evident, but that we perceive beyond normal appearances. The Christian who has faith believes in a God of love who wills our ultimate good. If we truly perceive the reality of God's being and nature, then what at times appears impossible from the human perspective becomes possible.
Even if the outcome is not as we want it to be, we have the trust in God that the results are for our welfare. We learn from our exercise of faith and increase it by better understanding of where to invest our risks against the uncertainties of life.
5. The Table of the Lord. In human slavery it is not normal for the slave to find a place at the table with the master. It is one of the paradoxes of the Christian faith that our proper relationship is to be enslaved to God's will. Yet we are invited to take a place at the table as sons and daughters. We are not treated as "inferior." Even though we humble ourselves and do not seek equality with God, we are treated as guests at the heavenly banquet of life.
Homily Hints
1. Increase Our Faith. (v. 5) A sermon can be given on the nature of faith and how it grows.
A. A Bad Faith. Use examples of a faith invested in something that does not produce what it promises, such as some of the current false religions.
B. A Good Faith. Faith properly given to the teachings and examples of Christ proves to be genuine.
C. Faith in Practice. A faith grows as it is tested against life's challenges and adversities.
2. A Slave or a Son? (vv. 7-10) Contrast the attitude of slavery to that of sonship (regardless of gender).
A. A Slavish Duty. Forced or coerced duty is a burden and fosters resentment and sullenness.
B. A Son's Status. In contrast to a slave, a son has a status as a member of the family. It grants a different type of relationship with duties of both the parent and the child.
C. A Son as Slave. As Christ voluntarily took on himself the duties of the slave to God's will, so Christians voluntarily submit and thus blur the distinctions of slaves and sons who now give joyful obedience to God.
3. Thanks to God. (v. 9) Instead of expecting thanks for obedience and actions in the kingdom, Christians give thanks to God for the privilege and opportunity of serving kingdom causes.
A. No Thanks. While thanks for Christian service may be appreciated, it is not the reason for doing it. So Christians say no thanks are needed.
B. Redirected Thanks. If gratitude for Christian service is expressed, it should be to the glory of God who through the Holy Spirit gives the strength and motive for doing it.
C. Praising God. A Christian's life should not glorify self but praise God who is the author of all good and righteous actions.
4. Unworthy and Worthy Slaves. (v. 10)
A. Not Worthless. Make a distinction between being unworthy or undeserving and worthless or having no value. Persons may not deserve God's grace and so are unworthy, but they are not worthless.
B. Unworthy Slaves. Because of sin and rebellion against the will of God, all do not deserve God's grace. Through forgiveness and redemption they gain worth in God's sight and have infinite worth in human terms.
C. Worthy Servants. By the conferred worth granted by God's grace, people can become worthy servants to one another and for kingdom purposes.
5. What We Ought to Have Done. (v. 10) A sermon on what Christians ought to be doing.
A. Acknowledging God's Grace. The first action persons need to take is to confess their self-centeredness and allow the Holy Spirit to transform them into God-centered beings.
B. Doing God's Will. The second action is to correct their life so that it conforms to the commands of God by the support of the Holy Spirit.
C. Serving Neighbors. Mutual service among Christians and love working for the welfare of all persons are what Christians ought to be doing.
Contact
Points of Contact
1. Lack of Faith. No person lacks faith. Any action taken is an expression of a faith. It is not a question of whether persons have or do not have faith so much as a question of where their faith is vested. If persons spend most of their life seeking money, worrying about lack of money, or placing their hopes in what money can do for them, their faith is in wealth (mammon) as the source of security and meaning for their lives. They have faith, though whether it is a good faith and will bring ultimate security and fulfillment may be another question.
One can think of other ways in which faith is shown. It can be in armed forces for security. It can be in a particular political order. It can be in the pursuit of pleasure or the attempt to retain youth, a kind of seeking physical immortality.
All people express their faith. It is more important how their lives reflect where their faith is located than whether or not they have faith.
2. Confessions of Faith. The disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. He did not give them a creed to recite. He did not set forth a catechism. What he did was to tell the parable of what a slave ought to have done. The practicing of faith in doing what was commanded to be done was the way to increase their faith.
So, too, Christians need to do more than give expression to their faith verbally. It needs to be made operational by doing what is commanded. Verbal expression may help to remind us of what is commanded, but unless people trust enough to act on the statement, the faith confessed is no faith. The life negates the words of the mouth and the thoughts of the mind.
A faithful slave or servant does what ought to be done and makes the confession of faith real.
3. Taking It for Granted. How readily do people take for granted the grace of God? They think that they ought to get credit and recognition for every good work they do. If they don't, they are offended. The parable suggests that we should not seek or expect thanks for the good that we do. We should take for granted that that is what we ought to have done.
If thanks is due at all, it is for the grace of God which gives us life and enables us to do any good at all. It is because of God's love that we are able to love. It is because God gives life that we live. So thanks be to God who is the giver of all good and worthwhile gifts.
4. Stars in My Crown. Some people still say that people who do good works get stars in their crowns. Or they say you will get your reward in heaven. Such sayings seem to suggest that living the righteous life is not a good in itself. Therefore a person has to look forward to a reward beyond this life.
It is true that Christians often suffer. Often it may be undeserved. It may also be because we live in a world where evils come to the innocent as well as to the guilty. Nevertheless real living is found in commitment to Christ. Despite an apparent lack of reward for good works, the truly fulfilling life is found in Christ. It is its own reward. That is part of the faith that Christians should profess and experience. Christians should not require stars in their crowns or rewards in heaven to vindicate doing what they ought to do in obedience to God in Christ.
Illustrative Materials
1. Questioning. Jesus asks three questions in the parable. The answers are assumed. Some Christians feel that asking questions in matters of faith is an expression of doubt that is wrong. Nevertheless, asking questions and seeking deeper answers can lead to deeper faith. Someone has said that it is better to ask big questions than to give little answers.
2. Thankful for Criticism. Mother Teresa has received some severe criticism in recent years. It came both in a Vanity Fair article by Christopher Hitchens and in The Door, a magazine of a Texas-based religious order. She had received major gifts from Charles Keating, who was convicted for junk bond dealings in a savings and loan scandal. He had contributed over a million dollars to her organization. She also had use of his private jet. Critics also question the sanitation in her clinic and the adequacy of some treatment of patients. Mother Teresa has accepted the criticisms as a sign of the cross and of God's approval of her good works. At times she has seemed exhilarated by the criticism. She may be somewhat naive and unsophisticated in her contacts with persons of power and wealth, but that should not detract from the faith she has expressed in doing what she felt commanded to be done for the poor of Calcutta and elsewhere.
3. Against Slavery.
A. William Wilberforce (1759-1833) of England early came under Christian influence. He became increasingly active in various social welfare and missionary activities. Already at fifteen he had written an essay against the horrible slave trade. Thirteen years later, at age 28, he felt deeply the shame and bondage of black people. He was then a member of Parliament, representing one of the biggest counties in England. On May 12, 1789, he posed the question of the abolition of the slave trade in a four-and-a-half-hour oration in the House of Commons. From 1789 he repeatedly presented legislation against the slave trade. Finally on May 30, 1804, it passed in the lower house. It wasn't until February 3, 1807, that it passed in the House of Lords and two weeks later was signed into law by the Crown. After that Wilberforce worked until 1824 for the full emancipation of the slaves. In March of that year he addressed Parliament on behalf of freedom and left Parliament the following year.
B. John Woolman (1720-1772) was a Quaker and an abolitionist. He helped lay the spiritual foundation for the abolition movement. He was convinced that the slaveowners suffered as much from slavery as the slave. He tried to appeal to the conscience of the owners. Largely as a result of his ministry, in 1758 the Quakers took action not to keep slaves or deal in the slave trade. They were the first to make such a statement in the American colonies. Woolman also had a deep concern about the poor and the danger of riches. He quit using his horse and traveled by foot because he felt it was too ostentatious. He also would not use sugar because it depended on slavery for its production and would not wear dyed clothes because of the effects the dyes had on workers. He was a servant of the inner light against slavery and for the poor.
C. Harriet Tubman (ca. 1821-1913) was born in Maryland as a slave named Araminta Ross but early took the name of her mother. She was forced into a marriage with John Tubman by the slave- owner. She escaped without her husband in 1849. She found assistance among the Quakers in Philadelphia. She then returned to slave areas and led about 300 slaves to freedom through the so-called Underground Railroad in nineteen such journeys. She always told them to follow the north star and became known as "Moses to her people." A $40,000 bounty was placed on her head but she was never captured and none of the slaves she led were ever lost. During the Civil War she went to South Carolina, where she served as a cook, nurse, scout, and spy with the Union forces. She claimed to be sustained by her faith in God.
4. Doing What Is to Be Done. It is said that man works from sun to sun, but woman's work is never done. Jesus suggests that the Christian's work is also never done when things remain that they ought to do.
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'? 8Would 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'? 9Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 10So 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!' "
Question is sometimes raised about the lack of condemnation of slavery in the New Testament. Jesus never seems to have opposed it. In fact, in the parable about the servant's duty, Jesus uses the duties of a slave as a model. Elsewhere he uses the term for the proper relationship among persons, though it is frequently translated as servant rather than as slave.
In a time when governments did not provide a safety net for the unemployed and people without land to farm or other means of livelihood, becoming a slave to someone else in exchange for support probably seemed like a good, or at least the only, alternative. During the medieval period when no government provided security, the social system which developed was based on mutual obligations. Local lords provided security from marauding bands. In exchange, people worked the land and provided the means of feeding and clothing the local lords and related entourage.
In the depression years young people graduating from high school thought they were fortunate if they could find a farmer who would let them work for three meals and a dollar a day. They gladly worked from dawn to dusk at hard labor for the opportunity to be fed and have a little cash to buy clothes and other minimal necessities. It was close to the slavery Jesus describes.
Migrants from Mexico and other Central American countries face the risks of illegally entering the United States where they can find jobs, even though the wages scarcely raise them above U.S. standards of poverty.
Freedom is a luxury to people who are starving or fearful for their lives in conditions of chaos. Some order that enables them to survive gives a measure of freedom they may not have otherwise.
That in no way excuses the people who take advantage of such persons. Jesus calls his followers to take upon themselves the duties of the slave or servant toward God and toward others. Where everyone does that, slavery or servanthood is not oppressive. It is liberating if all persons in a society work in a mutual obligation to care for another's welfare as much as for their own.
Context
Context of Luke 17
Luke 17 seems to be a chapter where the author had a number of authentic sayings of Jesus that did not fit naturally anywhere else in his narrative. The chapter starts with the teaching about not offending children. It proceeds to the saying about having faith the size of a mustard seed. Then comes the parable, which is less a story than a series of rhetorical questions about the expectations of rewards for a slave's doing the normal duties required of such persons.
The chapter continues with the story of the healing of the ten lepers. It has some association with the parable in that only one leper expresses gratitude to Jesus for his good work. The others take it for granted that healing is Jesus' normal activity. The chapter ends with Jesus responding to the Pharisee's inquiry about signs of the coming of the kingdom.
Context of the Lectionary
The First Lesson. (Lamentations 1:1-6) The passage mourns the devastation of the city of Jerusalem. Its people have been carried into captivity. The city no longer displays its splendor and majesty because of the destruction. The celebrative festivities that formerly marked its life are no longer seen in its streets.
The Second Lesson. (2 Timothy 1:1-14) The writer of the letter addresses Timothy as a father to a son. He recalls the heritage of faith Timothy received from his mother and grandmother. The writer expresses a longing to visit him personally. In the meantime he encourages Timothy to remain strong in his faith despite suffering. He assures Timothy that his faith will provide him with a spirit of power and discipline. He assures Timothy that Christ Jesus is worthy of the trust and urges him to continue preaching the gospel with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Gospel. (Luke 17:5-10) The passage opens with the admonition to increase faith which, when exercised, has the power to grow like a mustard seed. The passage proceeds to ask the series of questions which calls for the disciples to work as slaves or servants without asking for rewards or special recognition.
Psalm. (Psalm 137) The psalmist echoes some of the same sentiments as found in the first lesson regarding Jerusalem. The setting is in captivity along the rivers of Babylon. The psalmist finds no joy and cannot sing the songs of Zion in a foreign land. He recalls the devastation urged on by the Edomites. He would be happy if they and the Babylonians who destroyed the city would suffer a terrible defeat.
Context of Related Scripture
The gospel accounts make frequent use of the slave, either as a model of what the disciples should do directly, or in parables which use slaves as part of the account. The word for slave in Greek is doulos. Less frequently the servant language is used, but it appears sometimes. In one passage the word for slave in one gospel is servant in a parallel passage. The Greek word for servant is diakonos. Some versions translate doulos as slave sometimes and as servant at others. The NRSV is consistent in translating doulos as slave and diakonos as servant in the passages cited below.
Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13 -- Both the noun and a verb form have "slave" where it says that a slave cannot be enslaved to two masters.
Matthew 8:9; Luke 7:8 -- Tell my slave to do this and the slave does it.
Matthew 10:24-25 -- A slave is not above his master. In Luke 6:40 this becomes a disciple is not above his master. In John 13:15 and 15:20, servants are not above their masters.
Matthew 18:26-33 -- The parable of the unforgiving slave.
Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19 -- Slaves are sent to the wicked tenants.
Matthew 24:34-36 -- The parable of the watchful slaves.
Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 12:42-48 -- Who is the faithful and wise slave?
Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27 -- The parables of the talents and pounds with slaves accountable.
Mark 13:32-46 -- The slaves to be watchful. In somewhat parallel passages in Matthew 24:36-44 and Luke 21:34-36 no slave is mentioned. Luke 12:35-48 does have a parable about watchful, faithful, and unfaithful slaves.
The use of servants:
Mark 9:35 -- Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all. In parallels in Matthew 18:1-5 and Luke 9:46-48 only to be like children is given.
John 12:26 -- Where I am, there will my servants be.
Parallels related to faith as a mustard seed:
Matthew 17:20 -- Faith the size of a mustard seed.
Mark 11:22-23 -- Faith to move mountains.
Content
Precis of the Parable
After a request from the disciples that Jesus increase their faith, he first uses the metaphor of the mustard seed to tell them that they could uproot a tree and have it cast into the sea if their faith were even that small. He then proceeds to ask three rhetorical questions about needing to act without expecting a reward. The first is whether a slave should expect to be set at the table with his master and fed after doing his normal tasks of plowing a field or tending sheep. The second was whether, instead of inviting the slave to the table, the master would be more likely to tell the slave to prepare and serve the meal. The third was whether a master thanked a slave for doing what his mastered ordered him to do. Jesus answers his question by saying that the slave would only acknowledge that everything he had done is what is expected to be done.
Thesis: The faithful disciple will do as the Lord expects him to do.
Theme: Christians will do the will of God as if they are obedient slaves.
Key Words in the Passage
1. "A Mustard Seed." (v. 6) Though the mustard seed is so small that it is difficult to plant just one, it packs enough genetic material to produce a large, substantial plant when it is full grown.
2. "Mulberry Tree." (v. 6) A mulberry tree has a deep root. It is difficult to pull up. It would be quite a feat to remove it simply by an act of faith. The contrast between the size of a mustard seed and the immensity of the task in pulling up a mulberry tree is the point made.
3. "Your Slave." (v. 7) A slave is expected to carry out orders without question. In Hebrew society slaves usually were those who sold themselves into slavery, known as bondslaves. They had a debt they could not pay. According to Old Testament law Hebrew slaves were to be granted freedom after six years. If they did not accept freedom, they stayed in slavery for life. Thus, some persons could be born into slavery as part of a household. While slaves were inferiors, slavery was restricted by certain conditions that respected their humanity.
4. "Plowing or Tending Sheep." (v. 7) Agricultural slavery was not common in Palestine. When it did occur, the master normally worked side by side with the slave.
5. "Take Your Place at the Table." (v. 7) Slaves were not considered equals. Their place would not be at the table to be served. They would serve the master and his family. They would eat later, probably apart from the family.
6. "Worthless Slaves." (v. 10) This translation is probably an overstatement of the character of the slave. It is more likely that slaves would say something to the effect that they were just slaves and should not expect reward or special treatment when having done their duty as expected.
Contemplation
Issues and Insights
1. Slavery. While the analogy of the parables draws upon a relationship between a human master and slave, it does not imply that our relationship to Christ is that of chattel slaves. In our own right and standing before God, we are unworthy. But it is clear from Jesus' other teachings that our relationship to God is love which bestows infinite worth on persons.
God is not a slave master who treats people as property or objects. While they are creatures and not fully equal with the creator, God confers value and worth upon persons. God is not a tyrant, as a slave master might be, but more like a parent in the usual image Jesus uses of God.
Indeed, persons find their full worth and real being as they enslave themselves to the will of God. It is in living disciplined by God's will that persons find their fulfillment. Thus they find their real freedom to become what they were created to be. It is the truth found in Philippians 2:7 ff. It says that Jesus took the form of a slave and humbled himself even to the cross. Therefore he was highly exalted. In a similar humility, Christians realize their fullest possibility and a shared glory with Christ.
Our status as slaves to God is accepted in gratitude for sins forgiven, and God confers the status of sons and daughters upon us.
2. Servanthood. It is interesting to note that as the terms slave and servant are examined in the gospels, the disciples are never called to be slaves to other persons. The parables which use slavery as stories to talk about relationships and behaviors always refer to the disciples' relationship to Jesus or to God as Lord.
When Jesus talks about the relationship between the disciples, it is in terms of being servants to one another, not slaves. Greatness is found in being humble enough to serve another. That is a status voluntarily accepted out of regard for the other's needs. It is not a service required or commanded by the other person.
Slavery under a human master can too easily degenerate into tyranny. The kind of servanthood which Jesus called for is one of mutuality among his disciples and, by implication, among all Christians.
3. Rewards and Punishments. The Christian life is not a bookkeeping affair. Our status before God is not determined by accounts being balanced so that we deserve punishment or rewards. Christians are saved by the grace of God. It is our acceptance and love that is its own reward. Obedience to God should not arise because of the possible reward or the fear of punishment.
The reward in knowing the presence of God's love and power in our lives is its own reward. It is the sense of the absence from God and being alone in the universe that is its own punishment.
When all our activity in faithfulness to Christ is added up, we are still unworthy. We have, at best, only done what is right for ourselves and that is good enough reward for us.
4. Faith Increased. Faith is not something anyone else can confer upon us. Indeed it cannot be measured in quantitative terms. It involves a trust that takes us into the realm of uncertainty. It only increases as we act upon it and find our faith confirmed in our actions. If it were already a certainty, by its very nature it would not be faith.
We find that certain exercises of faith are false. When we act upon them, they do not produce the results promised. It is an illusory or false faith. Some people look upon faith as something that depends upon our willing. If we only will something strongly enough, what we want will happen.
Faith does not depend upon the strength of our willing as such. It depends upon our perception of realities that may not be immediately evident, but that we perceive beyond normal appearances. The Christian who has faith believes in a God of love who wills our ultimate good. If we truly perceive the reality of God's being and nature, then what at times appears impossible from the human perspective becomes possible.
Even if the outcome is not as we want it to be, we have the trust in God that the results are for our welfare. We learn from our exercise of faith and increase it by better understanding of where to invest our risks against the uncertainties of life.
5. The Table of the Lord. In human slavery it is not normal for the slave to find a place at the table with the master. It is one of the paradoxes of the Christian faith that our proper relationship is to be enslaved to God's will. Yet we are invited to take a place at the table as sons and daughters. We are not treated as "inferior." Even though we humble ourselves and do not seek equality with God, we are treated as guests at the heavenly banquet of life.
Homily Hints
1. Increase Our Faith. (v. 5) A sermon can be given on the nature of faith and how it grows.
A. A Bad Faith. Use examples of a faith invested in something that does not produce what it promises, such as some of the current false religions.
B. A Good Faith. Faith properly given to the teachings and examples of Christ proves to be genuine.
C. Faith in Practice. A faith grows as it is tested against life's challenges and adversities.
2. A Slave or a Son? (vv. 7-10) Contrast the attitude of slavery to that of sonship (regardless of gender).
A. A Slavish Duty. Forced or coerced duty is a burden and fosters resentment and sullenness.
B. A Son's Status. In contrast to a slave, a son has a status as a member of the family. It grants a different type of relationship with duties of both the parent and the child.
C. A Son as Slave. As Christ voluntarily took on himself the duties of the slave to God's will, so Christians voluntarily submit and thus blur the distinctions of slaves and sons who now give joyful obedience to God.
3. Thanks to God. (v. 9) Instead of expecting thanks for obedience and actions in the kingdom, Christians give thanks to God for the privilege and opportunity of serving kingdom causes.
A. No Thanks. While thanks for Christian service may be appreciated, it is not the reason for doing it. So Christians say no thanks are needed.
B. Redirected Thanks. If gratitude for Christian service is expressed, it should be to the glory of God who through the Holy Spirit gives the strength and motive for doing it.
C. Praising God. A Christian's life should not glorify self but praise God who is the author of all good and righteous actions.
4. Unworthy and Worthy Slaves. (v. 10)
A. Not Worthless. Make a distinction between being unworthy or undeserving and worthless or having no value. Persons may not deserve God's grace and so are unworthy, but they are not worthless.
B. Unworthy Slaves. Because of sin and rebellion against the will of God, all do not deserve God's grace. Through forgiveness and redemption they gain worth in God's sight and have infinite worth in human terms.
C. Worthy Servants. By the conferred worth granted by God's grace, people can become worthy servants to one another and for kingdom purposes.
5. What We Ought to Have Done. (v. 10) A sermon on what Christians ought to be doing.
A. Acknowledging God's Grace. The first action persons need to take is to confess their self-centeredness and allow the Holy Spirit to transform them into God-centered beings.
B. Doing God's Will. The second action is to correct their life so that it conforms to the commands of God by the support of the Holy Spirit.
C. Serving Neighbors. Mutual service among Christians and love working for the welfare of all persons are what Christians ought to be doing.
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Points of Contact
1. Lack of Faith. No person lacks faith. Any action taken is an expression of a faith. It is not a question of whether persons have or do not have faith so much as a question of where their faith is vested. If persons spend most of their life seeking money, worrying about lack of money, or placing their hopes in what money can do for them, their faith is in wealth (mammon) as the source of security and meaning for their lives. They have faith, though whether it is a good faith and will bring ultimate security and fulfillment may be another question.
One can think of other ways in which faith is shown. It can be in armed forces for security. It can be in a particular political order. It can be in the pursuit of pleasure or the attempt to retain youth, a kind of seeking physical immortality.
All people express their faith. It is more important how their lives reflect where their faith is located than whether or not they have faith.
2. Confessions of Faith. The disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. He did not give them a creed to recite. He did not set forth a catechism. What he did was to tell the parable of what a slave ought to have done. The practicing of faith in doing what was commanded to be done was the way to increase their faith.
So, too, Christians need to do more than give expression to their faith verbally. It needs to be made operational by doing what is commanded. Verbal expression may help to remind us of what is commanded, but unless people trust enough to act on the statement, the faith confessed is no faith. The life negates the words of the mouth and the thoughts of the mind.
A faithful slave or servant does what ought to be done and makes the confession of faith real.
3. Taking It for Granted. How readily do people take for granted the grace of God? They think that they ought to get credit and recognition for every good work they do. If they don't, they are offended. The parable suggests that we should not seek or expect thanks for the good that we do. We should take for granted that that is what we ought to have done.
If thanks is due at all, it is for the grace of God which gives us life and enables us to do any good at all. It is because of God's love that we are able to love. It is because God gives life that we live. So thanks be to God who is the giver of all good and worthwhile gifts.
4. Stars in My Crown. Some people still say that people who do good works get stars in their crowns. Or they say you will get your reward in heaven. Such sayings seem to suggest that living the righteous life is not a good in itself. Therefore a person has to look forward to a reward beyond this life.
It is true that Christians often suffer. Often it may be undeserved. It may also be because we live in a world where evils come to the innocent as well as to the guilty. Nevertheless real living is found in commitment to Christ. Despite an apparent lack of reward for good works, the truly fulfilling life is found in Christ. It is its own reward. That is part of the faith that Christians should profess and experience. Christians should not require stars in their crowns or rewards in heaven to vindicate doing what they ought to do in obedience to God in Christ.
Illustrative Materials
1. Questioning. Jesus asks three questions in the parable. The answers are assumed. Some Christians feel that asking questions in matters of faith is an expression of doubt that is wrong. Nevertheless, asking questions and seeking deeper answers can lead to deeper faith. Someone has said that it is better to ask big questions than to give little answers.
2. Thankful for Criticism. Mother Teresa has received some severe criticism in recent years. It came both in a Vanity Fair article by Christopher Hitchens and in The Door, a magazine of a Texas-based religious order. She had received major gifts from Charles Keating, who was convicted for junk bond dealings in a savings and loan scandal. He had contributed over a million dollars to her organization. She also had use of his private jet. Critics also question the sanitation in her clinic and the adequacy of some treatment of patients. Mother Teresa has accepted the criticisms as a sign of the cross and of God's approval of her good works. At times she has seemed exhilarated by the criticism. She may be somewhat naive and unsophisticated in her contacts with persons of power and wealth, but that should not detract from the faith she has expressed in doing what she felt commanded to be done for the poor of Calcutta and elsewhere.
3. Against Slavery.
A. William Wilberforce (1759-1833) of England early came under Christian influence. He became increasingly active in various social welfare and missionary activities. Already at fifteen he had written an essay against the horrible slave trade. Thirteen years later, at age 28, he felt deeply the shame and bondage of black people. He was then a member of Parliament, representing one of the biggest counties in England. On May 12, 1789, he posed the question of the abolition of the slave trade in a four-and-a-half-hour oration in the House of Commons. From 1789 he repeatedly presented legislation against the slave trade. Finally on May 30, 1804, it passed in the lower house. It wasn't until February 3, 1807, that it passed in the House of Lords and two weeks later was signed into law by the Crown. After that Wilberforce worked until 1824 for the full emancipation of the slaves. In March of that year he addressed Parliament on behalf of freedom and left Parliament the following year.
B. John Woolman (1720-1772) was a Quaker and an abolitionist. He helped lay the spiritual foundation for the abolition movement. He was convinced that the slaveowners suffered as much from slavery as the slave. He tried to appeal to the conscience of the owners. Largely as a result of his ministry, in 1758 the Quakers took action not to keep slaves or deal in the slave trade. They were the first to make such a statement in the American colonies. Woolman also had a deep concern about the poor and the danger of riches. He quit using his horse and traveled by foot because he felt it was too ostentatious. He also would not use sugar because it depended on slavery for its production and would not wear dyed clothes because of the effects the dyes had on workers. He was a servant of the inner light against slavery and for the poor.
C. Harriet Tubman (ca. 1821-1913) was born in Maryland as a slave named Araminta Ross but early took the name of her mother. She was forced into a marriage with John Tubman by the slave- owner. She escaped without her husband in 1849. She found assistance among the Quakers in Philadelphia. She then returned to slave areas and led about 300 slaves to freedom through the so-called Underground Railroad in nineteen such journeys. She always told them to follow the north star and became known as "Moses to her people." A $40,000 bounty was placed on her head but she was never captured and none of the slaves she led were ever lost. During the Civil War she went to South Carolina, where she served as a cook, nurse, scout, and spy with the Union forces. She claimed to be sustained by her faith in God.
4. Doing What Is to Be Done. It is said that man works from sun to sun, but woman's work is never done. Jesus suggests that the Christian's work is also never done when things remain that they ought to do.
