Does Jesus treat us as good-for-nothing slaves?
This Sunday'due south lectionary reading from Luke offers some serious challenges to our understanding and practice.
The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our organized religion!"He replied, "If yous accept organized religion equally small equally a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey y'all.
"Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Volition he say to the retainer when he comes in from the field, 'Come forth now and sit down to consume'? Won't he rather say, 'Fix my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I consume and potable; after that you may consume and beverage'? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you lot as well, when you have washed everything you were told to exercise, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; nosotros have only done our duty.'" (Luke 17.5–ten)
The passage contains some basic textual challenges, in that the subject appears to switch suddenly from the question of 'faith' to existence servants. The parable virtually servants itself has a sudden switch, in that Jesus begins the story by putting his listeners in the identify of the master, but then concludes by putting them in the place of the servant.
Only in that location are wider theological bug too. Simply 2 capacity earlier, we take been told that those who are lost are love and sought after, as a shepherd seeks a sheep, equally a woman seeks out her lot coin, and as a father looks and longs for his lost son to return. How, so, are we merely 'unworthy servants'. Are we not the ones whom Jesus 'has loved to the end', for whom Jesus wraps a towel effectually his waist and stops and is servant to us, every bit he washes our feet? And how might this read to those who have struggled with self-esteem, for whom God'southward affirmation of their value has been the most powerful healing? Should we tell them that, in reality, they are 'unworthy'?
Role of the respond to this comes from noticing its context in Luke. The journey motif, present since Luke 9.51, has dropped out of view for the concluding few chapters, and instead in that location has been a focus on who is in the kingdom. In fact, the journeying motif volition be revisited in the next verse where, in Luke 17.xi, we have a reference to Jesus journey 'along the border between Galilee and Samaria' which (if taken in social club) ways he hasn't travelled very far in 9 chapters! So we demand to read all this textile equally reflection on discipleship, and it turns out that the cluster of sayings grouped together here are directed 'to his disciples' in Luke 17.ane and and so fifty-fifty more specifically to the 'apostles' (Luke 17.v), who haven't been mentioned since returning from their 'missionary journey' in Luke ix.ten.
And so this educational activity is directed to those already committed, those on the inside. And it is directed to them in the context of warnings non to be like the Pharisees 'who loved money' and status according to Luke (Luke 16.14). In this context, Jesus has just urged his close followers 'Don't go a stumbling block' and 'Don't hold on to bitterness and resentment' but forgive your brother or sister who sins against y'all and asks for forgiveness. The first is pertinent just now, equally I read news that a local clergyman, someone whom I taught in college, has been convicted of defrauding a sometime woman and conning her into including him in her volition before she died, subsequently which he conducted her funeral. The latter is illustrated by the stunning grace shown in a US court room as a man embraces the woman convicted of murdering his blood brother.
BREAKING: In stunning moment, Botham Jean's blood brother embraces Amber Guyger after her sentencing for his brother's murder.
"I don't fifty-fifty desire you to go to jail. I want the best for you, considering I know that's exactly what Botham would desire." https://t.co/sWaPUtS0kj motion picture.twitter.com/xPAIKQLh6z
— ABC News (@ABC) October 2, 2019
No wonder that the Twelve plead with Jesus 'Increase our religion!' (or perhaps 'Give us this kind of faith!') If not, how can we alive to these exacting standards?
Jesus surprising rebuke offers an insight into the consequence linking these manifestly disparate themes. It is non near y'all. When yous focus on your own needs and agenda, that is when you go a stumbling cake. When you focus on your rights and concerns, that is when it is hard to forgive. When you lot think that 'faith' is all about the force ofyour inner convictions, that is when you get into trouble. The best analogy I take heard is like a tow rope used by one car to pull another motorcar upwardly a hill. If the second car won't movement, then information technology is no adept attaching a stronger rope; what matters is the vehicle the rope is attached to! In a similar mode, it is not the strength of our organized religion that is the issue; the question is, who is our faith placedin?
Information technology is non clear exactly how common slavery was in first-century Israel. The Talmud does have regulations virtually the keeping of slaves, merely there is a clear business that Jewish practise should be seen as distinct from wider Roman do, in role because of Jewish retentiveness of beingness freed from slavery in the Exodus, and in role because of the humanising regulations in the Torah. (Josephus appears that Jews were obliged to release all slaves after 7 years, in line with the teaching in the Torah). Slaves are mentioned quite oft in the NT, and slavery is causeless equally a social phenomenon, simply the lack of reference to the slaves of Jews in the gospels is striking. (The human going on a journeying has slaves (douloi) in Matt 25.14, just the father of the prodigal has 'hired hands' (misthoi) in Luke 15.17.) This story would be much more than powerful in the context of Luke's readers, who it seems are largely gentiles outside of Israel—and information technology is hitting that this is establish in Luke alone.
The story envisions a main who has one servant, and that retainer is both pastoral and domestic, working in the field as well every bit the home. Mayhap, though, nosotros should not press the model here too far: Jesus' points is that (as Luke'due south readers know well) existence a slave is difficult and often thankless work, and the slave does non accept rights or privileges.
The story disabuses the disciples of any claims to entitlement based on service (Mikeal Parsons,Paideia, p 253).
The analogy is non surprising, given that Luke frequently uses the slave/chief relationship equally a pedagogy bespeak in his account of Jesus' ministry. And, characteristically, Luke calls Jesus the apostles' 'Lord' in introducing this department (Luke 17.five)
Luke's audience might also, in the parable, have heard fairly loud echoes of the duties of leaders inside the early Christian communities. Ploughing (in 1 Cor 9.ten), tending the flock (in 1 Cor nine.7) and serving at the repast table (in 1 Cor eleven; compare the fence in Acts 6) were all metaphors for aspects of Christian leadership (Parsons, p 254). This connects Luke's theology with that of Paul, who consistently describes himself as 'slave' of Christ, and defines disciples as those who confess that 'Jesus is Lord' (Romans 10.ix, ane Cor 12.iii).
But what kind of 'Lord' are we 'slaves' to? For Paul, he is the 'Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me' (Gal 2.twenty). He is the one who has 'poured the dearest of God into our hearts past the Holy Spirit' (Rom 5.5). He is the one who cried 'Abba, Begetter' to God, and having justified u.s. freely (so that in that location is no condemnation), gives us his Spirit then that we besides might cry out 'Abba, Father' as he did (Rom 8.fifteen). He is the one who, on the cross, dealt with our sin and in his resurrection gave the states new life, and then that in baptism we died to sin and live to him (Rom 6.4). This is no ruthless master!
And it seems that for Paul, knowing the love and kindness of his master is precisely the affair which sets him gratuitous to submit to him as 'slave'. So it must be for united states.
Neither Christian discipleship nor Christian ministry building are a ways to privilege and power. They cannot exist a means to prosperity, nor can they justify creating a civilization of deference, in which leaders parade around in fine clothes and expect others to bow to them.
If that happens, so nosotros have succumbed to the temptations of the Pharisees, and nosotros are in danger of exploiting our position by taking advantage of others. Worse than that, we take received our advantage now and are in danger of forfeiting our reward from God (Matt half-dozen.2, 6.five). And perhaps these things are a sign that we have forgotten the love and grace of God.
It turns out that the call to exist humble servants offers simply the liberation that we need.
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