WALDROP: To whom much is given, much is required

An unprepared Simon Peter once said to Jesus: “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or do you mean it for everybody?” (Luke 12:41-48 TEV). What then? Did Jesus let Peter off the hook by generalizing the day’s lesson to “everybody”? Of course not.

In fact, Jesus made it worse. He individualized it for Peter by answering his question with another one: “Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant?” Note that no one responded: “I am, Lord” even though “the faithful and wise servant” is singular.

So Jesus told the class a parable that required them to think as individuals. If we were to apply that parable to ourselves, would we raise our hand and claim to be that faithful and wise servant?

In the parable, one servant is placed in charge of managing an owner’s house and feeding the other servants while the owner has left town temporarily. Upon returning, the owner will evaluate the manager’s performance and either promote him to manager of the entire estate, or punish him severely for the mismanagement of the one house and its people.

Several questions may test our understanding of Jesus’ wise and faithful servant: 1) “Am I aware of being a servant in someone else’s house?” 2) “Who is the owner of the house in which I serve?” 3) “Do I know the owner of this house?” 4) “Do I know what the owner wants of me?” 5) “Am I ready for the owner to hold me accountable for my service to others?” 6) “Who are the ‘other servants’ I am to be serving?” and 7) “Have I been given much or little?” (v. 47b).

If we hesitate over any of these questions, we might remember that no one raised their hands for Jesus, either. No one claimed to be this “faithful and wise servant,” at least not during this class. How long will it take us to decide who we are in God’s house?

Question one challenges the assumption that we own what we see when we open our eyes in the morning. We refer to “our” house, car, money, even family members, as though we own them. Biblically, “our” is a pronoun of belonging or stewardship, not personal ownership, since God owns everything and everyone (Psalms 24:1).

Question six is a bit tricky. It holds in very high regard the people we serve, just as Jesus did by including them in the owner’s house; no one is considered outside of his — or our — care and responsibility. Some of us think little of people who are hungry, sick, poor, uneducated, or otherwise on the edge of society. But they are members of “The First Church of the Periphery,” people whom Jesus called his brothers and sisters (Matt. 25:31-46). Rather than living outside of the house, the people we serve may well be God’s servants, too; and our fellow servants. We do not have an “over-under” relationship with them, but one of equality in the owner’s house.

If we are faithful and wise servants, let’s look at the large “house” we are supposedly managing. How are we doing with it? In America there are 35 million people (including 13 million children) who live below the poverty line and 47 million people (including 9 million children) who can not afford health insurance. Their income is pocket change compared to those who make millions and hoard it all.

In Jesus’ parable, the owner will return someday to evaluate how we have managed his property and fed his people. Do we really expect a promotion?