Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
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Scripture |
Luke 12:32-40 32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 35“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 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. 38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39“But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he a would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” |
Devotional |
The Gospel continues the teaching of Jesus about treasure and greed from last week. Beware of acquiring more for yourselves Jesus says. These verses may not be as clear about our possessions as last week. Skip over the part about selling your possessions and give alms and making purses that do not wear out and move on to waiting for your master to return from a wedding. Waiting for the master and lighting lamps does not say much when we unlock the door, turn off the alarm and flip the light switch. The U.S. economy depends on us wanting more and getting more for ourselves. The Sunday newspaper delivers those advertisements that show us what we need this week. They do such a good job that we feel deprived if we do not own these items by Monday evening. Who is teaching us to live “rich toward God” instead of learning to function as good and informed consumers? When Jesus says, “Make purses that do not wear out,” does he instruct us to have purses than will hold our riches? I think he means that we should not keep our riches too long. The riches you receive should go quickly to those who need them. As hard as we try, it is difficult to live as a Christian in an affluent world. As we get comfortable and discover all the correct answers someone will pull the security from under us. William Willimon shares this story. On the first Sunday of the school year, we had a group of students over to our home after the university chapel service. We had a picnic for them, then some lingered to play basketball or to talk. I sat on our patio with one student. He said, "Dr. Willimon, thanks for having us over to your home. This is the first time I've ever been in a faculty home." "That's a disgrace," I said. "I think that we faculty ought to have students in our homes as often as possible." "Well, few faculty think that way, I can tell you," said the student. "And you have a beautiful home," he said. "Let me ask you, do you feel at all guilty being a Christian and living in such a nice house? How have you thought about that?" And I responded, "Now I'm remembering why it was not such a great idea to invite you people over to my house." Such are the challenges of attempting to be Christian in the midst of affluence. 1 Jesus is always one step ahead of us. For every answer we think of he has someone to refocus our attention. Now that William Willimon is a bishop in the United Methodist, people would not ask this type of question. Prayer: Jesus, you call to be compassionate people and always gently remind us when we fail. Continue to remind us when we fall below your acceptance. 1 William Willimon, “Jesus Visits the Hamptons”. Sojourners Magazine , March-April 2002. |