The Faithful Steward: A Meditation on Luke 12

Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou

this parable unto us, or even to all? And the Lord said,

Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his

lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them

their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is

that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make

him ruler over all that he hath.

But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

And shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens,

and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that

servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him,

and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder,

and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself,

neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes,

shall be beaten with few stripes.

For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:

and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

In this middle section of Luke 12, Jesus is teaching His disciples about the futility of worry about earthly things, and instead the enduring significance of heavenly things.  While the Gentiles (those who do not know God as their providential and saving Father) often spend their time in pursuit of wealth, power, food, shelter, and the prolongation of their lives, Jesus reminds His disciples that these are not things they need to worry about.  Since God is our good and gracious Father, and knows we need all the things attendant to life in this world, we should not worry about them—but rather trust that God will give to us what we need, when we need it.  On the flip side, our anxiety about such things is poorly spent and accomplishes little to nothing.  Jesus makes plain that if by our worrying we cannot add to the height of our stature or change the color of our hair (dying grey hair brown is not changing it—just painting it), why would we bother worrying about the weightier things of life, when we already know by faith in the Word of God, that God desires to give us all the good things He knows we need?

Moving past the mundane things of daily life, Jesus presses His disciples to consider deeper, more transcendent things.  Rather than the vanities which tend to overwhelm our senses, He tells them to seek His Kingdom and His Righteousness, and to be watchful for His return at any moment.  Jesus teaches His disciples that their lives should not be marked with anxiety for the passing things of mortal life, but rather marked by the pursuit of heavenly things which endure for eternal life.  And lest His hearers take His admonishment as purely an intellectual or abstract exercise, He puts the fine point on His imminent return, and the honest concern His disciples should have about how Jesus will find them when He comes.

At first reading, this could easily take a person from the minor of worry of chasing earthly things, to the absolute panic of chasing heavenly things.  Who among us is actually ready for Jesus to return at this very moment?  What if He comes in the middle of that foul TV show you’re so enamored of, or while you’re indulging in that filthy internet content?  What if He came and found you in the midst of pursuing debauchery at your favorite night club, or in the arms of your next fornication?  What if he came and found you drunk and carousing, rioting in the streets, destroying private property, gossiping about your neighbor, or being lazy in your work?  The terror or worrying about Jesus finding you in the midst of any of your sins would be enough to incapacitate almost anyone of honest reflection.

For the clergy, it should be doubly terrifying.  Not only does Jesus warn His disciples about orienting their lives toward His Kingdom rather than fallen sinful passions, He specifically warned those who serve His people in His stead, that their fate could be horrible should He find them unfaithful.  Jesus is clear that His disciples are commissioned to give His people their food in due season—which He would reveal is His Word and Sacraments, the divine Means of Grace which He established so that His Holy Spirit would work faith, repentance, forgiveness, life, and salvation to all who hear and believe.  Blessed, He said, are those pastors who He finds so doing when He comes.  However, he breaks up His unfaithful clergy into three distinct categories:  the ignorant, the negligent, and the abusive.  In Jesus’ words, the ignorant clergy who unwittingly do things worthy of stripes, or punishment, will receive severe yet lesser scourging; those who know better and are still delinquent in providing His people the gifts of His Word and Sacraments will be beaten with many stripes, since to whom much is given, much shall be required; and those who use their clerical office to tyrannically abuse and afflict Jesus’ people rather than care for them, Jesus will cut asunder and cast into hell with all the unbelievers who repudiated Him and His Gospel.  If you are clergy in the Church of the Living God, this should pierce you to your core—if Jesus were to return today, would He find you acting out your ignorance, negligence, or abuse in the Holy Office He ordained you into for the care of His people?

The truth of Jesus’ words of Law here are unavoidable, but they are probably deeper than you already imagine.  Whether you are of the laity or the clergy, do you really think Jesus is unaware of your misdeeds between the time He ascended into heaven, and the time He returns?  Do you really think that in His omnipotence and omnipresence, He is not always present with you, closer to you than your own soul, and witness in full to every dark thought, word, and deed—things done, and things left undone—that have ever occurred in the entirety of your life, or shall yet come to and through you until your life in this world is over?  Do you really think that Jesus, who is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, is not just as imminent to you at this very moment as He will be at the hour of your death, or in the Last Day of His final Judgment?  If you are honest with yourself, you will embrace the truth:  you and your sin, all your failures to live up to God’s Righteousness and the Kingdom of His Eternal Son, are known in every detail by the God who is always all knowing, all powerful, and ever present.  There is no escaping the just requirements of God’s holy Law, because there is no escaping our holy God.

So where does the Christian find peace, in the midst of this terrible knowledge?  In the Gospel of Jesus Christ alone.  Only in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection do we find the forgiveness of our grievous sins, and of being ourselves grievous sinners.  Only in Jesus do we find the promise of forgiveness, life, and salvation given freely by His grace to all who will repent and believe His Word of Life.  Only in Jesus is the wrath of God satisfied against each and every penitent sinner, so that those who abide in Jesus’ grace by faith in Him and His Word, abide also in His life and His Kingdom forever.  Only in Jesus is the comfort, peace, security, and confidence to know God as our loving and merciful Father, who gives to us freely of His Holy Spirit that we might rise up in a new and eternal life.  Only in Jesus’ Gospel is the satisfaction of Jesus’ Law.

What does this mean to us?  For the unbeliever who stands under the just condemnation of God’s Law for all the evil of your heart and your hands—turn from your vain pursuits, believe His Gospel of redemption, and live forever by His Spirit working through His Word.  For the Christian who has forgotten that not only will Jesus come for you one day, but that He has never left you nor forsaken you, even though you have allowed your life to be consumed by sinful endeavors rather than the pursuit of His Kingdom—turn from your vain pursuits, believe His Gospel of redemption, and live by His Spirit working through His Word.  For clergy who have misused Christ’s Office of the Holy Ministry through ignorance, negligence, or abuse—turn from your vain pursuits, believe His Gospel of redemption, and live by His Spirit working through His Word.  For unbeliever and believer, for laity and clergy, and for sinners of every type and kind, the gracious message of Jesus to you is always the same:  Repent.  Believe. Live.

While the Law of God rightly points out our failings and our just judgment, the Christian finds hope and peace in knowing that Jesus did not come to destroy us, but to save us.  We who are sinners, hopeless to save ourselves, have a King who sacrifices Himself so that we might not perish, but live forever with Him in His Kingdom as His beloved and forgiven children.  We will never find peace in the Law, nor in the sins which the Law rightly condemns.  But we will always find peace, grace, mercy, love and compassion in the Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and risen for sinners just like us, who are called by His Eternal Word to live in a constant state of faith and repentance—a continuous turning from evil, and trusting in the forgiveness of God for Jesus’ sake.  Jesus lays out before you this day His Law and His Gospel, which reveal the paths of death and life.  Choose life, that you might live forever by grace through faith in Jesus.  Amen.