Good Morning Friends,
Today we look at the parable of the farmer and his slave, and the way it cures our self-pity and sets the standard for the ideal attitude of a disciple of Christ. We are to exhibit humility but also active engagement in the reality that we have been blessed to be a blessing. The context in which we find this parable is a series of teachings for Jesus’ disciples about faith. The Lord’s insistence that forgiveness be granted continually is such hard teaching that the disciples ask for an increase in faith. Jesus responds that authentic faith, though small, can accomplish amazing things. But these great works can lead to the danger of attributing them to personal achievement. And when we compare this to the internal and external ways of most institutional churches we are compelled to ask: Can The Cults Of Happiness We Call Religion Become Zealous Models For Good Deeds?
Scripture: “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’? Would 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’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So 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!’”
Luke 17:7-10 (NRSV)
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
Romans 1:1 (NRSV)
What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:15-23 (NRSV)
But as for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. Tell the older men to be temperate, serious, prudent, and sound in faith, in love, and in endurance. Likewise, tell the older women to be reverent in behavior, not to be slanderers or slaves to drink; they are to teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be self-controlled, chaste, good managers of the household, kind, being submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, gravity, and sound speech that cannot be censured; then any opponent will be put to shame, having nothing evil to say of us. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
Titus 2:1-8, 11-14 (NRSV)
Message: Now you may be thinking that after we have done all we can do it would be alright to take a little pride in a well-fought fight. But the parable from Luke initially reads like life is an unpleasant experience and then you die. It is not a very happy message at all. Culture’s response to this may have been an overcorrection toward greedy individualism and institutional endorphin making. But the slice of truth in today’s parable is that we should be humble if we seek sanctification. Thankfully this parable is not all the truth in the Bible. Still, it is an important truth because there is no special reward for being less than perfect. And the only prize in this scripture is in realizing that the work is never done. Like salmon returning home to the very place they were born, we too, as children of God, must find our way back from where we came. And yes, the journey is all upstream to heaven. Friends, a disciple should never forget his position before God. Each was brought into the kingdom at great cost and sacrifice. And because such a price has been paid, the believer can take no credit for the work he does in God’s kingdom. His attitude can only be that of a humble and grateful servant who understands that service does not obligate God to him. But this is not just an external response to the world. It is an internal one of cognitive retraining that the apostle Paul speaks of and embodies. The apostle Paul was one who had this kind of attitude of humility. When thinking of what God had done for him, Paul speaks of sonship and freedom from slavery. When thinking of his own responsibility to Christ, he speaks of himself as a slave of Christ and as one who is under obligation to the Lord who redeemed him.
And So, today’s message is about our obedience. It is facing up to the fact we do not like to think of ourselves as slaves or even humble servants. But it is also a message of discovery that serving others is a blessing in and of itself and so is humility. Together they combine to give us a warm sense that not only have we pleased others but also pleased God. And this is not a prideful thing but when you know that you did the right thing, it is a good feeling. So, we are to go forth and love and serve God by loving and serving each other. And that does not take a lot of faith, but it does take more commitment. We must be all in, realizing we are to be slaves for God because God is the one who created us and saves us. And the disciples had Jesus right there with them. They were not going to get any better leaders to prompt their faith. But Jesus is instructing them and us to do so in order to learn how to have faith. Friends, with God’s rain and sunshine the small mustard seed will sprout and come to harvest to the greater glory of God for it was so tiny to begin with. Our faith grows when we learn and do the things we are supposed to do as Christians committed to transformation. Here humility and service go hand in hand. Trust and obedience go hand in hand. So, what Jesus was preaching was not to have more faith but how to use the faith we have with the gifts we have been given. The problem is not more faith but obedience to the obligation of being a servant of Christ and commitment to the transformation of being a Christian in not just words but deeds. It is then that Jesus calls us friends.
Pray that we do not neglect the gift of our salvation. Pray we delight in God’s will, and walk in the ways of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of Jesus Christ. Pray that we face up to the fact that we use our lack of faith as an excuse when the real issue is a lack of obedience. Pray that we have faith rooted in Kingdom purposes in us. Pray we realize that our service for God does not obligate God. Pray we regard our service as nothing more than a duty even though by God’s grace we find joy in it. Pray that we realize that hard work may help grow our faith but the glory of the work if it produces anything is to go to God. Pray we realize that even the best servants of Christ are still called unprofitable servants. Pray we realize that there is no room for pride when it comes to serving God. Pray that we find freedom in service. Pray we are humble. Pray we do not substitute false happiness for the hard work of a disciple. Pray we find joy in the work that does not puff us up. Pray we realize that we are a Temple for God and in the three parts of our mind can be retrained from the perspective of steward, servant, and slave for our very sanctification. Pray that God’s good work in and through us transforms us into God’s friend led by the Holy Spirit to be more like the character of Christ.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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