Friday, April 10: Luke 17- Jesus is Lord!.

“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’ ” (7-10).

This is one strong statement by Jesus!

I know Jesus is Lord but I don’t often think about what that means, particularly in the first century context. I also like to think that God is love… and Jesus’ statement in John 15 where He calls us ‘friends’. All of this tends to mute the drastic statement that He is LORD!

Verses 7-10 challenge me and force me to deal with the first century context of calling Jesus Lord. To call someone Lord was total allegiance, a willingness to serve them with all that we have. That is the lot of a servant… service.

I reread Jesus’ Words, the punch line is stark: when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ When we have done our duty… loved God with heart, mind, soul and strength, loved neighbor as self, given our tithe, cared for the poor, oppressed and needy, disciple all nations, and so on… when we have done everything we were told to do, we have only done our duty. We have only done what is expected of us and thought more.

I think of great saints of the church -Peter and Paul, Luther, Calvin, Francis of Assisi, Stephen, mother Teresa, Billy Graham, John Wesley and others- some martyred, some living in poverty so they can give all to Jesus, each one of them sacrificing so much to be devoted servants of Jesus. And yet, they have only done their duty, nothing more.

We consider them ‘Greats’ and yet they did nothing more than their duty.

As I write this I feel so short, so small,l because I don’t even come close to measuring up to them and all they did was their duty. They have simply done what, as servants, they were supposed to do!

My lack stares back at me from this text…

O God, forgive me… forgive me for being lazy.  Amen.

 

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