Luke 17:7-10
[Jesus said,] “Who among you, when your slave comes in from plowing or tending sheep in the field would say to him, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table.’? Would you not rather say, ‘Prepare supper for me. Put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink. Later you may eat and drink.’?” And do you commend him for doing what he was ordered to do?
“So you also, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say to yourselves, ‘We are worthless slaves. We have done only what we ought to have done.’”
We have two hounds at the Havel house. Rosie, our pandemic rescue and surprise cancer therapy puppy. And Stella, Rosie’s much older, gives no ‘you know whats’ anymore, 14 year-old, geriatric big sister. Rosie is here already. I’m not sure if Stella will make it – even though Stella is the one who needs the blessing, these days.
Stella needs a blessing because she’s started a new thing over the course of the last month or so, where she decides every night – somewhere in the middle of the night – that she needs to go outside. It might be midnight. It might be 3 a.m. (It’s usually 3 a.m.) Whatever the case it’s some time after the humans in the house are fast asleep when Stella sits by the front door and barks. Just one, sharp, staccato “woof” that apparently only I can hear.
So almost every night – sometimes twice a night – in the last month or so, I have been roused from a deep slumber to let the old girl out to do her thing. I say “almost every night” because there have been one or two – literally just one or two nights – over the course of the last month or so, that she HAS NOT woken me up for her midnight potty break.
And I have been so pleased on those rare occasions that I’ve thanked her for it… maybe given her a little extra love when I saw her in the morning – as if she has any idea, or cares one bit, about what I’m talking about.
But it made me think of this Gospel story where Jesus is talking about what it means to follow faithfully, to do God’s bidding, to live in ways that we are called to live as disciples in the world.
Now, Jesus’ rhetorical bit about what we might do or say where our slaves are concerned – when they come in from a hard day’s work in the field and continue to do what is asked of them – is an outdated and irrelevant object lesson for the likes of you and me.
But some of us might be able to relate as parents … like what parent hasn’t had a child act like they deserve a pat on the back or an allowance or some measure of deep gratitude because they took out the garbage, or emptied the dishwasher, made their bed, or ate their vegetables? NO! That’s them doing only what they ought to have done!
Or what about teachers … and those otherwise capable students who act like they deserve a gold star or extra credit for writing their name on their paper, or doing their homework on time, or for not starting a fight on the playground? NO! That’s them doing what they were asked, instructed and expected to do.
Or what about employees or co-workers … do we commend or reward people or expect extra accolades for doing the bare minimum?
Or Stella, Rosie’s geriatric big sister … does she deserve extra love and attention, pats and gratitude and treats for NOT waking me up in the middle of the night? NO! It’s literally the least she could do … the bare minimum … it’s pretty much all I ask of her these days.
And it seems like this might be something like what Jesus is talking about where discipleship is concerned.
Do we expect thanks, gratitude and accolades for loving our enemy?
Do we look to be acknowledged or seek special accommodations for giving our offering?
Do we want some kind of cosmic credit for showing up to worship? For reading our Bible? For working in the nursery … teaching Sunday School … serving in any way?
Do we long to be recognized for showing mercy, for offering forgiveness, for acting like a neighbor to someone in need?
At some level, all of this is just what we’ve been commanded to do. And the reality is, when we do what we’ve been commanded to do … when we follow God’s lead … when we model our lives after Jesus … we are blessed in ways we never deserved in the first place, anyway.
When we follow faithfully and with true humility, discipleship is its own reward and blessing.
So, today’s Gospel is about doing God’s will for the sake of doing God’s will – justice for the sake of justice; generosity for the sake of generosity; kindness and love for the sake of kindness and love.
It’s about returning the favor of it all because God, in Jesus, has done it all, first…already…for our sake and for the sake of the world.
Amen
