Servant or Citizen?

Today’s Gospel Text:  As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, "A nobleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten pounds, and said to them, 'Trade with these till I come.' 14 But his citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.' 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading. 16 The first came before him, saying, 'Lord, your pound has made ten pounds more.' 17 And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.' 18 And the second came, saying, 'Lord, your pound has made five pounds.' 19 And he said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.' 20 Then another came, saying, 'Lord, here is your pound, which I kept laid away in a napkin; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.' 22 He said to him, 'I will condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money into the bank, and at my coming I should have collected it with interest?' 24 And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the pound from him, and give it to him who has the ten pounds.' 25 (And they said to him, 'Lord, he has ten pounds!') 26 'I tell you, that to every one who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.'"

28 And when he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. Luke 19:11-28

Reflection: In this parable that Jesus talks about we could be so focused on the talents or the pounds and miss out on a very important truth which seem to come across as passing. 

We could confuse the message of this parable with the parable that Matthew mentions in the 25^th chapter of his gospel, which explicitly talks about the servants and the talents given to them by the master.

Here in this parable, as if in passing but significantly, Jesus mentions about the citizens who hated the noble man.

Jesus does not give us any reason for their hate but reveals a very important fact in the parable: you are either a servant of Jesus or a citizen receiving all the ordinary benefits of the kingdom and yet could be hating the king.

If the scripture reveals to us that we are sinners, one of the qualities of sin is to be hostile towards the God whom Jesus has revealed and this hostility is even manifest in the many gods created by people and by those who do not believe in him.

Each individual in this world, if he has not opted to be the servant of Christ, is a citizen of the kingdom. For God himself accepts them as citizen and makes his sun shine on them and the rain to water their needs. (Mt. 5:45)

Do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Rom 2:4

The above is besides the hostility of the servants who do not value the pound given by the master and which belongs to the master and do not make much of it.

The important thing is to ask ourselves where we belong: Whether we are servants or citizens, if citizens then we need to change and opt to be servants.

If are servants or opted to be one then it is necessary for us to ask ourselves what we are going to do with the wealth that Christ has entrusted to each one of us as his servants; i.e. the gospel.

Prayer:  Lord, I thank you for opening my eyes to understand my place in your kingdom, help me Lord to constantly opt to be your servant and to carry your word to all whom I meet.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Friends of Jesus

Today’s Gospel Text:  And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations.

10 "He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."  14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they scoffed at him. 15 But he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Luke 16:9-15

Reflection: “How to make friends and influence people” is one of the best selling self help book ever published and has sold over 15 million copies worldwide.

Thought the book contains valuable thoughts on the essentials of friendship and relationship yet it could lead one to manipulative methods to achieve a particular goal viz. friendship at any cost.  

The book talked about the techniques of handling people and the many different ways to make people like you as a person. It talked about the 12 ways of influencing people to your way of thinking and without being offensive to them.

Was it a new methodology in pleasing people or a technique based approach to winning friends without caring for the individuality of others?

One key thought the book highlights in order to achieve one's goal is to either get the other into your way of thinking or get into their way of thinking.

In other words one should have friendship as their goal in life and nothing else in order to use this methodology to achieve it.

This is not how it is with Christians: You cannot get someone to your way of thinking or get into someone else’s way of thinking. In that you could end up a looser and condemned for all eternity.

We have a perfect person in Christ Jesus and he can be the center of all friendship. Get into his way of thinking and do not bother much about friendship.  Because he is a friend that is complete and satisfies and we really do not need another.

If are gifted with friends in the course of proclaiming him as the perfect person to follow then we thank Jesus for his generosity. But in no way we can compromise with the friendship of Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for you no longer treat us like servants, even though we are your mere servants. 

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us