Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
Then Peter said,
“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” (Luke 12:39)
An interesting question…
Jesus answers Peter’s question indirectly but nonetheless clearly.
Jesus responds by telling the parable of the steward placed in charge of his master’s household. He suggests that in His absence, He will leave each of us as stewards in charge of whatever household He has assigned us to. It may be our family, our work, or our charitable endeavors, but we all have something the Lord has placed us in charge of.
Jesus describes how as stewards we can choose one of two courses of action in safeguarding the master’s household from expected thieves.
The first option is to do what the master instructed with regard to the household the steward has responsibility over. Jesus explains we are to provide for those in our care.
Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? (Luke 12:42)
And Jesus makes clear that this activity is not a one-and-done, but that it should go on until His return.
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. (Luke 12:43)
The reference to food in this verse can mean any number of things we may provide to those in need. There are many things necessary to sustain or enhance our lives, and we should each fulfill our responsibilities of making provision as our stewardship demands and allows.
There is of course an alternative response.
The other option is for the steward to grow tired of waiting for his master’s return. In this case the steward begins mistreating the household servants and selfishly consumes the master’s provisions of food and drink. This steward will be surprised at the master’s unexpected return.
But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. (Luke 12:45-46)
It is always interesting when you hear someone say they choose not to read Scripture because they do not understand it. But there are many Scripture verses, this one included, where Jesus makes His demands infinitely clear.
Jesus then goes on to conclude this parable with an equally demanding caution.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more. (Luke 12:48)
Jesus’ answer to Peter’s explains how we are all expected to be good stewards of the master’s household; this is true regardless of our station in life, and regardless of how much we have been entrusted with.
But Jesus’ answer raises a more critical question – which of us have been given much?
If our mind immediately goes to the thought of our material possessions, we will likely be misguided, even if we have been blessed with an abundance of stuff in this world.
Jesus is not referring exclusively to material possessions; this requirement to act as stewards is also about spiritual gifts, and we have all been blessed with different and varied degrees of spiritual gifts.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:7-12)
We exercise these gifts through the fulfillment of our daily responsibilities. And like the steward in Jesus’ parable, we have been given responsibility, through our gifts, to share not just food, but the message of the Gospel, the Word, the bread of life.
We all have a role to play in sharing the message of the gift of eternal life. We do not need to be teachers or evangelists or experts in Sacred Scripture. We only need to share the message we ourselves have been entrusted with.
The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23b)
Let us pray for the grace to be good stewards of our master’s household. And let us exercise our spiritual gifts and share richly the message of our master’s treasures with the multitude less fortunate than ourselves.
Copyright © 2024, Deacon Mark Danis
Image credit:"Parable of the Unjust Steward," Jan Luyken, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons