Sometimes it is not hard to imagine the world in which Jesus lived. It seeps through the parables he tells, and even in his healing ministry. It was a world that had afflictions similar to ours. For example, there was mental illness that radically changed people’s behavior with symptoms that seemed so bizarre and frightening to family members. Loved ones couldn’t explain the sudden changes that overcame people, when their usual behavior changed radically. So, they blamed it on evil spirits taking possession of the person. Whether people were afflicted with evil spirits, or mental illnesses, Jesus dealt with and cured them.
In the parables, there were slaves, and servants who desperately needed work and, judging from today’s parable, were abused. Our worlds are 20 centuries apart, but there were thieves who broke into houses then, as there are now. There were also servants and workers victimized. Jesus attacked injustice and corruption as wrong. But he could also use examples from his everyday world to his purposes: to hold people’s attention, and to teach them about God’s new presence in their world by his preaching and healings.
Today, to make a point, a very strong point, Jesus even likens his return into people’s lives to that of a thief who breaks into a home and to a master who returns unexpectedly to punish the hard and abusive servant he left in charge of his property and household.
Is Jesus a thief? No, unless you want to say he steals our hearts. Is he a harsh and demanding master? Not from the way he acted toward sinners. Still, we get the point. Best not to be complacent. Best to be faithful to our responsibilities and not become what, we in the South would call, “backsliders.”
After Jesus tells the parable about the surprised return of the master, Peter speaks up to ask him a question . “Lord, is this parable meant for us, or for everyone?” Peter represents church leadership in the gospel and so we in leadership need to pay attention to Jesus’ warning about being faithful to the care and our responsibilities to the church — God’s servants. It sounds like the community Luke wrote for was having leadership issues; not unlike the leadership issues we have in our contemporary church.
The parables today are particularly pointed in their use of images like break-ins and surprise returns. Those responsible for administration, spiritual leadership and the church’s dealing with social issues (like abused workers) will be held accountable for the care of the household; the well-being of the servants.
While the primary thrust of these parables is a warning to the leaders of the Christian community, still, in one way or another we are all “stewards” — we have responsibilities over one corner, or another of God’s household. It may seem for us disciples that we have plenty of time to get our lives in order. But these parables are stories of surprise returns that, if we take seriously, should shake us out of our complacency. They remind us that we will be held accountable for our stewardship: for our family household; for our response to our neighbors needs; for our care of the home in which we all live, our Earth and its environs; for a sensitivity to injustices in our community, local and at large. For example, reminded by gospel accounts like today’s parables, our bishops have reminded us that slavery and the transport and abuse of workers is a major social justice issue in our world.
Today we hear “wake up parables” — a short one about a thief’s break in and a longer one about responsible stewardship. They stir up questions. Each of us is unique and has some particular area of responsibility, besides our jobs and household work, but some “stewardship.” We have been put in charge and will be called to account someday. The parables are not meant to frighten us, or make us feel guilty. But they do occasion reflection for each of us. How responsible have I been to the Christian tasks I’ve been given? Or, have I been a “back slider.”
We know Jesus doesn’t intensify our guilt as much as forgive our sins and failures. Mercy is at the root of these “scary parables.” They are like the harsh sound of the alarm clock that arouses us from slumber so we can begin a new day, with new opportunities and grace to be “faithful and prudent stewards” whom the master has put in charge in his absence.