Treasure The Gift Of The Gospel
- Deacon Dan DeLuca
- Oct 20, 2022
- 6 min read
The Gospel is an amazing gift that has been entrusted to us. It contains the words of salvation: the path to eternal life in heaven with God. It provides us with the guidance we need to live a happy, faith filled life. It tells the story of the best friend we will ever have, Jesus Christ. Do we treat it that way? Do we treasure the gift of the gospel? More importantly, has the gift of the Gospel transformed us, transformed our lives? Ponder that as you read the passage below.
The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave
But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have been awake and would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. Truly, I tell you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will punish him, and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master’s will, but did not make ready or act according to his will, shall receive a severe beating. But he who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, shall receive a light beating. Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required; and of him to whom men commit much they will demand the more. Luke 12 : 39-48
Scriptural Analysis
The Church has chosen to divide the Gospel in an interesting way for this reading. It gives us the last two verses of the Parable of the Watchful Slaves. The parable describes slaves who are eagerly awaiting their master’s arrival from a wedding feast. Those who are found to be watching and waiting for him, even if it is late in the night, they will be blessed. The master will invite them to sit with him and the master will serve the slaves as a reward for their diligence.
In the final two verses of this parable, which are given in the above reading, Jesus compares the coming of the Son of Man to the coming of a thief. One usually does not know when a thief will arrive and thus they need to be on guard. Neither will they know when the Son of Man is to come and thus one must always remain prepared.
Peter then interrupts Jesus asking him to clarify whom this parable is meant for. This interjection is important and it makes the parable to follow, apply to the Apostle’s future leadership of the people. This interjection is found only in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus responds to Peter by asking him who will be the faithful Steward that the master will put in charge. This is an indirect way of Jesus telling him that he is especially addressing Peter and the Twelve, people he has chosen for a leadership position in the restored Israel. The Apostles and their successors must be trustworthy stewards. Such a trustworthy steward is blessed and his master puts him in charge of all his property. Joseph in the Old Testament is an example of such a steward, “So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.” (Genesis 39:4) Likewise, the prudent steward will distribute the goods at the appropriate time.
The opposite of the good steward is the servant who beats the other servants, who eats and drinks like the rich fool and even gets drunk himself. The master who arrives unexpectedly will punish him – literally cut him in two (dichotomein) – and put him with the unfaithful. This is a reference to the judgment upon Jesus’s second coming. It can also refer to the judgement at the end of a person’s life. However, this warning likely applies much more to the failed leadership in Israel. Jesus has returned to find them “drunk.”
The servant who is derelict is punished proportionally to their culpability. The one who has willfully failed to do the Master’s will is beaten severely where as the one who is simply ignorant is beaten only lightly. The one who has more entrusted, more is demanded of them. Those in positions of leadership have more reason to fear God. St. Cyril of Alexandria summarizes it as follows, “Whoever has done wrong to the lory of Christ or attempted to disregard the flock entrusted to his charge does not differ in any way from those who do not know him. These persons will be rightly counted among those who have no love for him.” (Commentary On Luke – Homily 93)
Daily Application
The Gospel should be the most precious treasure in our life. What else gives us the path to eternal life? What else gives us salvation? NOTHING!! The question we have to ask ourselves if whether or not we treat the Gospel like the treasure that it is. That question has two aspects. First, do we live our lives as if we treasure the Gospel. Second, do we hoard the knowledge of the Gospel to ourselves or do we go forth and proclaim it?
The first question requires a good deal of self reflection to answer. Jesus lays out a very narrow path for us to follow in order to gain salvation. This much we do know for sure. A follower of the Gospel should be different: their life should look different from the rest of the world that remains in darkness One of the best ways to examine our life, to see if it is truly different, is through the lens of the beatitudes:
Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Luke 6:20-23
Do we live our lives in accordance with the beatitudes? Do we share, not out of our excess but out of our sustinence, what we have been blessed with, with those in need? Do we embrace the suffering that comes our way with humility and strength? Do we boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus even if it means ridicule, persecution, or even death? Living our lives in accordance with the Beatitudes is hard, and we will fall short from time to time. Fortunately, God’s mercy is overflowing so when we do fall off the path, he is waiting to pick us up and help us get back on track. The key is making the personal commitment to walk the path he has laid out before us.
As we conform our lives to the Gospel, an important part of that is our willingness to proclaim the Gospel : to share it with others. The Gospel is not something that is to be kept hidden. We have a responsibility to share it with others. That usually starts with our families. If we are parents, our children should be the first ones we share the Gospel with. From there we can branch out to our communities. Often we think of evangelization in terms of mission, of being sent out. The sending out can and should be within our own communities. We are not all called or required to travel to distant lands like the Apostles to spread the Gospel. The numerous souls we encounter each and every day, that is our mission field. Those are the ones the Lord has sent us to.
Treasure the gift of the Gospel. Live your life in accordance with its precepts. Share it with those around yet. Lest you be like the servant who knew the master’s will but did not follow it.
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