Treasure in Relationships
To All,
In our Gospel reading for this Sunday (Luke 12:32-48), Jesus speaks to His disciples about the kingdom of heaven, and the need to be vigilant for when the Son of Man comes. He first uses the image of a master of the house being prepared for when a thief might come and break into the house. Peter then asks, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And Jesus replies with another parable, contrasting the servant who is found faithful when the master arrives with the servant who says to himself, “My master is delayed in coming,” and then proceeds to mistreat his fellow servants and gets drunk. The latter will be punished.
As I thought about the servant who only thought about what he could get away with while the master was delayed, it seemed to me that there was no real relationship between this servant and his master. It was strictly transactional. Otherwise, the servant would not have been tempted to act the way he did.
Is our relationship with God merely transactional? Do we think only in terms of what we can get from God, or how much we can get away with? Yes, the parable calls us to be servants of God, but we are more than that. In the beginning of our Gospel reading, Jesus reassures His disciples, “Do not be afraid any longer little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” We are more than God’s employees; we are God’s beloved. Out of love, Jesus has “served” us by giving of Himself on the Cross!
Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there also will our heart be.” Is our treasure our relationship with a loving God in Jesus Christ? And do we see our relationship with God inextricably connected to our relationship with others and with all of God’s creation? Or are we content with the mistreatment of our fellow servants, our brothers and sisters? Cornel West once said, “Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.”
To think in terms of relationship helps me better understand the words of Jesus at the end of our Gospel reading: “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” When our relationship with a loved one grows deeper and deeper, the demands of love do not become less, but become greater. At the same time, these “demands” do not become so much obligations (although there are times when they can feel that way), but expressions of love. God continues to show us how far He is willing to go in love for us. We will never be able to match God’s love for us, but we can be willing to grow in our love for God, in giving of ourselves in love for others and for the world, until we are in the presence of the treasure we seek.
May we grow in our relationship with God, and may love and justice abound in our world.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In Christ,
Phil, CP
