Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Advent Year 2
Morning, Psalm 119:49 to 72; Evening, Psalm 49;
Zechariah 3:1 to 10; Revelation 4:1 to 8; Matthew 24:45 to 51:
“Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions.” (Matthew 24: 45 – 47)
(Edited and republished from December 18, 2019)
I think the first thing to do is to clarify the word slave, or in the Biblical Greek, “δοῦλος.” In English it is pronounced “Dulas” and it means servant as well as slave. Personally, I prefer the term servant.
So now let’s go back and listen to what is being asked. “Who is the faithful and wise servant?” Hmm, makes me ponder. Can we find wisdom and servitude in the same person? Sometimes we “wise” our way right out of serving anybody, including God. Once, when I was young, and not very bright at all, I worked at a major hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. I saw a coworker filling an ice chest. I had just worked my way up to a less physical requirement at the hospital and I arrogantly lied to that young man saying, “I wouldn’t do that for anybody.” To which he quickly responded, “Would you do it for yourself?” As you can see, I never forgot that important lesson. I don’t like sharing these details about myself but it helps me to see how far I have come. I still have a long way to go.
In our Matthew passage we are reminded that the reward for hard work is more hard work. When the faithful servant does all that is expected, that servant is given even greater responsibility. But I think the wisdom lies in the training of one’s self to enjoy holding things together. We too can learn to enjoy making sure that people receive their allowance of food, or education, or transportation, or medication, or anything they need at the proper time. The good news is that while we are enjoying filling the ice chest, we will be blessed when our Lord Jesus arrives. “Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.”
As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
onewhoponders 