Luke 12:32-48
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom.
33 Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor. Provide for yourselves purses that don’t wear out, and save your riches in heaven, where they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them, and no moth can destroy them.
34 For your heart will always be where your riches are.
35 Be ready for whatever comes, dressed for action and with your lamps lit,
36 like servants who are waiting for their master to come back from a wedding feast. When he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him at once.
37 How happy are those servants whose master finds them awake and ready when he returns! I tell you, he will take off his coat, ask them to sit down, and will wait on them.
38 How happy they are if he finds them ready, even if he should come at midnight or even later!
39 And you can be sure that if the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, he would not let the thief break into
his house.
40 And you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.”
41 Peter said, “Lord, does this parable apply to us, or do you mean it for everyone?”
42 The Lord answered, “Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? He is the one that his master will put in charge, to run the household and give the other servants their share of the food at the proper time.
43 How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home!
44 Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property.
45 But if that servant says to himself that his master is taking a long time to come back and if he begins to beat the other servants, both the men and the women, and eats and drinks and gets drunk,
46 then the master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. The master will cut him in pieces and make him share the fate of the disobedient.
47 The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping.
48 But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with a light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given.”
Other readings: Wisdom 18:6-9; Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-20, 22; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19
LECTIO
The essence of what Jesus is saying here is summed up in two simple ideas: make sure you are storing up your riches in the right place – heaven – and be prepared for Jesus’s return.
Luke reminds us of the totality of God’s provision for us through all time. In these uncertain days we can be confident that our heavenly father will provide for us. So we can freely share our worldly goods knowing God recognises every investment of trust we make in him and will also supply our needs from his heavenly treasure house.
Many Christians in Luke’s day expected Jesus to return at any moment. Luke reminds us to be ready no matter how long the wait. God’s timetable will not be revealed to us in advance, the timing of Jesus’s return will be a surprise.
MEDITATIO
Consider Jesus’s words in verse 32.
As Christians, we can feel in the minority. Draw strength from living in God’s kingdom. Make a list of all the things that are most important to you at this point in your life – your “riches”. Consider where these “riches” are invested.
How do you maintain a state of readiness for Jesus to return?
ORATIO
Ask God to speak to you from today’s Gospel reading. Maybe he will have something to say about your “riches” or how to be more prepared for his return.
CONTEMPLATIO
After reading Hebrews 11, consider what sustained these believers and allow God to show you how he can sustain you too.
Lectio divina is an ancient tradition of reading and engaging with God’s Word. These outlines for the Sunday Gospel readings are published by the Bible Society.
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