Hey guys.
Its “coffee at the Outlet Mall” day. I’m a little behind getting this out as coffee starts at 10am for those who can make it.
I don’t have a ton of time to go through the notes of the last meeting and lay it all out here as i saw it. Honestly its still got me a little spinning. I have a lot of thoughts about it and not all of it is clear yet. So maybe ill leave that for a premeeting reminder next week.
But i did come across this a couple days ago. Its one of those verses that talks about how to those who are given much, much will be expected. I saw it in a different light this time though. In context of our discussion about how God loves everyone where they are at, and judges them based on what they should know or have been given, it reads a bit differently than it used to for me.
Luke 12:40-48
40 You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
41 Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”
42 And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute [the] food allowance at the proper time?
43 Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
44 Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk,
46 then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
47 That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely;
48 and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.
So reading that, this time it says to me that as you get to know God more, you seek more and are given more. But that also comes with the expectation that more will be expected of you. The last two verses 47-48 say it all. So if you apply that in light of which faith, which church, which teaching, it makes it seem like the more you know, the more is expected of you, and that same measuring stick of judgement is applied in proportion to those who know less and those who know more. Assuming that Catholicism is in fact the fullest practice of the new covenant and revelation, then by extension, the most will be expected of us when it comes to how God will judge us. That is to say if we believe the Eucharist is the real presence of Jesus, then we will be expected to revere and treat it so. If a Pentecostal does not believe it, then they wont be judged on the same benchmark as we will if we act the same way. I believe you can extrapolate that across all of the teachings, traditions, interpretations etc of the church then. It would be similar to saying “You can’t ‘unsee’ what you have seen.” You are now changed and that added detail will influence your life going forward. It really is a good thing, but the duty to continue is ours. We cannot turn away or reject the things we don’t like. Jesus did not walk back things he taught us. He doubled down on them because they are true.
So that leaves us asking the question then, is this teaching true? Does it come from God? Or is this some human measure to control the masses? If you look into the reasons and justifications behind church teachings, there is always biblical and apostolic foundation for it. People can twist and contaminate things, but the truth behind it always remains. And that’s what is meant by divine guidance. Despite the most flawed of us running things, God will keep the ship floating and pointed forward. Because the church is the vehicle to get to our destination. We want to be on the straightest path, with the least distractions, delays or breakdowns along the way. It’s 100% healthy to question or doubt as long as we honestly do that and are open to the answers. If we hide behind them or reject the answers with no cause, then we end up being the servants who fail worse than those who didn’t know the truth and fail.
Maybe this verse doesn’t strike you in the same way it did for me this week. I can tell you it was like a gong going off for me and made me think about this every day since. So regardless of how you interpret it, i didn’t have a choice but to share it. See what you think
Our next meeting is Wed, Apr 15 at 7pm. Hope to see you there
Chris
