In celebration of our 60th birthdays, my wife, Rhonda, and I recently had the unexpected pleasure of going on a Mediterranean cruise, visiting ports in Italy and Turkiye and several Greek islands. It was truly the trip of a lifetime, and we will cherish the experience for years to come. If you have never been on a cruise, I highly recommend it. Instead of packing and unpacking as you travel from place to place, your hotel simply goes with you, with all the amenities included – food, lodging and entertainment – as you visit some of the most beautiful and interesting places on the planet.
As we were on the elegant Holland America ship the Nieuw Statendam for fourteen days, the last Saturday of the trip, sometimes referred to as Sadurday, came as something of a shock. As we left the ship, and especially when we returned home, we faced the reality of once again preparing our own meals, making our own beds and cleaning up after ourselves, and longing to return to the onship BB King Blues Lounge for a fancy drink and great music.
While we needed and greatly appreciated the rest and time away, we all know that cruise life is not real life. However, in the context of the daily demands life and the current moment's mayhem, many of us may find ourselves longing for the next cruise or vacation, or at least working primarily for the weekend, as the band Loverboy intoned in 1982. As a remedy to spending our days pining for the weekend or the next vacation the words of Jesus recorded in Luke 19:13 may challenge and comfort us.
In the parable of the Ten Minas (or Ten Servants), Jesus tells the story of a nobleman who is called away to a distant country to be crowned king. Before he departs, the ruler distributes a meaningful amount of money to ten of his servants and then gives this command: Put this money to work…until I come back, (NIV). You may be more familiar with the King James' version of this verse, which simply states, Occupy till I come. This parable is similar to the one recorded in Matthew 25, where Jesus tells of a ruler distributing ten, five and two talents to three of his servants and then demanding an account of how the monies were invested upon his return.
Jesus Challenges us in these parables, as they clearly indicate that in this time between his first and second coming or appearing, his followers have a job to do. In both stories, the servants are given money to invest, implying that the ruler would arrive home to see a return on his investment. The implication for us is that as followers of Jesus, we have each been given something – a gift or a resource – that we are expected to put to good use for the kingdom of God in our time. To use King James' language, we are to occupy or busy ourselves with the purposes of God in Christ in our day as we are led and empowered by his Spirit.
The Apostle Paul spells this out for us very clearly in Romans 12:6-8, where he states:
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully, (NIV).
In light of Paul's and Jesus' teaching, while I may be weary from work and worry or simply tempted by the pleasures of life, and while there is undoubtedly a time for rest and recreation, as the Church of Jesus Christ, the People of God, we have work to do. We are to be agents of help and hope, walking in righteousness and working for justice in the name of Jesus by the power of his Spirit with the gifts God has given us until he returns to make all things new.
That's the challenge of the parables of the Minas and the Talents. But there is great encouragement in these stories as well.
I would suggest that in addition to a break from our day-to-day obligations, another reason that we anticipate the weekend or plan for our next cruise is that we feel overwhelmed by the news of the day and powerless to do anything about it, so we might as well distract ourselves with various forms of recreation and entertainment. But as we reflect more deeply on these parables of Jesus and the words of Paul, they can lift us out of our lethargy and our sense of helplessness and be a catalyst for action.
In both Parables, a person of position and power takes some of what is his and empowers his servants to invest on his behalf. As we seek to decipher the meaning of the parables, it is fairly plain that the king or ruler in each story represents God in general or Jesus expressly, and the servants represent his followers.
In Acts chapter one, when the disciples ask if Jesus, now resurrected from the dead, is going to restore the kingdom of Israel – the burning issue of the day for Jews that they felt helpless to do anything about Roman domination and occupation – Jesus gives this poignant reply:
7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (NIV)
As followers of Jesus, each of us is a servant of no regional or national monarch, but quite literally servants of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and by his Spirit, each of us is empowered in a unique way to further his work in this world until he returns. We are not called or capable of responding to every issue or righting every wrong, but we can all be faithful to invest the little or much that we have received for the Glory of God and the Good of Our Neighbors Near and Far.
Our lives matter, and we can make a lasting difference. And while I may long for the Lido Deck, I'm more interested in occupying myself with the business of King Jesus until he returns.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Scott