Day #33
Larry Trotter
Words
of Love
35 “Be dressed ready for service
and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their
master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they
can immediately open the door for him. Luke 12: 35-36 NIV
Overcoming the Barrier
For whatever reason,
reading the whole passage from which this excerpt is snipped reminded me of my
senior class trip to Washington D.C. and NYC. Can you imagine being a chaperone
charged with the care and feeding of a group of 17 and 18-year-olds? And forget
about the perils of the big city; what about the overnight bus ride to D.C.? 50
or so high school seniors in a pitch-dark bus for eight hours. What could
possibly go wrong? In a word, everything! That’s why every so often, on random
intervals, the bus driver, on the orders of the head chaperone, would turn on
the interior lights. It was like bugs scurrying around on the kitchen floor in
the middle of the night when you come in for a snack and turn on the light.
People sat up in their seats, hustled back to their seats, and in a few cases
climbed up from underneath their seats (and that’s all I have to say about
that). We all know that nothing good happens after midnight and on a bus full
of teenagers it’s doubly true. The only chance the chaperones had of
maintaining order was to make sure the lights came on periodically to keep
everyone honest.
The passage is part
of a larger section encouraging people to be ready for the end times when God
will bring judgment on the earth and make all things new. Jesus uses imagery
reflecting first century house servants to describe what it means to be ready
for the master’s return. The verse above seems to be aimed at the disciples as
a way of reminding them that they are to be on top of their responsibilities as
keepers of the kingdom until Jesus’ return. Dressed for service means that the
loose robes worn by servants would need to be tied with a sash to allow freedom
of movement to carry out duties. The image over which I would like to linger
for a moment is the admonition to keep the lamps burning. This was an important
chore since the self-igniting match wouldn’t be invented for 1,800 years. Lamps
had to be kept burning by keeping the wicks trimmed and the oil tanks filled.
In a world where light was a premium item, a burning lamp kept mischief at bay
and accidents from happening. More specifically, people of that age equated
darkness with a spiritual realm. Evil lurked in the darkness and light could
reveal its presence and thwart its consequences.
Evil still lurks
in the darkness of the human soul and light still uncovers it. Our world has
its share of darkened corners and shadowy places. Jesus came to bring light
into the darkness and reveal the evil that the darkness hides. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. once said, “He who passively
accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who
accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”
Preachers call these sins of omission, when we can stop evil from occurring but
allow it by our inaction. When we fail to shine the light of Christ into dark
conversations and shadowy situations we allow evil to perpetuate. Jesus might
equate that with not being ready. If you read further into the larger passage
(Luke 12:35-48) the consequences for servants who fail to do their jobs are
quite sobering. You can read about them if you choose. What we don’t get to choose
is when and where we shine our light. Darkness can occur anywhere, anytime. By
regularly shining our light we reduce the chances of evil being able to impact
those around us. Disciples are chaperones on the kingdom bus. For everyone’s
sake, don’t forget to turn on the light.
Prayer
God of light, please grant me
the courage to shine my light when I see darkness gathering. I don’t want to
let you down by sleeping on the job. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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