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Daily Advent Meditation
By Kelly Durbin
Matthew 24:45-51
"Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whose 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. But if that wicked slave says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." New Revised Standard Version
A coworker was telling me a story the other day about how her son's school teacher was leaving the classroom at various moments during the day. Whenever this would occur, she would leave a certain student in charge of the classroom. It was her responsibility to make sure that her classmates weren't talking or getting out of hand. She was charged with putting names on the board of anyone who was "misbehaving". Now I'm sure the student that was chosen to be in charge was probably a "good student", one who follows directions, completes her assignments, and helps out in class. The teacher likely used her observations of this student in the classroom to make her choice. As it turns out, however, when the teacher wasn't watching, this little girl didn't behave the same way. She picked on students that she didn't like, putting their names on the board to lose recess first, and those who were her friends could talk without consequence.
Reading today's scripture lesson made me think of that story. Many people go through life operating just as this little girl did. We are faithful servants when others are watching, especially when we think someone in authority or who has power or influence over us is watching, but when the "master" is out, we do what we want. I've experienced this same phenomenon in the work place: that often people work harder, or more quietly, and definitely more diligently when the boss is in vs. when the boss is out. Why is it we sometimes have a tendency not to do the right thing when left on our own? Do we only want to make a good impression on our teacher, the boss or others in a position of power? What about the needs of those left in our care, whether they are coworkers, customers, children or those less fortunate than ourselves who we are given a direct charge by Jesus to serve?
The apostle Paul understood the struggle. In Romans 7:14-25, he talks about knowing what he wanted to do, and yet at times found himself doing the very things he didn't want to do instead. Why? The answer is that we are human and fallible, thus prone to following our own desires and fulfilling our own needs, rather than following the example of Christ. His example was one of to loving (and serving) others as we love (and serve) ourselves. The message is not that we should deny ourselves completely, but that we must go beyond caring for ourselves to use our talents, gifts, skills and abilities in the service and care of others. If we have not taken care of ourselves, if we do not love ourselves, then we will not have the strength or even the understanding of what is needed to care for others. I think what often happens though is we get so wrapped up in ourselves that we forget the other part of the call: to reach out beyond ourselves. What we often don't realize is that something transformative happens when we answer the call completely by loving God, ourselves and others. We suddenly find ourselves whole.
I will tell a little story on my spouse that often brings a smile to my face...there are times when Gina will get frustrated with someone, maybe a clerk at the store, another driver on the road or a coworker who has been rude or inconsiderate. She will often say to me, "Its times like this when I know "it's" working! If it wasn't, I'd be going off on them!" What she is so vehemently declaring is that if it were left up to her, and her human spirit, she would not be kind, understanding or polite to those individuals. But because of the Spirit of God working within her, she is able to regain composure and behave in a more responsible and loving way. The apostle Paul said exactly the same thing in Romans 7:24 when he wrote, "Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
During this season of advent, we are encouraged to wait with great expectation for the return of Jesus Christ our Lord, just as the world waited for his birth. Yet while we wait, we are not to sit idle! We are challenged to continue working while we wait, to take care of our world (the household of God) in much the same way as the master left a wise and faithful servant in charge of the household in our scripture lesson. The question is which servant will we be: wise and faithful or foolish and selfish? Alone and under our own power, I fear we will find ourselves foolish and selfish. But the good news of the gospel is this: while we wait, the Spirit of God is ever present to come to our aid! We can indeed do all things through Christ who gives us strength and is at work within us right here, right now. May we yield to the Spirit today and every day! May it be so!
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