Luke 17:5-10 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" The Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
"Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, `Come here at once and take your place at the table'? Would you not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, `We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'"
Reflection “Jesus, what are you saying to us? How can you possibly call us slaves? Our ancestors were slaves in Egypt and God sent Moses to free them. (Deut 24.22) Our country is splintered by its lamentable history of slavery and we cannot figure out how to heal and move on. We cringe when we think about the fifteen to fifty thousand women and children forced into sexual slavery in the United States every year. Jesus, how can you call us slaves?”
Rather than toss out this text let us take a deep dive into the Biblical Greek. Doulos. In addition to being translated as slave or servant, doulos is also understood to mean one who gives him or her self over to another's will, or, those who act to advance God’s mission and ministry among people. Doulos, or slave, can also mean acting without regard to one’s own self interest. The feminine version of the word is doula. Doula actually refers to a midwife, a woman who serves women in childbirth.
The first time we bump into the word doulos in Luke’s gospel is in the first this familiar scene. The angel of God bursts into unsuspecting Mary’s life and stuns her with the news that “the Lord is with you, has found favor with you,” and that she will give birth to a son destined for great things. Young, unmarried, peasant Mary questions the Angel, “How can this be?” The Angel assures her, “With God nothing will be impossible.” Then we hear Mary’s astonishing response, “Here I am, a doula, a handmaid, slave or servant of the Lord. “ (Lk 1.38)
Mary consents to be a slave “with God.” She agrees to give her self over to the will of God in order to advance God’s mission. Think about this. Being an unwed pregnant girl in the ancient middle east was a stoning worthy offense so clearly, Mary is acting without regard for her self interest. Mary is choosing to be a slave, doulos, with God.
Like our sister Mary, every one of us is called to conceive and give birth to the utterly impossible;“uprooting and planting a mulberry tree in the sea,” lavishly giving shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry, healing to the sick, wholeheartedly offering welcome to the stranger, freedom to the prisoner, love to the enemy, all of which add up to; unequivocally giving birth to the presence of God with us by subordinating our self interest in order to advance God’s mission in the world; being doulos.
Being doulos, slaves of God, demands we have faith even as small as a mustard seed, faith in the angel’s assurance that, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Still, immediately our minds leap to sit on the fence and make excuses. “This is too hard. There are too many homeless and hungry and sick, scores of strangers and prisoners and frightful enemies. Climate is changing, politics are degrading. Soon we will have no fresh water to drink nor clean air to breath. What can we possibly do?”
The key is hidden in a seemingly insignificant word. With. “For with God nothing will be impossible.”(Luke 1.37) With God.
The little word “with” is rich with meaning in the Biblical Greek. Para, with, refers to something that proceeds from one's sphere of power, or from one's wealth. When we accept the angel’s annunciation, “For with God nothing will be impossible,” we are affirming that with our will aligned in the will of God, all that proceeds through us is impregnated with the power and the wealth of God’s presence. Para, “with God, nothing will be impossible.”
As soon as we wrap our minds and hearts around the idea of being slaves with God we trip over another stumbling block in the final sentence for today’s gospel text. “We are worthless slaves!’ Worthless?
Turning back to the Biblical Greek achreios is understood to be a hyperbolic reference to pious modesty. We humbly acknowledge that all the good that we do arises, not from us but, from the wealth and power of God’s presence with us. As doulos or slaves of God we call ourselves achreios, not deserving of merit, because we have done nothing more than what we ought to have done; lavishly providing shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry, healing to the sick, wholeheartedly offering welcome to the stranger, freedom to the prisoner, love to the enemy, which all together add up to; unequivocally giving birth to the presence of God with us.
Is it not just like our wise teacher Jesus to turn things upside down so that rather than being offended when called worthless slaves with God we smile knowing that by the power of God with us “we have done only what we ought to have done?” Brilliant!
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