pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: owner


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Humble Service

Reading: Matthew 23:11-12

Matthew 23:11 – “The one who is greatest among you will be your servant.”

Matthew 23 compares who the religious leaders are with who Jesus calls his followers to be. Earlier in the chapter Jesus says, “Don’t do what they do.” The religious leaders are asking the people to do things they won’t do themselves. Looking at this admonition and the other context verses, I am reminded of the show, “Undercover Boss.” The title implies the premise of the show. A couple of things usually happen on every episode. First, the boss (or the owner) has their eyes opened as they become a new hire for their company. Performing these menial tasks takes them to the core of what it meant to be a servant in Jesus’ day. Remember the disciples’ shock when Jesus washed their feet? Servant! The second regular occurrence is the boss meeting an employee who is more servant than employee. This person’s love and dedication are noteworthy, they stand out. This is what Jesus is talking about when he says, “The one who is greatest among you will be your servant.”

The second verse in today’s passage also is a regular occurrence on “Undercover Boss.” The boss is usually the one who has lifted himself or herself up (in a good way – through hard work…) Often this rising up, though, breeds pride and/or arrogance, as it has in the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. The religious leaders work hard to set themselves apart from and therefore above the people. Opposite of this, Jesus notes, “all who make themselves low will be lifted up.” This is often the case on the show with the employee who is more like a servant. The boss rewards their servant attitude with a nice promotion or a generous raise. While God doesn’t give us promotions or raises when we choose to humbly serve others, there are definitely “rewards” – joy, peace, content… – that come with living our neighbors in ways that stand out. May we choose to serve well today.

Prayer: Lord God, it can be easy to get caught up in ourselves, thinking this task or that job is “below” us. It can be hard to humble ourselves to scrub a toilet or to mow a yard or… thinking “someone” else should do that. This poor attitude soon permeates our spirit. When we struggle in these ways, O God, remind us of Christ’s example. Call us to walk in his servant footsteps. Amen.


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Hour by Hour, Day by Day

Reading: Mark 13: 30-37

Verse 34: “He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task”.

As this chapter in Mark about the signs of the end of the age comes to a close, Jesus reminds his disciples and followers that no one knows when he will return. Even Jesus himself does not know when. Therefore he says, “Be on guard! Be alert”! As is often the case when we wait and wait and wait, our focus or attention can lag or fade. If I, for example, were to plan to run a marathon in October 2022, I probably would not start training today. If were planning to enter the next race as soon as I were able to run 26.2 miles, then I would start training today. That is Jesus’ point in this section of Mark 13.

In verse 34 Jesus says, “He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task”. About 2,000 years ago Jesus left this temporary house on earth to spend eternity with his father in heaven. Jesus left us each with a task or a role to play. These are the gifts of the Spirit that we read about yesterday in 1st Corinthians 1. Some are pastors, some are teachers. Some are encouragers, some are prayer warriors. Some are missionaries, some are singers. Some are greeters, some are readers. Some are audio-visual folks, some are cooks and bakers. There are many roles to play in the family of God, in the church. When the owner of this house returns, will he find us sleeping? Or will we be actively living out our faith, serving God and one another, ready to meet him at any moment?

Hour by hour, day by day, life by life, may we be ready to serve the Lord, his church, and his world.

Prayer: Lord of all, help me to always be ready to do your will. As you have gifted me, so may I serve. Put me to doing, put me to all things, put me to nothing. Use me as you will, O Lord. Amen.


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Reading: Matthew 21: 33-41

Verse 40: When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with those tenants?

Jesus is teaching in the temple courts.  He is in Jerusalem and each day people gather around Him to hear His interpretation of the scriptures and to hear the stories He likes to tell.  Others are there to listen for a way to trap Him or to catch Jesus in a blasphemy.  He is aware of both aspects of the crowd.

This day Jesus tells the story of the landowner who plants a vineyard and builds a wine press and watchtower.  Then he rents the vineyard out and goes on a journey.  Harvest time comes and he sends for his share of the crop.  But the tenants beat and stone and kill those who were sent.  The landowner sends a bigger group, but the results are the same.  AND then the tenants do it again when he sends his very own son to collect.  Then Jesus asks them a question: “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with those tenants”?  The answer seems obvious.

At this point, most everyone in the crowd has the same answer.  Most of us would give the same answer too.  But Jesus’ stories always seem to have an edge or twist to them.  There are probably a few in the crowd besides His twelve disciples who are wary – they know there is more to the story.  But for now, for today, the story ends here.

When we consider the story, are we thinking we are more like the owner, like those sent, or like the tenants?  At times we certainly think we are the owner.  We look at our life and our possessions and our talents and think they are all ours.  At times we can see ourselves as those who are sent.  We try and share the good news but are rejected and/or abused.  And at times we are the tenants – living for self, disregarding all else.

Jesus is also framing larger questions too.  The first is who really owns the ‘vineyard’?  The second is who is the son that is finally sent to re-establish the correct relationship between owner and tenants?  And the third is, what is our response to the one who is sent?  From these perspectives, the story takes on new meaning and depth.  From here we must consider how we see and relate to God, how we see and relate to Jesus, and what role we are or should be playing in the vineyard.