¹¹ As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. ¹² So he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. ¹³ He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds,^[a] and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ ¹⁴ But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. ¹⁶ The first came forward and said, ‘Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.’ ¹⁷ He said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’ ¹⁸ Then the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ ¹⁹ He said to him, ‘And you, rule over five cities.’ ²⁰ Then the other came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, ²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ ²² He said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’ ²⁴ He said to the bystanders, ‘Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ ²⁵ (And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds!’) ²⁶ ‘I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ²⁷ But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.’” Luke 19:11-27

The parable of the Ten Pounds is one that sounds familiar. It is also a parable that has some difficulties to it. What are we to make of the saying, “to all those who have, more will be given?” What are we to make of the saying, “from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away?”  This is a parable about good stewardship. If it is a stewardship story about money, it is difficult for us to understand, in light of the number of poor and homeless in our society.  If it is about the stewardship of G-d’s love, mercy and grace, and the caring for and the growing of G-d’s love, mercy and grace, then the story is better for us to consider. For those who have experienced the depth of G-d’s love know that there is no limit to that love, mercy and grace.  

But, all in all, we should also remember that we should stand in solidarity with the people who complain, “Lord, he has ten pounds.”  Why do I say that? There are plenty of injustices happening throughout our world – in the unequal distribution of wealth, food and other resources. If we do not stand up and say “enough is enough”, then who will?

Pastor Dave

³¹ Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” ³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.” Luke 18:31-34

The text tells us that Jesus tells the disciples what will happen to him in Jerusalem, but the text also tells us that the disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying and in fact, the meaning was hidden from them.  Then, at the ascension of Jesus in Luke 24:44 – 53, Jesus opens the minds of the disciples to understand the scriptures.  We have a famous saying in our society today that goes something like this: hind sight is 20/20.   The meaning, of course is that we can better understand events that are taking place after the fact….once we have had some time to reflect on what has happened.  While we do not always understand the events that we are currently involved in, at some point in time, later in the day or the week or even later in our lives, the purpose or the meaning of events can be better understood – as if a veil has been lifted from our eyes or our thoughts.  Often times I pray asking G-d to help me understand what is happening – hoping that G-d will unlock the meaning of events while they are still happening or still fresh in my mind.  There are some events to which we will never have the meaning unlocked for us, but, in general, G-d will give us the wisdom to understand all events at some point in our lives.  The same is true for scripture – that is why we continue to study throughout our lives – for new and different meanings will come to us at different points in our lives.

Pastor Dave