Hosea 11:1-11
+Luke 12:13-21
Someone last weekend asked me how I’ve enjoyed ‘running the show while Ned has been away, and I told them that “knocking on wood” things have been pretty calm; busy but not at all unmanageable. There have been burials, baptisms, one wedding, some meetings and pastoral calls and quite frankly I’ve enjoyed driving the boat. But this Sunday’s lesson has made me wish, more than once, that someone else was standing in this pulpit at this moment—luckily I do get a reprieve at the Beach Service.
Our Gospel lesson this morning finds Jesus in a very interesting situation. Prior to today’s Gospel, Jesus has traveled all over the countryside, he was the favored guest of Mary and Martha two Sundays ago, last week he taught his disciples how to pray, in the verses in-between, Jesus was a very bad dinner guest of a Pharisee (that was not included in last week’s lesson). All the while the crowds of listeners, disciples, and on-lookers grow. After each one of these events, Luke has Jesus addressing this ever-growing crowd. And today the Gospel literally reads, ‘the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another’ (Luke 12:1a). And from among this crowd of thousands, one man bubbles up, challenging the newly esteemed Teacher seeking his advice in a familial dispute. Not only does Jesus brusquely set this man straight, but Jesus’ goes one step further to clarify his theology with not one parable, but four.
Just as the man felt entitled to an equitable share of his brother’s abundance, the ensuing four parables all deal with wealth and abundance. They tell the story of abundance from the point of view of a rich man, the lilies of the field, and two tales of dutiful slaves. Then, as if to summarize his lesson on abundance, Jesus finishes his discourse with a great one-liner that stymies both the crowd of thousands as well as us today: “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded” (12:48b). This, even more than the parables, is really the piece to focus on.
For all of Jesus’ teaching about an abundance of wealth, he makes no judgment against having nice things… but the challenge is in the responsibility in our acceptance of those good things from God.
In our lesson from Hosea, our second in a series, we see what happens when the relational balance between what God gives and what we give back to God is upset. Things have gone from bad to worse in the Kingdom of Israel.
Here’s your history lesson that I think you might find helpful.
After the death of King Solomon, the united Kingdom of the twelve Tribes of Israel are divided between Solomon’s son, Rehoboam and Jeroboam, an upstart from the north. Rehoboam ruled the Kingdom of Judah centered in Jerusalem, comprising the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin; Jeroboam, the non-Davidic heir, ruled the other ten tribes from Samaria; so there are two countries Judah in the south and Israel in the north. The thing about Israel is that it was the richest and wealthiest of these two kingdoms. It was far-more verdant, and was connected to other wealthy countries. This was the true promised land God had promised; this was the land of milk and honey. And then they forgot their obligations to God and the poor; and God sent two prophets. First Amos during the first years of the divided Kingdom who spoke face-to-face with King Jeroboam; finally in the last floundering years of the Kingdom of Israel, after the massacre of thousands, battles between the two kingdoms, and the nefarious rise and death of Queen Jezebel who was killed by being pushed out the window and is finished off by wild dogs; finally God sends Hosea to call back God’s beloved northern kingdom which had been abundantly given the verdant pastures.
God speaks through Hosea, saying ‘The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols’ (Hosea 11:1).
The book of Hosea has been described as the written word of a weeping, broken hearted God. And within Hosea’s lifetime, Israel would be conquered by the Assryians. Their worship of idols and Baal would be their undoing; forgetting their utter dependence on our God; and the ten tribes would be lost forever, scattered and lost. Meanwhile, faithful Judah remained in tact.
Holy scripture tells us time and time again about the innumerable things given to us by God; there is an understanding that we were created by God out of his love and joy; but when we fixate on obtaining more, rather than acknowledging the source; we reject God. Remember the great responsibility given to us, the loving burden of God’s love.
Just as Ned and you have entrusted so much to me in these past few weeks, so also has much been given to you and it is much that we are obliged to give back with thankful hearts.
