Breaking Open the Word

 
Wisdom 18:6-9
Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19
Luke 12:32-48
 
When you tell and retell the story of your life, then people begin to understand who you are and the things you went through to get where you are today. For people to understand you, you want them to understand your story.
 
We have written in the past that the history of Israel, most especially the exodus out of Egypt, has always played a prominent place in their faith and belief in what the Lord had done for them and their identity as a people. They retell the story of that exodus, and the events that surrounded their leaving Egypt, in several other scriptures in the Old Testament.
 
We have another example of that from our reading from Wisdom today. This later generation speaks to God about the Passover event that led the rulers of Egypt to finally let them leave. The destruction of their foes was the means for them to leave on their journey in the desert, looking for their new home.
 
The sacrifice the scripture references are the lambs that were slaughtered and the blood that was put on their door post of their homes to signify that is where the children of Israel lived so that the destruction that night passed by them. This Passover became the liturgical celebration they have continued since that time. This simple meal was to remind them to be vigilant and be ready to do as instructed by the Lord.
 
Hebrews focus today is on faith, and it recalls that faith of the ancients, especially that of Abraham, who is called the Father of Faith. When we listen to the opening verse, we are not listening to a description of faith, but we see a motivational statement that we live by. In this piece of scripture, faith has several meanings and you have to look carefully at each one to understand it and the context in which it is written.
 
First, faith means a trust, or assurance that signifies a relationship between God and His people. Second, faith also is an attribute in God’s faithfulness to the covenant and the expected response of the people. These both center on God’s relationship to an individual, or the relationship between God and the whole people He has created. A third meaning of faith is in the context of what we believe, the creed, the dogmas of the church, the trust we have in God and of His revelation to us.
 
Abraham displays all of these and God abundantly blesses him because he trusts in God and what He will do for him and his offspring, the nation that becomes a people of God, the Jewish people of Israel.
 
The gospel this week from Luke ties all of the scriptures together and sets the tone for us today. We hear immediately Jesus telling his disciples that the Father is pleased to give us the kingdom if all that is asked of us. He tells them/us to be prepared, to sell those things we can not take with us, to store treasures that are of God and not of this world. When we put our faith in God, when we put our trust in Him, our treasures will never be taken from us, and our hearts will be ready for the kingdom.
 
Jesus tells the parable of the servants who await the return of their master, and when He finds them ready, He will wait on them. When we exercise proper stewardship of the possessions the Lord gives us, then we will be rewarded. When we do not take care of what we have been given, it will all be taken away from us.
 
The rewards we receive will be in relation to the how much we are given and we take care of it. Some will be entrusted with much and others will be given more.
 
How much have you been entrusted with in this life to take care of?