Whatch Ya Wearin?

Luke 12:32-12:40

There was a young boy who arrived very early one morning at school and waited patiently at the door.  The next person to arrive was a lady who was surprised that this youngster had arrived so early. "It’s locked" the boy said as the teacher tried to open the door. She re ached into her purse for her keys and the young boy became all excited and said "you’re a teacher!" The lady said "How do you know that?" The boy hesitated for just a moment, then said with respect "Ma’am, you have the key."

The teacher was overwhelmed by that simple statement "you have the key" it made her start to think about her responsibilities as a teacher. Our Lord Jesus Christ was a great teacher but he was also more than just a teacher. He is the Truth that set free all who come and await His return patiently. Just as a school teacher has the key to earthly knowledge so our Lord has the key to eternal life.

So let’s focus for a minute on the activity of this young boy as it relates to our gospel story. Good things they say comes to those who wait, but the scripture would add,’patiently and actively’ That is the message Jesus gave to his disciples before He went to Gethsemane. The boy in the story knew the place, sought wisdom and patiently waited ignoring the boyish lure to wander away and enjoy the morning running around with his friends. Most importantly, he recognized the presence of the teacher when she arrived. Jesus said in Luke Chapter 12, verse 35, "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit, be like those waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks" Jesus repeatedly told his disciples that He would leave this world but that he would return at some point in time.

In our scripture reading today Jesus told his disciples that he was coming back and also made it clear that a kingdom is being prepared for his followers. Many Greeks envisioned this as a heavenly, idealized spiritual kingdom. Jews like Isaiah and John, the writer of Revelation saw it as a restored earthly kingdom. However we see it today, it is important, like the school boy, to wait unwearyingly by the door for the master to arrive and when he knocks, that slaves are awake to open the door for their master. Paul already likened all Christians as ’slaves to Christ’ and so we could expect great reward if the master finds us awake, alert and with our lamps lit.

Here Jesus charges us: ’Be dressed for action and have your lamp lit’ I want to look at this double-barrel sentence in a way that does not marginalize it.

Be dressed for Action:

            What does this mean? Today it is difficult to say in just one sentence what this means. Whenever I have difficulty trying to understand scripture I look to scripture to get some help. So far I have only found two other places in the bible that these words might have been used. In Job chapter 40 verse 7 God said to Job "Gird up your loins like a man" but earlier translations have it recorded as "dressed for action like a man" now this is significant as God had also addressed Job in the same manner earlier in Chapter 38 verse 3. This was to warn Job and remind Job of his limited ability to withstand imminent and overwhelming danger.

            In days past, in the military, commanders and leaders all agreed that an officer who went on to the field of action without his sword was not properly ’dressed for action’ so when Jesus used this term, it is safe for us to assume that it was as a warning to his disciples of the impending difficult period they will experience ahead of his return.

            Jesus did not want his disciples to be caught ill-equipped and consequently be overwhelmed by the experience. He wants it to be a joyful reunion so He tells them to be ready, to be prepared, and to be full of action as they wait patiently for his coming. Just as Job’s trial made him stronger, In the Navy the captain of the ship would call general quarter’s drills to test their sailors so they could be ready and alert for action, Jesus wants Christians to be ready, tried and tested.

The basic question here is how prepared are we?

Have your lamps lit

Jesus desires His disciples to be awake! He wants them to have courage through the night. To have your lamp lit and kept lit means that you have total concentration and vigilance. It requires total action all the time, so that a Christian that has his lamp lit is an active Christian. The possessor of the lamp and hopefully the owner of the lamp must have courage -which helps to combat night fear, motivation - helps to sustain through the long hours of the night, and above all persistence to stand the test of time. Failure to display these characters may result into a weakness of the mind, falling asleep and subsequently, the wind and the dew of the night would inevitably put out the lamp. The consequences of this are that such a disciple is neither fit nor ready to meet the master. Also, Jesus knew the time before his coming would be a testing time, in fact a time of darkness and so it is important that His disciples kept their lamp lit through that period of darkness, through the test and trial.
To have your lamp lit, also gives you light to see, the coming Christ, light to walk, in His path, light to feed, on His word, in fact light gives you the opportunity to be active and watch for any invasion and attack of the enemy as well.
          We also need our lamps lit to provide the warmth for the fellowship of the disciples. The more lamps that are lit the more warmth there is to sustain our souls and bodies through the cold night, also disciples and followers can all share and encourage one another during this time. When our lamp is flickering, the others can protect it from going out. They can only do this act of fellowship when they are all awake, ready and alert.

            Jesus’ reference to his coming at an unexpected time is not some trap or a trick by which God and Jesus hope to catch us off guard, No! Actually the reverse is the case. God is delaying his return so more of us would have a better chance to follow Him. Jesus’ return is delayed so that more lamps can be lit and more people can be ready to meet the master at the door when He knocks.

The Reward:

            Often we overlook this important aspect of this story. It is unique and obviously unheard of for the master to serve the slaves, even as a reward! Jesus however revealed that there is a reward for the qualified slaves from the master, a reward worth waiting through the night for. The Master would sit the slaves down and serve them himself!

            Christians not only benefit from keeping our lamps lit, we also benefit and are rewarded for keeping the faith so that in all ways we get a full benefit from the deal. God loves us so much that we cannot even lose on this deal, there are no hidden catches, just a straight forward win-win deal, period. Paul put his finger on it when he describes the reward to the Corinthian church, in his first letter, chapter 9 and verse 24 he writes about the reward "Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable prize; but we an imperishable one." There you have it from the mouth of Paul himself, the prize we get for being obedient and being ’dressed for action and have out lamp lit’ is an imperishable one. We must look forward to our heavenly rewards as earthly rewards don’t last; they get stolen, rot and wither away. Heavenly rewards are most appropriate, mostly deserving and accurately reflect our contribution to His Kingdom on earth. Jesus told us how to live until he comes back again. We must watch out for Him and his return. We must be diligent and obedient. I pray that God will bless us all and make us worthy of our calling.