The generation of destiny: a reflection for Day 26 of Lent

 

“Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.” (Luke 12.37-38)

     Jesus and the disciples continue to journey towards Jerusalem.  The number of people thronging around Jesus is increasing (Lk. 11.14, 29; 12.1), and so is the tension between Jesus and the obstinate members of “his generation”.  The tenor of Jesus’ teaching is often severe.  In spite of the fact that Luke has given us the “key” early on in his narrative, many readers of his Gospel continue to interpret passages like this one as referring to Jesus’ second coming (Lk. 12.37-40).  Read this way, these passages become warnings to the (future) Church to be alert and prepared for the unexpected return of Christ (cf. the song “I wish we’d all been ready…”).  However, Luke has already told us that John the Baptist’s mission was to prepare the people of God for the return of…God himself (cf. Lk. 3.1-6).  Luke had quoted Isaiah 40.3-5 (=Lk. 3.4-6) to indicate precisely what John was doing.  Of course, after setting up his readers to expect the return of Yahweh to Zion (cf. Is. 52.7-8), Luke introduces them to…Jesus of Nazareth (Lk. 3.15-17, 21-22).

     All this puts a different spin on those parables of Jesus which consist of stories about a king/master who goes away on a journey and then returns to “judge” his servants/subjects (e.g. Lk. 12.41-48; 19.11-27).  With such stories, Jesus is not predicting his “return”, but he is rather exhorting his listeners to “wake up” and realize that Yahweh is returning to his people “under their very noses” and they need to realize what is happening and respond appropriately (cf. Lk. 12.54-56).  As we have seen, when Yahweh acts in the Scriptures, his action always has a double effect – that of salvation and judgment.  Those who demonstrate their embracing of the work of God by their repentance will be “saved” and those who reject it and rebel will be condemned (cf. Lk. 7.29-30; 13.1-5).

     We have also seen that Luke is presenting “God’s saving/judging action” as occurring during the lifespan of “this generation” (i.e. Jesus’ contemporaries).  Just as “the generation” that had been “saved” by Moses from slavery in Egypt had spent 40 years (i.e. the span of one generation: Ps. 95.10-11) wandering in the wilderness before their children arrived at the Promised Land, so the generation of Jesus will experience the definitive action of Yahweh towards both his people and all the nations within the span of one generation (cf. Lk. 11.49-51; 21.32).  That is to say, the kingdom of God will be established over a 40-year period, beginning with the death of Jesus at the hands of the rulers of God’s people, and culminating with the “death” of Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans in AD 70.[1]  As Luke has told us, Jesus’ crucifixion will be the equivalent of the Exodus from Egypt (Lk. 9.31)[2], and – in a painful irony – the equivalent of the entry into the Promised Land 40 years later will be…the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple of Yahweh (Lk. 13.33-35; 17.22-37; 19.41-44; 21.5-36).  Just as the Israelites’ “exit” from Egypt on the night of the first Passover, their crossing of the Red Sea and the decades spent journeying through the desert towards Canaan can all be summed up as “the Exodus”, so Jesus’ journey towards Jerusalem, his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, followed by the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost and the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to “the ends of the earth” can be summed up as “the coming of the kingdom” (which, as it turns out, is precisely what Luke-Acts is all about).

“But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Lk. 12.39-40)

To be continued…


[1] Jesus was most probably crucified in the year AD 30, so that gives an interlude of exactly 40 years before the destruction of both Jersualem and the second temple by the Romans.

[2] During Jesus’ transfiguration, Moses and Elijah discuss the “departure” that Jesus will undergo at Jerusalem.  The Greek word translated “departure” is Exodos (=Exodus).

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