Scripture Scribbles: August 10, 2025

the Gospel

Luke 12:32-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,
for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
Sell your belongings and give alms.
Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven
that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.  
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,
the Son of Man will come.”

Then Peter said,
“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”
And the Lord replied,
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
‘My master is delayed in coming,’
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant’s master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master’s will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

the scribble

I have this desire to pull out each and every line of this Gospel; there is so much here that truly is speaking to my heart.  My ADD is in overdrive as I try to keep some order to my thoughts.

I’ll try to start at the beginning, no, not in Genesis….but in Luke 12:32 when Jesus says to his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer…”

Are you afraid? Am I afraid?  I can read this and see the part that says; “Jesus says to his disciples” and I can mistakenly believe that He is not addressing me….but he is! That is kind of what we are all doing right? Being disciples? Trying our best to be followers of Christ?

So if that's true,  then he is also  telling me, and YOU, do not be afraid any longer.

As I sit here with my Bible and read the living word of God, I ask myself, am I afraid?  Do I Trust the Lord? Do I Trust Him with all my worries, all life's anxieties? Do I believe He is offering me an inexhaustible treasure in heaven? Do you believe that?

It is so easy to get swept up in this world and act like “the world.”  The world tells us, rest, eat, drink, be merry, because you're all going to die….and we are, but I don’t think Jesus is telling his disciples that.  I think he's imploring them, be watchful, be faithful, be prepared, “for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

I love how Peter asks “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”  He asked the question I was wondering! (is this parable for your disciples or for all of us?) Jesus elaborates on the parable and He makes it abundantly clear, especially about the servant who “knew the master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with HIS  will.”

This is where we better tune in! This, my friend, is important. This is where I want to start taking notes, maybe call my kids, ask them if they have read Luke 12:47. This is where I realize I want to be found "vigilant" on HIS arrival.  I want my husband, my children, my family, friends, all of us to be found vigilant.

We need to figure out how to live as though today is our last, as though we may not have time to prepare for Heaven. Live our life in a way that  if He comes tonight, like a thief, am I “ready”? Are you ready? I read a beautiful quote from Saint Thérèse of  Lisieux when she was lying in her bed dying.  Someone said to her “Death is coming” and Thérèse said “No, It’s the Lord who is coming”  Can I adopt this saintly way of looking at life?

Over the years  I’ve had the opportunity to join some of my kids for Confirmation prep.  When we have discussed this Gospel in our small groups, I would always point out this last line as the “Spiderman quote.”  When I would read this verse in Luke, “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”  My mind flashes to Uncle Ben’s spoken wisdom to Peter Parker when he said, “With great power comes great responsibility." 

Has God entrusted you with much?  Has HE put people in your life, your children, your spouse, your parents, your siblings, friends, strangers and now HE is waiting for the introduction?

Maybe it’s not a formal one, and maybe it is, maybe it is He who they see by the way you treat them.  Maybe some of them even feel like they are our treasure, that we want to invest in them because we truly desire heaven for them! I hope so!

I do believe that God will not be outdone in generosity, but I also believe that even though it doesn't always feel it, sometimes his gifts might be hidden in the cross we are carrying.

I have to believe that He is working out our salvation in the struggle, in the storm, on the rocky ground.

I feel He has entrusted me with much, and with that I’m realizing much is required of me. 

My hope is we can all start to live a little more intentionally, and not be fooled into thinking this world is our home. 

We are citizens of heaven and He is offering all of us an eternity of inexhaustible treasures. 

Today’s devotion was written by Beth Brennan