Happy Easter! April 8

NT – Luke 12:35-59
Look at vs. 47-48
“The servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
This was John D Rockefeller Jr.’s favorite Bible quote.
I recently watched The Rockefellers on American Experience. We have Netflix and I love the whole biography section.
Here is PBS’s synopsis of the series:
“For decades, the Rockefeller name was despised in America–associated with John D. Rockefeller Sr.'s feared monopoly, Standard Oil. By the end of his life, Rockefeller had given away half his fortune–but even his vast philanthropy could not erase the memory of his predatory business practices. His only son, John D. Rockefeller Jr., would dedicate his life to recasting the family image. In the quest for redemption and respectability, Junior would give away hundreds of millions of dollars, and would insist that his six children behave impeccably. Their contributions transformed America. When he died at age 86, Junior left his six children and 22 grandchildren an invaluable inheritance: a name which stood not for corporate greed, but for "the well-being of mankind."
I highly recommend the video if for no other reason to watch the evolution of the modern oil business.
But in thinking about WHY this was his favorite quote, it made me think if *I* believed it. It would be nice if we had a get out of jail free card because we are Christian. I think it works totally the other way around. If we are Christians, we are held to higher standards, not lower. And I think this is true for multiple reasons. The first one that comes to my mind is that other people are watching. (I am probably paranoid, in addition to my ADD). When you declare yourself for the Lord and then you behave badly, gosh, I hate it, but you invite others to say you are a hypocrite. A word that featured highly in our NT reading today. Hate that word. Secondly, because of our love for the Lord, we should behave better. We KNOW better. And if you know this is your weakness or your place of wicked, you should have measures in place to help you cope with the situation. And the last reason I can think of is that we are called to set the example . And not a bad one. It is extremely ugly of me to fuss at my children for not picking up their dirty socks if my stuff is everywhere. Do as I say not as I do. Hypocrite.
All that to say is that really nice. And we strive awfully hard to be good. But just as in the Moses tirade in our OT reading today, it is almost impossible to reach to those lofty standards. I know Moses said it was within reach. I have not found it so easily. Wicked calls to me a lot.
So what is a lowly servant like me to do?
I think Jesus offers us some insight into that very question just before he launches into this tirade.
The answer is to do the very best you can regardless of whether or not someone is watching. Make it a habit to do your Christian job the best you know how regardless of your surroundings or your watchers. The other thing is that you need to know God's will? That is where the Mary thing comes in, I think. Mary, unlike Martha, knew what she was supposed to do. She was supposed to be sitting at Jesus’ feet listening instead of bustling around. You have to be quiet. You have to be focused. And you need to be listening and ready. I just want to go on record as saying, the world does need the Martha ability to feed and restore honored guests and family. That may be what you are called to do. But not in a frenzy. And not without taking time out for the Lord. The grocery list can wait until after church.
I guess the answer to my question about the Rockefeller quote was that I do believe it, but I don’t live it. That makes me, you guessed it, a hypocrite.
Happy Easter to everyone and since I won’t be at Mt Vernon Presbyterian for the Halleluiah Chorus, here is a great YouTube rendition. Click here if your email doesn’t support YouTube.