Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
We meet Jesus today on his way to Jerusalem, about to be crucified and mocked as “King of the Jews,” a king who didn’t appear to be able to save himself. We know Christ as the King unlike any other we know - a King who does not seek glory, but a King is was not afraid of vulnerability, whose compassion led him to lay down his life for others.
What are we to do with the parable today? What are we to do with the nobleman in Jesus’ parable who goes to grab a kingship, presumably for his own glory? What are we to do with this nobleman who becomes king, and it is said of him that he is “harsh and demanding” (v. 21)?
We typically read this parable as a lesson for us to invest our gifts, as a cautionary tale that instills a bit of fear and demands that we use our gifts wisely, or else. It is certainly a gospel value to use what God has given us, to spend it freely and with holy abandon for love of God and neighbor. But, that’s not the spirit of the first two investors. In fact, investing money and making money at the expense of others is against God’s law (see Exodus 22:25, Leviticus 25:36-37; Deuteronomy 22:29). Furthermore, Jesus consistently speaks of God who is Love. Jesus never speaks of God as harsh or demanding. Maybe we need to rethink how we understand this parable!
What if this parable is not about Jesus Christ or God as king? Scholars are beginning to ask this question, and that leads to other important questions about how Christ is calling us today. What if this parable is exposing those who would grab power for their own benefit? What if Jesus is inviting us to be like the third character in this parable, who refused to cooperate with unjust systems, even to save himself? What if Jesus is pointing toward the cross - toward his own refusal to cooperate with unjust systems; toward his own refusal to meet violence with violence; toward his own willingness to be vulnerable for the sake of caring for those who are most vulnerable? What if Jesus is pointing us to the sacrifices we are called to make to always live the truth of God’s kingdom, in which all are welcomed and no one is taken advantage of?
What if Jesus is reminding us that Christ our King is not demanding or harsh, but is Love Incarnate, and is calling us to love each and every person we encounter today?
—Kelly Adamson