Yet another apocalyptic sermon from me
St Michael’s Anglican Church, Kelburn
Sermon for 8 August 2010 – Be ready
Psalm 33; Wisdom 18:6-9; Hebrews 11:1-2; 8-19; Luke 12:32-48
Jesus’ parables invite us to take up residence for a while in their imaginative world, and see things from a different point of view. But the parable in today’s gospel reading is at first glance a fairly unpleasant affair. It asks us to imagine ourselves as slaves. Slaves who are tempted to laziness and who risk a beating if they’re found shirking their tasks. It doesn’t sit comfortably. It’s a jarring metaphor, but I think appropriately so – because the whole thrust of the Gospel reading, and of the Hebrews passage, is to shake us out of our complacency, to literally take us out of our comfort zone. I’m going to return to the parable later, but for now let’s wind back to the start of the passage:
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