unworthy servants

Luke recounts a surprisingly edgy story that Jesus told. Actually it was more of a "get real" life example. As we know the disciples were rather obsessed with self importance and were even caught out on a squabble about which of them was most important! The mother of two of them lobbied Jesus for preferred positions for her boys in Jesus' new cabinet. Jesus pushes this to the limit and imagines a scene where a servant has finished his daily tasks and Jesus asks if his master is then likely to invite him to sit at the table, relax and enjoy the evening? He points out that this would be a ridiculous scenario and that at the end of the day the servant is prone to say "I've done all my work and I remain your faithful servant, unworthy that I am."
          We spend much of our lives pursuing our sense of purpose and meaning - in fact our sense of importance. What is "my place in this world" as the song puts it. Do I matter? Does what I do matter? Does anyone notice? What's the point?
          What was Jesus getting at in this scenario? And hadn't he recently told a story about a satisfied master who in gratitude for his servant's watchfulness, in fact, did invite the servant to join him at the table? Jesus was surfacing the brilliance of his own demeanour and powerful presence. In John 13 we have a commentary that is profound. It is bound up in the simple word "so." John tells us "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist." The genius of Christian piety is humble servanthood that arises from a Godly grasping of our identity and destiny - who I am and where I'm bound. In fact Whose I am is the key. I do not seek meaning or importance from lesser truths than my identity and a child of God, a friend and follower of Jesus whose treasure map is of a distant land.