Blessed and Unprofitable Servants

When Jesus' disciples asks him to increase their faith, he gives the following parable (Lk 17):

"7 “Will any one of you, who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep, say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”"

I wish Jesus could be just a tad clearer. But whatever the message about faith is in all this, there is something interesting about being a servant. The Greek for servant is "doulon" so it might be better thought of as "slave." So in this parable, when a slave comes in from a hard day in the field, would one ask the slave to sit and rest or demand they do their duty to serve the master? Well, one would expect the slave to serve, not be served. And then after one has worked all day in the field doing back-breaking work, and then comes in  and serves the master, the slave says "we are unprofitable servants" as the King James Version puts it. We've simply done our duty.

Now here's the flip side of being a parable slave. (Lk 12)

"35 “Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have been awake and[e] would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”"

and a few verses later:

"42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. 44 Truly, I tell you, he will set him over all his possessions."

So the Luke 12 slaves have to be vigilant and awake to serve the Master. But there is a reward for their faithfulness. The Master will have them eat at the table and serve them! He will give them their portion in proper time and they will be set over all his possessions. Doing one's duty here comes with inordinate and disproportionate rewards.

There is a bit of whiplash, but one might lead into the other. After all, what slave would strain to be awake through the midnight watch and even until dawn? Who would be constantly alert and vigilant for his master's coming? It would have to be the slave who saw it has his duty and not for the sake of reward--the unprofitable servant.