A post from 5 years ago by one of my favorite young writers, Annie! The wisdom of a young millennial:
Does anybody remember being upset as a child that your younger siblings were able to get away with behaviours that you weren’t? I have the distinct memory specific to an oldest child of being tossed out with the well water where my younger brother and sister were concerned. (If you don’t remember this, you were probably the youngest. You people don’t realise how good you had it!) The three of us shared a bedroom as children, and when my little sister Mary Kathryn came along, she used to wake us up long after bedtime, break out of her crib, and enlist us in causing mayhem in our room. We would break the slatted doors of our closet off their hinges and prop them against our beds, walking up and down them with great delight at our homemade “escalators”. Until we got caught, and would flee to whatever hiding places we could find when our dad burst in, usually under the blankets. Not very creative for kids who could make their own escalator! Every single time we engaged in some night-time escapade, I would be singled out as the ringleader and punished the most severely, because I should have been setting a better example, I should have known better, the younger children looked up to me, yada yada yada. To me of course this was grossly unfair, given that my angelic looking baby sister was the real culprit (which she will deny to this day). Apart from feeling pretty sorry for my parents right now, you’re probably thinking that this sounds about right; older kids are usually guides for the younger, as they have that slight edge in terms of age and maturity. Clearly, this was a role I had to grow into! This added culpability for our actions according to our state and knowledge is exactly what today’s Gospel (Luke 12:39-48) is referring to:
“And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
The last two lines of this Gospel stand out as the most important to me, and call to my mind a quote from the third Narnia movie, when Prince Caspian says, “I have spent too long wanting what was taken from me and not what was given.” It can be easy to slip into the habit of focusing on what we lack and losing sight of how many blessings we have been bestowed with, as well as the greater expectations God has for us as a result of what we have been given. For some people, this gospel message and the expectations it describes might initially cause anxiety and excessive self-scrutiny. How do I know if what I’m doing is enough? What if I’m not good enough to meet God’s standard? What if I fail God?! The beauty of this message could be lost by the pressures that some of us may put upon ourselves. But that is the opposite of what God wants. In a message from Volume Ten, September 28, 2004, Jesus reminds us that we will never be asked to take on more than we are capable of:
“Dear souls of the Kingdom, you are called to service. You know this. You have heard my call and rested in My anguish. I want to talk to you about your duty. Perhaps you hear my call and feel resistance at what it is I am asking from you. Let me promise you that you will be given exactly what you need to embrace your portion of this mission. Do not be afraid to stand beside me as I move into the world through each one of you. Souls will see you with their physical eyes, but they will experience me. Your fears, your hesitance, have no bearing on how you will perform for me. Do not worry about your ability when it comes to completing your duty. Do not worry about your lack of strength. It will come from me. It will flow deeply and completely from Me. Your willingness to serve is all that is required.”
Let us go forward together throughout our days with the calm assurance that God will see to our needs and prayers, and the knowledge that we must, in turn, see to His.
God bless,
Annie
Does anybody remember being upset as a child that your younger siblings were able to get away with behaviours that you weren’t? I have the distinct memory specific to an oldest child of being tossed out with the well water where my younger brother and sister were concerned. (If you don’t remember this, you were probably the youngest. You people don’t realise how good you had it!) The three of us shared a bedroom as children, and when my little sister Mary Kathryn came along, she used to wake us up long after bedtime, break out of her crib, and enlist us in causing mayhem in our room. We would break the slatted doors of our closet off their hinges and prop them against our beds, walking up and down them with great delight at our homemade “escalators”. Until we got caught, and would flee to whatever hiding places we could find when our dad burst in, usually under the blankets. Not very creative for kids who could make their own escalator! Every single time we engaged in some night-time escapade, I would be singled out as the ringleader and punished the most severely, because I should have been setting a better example, I should have known better, the younger children looked up to me, yada yada yada. To me of course this was grossly unfair, given that my angelic looking baby sister was the real culprit (which she will deny to this day). Apart from feeling pretty sorry for my parents right now, you’re probably thinking that this sounds about right; older kids are usually guides for the younger, as they have that slight edge in terms of age and maturity. Clearly, this was a role I had to grow into! This added culpability for our actions according to our state and knowledge is exactly what today’s Gospel (Luke 12:39-48) is referring to:
“And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
The last two lines of this Gospel stand out as the most important to me, and call to my mind a quote from the third Narnia movie, when Prince Caspian says, “I have spent too long wanting what was taken from me and not what was given.” It can be easy to slip into the habit of focusing on what we lack and losing sight of how many blessings we have been bestowed with, as well as the greater expectations God has for us as a result of what we have been given. For some people, this gospel message and the expectations it describes might initially cause anxiety and excessive self-scrutiny. How do I know if what I’m doing is enough? What if I’m not good enough to meet God’s standard? What if I fail God?! The beauty of this message could be lost by the pressures that some of us may put upon ourselves. But that is the opposite of what God wants. In a message from Volume Ten, September 28, 2004, Jesus reminds us that we will never be asked to take on more than we are capable of:
“Dear souls of the Kingdom, you are called to service. You know this. You have heard my call and rested in My anguish. I want to talk to you about your duty. Perhaps you hear my call and feel resistance at what it is I am asking from you. Let me promise you that you will be given exactly what you need to embrace your portion of this mission. Do not be afraid to stand beside me as I move into the world through each one of you. Souls will see you with their physical eyes, but they will experience me. Your fears, your hesitance, have no bearing on how you will perform for me. Do not worry about your ability when it comes to completing your duty. Do not worry about your lack of strength. It will come from me. It will flow deeply and completely from Me. Your willingness to serve is all that is required.”
Let us go forward together throughout our days with the calm assurance that God will see to our needs and prayers, and the knowledge that we must, in turn, see to His.
God bless,
Annie
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