Dressed For Action

Dressed For Action
Luke 12:32-40

This Scripture passage reminds me of an episode from the old “Dick Van Dyke Show”. The show involved the sit-com adventures of Rob and Laure Petrie, played by Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. The episode that I remember best is the one about the birth of their son Richie. In this episode they are expecting his arrival any minute. They are both nervous and waiting for a sign that they need to go to the hospital. It is bedtime and they are both lying in bed with the lights out. Then Laura makes a sound or says something that gives Rob the impression that is it time to go. His eyes pop open, he reaches behind his head for his hat, and in one swift move, he sits up, puts his hat on his head, and throws off the covers. It is then that we see that he is fully dressed, including sport coat, tie, and shoes. He steps out of the bed, grabs a suitcase, which has been strategically placed next to the bed, and is almost out the door before Laura can get his attention and tell him that it is not time to go yet. It is not time, but Rob is ready to go at a moment’s notice. He is dressed for action.

In the Scripture passage, Jesus tells his disciples to be dressed for action and to have their lamps lit. He says “You don’t know when the master of the house will return, so you need to always be ready.” Luke wrote this account when there were no high expectations that Jesus would return. He wrote about 40 years after the resurrection of Jesus, and about 10 years after the fall of Jerusalem. The times were fairly stable, much like the times in the world today. There is no threat of World War 3, nor is there a threat that there is a major world crisis on the horizon. The world is relatively quiet.

Jesus’ words today warn people to not be complacent, or to take too much for granted. He gives a wake-up call, or a reality check, to help people to remember what is ultimately important and what really matters. Sometimes we get a reality check in our personal lives. We, or someone we know, may get bad news from test results, or a tragedy may occur that touches our lives, or we may lose our jobs. Such events can cause us to ask ourselves what is really important.


A few years ago, Ben Stein wrote an article about his best friend, who was prominent English psychiatrist. His friend was 57 years old when he committed suicide in 2000. “The good doctor, probably as smart a man as I have known, was tormented by the stock market…There were other big factors in his suicide, but his perceived failures as an investor and speculator were an immense factor in putting him into a suicidal depression…We are not how much money we make. We are fathers, mothers, spouses, children, friends, lovers…Our money is a very small part of us. How much we made in the market is an even smaller part. Few obituaries talk about the investments the loved one made or how they did. No eulogist talks about whether the decedent got into Microsoft early or sold GE too soon.”

Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid, for your Father wants to give you the Kingdom. Sell what you have and give it to the poor. Make for yourselves purses that never wear out…Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” In other words Jesus was saying that we should make investments that last forever. If we measure our value by our net worth, and if our portfolios or bank accounts define who we are, then we miss out on the gift of the kingdom of God. We are not dressed for action, or ready for the Master to return.

Ben Cohen is the co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. As a result of the sale of the business, he became a very wealthy man. He has used some of his wealth to found an investment fund that buys companies in low income neighborhoods, where he can increase wages and other employee benefits. The first company that the fund bought was Sun and Earth, a maker of cleaning products. Since the company was purchased, wages are up as much as 23%, and the employees of the company have company-sponsored health insurance for the first time.

We may not have the financial resources to buy companies that benefit employees, but we can be generous with what we have. We can look beyond ourselves and share what we have with others. As someone has said, “In order to be generous, we need to recognize our selfishness.” We need to get in touch with reality. It is easy to settle for the status quo when everything is going well.


Jesus’ words call us to evaluate our lives, and see if we are ready for the Master to return. We can ask ourselves two questions. 1. Where is your treasure, what is really important to you? Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” 2. Are you ready for the Master to return? If you knew that now was the time, would you be ready to put on your hat, jump out of bed, grab the suitcase, and be ready to go? As Jesus said, ”Blessed are those servants who are ready and awake when their master returns.”