Does Jesus treat us as unworthy servants in Luke 17?

The Sunday lectionary reading for Trinity 16 in Year C, Luke 17.5–10, offers some serious challenges to our understanding and practice.

The passage contains some basic textual challenges, in that the subject appears to switch suddenly from the question of ‘faith’ to being servants. The parable about servants itself has a sudden switch, in that Jesus begins the story by putting his listeners in the place of the master, but then concludes by putting them in the place of the servant.

But there are wider theological issues too.

In this week's video, James and Ian talk about the issues in reading the text, how we might preach on it, and the practical and pastoral issues that arise.