On the Way to Wonder

Luke 19:11-27

Jesus is approaching Jerusalem and the crowds are expecting a change.  They think “the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.”  They are ready to be liberated from the Romans.  Jesus tells them this story to calm their expectations. 

         A nobleman goes on a trip to be declared the official king and then he would return.  Before leaving he calls servants and gives them money to run things while he is gone.  Other people from this kingdom let this nobleman know they do not want him to rule them.  Some are entrusted with responsibility while others refuse the nobleman’s leadership!

         When the nobleman, now king, returns he calls in the servants.  One has multiplied his money ten times one has multiplied his five times, and then there is one afraid of the master who has hid his money.  The nobleman, king, praises those who increased their trust and the one who hid his goods had to give his up to the richest.  The rebels are also to be collected and executed.  Wow, this is harsh.

      I remember my father teaching me that “it takes money to make money.”  I was not to be afraid of debt as long as I had a plan in place for paying.  Doing nothing is not a good plan nor is being paralyzed by fear.  But this story is not advice from my father but is told by Jesus headed to Jerusalem.  So what is the take-away?

         I first see partnership.  The nobleman does not zap his kingdom with success by his decree but works with servants who are given means to work with and treated with respect.  We are not puppets or drones.  We are his representatives. We have agency and are entrusted.

         Agency also includes attitude.  A good, healthy relationship does not grow when there is rebellion and resistance.  The people who do not want him as ruler are not made to live and work under him.  The scared or lazy fellow likewise does not reap benefits.  I think we say, ignorance of the law is no excuse.  He is not punished for failure but for not even trying.  Can I say that again? The last man is not punished for failure.  I think that is significant.

         We watch the news about destruction and injustice around the world and wonder if now would not be a good time for the king to return and set things right but we don’t know his timing.  So then the question becomes are we a responsible partner trying our best or are we making God into some bad guy and hiding from him.  Ultimately, the rewards result from good relationship with the king and not from rebellion and hiding.  So, let us bow our head today as we head into Holy Week next week and thank God for the privilege of working with him and thank him for not holding our failures against us.  He is returning and will make life right.  There is even a hint that we will be rewarded, at least appreciated, for our honest efforts.  He cares!

Luke 19:1-10

Yesterday Jesus was approaching Jericho and in today’s text he is leaving.  We meet a man who has aligned himself with power.  He is a chief tax collector.  All his financial power and political connections do not add one inch to his stature.  He is short and he is probably unwelcome in large groups of people.  A crowd is probably not the place he wants to be found.  We were Americans in Kenya during the Embassy bombing and we felt conspicuous.  Our Canadian friend’s car was stoned and he was not from the United States, guilty by association.  Zacchaeus develops a plan, though.  He climbs a tree for a “bird’s eye” view of the celebrity, Jesus, who is leaving town.  Zacchaeus has discreetly placed himself to be safe and inconspicuous.  I know a lot of people who deal with Jesus that way.  Perhaps they don’t climb a tree but they get their religious fix for the week on TV or a pod cast or walk in nature.  People are afraid they might be labeled as radical or due to physical challenges do not want to enter our churches and create an embarrassing scene.  Perhaps it is as simple as a language barrier.

     Jesus again reverses the dynamics.  He stops under the tree and tells Zacchaeus to come down because Jesus is going to visit him.  How often do we try to be inconspicuous but Jesus sees us and calls to us.  Jesus approaches us and offers relationship.  “The crowd” mutters but Zacchaeus is flattered and welcomes Jesus.  We do not know if he just wanted the attention of being seen but we do know the encounter changed his life.  “Salvation has come to this house today.”  Zacchaeus offers to repay all the people he has wronged.

      So how does this encounter speak into our lives today?  Most of us are not chief tax collectors but most of us carry those skeletons in our closet, those labels that we just do not talk about in public and probably not in church.  For some it could be an addiction that rules life.  For others it is a struggling marriage.  Some of us know the burden of a wayward child.  Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we cover ourselves with social fig leaves and stay in the shadows.  Jesus is willing to socialize with anyone, warts and all.  Jesus sees us and invites us out of the shadows.  The scene ends with Jesus declaring openly to all, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  We do not need to hide for he sees and we can speak to him right now, just as we are.  WOW.  That is gift.  Blessings.

Luke 18:35-43

Jesus is moving towards Jerusalem and all the events of next week.  He is approaching Jericho and a blind man sitting by the side of the road, hears the crowd passing and asks what’s happening. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”  How poetic.

         Jericho is where the Israelites entered the Promised Land.  Perhaps you remember the song, “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho…and the walls came tumbling down…crash.”  As kids we loved to sing it.  Rahab, the harlot, hid the spies whom Joshua sent, followed instructions and her family was saved in that battle.  Now centuries later, not Joshua but Jesus is passing and a man who is physically blind pleads for mercy when he hears about Jesus’ passing.  Physical blindness and spiritual blindness seem to meet by the roadside.  The man, while blind, is not deaf or stupid.  When he hears the news, he ignores the shhhhushing of the crowd and yells out, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  He uses a royal title and asks for a royal gift – mercy and his vision.  He knows who Jesus is and he knows who he is, blind.

         Today we do not need to sit by the side of the road and wait until someone tells us Jesus is passing.  He is here with us. In the midst of the crowd ushering Jesus on his journey, Jesus heard the cry of the man by the side of the road!  It is so easy to think God must be focused on Ukraine or the Middle East or the sick or the hearts of kings he holds in his hands, but this little story reminds us that Jesus is not just that guy born in Nazareth but he is the “son of David,” our Lord.  He hears our cries.

      So what do we want?  Stuff?  Or is our plea for mercy and sight?  As we start our day today with prayer, imagine yourself sitting by the side of a road or freeway.  Problems are flying through your life but Jesus is standing there asking, “What do you want me to do for YOU?”  Blessings as you enter that conversation with him.  That blind man saw, praised, and followed.  We are following Jesus into Holy Week next week.  May this be a special time for all of us so that we see more clearly and love more dearly.  Blessings!

Luke 18:18-30

Yesterday women brought their babies to Jesus to be blessed and were not turned away.  Today we have the opposite end of the social spectrum, a rich ruler, who asks Jesus what he must do to be saved.  “Good teacher,” he respectfully begins.  Jesus responds that only God is good. Only God keeps the commandments.  The ruler says he has kept the commandments since he was young.  He believes he has done all that the law requires.  Jesus looks beyond good deeds, though, and tells him to sell his wealth, give it to the poor and follow Jesus.  Ouch.  Jesus has seen the pride and self-assurance in the man.  The man leaves sad.  Jesus looks at our hearts and calls us to committed relationship with him, beyond our good deeds done out of love.

         The people watching, though, are shocked for wealth is so often equated with God’s blessing and favor.  We could also equate fame, talent, education and political power as being symbols of the blessed life.  All are false Gods.  The audience despairs, “Who then can be saved?”  Jesus responds that what is impossible for us to do on our own, is possible with God.  “By grace we are save through faith and that not of ourselves, it is a gift of God lest any man should boast.”  Ephesians 2:8,9.

         What is the question that you would like to ask God today?  Perhaps you are not asking about salvation but you  have another question.  For many of us, our question would be how much longer this war or poverty or disease must continue.  I suspect Jesus would say again that with people, it is impossible to resolve these issues, but with God all things are possible.  And that is a challenge to faith, to trust a God we cannot see, and to follow his guidelines like turning the other cheek, forgiving, and loving our enemy.  We need God’s help with all these impossibilities.  Spend a few minutes committing your challenge to God this morning.  He is listening and he is active.  Waiting for his answer is hard.  Blessings as you wait.

Luke 18:15-17

Luke inserts a wonderful two-verse story right here as Jesus is approaching Jerusalem and crucifixion.  In the seriousness of the task at hand to not only face crucifixion but to make sure his disciples understood the kingdom of God, Jesus takes time to welcome and bless “babies.”  My guess is that the children are being brought to Jesus by women.  Children are not being brought to be healed.  Mothers are bringing their children to be blessed!  This is a unique story! There are no demons, no blindness, no leprosy, and no big sin but just the desire for blessing!  Like Mary who sat at Jesus’ feet rather than helping Martha to serve in the kitchen, these mothers just seek a blessing – not for themselves but their babies.

     Jesus rebukes the disciples who were stopping the women.  Rebuke is a strong word.  Not only does Jesus rebuke but he continues to say that “the kingdom of God belongs to such s these (babies).”  That is a conversation stopper right there.  These babies had no testimonies of being saved or even helped.  They could not even come themselves but had to be carried to Jesus by someone willing to face social censure.  Denominations that practice infant baptism love to point to this lesson of grace. Our salvation comes from God, not from our works.  Others focus on the deep desire of parents to have their children blessed.  Regardless how we understand this story, we do know this.  The source of blessing in our helplessness is Jesus.

         So this challenges us to a two-headed reflection today.  How are we like those babies?  How are we like the mothers?  Let’s hope we repent of being like the disciples!  Can you name three childlike qualities you desire for your life and can you name three people you long to see growing in their walk with God?  Maybe you are the one to bring them to Jesus!  Blessings.

Our devotionals this week focused a lot on people who realized as they journey through life that they needed help.  They stood in the need of prayer and help.  Ten lepers came to Jesus for healing.  They were quarantined on the edge of town with a terminal disease.  They prayed, “Lord, if you will..” and were healed.  A tax collector, condemned by society, stood at the back of the temple pleading for forgiveness while a Pharisee thanked God for making the Pharisee’s life so good – at the front of church.  The broken are reduced to prayer and understand this African American spiritual that came out of the slavery they experienced with its abuses.  The National Jubilee Melodies (1916) printed the first version of this hymn.  It comforts many in times of deep soul distress.  Please quietly reflect on the role of prayer in your life as you listen.  Blessings.

“The Parable the Tax Collector and the Pharisee”

Luke 18:9-14

We love the song, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, O Lord, standin in the need of prayer.  Not my mother or my father but me O Lord.”  Jesus tells the story of two men coming to the temple for prayer.  He calls them a tax collector and a Pharisee.  We could call them an accused and an accuser.  We could picture a Ukrainian and a Russian.  It might be the rich man and Lazarus.  The labels only point to two men at opposite ends of the religious spectrum.  One is a good guy trying to follow all the rules and one is the one who knows he has blown it and would never be welcome in a church.  The “accused” stands in the corner, too ashamed to even raise his eyes to heaven. 

         Too often we divide people that way, those who can approach God boldly and those who feel outside the realm of grace.  Jesus puts a twist in the story though by saying the person who humbled himself or herself before God left “justified” rather than the one who focused on his own righteousness.  Luke reports the story as being told by Jesus on his way to Jerusalem, to the cross.  I would suggest that the road to health requires our dependence on righteousness declared by God, not on our own good lives.  It is so easy to draw lines between the good guys and the bad guys  and usually we are the good guy but oh so very often that is a messy line.  Our courts are full of people debating where that line belongs.  We are not wise enough to make that decision about our lives much less someone else’s.  We must depend on someone, God, who is objective, unprejudiced, rooting for all people involved and loving and understanding the messes we get ourselves in.

         Our challenge today is to see the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in myself and humble myself before God, trusting in the righteousness that we’ll hear about next week, during Passion Week.  Humility is hard.  Blessings as you turn the spotlight of God’s truth on your life today.  He is eager to listen and forgive.

Luke 18:1-8

The parable Jesus tells today reminded me of the mantra, “Never give up!”  I googled it and found references to Tom Hanks in Castaways, “Never give up because you never know what the tide will bring in.”  Will Smith in Pursuit of Happiness encourages his son to not give up on his dreams.  Winston Churchill famously spoke to his alma mater, Harrow, during WW!! on Oct. 29, 1941 and gave a speech, “Never give in, never, never, never! Sia from Lion soundtrack sings a song popular now, “Never give up!”  All place the ability to never give up within our will power.  What drives us?

         Jesus tells the story of a political, secular unjust judge who is being harassed by a woman seeking justice.  She does not give up.  The judge agrees to hear her case just to silence her pestering.  Jesus asks, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?  Will he keep putting them off?  I tell you he will not…”  The kingdom of heaven and true justice is something we plead with God for because we know God is just and wants to hear the pleads of his people.  We are not to loose heart and assume he does not hear and that he does not care.  His court is always open.

         So what is the prayer you have been carrying to God for ohhh so long?  Perhaps it is for a wayward child or grandchild.  Perhaps it is for a spouse or a job.  Perhaps we all need to be on our knees for Ukraine.  Let us not be fatalistic and sing, “Que, Sera Sera.” (Whatever will be will be.)

May we be persistent like the woman and know that the judge we present our prayer to is listening and fair.  Let us never give up.  Blessings.

Luke 17: 20-37

         Jesus is headed to Jerusalem for Passover but we, who can look through the binoculars of history. know he is headed to crucifixion.  His death will open the relationship with God for those who believe.  Somehow the kingdom of heaven is beginning to be established on earth but we and theologians have noogled this for centuries.  The Pharisees ask Jesus, “When will the kingdom of God come.”  Perhaps it is something like trying to figure out if the person you are dating loves you and when, when will there be a proposal.  Perhaps it is the a “magical” moment but for many it is a growing realization. Jesus answers the Pharisees with the same generic answer.

         The kingdom is relational, not geographically defined like the United States.  It starts in our hearts with faith.  It is like lightning, shooting through the nights of our lives with moments of inspiration and enlightening.  Not all people are going to understand or believe even as the people at Noah’s time thought he was crazy.  Others like Lot’s wife will start embracing but then look back at the way of life left behind and become frozen.  It is not material.  Oh my, the answer to the question might be more confusing than clarifying. 

         Corrie Ten Boom tells this story in response to the question, “When?” She asks when a father gives his child the ticket for the train. The answer is, when the child needs it.  When we need to know, God will reveal to us.  Faith involves trust.  I suppose that is why reading the gospels sheds light on the character of our God who heals, who reaches out to us, who speaks words of wisdom and who was loyal to his followers, even to the point of death.  The kingdom of God is not forced on us but is something we embrace and it becomes more and more real as we grow in grace and faith.

         Some of our most precious pieces of our life are concepts that feel like something so hard to grasp – like lightning, not materially defined, and waiting to be fully expressed.   We use adjectives to describe concepts like love, freedom or even kingdom.  Today let’s try to write three adjectives to describe these concepts that are hard to grasp.

         Love is _________, ______________________ ,____________,

         Trust is,

         Fear is

         Kingdom of God is

Blessings.

Luke 17:11-19

Jesus is headed to Jerusalem but still in northern Israel on the border between Galilee and Samaria.  It’s kinda like that childhood joke, “Ten men died crossing the Rio Grande River between Mexico and the USA.  Where were the survivors buried?”  Ten lepers, or we might say ten Covid positive refugees, or we might say ten untouchables, or ten outcasts approach Jesus.  Their cry, “Master, have pity on us!”  Jesus healed them and told them to report to the authorities to get the “all clean” documentation.  They raced off but one person returned and fell at Jesus’ feet and said, “Thank you!”  He was a foreigner, a Samaritan, not even a Jew.  The non-believer, the outsider, realized that what had happened to him was by the power of God.  Jesus responds, “Your faith has made you well.”

         Relationship is not like citizenship that does not demand respect or loyalty.  Relationship is not like a contract that can be broken and abused.  Relationship is something that speaks in faith, trust, love, and appreciation.  When relationships are broken or violated, there is personal pain.  Something that was one, becomes two.  The nine by not having an attitude of gratitude, objectified Jesus and diminished the gift.  No relationship grew from the exchange.  The men appealed to the heart of God for pity and received healing but did not seize the moment to grow friendship.

         Perhaps there are people in your life that you take for granted.  Perhaps you were not raised to be the mushy, gushy type.  It is never too late to learn to smile or to say thank you.  It is possible to be healed but it requires gratitude to be made whole.  Thank someone today for his or her role in your life to make you a better person and thank God for giving you life abundant.  Blessings.