An Open Door...

Tuesday, March 22, 2011: Luke 7:36 - 50

This woman’s encounter with Jesus always brings tears to my eyes and puts a lump in my throat.

She came uninvited to a Pharisee’s house. She approached the guest, Jesus. She didn’t say a word but stood at his feet weeping. As her tears fell on his feet, she bent over to wipe them off with her hair. She didn’t stop there but went on to kiss his feet and pour perfume on them too. She was just so glad to be there with Jesus. She didn’t care if her behavior was outrageous or scandalous. (And, for the record, it was both!)

“Who will love more?” Jesus asked. He saw in her actions her great love for him and her gratitude for him. He caused a stir once again as he forgave her sins. But, she left knowing that her faith had brought her forgiveness and wholeness. Jesus sent her on her way as he told her to go in peace.

Luke gives us such a close-in look at this encounter. Other times he has Jesus in conversation with others. But, this one is so tender and such an intimate look into the heart of a broken woman who risks what shred of pride she might have left to be with Jesus. AND, Jesus meets her with just as much tenderness as he sees deep into her heart. She genuinely wants forgiveness. Jesus gives it. Her faith, her love is great. She goes in peace into the rest of her life…into a new beginning.

Monday, March 21, 2011: Luke 7:1 - 35

Today’s a day of wondering who Jesus is.

The centurion is decided. He knows that Jesus can heal his servant. All Jesus has to do is to say the word and the servant will be healed. It happens.

The widow grieving over the death of her son asks nothing of Jesus. She has no thoughts or beliefs about him. She is deep in grief. Jesus’ heart goes out to her and he raises her son from death to life. We leave the story knowing nothing of the widow’s reaction. However, the people are sure that a great prophet is among them.

Finally, John the Baptist is curious about who Jesus is. He sends out a couple of his disciples to question Jesus. Jesus points to what he has been doing as verification that he is the one ‘who was to come.’

Jesus ends this day’s reading with a bit contrasting himself and John the Baptist. He points out that ultimately the people cannot be pleased with either of them. Neither he nor John is conforming to what the people anticipated or wanted.

Sunday, March 20, 2011: Luke 6:27 - 49

Following Jesus is about who we are from the inside out…being like those from whose heart good things come because ‘the good’ is what they have stored in their hearts.

Loving enemies, doing good to those who hate us, blessing those who curse us, praying for those who mistreat us, turning the other cheek, giving away our ‘shirt’ when our coat is taken, giving when asked, letting others take what belongs to us, lending without expecting it back, not judging, not condemning, forgiving, giving, all these are signs of being children of God. To do these things…to be this person is to be like Jesus and to have our life built on solid rock.

To know that these are the things Jesus told us to do and be and NOT do them is to be like a person whose life is built on ground with no foundation under it.

Jesus makes it clear, once again, that to follow him and to be a part of God’s kingdom has its cost. The cost being our very lives and living them from the inside out…living them according to the words and teachings of Jesus.

Saturday, March 19, 2011: Luke 6:1 -26

Jesus started out our reading today in hot water over breaking Sabbath laws and traditions. In contrast, the reading ended with the rich, the well-fed, those who laugh now and those whom everyone speaks well of being in hot water.

Bottom line, Jesus turned the social order and religious community upside down. The theological word for it is ‘reversal’. Jesus reversed what society valued especially when those values excluded others or marginalized them. Jesus ‘saw’ everyone and valued everyone. He extended mercy and healing wherever he could. The rich, the satisfied, and the ‘movers and the shakers’ in the end will have their good fortune reversed and turned upside down.

In the middle of our reading, Jesus spent time in prayer and then selected the twelve apostles. The religious leaders rejected Jesus’ teachings and way. So, they were not selected to be apostles with/for Jesus. The disciples following Jesus were willing to change their ways and obey Jesus’ teaching. Those ordinary people were the ones Jesus chose because they turned their lives inside out and upside down for him.

Friday, March 18, 2011: Luke 5:17 – 39

Jesus is forging new territory today and, as he does, he offends the religious leaders.  First is the amazing interruption while he is teaching…the roof of the house is torn off so some friends can get their paralyzed friend to Jesus for healing. Instead of telling the man, ‘You are healed’. Jesus offensively claims God-like authority by telling the man his sins are forgiven. The religious leaders are not happy with Jesus. Jesus, in turn, heals the man so the religious leaders will know that he does, indeed, have the authority to heal and to forgive.

When Jesus calls Matthew to follow him and enjoys dinner at Matthew’s, the religious leaders don’t like that either. Why was Jesus eating with ‘those kinds of people’? Jesus replies that ‘those kinds of people’ are the ones who need him. That’s why he’s with them.

Finally, the religious leaders wonder why Jesus’ disciples are not fasting and praying more like John’s disciples and the Pharisees disciples do. Jesus replies that the time will come when his disciples will fast, but right now, he is with them and it’s not their time to fast. He hints that he is doing something new…something so different that the religious leaders may not be able to accept him and the new work of God.

Jesus makes it clear today that he is about doing right things that make a difference in peoples’ lives: forgiving sins that weigh heavily on a soul; being with those who need him regardless of their social status; and living fully while he can with his friends and disciples. Jesus has different priorities and different ways of being a rabbi, a healer, and a Messiah.

Thursday, March 17, 2011: Luke 5:1 – 16

Today’s scripture gives us several portraits of Jesus and his ministry. Which Jesus do you need to be with today?

There is the Jesus who taught the people so that as they listened they heard the word of God. Perhaps there is a lesson…a teaching of Jesus that you need to hear from him today, and you need to be with the teaching Jesus.

There is the Jesus that gave instructions to the fishermen and told them where to find the fish they hadn’t been able to find all night. The result was an incredible catch of fish. Perhaps there is a job/a task you’ve been trying to do unsuccessfully and you need to do it again with this Jesus by your side.

There is the Jesus that calmed the three fishermen and called them to change professions in order to fish for people. Perhaps Jesus is calling you/asking you to step up to a task he needs done, and you need to drop what you are doing and follow him to do what he asks.

There is the Jesus who was willing to answer an appeal for help and healed a leper. Perhaps you need help in your life and need to be with the Jesus who answers appeals for help.

And, there is the Jesus who withdrew from the crowds to a lonely/quiet place to pray. Perhaps you need to be in a quiet place with Jesus and spend time in prayer.

During this Lenten season, we are looking to be with Jesus in new and different ways. We want to see him in the many ways he comes to us and reveals himself to us. In this passage in Luke, we see many sides of Jesus. So, again, I ask, which Jesus do you need to be with today?

Wednesday, March 16, 2011: Like 4:31 – 44

Sometimes when reading a passage of scripture, I will notice something I never noticed before. That happened to me today and yesterday. I always thought that Jesus began to teach and heal at the same time. However, in yesterday’s passage Luke 4:14 & 15, we read, ‘news about Jesus spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.’ A bit of time is passing in this passage because he was moving around the area of Galilee and was teaching in various synagogues as he went. His initial ‘fame’ was from his teaching.

Then, in today’s passage, while he taught on the Sabbath in Capernaum, Jesus did his first healing by freeing the demon-possessed man. The people are amazed, first, at Jesus’ teaching (verse 32). But when he healed the man, their amazement grew (verse 36).  They continued to spread the news about Jesus throughout the area.

After the leaving the synagogue, Jesus headed to Simon’s (Peter’s) house and healed Simon’s mother-in-law. By nightfall, people brought the sick to Jesus for healing and for freeing them from demon possessions.

Jesus had word-of-mouth momentum building through his teachings. He was spectacular enough with just his teachings. But then, when he started healing people, his ‘fame’ and popularity took off like a rocket.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011: Luke 4:1 - 30

Today is a busy, rollercoaster day of reading about Jesus. We begin with Jesus in the wilderness being tempted/tested. We watch as Jesus unwaveringly meets each temptation, each test. The Tempter gains no ground in Jesus’ life and leaves.

In the region around Galilee, the ‘word on the street’ about Jesus is pretty good. Jesus teaches in the synagogues. The people give him ‘two thumbs up’ on his preaching and praise him.

Jesus then takes a trip to his hometown, Nazareth. He heads to the synagogue there and reads the scripture for the day from the book of Isaiah. He sits down and the level of anticipation builds as the people wait to hear what he will teach them. In time, He tells the people that the prophetic words he read from Isaiah have been fulfilled that very day. He reveals that he is the one whom the Spirit of the Lord has anointed and sent. The people of Nazareth are pleased and give Jesus three thumbs up!

But, he squashes their excitement by letting them know that he will not do many exciting things there, in Nazareth. Prophets are not accepted in their hometowns. He lets them know that great things will happen elsewhere, but not there. The people are insulted and turn on him to hurt him and shut him up. But, it isn’t Jesus’ time yet, so he slips away, unharmed.

Monday, March 14, 2011: Luke 3:21 - 38

Being Methodists, many of us do not remember our baptism. We were infants. However, our parents and other family members, friends and a congregation do remember. We were baptized as a sign of new life being ours in Christ and present in our lives through the power of God’s incredible grace as we grew up. Some of us may have been baptized as adults, youths or older children. We remember our baptisms...signs of the same new life in Christ.

Jesus was around thirty when he was baptized. His baptism was quite spectacular. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus as a dove. God's voice from heaven declared Jesus as the beloved Son and the one in whom God was well-pleased.

Luke, then, lists Jesus’ genealogy going all the way back to creation with Adam as God’s son. Unlike the genealogy of Jesus listed in Matthew which goes back to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, Luke takes us back to the beginning of all of humanity. Jesus is not just a Messiah for the Jews, his grace and forgiveness is for all of humanity.

Sunday, March 13, 2011 - Luke 3:1 - 20

Chapter three opens giving us the, then current, leaders politically and religiously. Politically Tiberius was Caesar. Pontius was governor of Judea. Herod, Philip and Lysanias were the minor provincial rulers of the territory divided in four parts: Galilee, Iturea, Traconitis and Abilene. (Tetrarch was the title given to these rulers which meant they ruled over a quarter of the territory.) Religiously, Annas and Caiaphas were in the high-priesthood.

John the Baptist makes his adult debut. His is a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The people come out to him first to hear him preach and then to be baptized by him. After hearing him, they wonder if he is the long-awaited Messiah. He quotes Isaiah 40:3 – 5 letting them know that he is the one preparing the way for the Lord and not the Lord/Messiah. Later in the passage, he admits again to one coming after him who is more powerful and will baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire.

John calls on the people to live their lives differently after receiving his message. The people wonder what to do exactly. John gives instructions for them in general (share food and clothing with those who have none) and more specifically for the tax collectors (don’t collect any more taxes than required) and soldiers (don’t extort money, don’t accuse people falsely and be content with their pay). God is preparing the people for Jesus through John’s ministry.

Our passage today closes with John being locked up in prison because he rebuked Herod, the tetrarch, because he married his sister-in-law.