Clean Slate

"God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;

God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things

- and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are,

so that no one may boast before him."

Lord, help me to be foolish - to forget the wisdom I think I've gathered. I don't want to understand or comprehend things my mind can grasp. I need to rely only on your understanding, only on your wisdom, only on your truth.

Lord, help me to be weak, to relinquish any strength I've acquired through my efforts. My strength is insufficient, it only prevents me from relying wholly on your strength. Take away my own ability to stand, to fight, to run and leave me only with the strength to love as you love.

Lord, make me lowly and despised; set me apart from the things of this world, from what is valued and praised, from the things people expect and appreciate, from what is proper and predicated. Remove me from the good graces of society and take me into your grace.

Lord, end me. Make me not. Take away my life and replace it with yours. Give me a clean slate, a new foundation to build from, to love from to fall on. Change me.

Luke 22 - Gee, Thanks

Jesus takes Peter aside and lays some hard truth on him. Satan had asked to "sift him as wheat," which really sounds terrible. Luckily for Simon, Jesus had intervened in prayer. If Jesus was praying, you should be covered, right? The only problem is that Jesus tells Peter specifically what he prayed,"that your faith may not fail."

Wait, what?

Where is the prayer for safety and protection?

Where was "I bind you Satan" and all that?

Jesus doesn't pray for Peter's safety or his protection or even for him to be delivered from evil. Jesus could have prayed these things, and they would have worked. He could have protected Peter from every evil in the world, but that wasn't his choice. He prays that when Peter faces this evil, when he is sifted, that his faith will not fail. Peter needed to be sifted. He needed to be tested. He needed to be made stronger so he could face the assignment ahead of him.

We aren't any different. We need to be sifted too.

Why do we run from it?

Why do we try to shield others from it?

That's not what Jesus would do.

Luke 22 - Eager

Jesus tells the disciples that he has eagerly desired to eat the Passover meal with them, because it was the last one that he would eat before he suffered.

It seems like there are 2 possible explanations for this:

1) Eating Passover meals with the disciples was such a terrible experience that Jesus couldn't wait to get them all over with.

2) Jesus was eager to suffer.

Assuming that 1 is not the case...

Jesus was eager to suffer. But, he wasn't eager to suffer. Just a few verses later we'll read about Jesus asking his father to take the suffering away from him. If he was eager, why would he try to get out of it? It looks like he wasn't eager to suffer.

"Yet not my will, but yours be done."

Jesus wasn't eager to suffer, but he was eager to see God's will be done - even if that meant suffering.

I'm eager to see God's will done too, but what if that means I have to suffer? What if the only way God's will will be done is if I suffer to bring it about? What if it causes me pain to do so? Am I still so eager?

We pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done" but do we ever consider what it might cost us to bring that about? Would we be so willing to to pray that prayer if we considered the cost?

My father, who's in heaven, your name is worthy of my devotion.

I pray for your kingdom to shape the earth in the same way that it does heaven.

Make me eager to do my part to help your will be done here on earth like heaven, no matter what it may cost me. Make me eager to obey and willing to suffer.

Like you.

Luke 21 - Careful

Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close unexpectedly like a trap.

Luke 21 - All Inclusive

Who is it that Jesus praises for their gift?

He praises the widow who "put in all she had to live on."

Why do we think that people in poverty shouldn't be challenged to give?

Who are we to deprive them of the opportunity this widow had?

Why do we read this passage to rich people and not to the poor?

Are we so faithless as to think God won't take care of them?

Is it because we are so outside the kingdom that we aren't taking care of them?

Luke 20 - Authority

"Who gave you this authority?"

The Pharisees railed against Jesus for many reasons, especially because he acted with an authority that they knew nothing about. He spoke as one who made the laws, not one who memorized them. This put their authority in doubt. If they lost their authority over the people, what would they have left? If the people didn't listen to them, who would they listen to? Their authority was their birthright and their livelihood.

rebelnoun |ˈrebəl|a person who rises in opposition or armed resistance against an established government or ruler • a person who resists authority, control, or convention.

Jesus' response was to point out to them how flimsy their authority really was with a simple question. He could and probably would do the same to each of us. All human authority is equally as flimsy, even if we are right.

Luke 19 - IHOP

When Jesus clears out the Temple, he declares what the Temple should be. His first, primary insistence is that the Temple is a house of Prayer. He doesn't say it is a house of worship. He doesn't say it is a house of fellowship. He doesn't say it is a house of preaching. He puts prayer above all of these things.

Do we?

Luke 19 - Peace

"If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes."

Jesus is looking out over Jerusalem on his way inside and the people are rightfully and fittingly praising him, but Jesus mind is somewhere else. He is concerned not for those cheering sheep who are still in the flock, but for the city full of lost sheep before him. He knows what can and will bring them peace, but they do not.

We are often in the same boat. We just don't see what would bring us peace. "It is hidden from (y)our eyes." What is hiding it? I would say that it is us. We continually try to find peace on our own. We try to find peace in other people. We try to find peace in success. We try to find peace in power. We try to find peace in luxury. We try to find peace in control. We try to find peace in the right house or car or clothes. In reality, all these things are what hide peace from us. No wonder it is so hard for the poor rich man.

Luke 19 - Darker

The parable of the 10 Talents is found in Matthew 25.

The parable of the 10 Minas is found in Luke 19.

One is famous and one is not. What's the difference? In the Minas version, the man is going away to be made king and his servants hate him enough to send people to plead with the powers that be not to make him king. The rest of the story follows the same pattern (aside from the differences in the amount of money they were given). But at the end, the newly appointed king orders those who opposed him put to death.

Why the differences in the story? It is assumed Luke was writing to Gentiles and Matthew to Hebrews. Was this omitted in Matthew's version to not scare the Hebrew servants who did not want Jesus to be king? The Minas version certainly seems to frame the money-lender as Jesus over the Father - Jesus is in effect leaving us for a time and then returning as acting king. Whereas in the Talent version, it seems like the Father is the master, because Jesus is telling the story.

A Minas is generally accepted to be 1/16th of a Talent. This seems to imply that the Luke version would deal more with the common man while Matthew was dealing with the wealthy.

Maybe it is one of these things. Maybe all. Maybe none. The fact remains, Luke's version is notably darker than Matthew's and the point of both is the same.

We've all been blessed and we're expected to put those blessings to work.

Luke 18 - Confused

"'We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.'

The disciples did not understand any of this."

How could they not understand this? How could Jesus have been any clearer? He flat out said exactly what was going to happen and they still didn't get it. Sometimes I think that the disciples had this huge surprise when Jesus was captured and crucified - but they had advanced notice. Jesus told them explicitly what was going to happen.

Why didn't they believe? Was it because they didn't want to? They had an idea of what Jesus' mission would be. They saw military victories and a physical kingdom (that they would be in charge of as his closest followers). This was an idea that they loved and wouldn't let go of. Even after Jesus died and came back, they still asked, "Lord, are you then at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

So, what are the ideas that I won't let go of? What are the things that I want so strongly that I refuse to see the truth? Where am I blocking my own view of God?

Luke 18 - Humility -> Justification

"God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Why is it so hard for me to humiliate myself and look at who I am, a sinner. That doesn't preclude me from doing what God wants me to do, it doesn't define who I am. It is the place from which I must approach God. That is what he calls us to do, what we are called to recognize.

We are all lovingly created children of God. He knows each hair of our head and each thing we've done wrong, but he still loves us. This is why we can, no we must, approach Him from a place of humility. It is when we approach God from the place of feeling like we are nothing that we begin to rely on Him instead of on ourselves. That is where real strength and real power come from.

Luke 17 - Here it is

"The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

Will you let it out or keep it in?

Will you build it and help it grow or tear it down?

Will you share it with others or horde it for yourself?

Will you be a servant of the King of the Kingdom or the king of your own mess?

Luke 16 - Proof

Yesterday I heard the question raised, why did Jesus spend his 40 reincarnated days with so few people? He proved to them he was alive again, but why not prove it to the world? Wouldn't that have made things easier for the disciples after he ascended?

Apparently not: "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."

Luke 16 - Topic and Context

In verses 16 and 17 Jesus talks about the Law and the Prophets, concluding that, "It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear that for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the law." From here, at face value, he seems to make a radical shift in topics to marital infidelity. He says, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Is he talking about husbands and ex-wives and wives and new husbands and messed up relationships or is he still talking about people separating the law and joining new things to it?

On the one hand, the divorce and remarriage teaching is echoed by Jesus at other places in scripture. (Matthew 5 & 19, Mark 10) On the other hand, this is a radical departure from his topic. It doesn't seem like something he would just throw in there because it popped into his head.

So, if this wasn't an accident, what can it teach us about the relationship between us and the law in comparison to a husband and wife?

Luke 14- Personal Difficulty

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." - Jesus

"The Christian faith has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." - G. K. Chesterton

"It's never easy." - Will Williams (You probably don't know him, he taught graphic arts at good ol' LLHS.)

So, what about this:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." - Jesus (Again) (This time from Matthew 11:28-30)

So, how do things go from difficult to easy? Where is that transition? When we carry our own burdens: our family and friends and even our selves, life is hard. But, we get used to this hardship and when we are faced with putting it down it becomes even harder. How can I possibly stop worrying about my parents? I've always taken care of my wife and kids!?! If I don't look out for number 1, who will? Putting down these burdens is hard. We want control and the power that comes with it. It is hard to get, hard to keep and hardest to put down.

This is where the light and easy comes in. When we finally put these things down and give them to Jesus things become easy... until we are tempted to take them up again and need to put them down again. It is a daily cycle that we all wrestle with: pick it up, put it down, pick it up, put it down, pick it up, put it down. In this spiritual weight-lifting, we get stronger the longer the weight lies on the floor.

Luke 14 - On Food and Guests

Jesus goes into several discourses about food, banquets and guests. First, he talks about where you should sit if you are invited - humble yourself or you will be humbled by someone else. Second, he talks about who you should invite - those who can't pay you back. (And here I am, just after sending out my wedding invitations that included instructions on how people can pay us back. Don't forget the Ikea gift card option!) Third, he says the people who were invited won't show up anyway, so the people who get to enjoy the feast in the end are the crippled, blind and lame.

My question is, how strongly is the banquet metaphor tied to the Kingdom of God?

It seems very nice to simply equate the banquet invitation with the sharing of the gospel. Then, I'm perfectly okay inviting only friends and relatives to my wedding, as long as I'm sharing the gospel with those who can't pay me back. Sharing the gospel doesn't financially cost me anything, but inviting strangers to my wedding does.

The same rings true for choosing where to sit. If I'm talking about the kingdom and I'm going to be in the presence of Moses and Elijah and David of course I'm going to take the crappy seat in the corner - that's obviously where I belong. But, if that means day-to-day life I've got some thinking to do. We don't often fight over the best seats at dinner (at least not in my house), so what are the modern equivalents? The people we hang out with? The people we share with? The things we buy? The things we piously refrain from buying and let everyone know we refrained from buying? The people we help? The people we tell about the people we help?

All of these?

Luke 13 - Blatant Disregard

The Pharisees come to Jesus and warn him that Herod is out to kill
him. Jesus simply shrugs off the threat and says he has work to do.
When I read this and see the boldness and certainty it fills me with
courage that slowly turns to doubt.

It emboldens me in my current choices and situation. But over time my
selfishness and greedy desires start to creep in. I think about the
things I have given up and wish for them back. My boldness fades and
the seeds of doubt creep in.

That's why I also need to read about Jesus' time of struggle in the
garden. I'm not alone in my struggle. Jesus has been here too.

Luke 13 - Second Chances

"For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?"

"'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'"

How many chances have we been given to produce fruit?

Three years worth?

One more year?

How much soil have we used up?

How much do we deserve?

How much do we receive?

Luke 11 - Scary

"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."

The scary part is when you consider that these guys didn't know they were doing this. They thought they were right, just like Saul before Jesus called him out. We sometimes meet people and they are so sure they have the "key to knowledge" that we think they must. The truth is they can be completely wrong. Certainty does not equal correctness.

Luke 11 - Scruples

"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone."

Are we just checking off a list or really bringing about God's kingdom?