August 4 / Luke 18:1-14

Luke 18:1-14

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (v. 8b) I’m sure that throughout history people have quoted this verse and added their own comments reflecting how little faith Jesus would find in their time if He returned. And we certainly feel it for our own time! What’s more, in our lifetime (for most of us) we have seen a drastic change in our society’s approach to faith and religion. In the 50s and early 60s going to church was the standard, especially if you wanted to get ahead in the business world. But the late 60s – sex, drugs, rock & roll – seemed to usher in a new era and we’ve never looked back! We seem to be going further and further down that slippery slope! I would hope that Jesus would find faith at St. Andrew’s. From my perspective there seem to be a number of people seeking the Lord.

I often cite Luke 18’s persistent widow, but less on the matter of prayer and more on persistence, itself. It was Jim O’Connor’s persistence (and faithfulness) between January 1972 and May 1975 that led me to the Lord. We met in a Chemistry class. He was a 19-year-old second-semester freshman and I was a 23-year-old Army veteran returning to college after nearly five years away. He saw my RSV Bible textbook for my Humanities requirement, a course on the New Testament, and that began a conversation that ended the day he graduated from college. We remain erratically in touch to this day. I am constantly thankful to him for his persistence in staying with me. Thank you, Lord!!

Persistence and faith. It’s a good combination!

Slava Bohu!

August 3 / Luke 17:20-37

Luke 17:20-37

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” The “Kingdom of God” and the “days of the Son of Man”… Two concepts, quite distinct in time and place. Jesus told the Pharisees that the “Kingdom of God” was within their midst. He may have meant Himself, that he represented or that He was the Kingdom and they missed it, or he may have meant that He had established the Kingdom with His coming and they did not see that either.

But the question that the Pharisees asked about the coming of the Kingdom prompted Jesus to speak directly with His disciples about His second coming, the coming of the “Son of Man”. Clearly the disciples must have been confused with this language because He had not yet departed. Jesus had spoken often of His coming death, but it seems that this talk of His death was never really clear to the disciples. So talk of a second coming was even less clear to them. However, to those of us on “the other side of History”, Jesus’ words are crystal clear! Don’t worry about the future, about Jesus’ second coming, just be ready for it whenever it comes!

It’s always an interesting discussion to talk about the rapture, the notion that “…one will be taken, the other left” (v. 35b) – the idea that one of us could be walking with a non-Christian friend and all of a sudden, we’re gone! Or horrors of horrors, that we’re walking with a friend and all of a sudden, THEY’RE GONE and we’re left behind!! As I said above, just be ready. No one knows the day or time.

Have you noticed that you are missing verse 36 in your ESV, NIV, or NASB translation? The NKJV has it: Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left. Intriguing that the other translations acknowledge the missing verse by leaving room for it but not including it. FYI, just that…!

Slava Bohu!

August 2 / Luke 17:11-19

Luke 17:11-19

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” As I read today’s selection, I can easily call to mind words that I’ve known by heart for years: “Were not the ten made clean? Where are the other nine?” (v. 17) But I don’t recall ever noticing that the tenth leper was a Samaritan. To me that puts a very different spin on the entire story.

First, Jesus sent off the ten and told them to show themselves to the priest, an act that was prescribed for the cleansing of lepers in Leviticus 14:2. Nine of the lepers would have understood this directive, assuming they were Jews. But this would have been new to the Samaritan – he had no relationship with the Jewish priests. So as the ten were cleansed, the other nine went off to be OK’d by the priest, but the Samaritan went back to the source of his cleansing instead of following the Leviticus directive. His thinking would have been more in line with Paul the Apostle, “I know Him in Whom I have believed.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

Second, when he was a leper the Samaritan was a common “brother” with the Jews; they were outcasts together. But when he was cleansed he was no longer a part of the “ten brothers”. Instead, he remained an outcast, but now not to society in general, only to his former “brothers”. That is, to the nine Jews, the Samaritan became a Samaritan. So his own thoughts likely would have mirrored Peter’s: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)

So the Samaritan returned to thank and praise Jesus instead of following the nine. It makes me wonder if there are situations in my life where I follow the crowd instead of following Jesus. I’ll have to think on that…

Slava Bohu!

August 1 / Luke 17:1-10

Luke 17:1-10

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty. Welcome home, Debbie!!

“Notice what you notice.” Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? (v. 9) Translations can have similar meanings, but different emphases. The line above is from the ESV. Here’s the NASB, spoken as a statement-question combination, a bit more forceful: He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? The NKJV is even more clear – it’s what struck me this morning: Does he thank the servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. The “I think not” really stood out for me. A small point, but intriguing…

But then I thought more about thanking people for what they do for us. Carol and I never fail to thank our servers when they bring something to our table, nor do we fail to thank craftsmen (plumbers, electricians, etc.) when they have done some work at our house. So I was wondering if the question that Jesus suggested was the local standard? If so, it seems odd to us. Was it really that way back in the first century? Were masters truly so dominating to their servants? Then I thought of our own history of slavery in the South. There were good masters and bad masters. Then my mind flashed to Downton Abbey, to the wealthy being served dinner or tea or having something else done by the servants. And again, some of those wealthy folks were kind and gracious and others were rude to the help. However, we have no excuse. When someone does anything for us, we thank them!

Every morning I make coffee for Carol and me, and in so doing I choose a pair of matching coffee cups. This morning I chose a pair of cups (randomly), one of which said “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, nothing shall be impossible for you,” which is a Matthew 17:20 (edited) parallel translation of our verse 6. We’ve heard David speak of a “divine echo” – when the Holy Spirit calls a particular item to mind on two or three occasions in the same time frame. So I guess the message to Carol and me today is faith. And you…?

Slava Bohu!

August 2019 Readings

DateReading(s)Verses
01-AugLuke 17:1-1010
02-AugLuke 17:11-199
03-AugLuke 17:20-3718
04-AugLuke 18:1-1414
05-AugMatt. 19:1-1515
06-AugMark 10:1-1616
07-AugLuke 18:15-173
08-AugMatt. 19:16-3015
09-AugMark 10:17-3115
10-AugLuke 18:18-3013
11-AugMatt. 20:1-1616
12-AugJohn 10:22-4211
13-AugJohn 11:1-1616
14-AugJohn 11:17-2711
15-AugJohn 11:28-3710
16-AugJohn 11:38-447
17-AugJohn 11:45-5713
18-AugMatt. 20:17-2812
19-AugMark 10:32-4514
20-AugLuke 18:31-344
21-AugMatt. 20:29-346
22-AugMark 10:46-527
23-AugLuke 18:35-428
24-AugLuke 19:1-1010
25-AugLuke 19:10-2718
26-AugJohn 12:1-1111
27-AugMatt. 21:1-1111
28-AugMark 11:1-1111
29-AugLuke 19:28-4417
30-AugJohn 12:12-198
31-AugMatt. 21:12-176

July 31 / Matt. 18:21-35

Matthew 18:21-35

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty – Debbie and Julie too (arriving home today)!

“Notice what you notice.” First point, a numbers thing – my Study Bible said that one talent was worth 20 years wages for a laborer. So 10,000 talents would be worth 10,000 x 20 x 365 denarii, equal to 73 million denarii. Or if they don’t work on the Sabbath, then 6/7 times 73 million denarii. Compare either number to 100 denarii!

What I noticed in this reading was the word “torturers” in verse 34 (“torturers” in the NKJV and NASB, “jailers” in the ESV). I wonder how someone in jail or being tortured is able to raise the cash to pay the debt. But when the debt is so huge (10,000 talents), this must have been a well-to-do servant, someone who could find a way to pay off that huge debt if he were given enough time. That is, I imagine a servant with his own vast holdings of property, for which he had borrowed extensively to buy, and he was highly leveraged.

So I’m imagining that the servant had collateral that he would have had to sell in order to pay off his debt to the king. It’s why he asked for delay and he would pay it all. But even if that scenario is true and he could pay it off over time, the king simply forgave him that huge debt sum, with no expectation of the servant having to ever pay it off – which, if this scenario could be true would have made the servant a wealthy man in his own right. That scenario makes his demands for payment of the lesser debt even more troubling – to demand payment of 100 denarii when you’ve just been gifted 73 million denarii!!

But let’s not forget the header to the story. The Kingdom of Heaven is being compared to this generous, merciful king. The King of Heaven can forgive huge wrongs if we are truly repentant. Let’s not forget that first half of the story! The King of Heaven can forgive huge wrongs, period!! The forgiven servant and the second debtor just adds another layer to the story. Our Lord can forgive us anything we have ever done, period!

But maybe, just maybe, that second debtor is ourselves, …if <we> forgive <ourselves> from <our> heart. (v. 35)

Slava Bohu!

July 30 / Matt. 18:15-20

Matthew 18:15-20

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty – Debbie and Julie too (leaving today, coming home tomorrow)!

“Notice what you notice.” It seems like I’m running into a lot of confusing statements these days. Today is another. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. (v. 19) So if a couple of us agree on something, it should be done, yes? But I know that more than a couple of us would agree to ask for complete healing for brother Jim without the need for any surgery or even any more chemo. But I don’t see that kind of healing happening much. And yes, I know that it’s a bigger world out there and I don’t know the full implications of anything for which I might be praying; the Father knows best what is in my or our best interests and will act accordingly. So Jesus’ statement leaves me confused. What is He really saying?

I think the clue is in the next sentence: For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them. (v. 20) If two of us are agreeing with something that we are asking, it must be the case that we are together “in Christ”. And if so, because two or more of us are gathered “in Christ”, then He is in the midst of us. And if He is truly in the midst of us and is speaking to us, then if we hear Him we would most certainly agree with Him. And because He is in the Father and the Father is in Him (John 14:10, 11, 20), He will know the Father’s will and will speak to our hearts accordingly. That’s why we end our “asking” prayers with “…not my will, but your will be done”. We can’t go wrong if we end our prayers with that phrase. My thoughts…

Slava Bohu!

July 29 / Luke 16:19-31

Luke 16:19-31

Let’s continue to remember to pray for Jim and Marty – Debbie and Julie too (coming home Wednesday)!

“Notice what you notice.” This story is so familiar to me that it’s hard to see something new. But there is one thing that I’ve always wondered. Is Jesus telling us in this story of the reality of Heaven and Hell? That these are real places, that they do exist…! Or is it more a parable using then-current Jewish understandings of life after death?

The rich man had five brothers. I also have five brothers and relative to billions of people around the world I am very rich. Immediate ouch…! But three of my brothers are believers – at various levels and in different denominations – while two are not. Carol and I and others of my siblings are actively “working on” one of the brothers, Dickie, while we seldom hear from the fifth (Ron), the one who was absent from the family for a couple of years some 4+ decades ago. If Jesus is sharing a real truth about Heaven and Hell, I fear for the outcome my two wayward brothers might encounter. But from childhood they have known that Someone has in fact risen from the dead and as Paul says in Romans 1:20, “They are without excuse…”. Carol also has two wayward brothers, Roger and Mark. All four are regularly on our prayer list. So the point of all this rambling…? Do you have wayward relatives for whom you need to be praying more intently? They may also be “without excuse”, but they should not be without intervening prayer!

Slava Bohu!

July 28 / Luke 16:9-18

Luke 16:9-18

Let’s continue to remember to pray for Jim and Marty – Debbie and Julie too (coming home Wednesday)!

“Notice what you notice.” “…unrighteous mammon…” (vv. 9, 11) is a confusing construction. The ESV notes say that the Greek word is “mammon”, which means money or possessions and is translated as money in verse 13. The word “unrighteous” seems a bit harsh. Seems like a better translation would be “worldly wealth”. Either way, Jesus does not in any way condemn worldly wealth, but advises us on how best to use it – make friends, but don’t let your quest for money replace your service to God.

Luke writes in verse 14 that the Pharisees were lovers of money and ridiculed Jesus for his treatment of “worldly wealth”. Every one of us has a bit of Pharisee in our hearts. We may not have a major focus on our wealth, but we would rather have more money than less money. And money problems for a single person or a family can lead to a whole host of other problems. I think Jesus is saying that it’s all a matter of perspective – how hard we seek it and what we do with it when we have it. We don’t talk much about money from the pulpit at St. Andrew’s. Our standard is the Biblical tithe and most people understand that. We give generously, especially to needy causes (note our recent experiences with the Odubenas) and typically leave our budget in surplus most years. But even with our generosity, at Vestry meetings we are regularly talking about other things that we would like to do if we had a larger budget. It’s hard to get away from a “love of money”, even when your heart is “right”.

Slava Bohu!

July 27 / Luke 16:1-8

Luke 16:1-8

Let’s continue to remember to pray for Jim and Marty – Debbie and Julie also!

I wonder at why I truncated today’s reading at verse 8. It would have made more sense to read verses 1-13. But I’ll leave my comments to the first eight verses.

“Notice what you notice.” I had the same thought in today’s reading as the notes in my Study Bible. One person owed 100 and the steward said to pay 50; another owed 100 and the steward said to pay 80. My thought was that this happens today when people get in over their head with credit card debt. Debtors can negotiate directly with credit card companies or through agencies and have their debts reduced if they set up payment plans and begin to pay off their debts right away. Much credit card debt is accumulated interest (at 20+%!), so the credit card companies are not really losing anything except that accumulated interest. For them it makes sense to collect at least the original indebtedness and lose the interest instead of losing the entire debt. My Study Bible notes hinted at the same thing, that the original debts may have been overcharged and that the steward was simply asking the debtors to pay the correct amounts.

Verse 8a says The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. So I wonder if the master changed his mind and kept the steward on, especially given my Study Bible notes and my thoughts above? But that doesn’t really matter – it’s easy to forget that Jesus is telling His disciples a parable to make a particular point; He is not talking about a real-life situation. But His conclusion in this parable in verse 8b is intriguing: For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. When Jesus talks about “this world”, He is typically speaking of it in contrast to His Kingdom. He seldom has anything good to say about “this world”, so I would think that His phrase, “the sons of this world” suggests evildoers – robbers, cheats, thieves. So effectively He is saying that His disciples (and His future followers?) are not very “world-wise”, especially compared to the worldly connivers. I am really uncertain as to what He means here. Blessed ignorance…

Slava Bohu!