Luke 15

Dear RTB’ers,

Today, three parables. The first of these, the Lost Sheep is also included in Matthew’s gospel, but the other two you’ll find only in Luke. When Jesus is recounting parables to His listeners, he is actually making up stories. Yet His stories have stood the test of time. The Prodigal Son is my favorite parable; I probably share that favoritism with many of you. Books have been written about this parable, dissecting it, taking it apart, focusing on the younger son, the older son, the father. And there are so many “take-aways” from this parable, from whatever perspective you take!

Try it right now, as you finish your reading. Become one of these characters, with application in your own life. I have been the younger son; I’ve done some very selfish things in my life and hurt people along the way. I’ve also been the father, welcoming back and embracing a younger brother who had been “lost” to the family for many years. I’ve also been the older brother, full of resentment for this thing or that thing. So which are you? Can you relate to any of these three main characters? It’s a good spiritual exercise, no matter who you “become”! Try it!

Blessings!

Luke 14:25-35

Dear RTB’ers,

Jesus speaking to a great crowd: Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be my disciple. (v. 27) We’ve all heard sermons as to what Jesus means by each of us bearing our own cross. I can’t say even now that I understand what Jesus means in that verse, possibly because Jesus also speaks the following words: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) How to reconcile those two passages? Your thoughts…??

Jesus still speaking in the same context as verse 27 above: “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (v. 33, ESV) The NASB has “give up all his own possessions” instead of “renounce all that he has”, to me an even stronger statement. Today is a hard read. I’m wondering where I stand on this “following Jesus” spectrum…??!!

Blessings!

Luke 14:1-24

Dear RTB’ers,

But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (vv. 10-11) I love it when I can see myself in our readings. Years ago, when we lived in Texas we were worshiping at a church that had no building. (Sound familiar?) We met in a private Episcopal school, with use of the entire (small) facility. At one point our pastor and vestry decided that it would be a nice gesture to the school if we had a work day and did a “deep clean” of their facility. So on a given Saturday a large group showed up, and someone had prepared a sheet of paper with all the chores listed that we needed to do. My wife immediately went to the chores sheet and signed us up for the bathrooms! I was surprised; my face must have reflected that and she said to me, “If we take the bathrooms, it’ll be hard for others not to pick some easier chores.” She was right – we went to work, and it all got done. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Blessings!

Luke 13:18-35

Dear RTB’ers,

He went on His way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. (Luke 13:22) Almost a month ago we saw that Jesus had set His face toward Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51) My Study Bible noted that He is now in a region known as Perea, a narrow strip of land just across the Jordan River from Samaria. Matthew, Mark, and John all agree on this item: When Jesus had finished these words, He left Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan… (Matthew 19:1; also Mark 10:1 and John 10:40). So His listeners are no longer His fellow Galileans, but are now Israelites who relate more to Jerusalem than Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee.

I shudder every time I read the following verses (Jesus speaking to the crowd): “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ ” (vv. 26-27) Matthew’s words are even stronger: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you…’” (Matthew 7:21-23) I never knew you. Or US…??!! A scary thought…! Then He goes on to tell the crowd that they will see themselves cast out – His Chosen People! – replaced by Gentiles from all over the world, …from east and west, and from north and south… (v. 29). I never knew you!

Blessings!

Luke 13:1-17

Dear RTB’ers,

Jesus speaking: “No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 12:3,5) It’s a small thing, but I can’t recall any other incidents in the gospels where Jesus message is “repent”. He often speaks of “the Kingdom” and He has various ways where He speaks of “salvation” (or being saved) or forgiveness of sins, but if I think of a message of repentance, I think of John the Baptist. Small item.

Today’s incident of Jesus healing this woman (Luke 13:10-17) appears only in Luke’s gospel. There are other incidents in all four gospels of Jesus healing on the Sabbath, and there are other incidents of Him healing someone while He was in a synagogue, and there are various physical maladies that He healed, but the woman doubled over stands unique. There are a couple of interesting features about this incident. First, the woman did not ask specifically to be healed; Jesus simply called her over. Naturally she may have been in the synagogue on that Sabbath day hoping for healing (see the synagogue official’s comment in v. 14b), but we do not see her seeking Jesus out. Second, Jesus somehow knows this woman, knows that she has been doubled over for eighteen years. Third, the contrast of this incident with that of the woman with the hemorrhage (Mark 5:25-34) is striking. That woman sought Jesus out specifically; He appeared to be surprised at her touch: “Who touched My garments?” (Mark 5:30b); and He responded further to her about her faith (Mark 5:34). The woman doubled-over is simply here and gone. Following Jesus’ words of healing, His attention turns to the synagogue official.

What I take from this incident is that we are (I am!) also unique. God knows each of us in His own special way. He knows our needs before we ask and He provides for us in ways that we do not even recognize. He calls us and it’s our choice to respond or not. I find in my heart a new love for this “here and gone” woman doubled over. I hope each of you does also!

Blessings!

Luke 12:35-59

Dear RTB’ers,

“Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”(v. 48b) There is two-step expectation here, “given much” and “entrusted much”. If you’ve been given much, yes, much will be required. But being “entrusted with much” is going a step further – much more will be expected of leaders than followers. We can apply these expectations individually and corporately. Individually, we’ve all been given much, both physically and spiritually, and much will be required of us. And many (all?) of us are leaders in our households, our ministries, our regular activities. Here Jesus “demands the more”. What is that “more” that is expected of each of us?

Corporately, I think of our church. We at St. Andrew’s have been given and entrusted with much, with a committed, corporate expectation to “glorify Jesus Christ as a community of disciples on mission”. We are Anglicans, members of ADOTS and ACNA. We’ve all left something behind in order to follow our St. Andrew’s, our ADOTS, and our ACNA leaders. We are each serving those St. Andrew’s, ADOTS, and ACNA visions in our own way and as a body. And we have to ask ourselves if we, individually and corporately, are giving “the more”. Again, what is that “more” that is expected of us? More…?

Blessings!

Luke 12:13-34

Dear RTB’ers,

It is hard for me to post a comment on a daily reading when almost the entire reading is Jesus’ teachings. Today we have more of His teachings that are parallel to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. Matthew’s gospel has this Sermon isolated into three chapters (Matthew 5, 6, and 7), whereas Luke’s gospel has similar teaching spread around in various chapters (6, 11, 12, 18). Scholars have argued that Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount could well have occurred as described in Matthew, but also that this Sermon constituted the core of Jesus’ teachings, and that He probably spoke these words on many occasions in His travels. Luke having these teachings spread through many chapters supports this latter supposition.

Many of us are retired, with a “nest egg” of retirement savings stored up for these later years. So naturally from today’s readings we ask what Jesus is asking of us. In today’s reading Jesus tells us to “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.” (v. 33a)  Later Jesus responds to the “rich, young ruler” with an even stronger challenge, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Luke 18:22b) So what is His charge to us, here in Versailles in 2024? It’s a good discussion question (witness many Men’s Group discussions on this topic), but in the end it’s a question we each have to ask ourselves.

Blessings! 

Fred 

Luke 11:53-12:12

Dear RTB’ers,

In yesterday’s reading Jesus connected his listeners, the Pharisees and lawyers, back to the Old Testament, “…so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.” (Luke 11:50-51a). Today He takes us forward to the New Testament: “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:11-12) Many weeks down the road we will read in Acts 3-4 of an incident that has Peter and John before the Sanhedrin. Jesus’ words are fulfilled in the following verse, Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them… (Acts 4:8a). Peter then goes on to connect the healing of a lame man, not with their own power, but by the power of Jesus’ name. The summary statement from the leaders of the Sanhedrin is telling: Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13) I am confident that Holy Spirit words are available to us today when we are sharing our faith. Take advantage of every opportunity, folks. What we have to offer about our life in Jesus is greater than any other gift we could ever give!

Blessings!

Luke 11:37-52

Dear RTB’ers,

In 2019 our RTB group focused solely on the gospels. I looked back at what I had posted back then: “No doubt Jesus was speaking truth, but as a dinner guest He was less than courteous in His speech. More to the point, it was outright condemnation that He spoke. Surely there was love in what He said, but He comes off in the same judgmental tones as an Old Testament prophet. I’m not surprised at the Pharisees getting defensive and quickly turning on Him. I wonder how I would have reacted at Him “painting with a broad brush” toward me and my colleagues. Probably every bit as defensive…”

I sounded pretty harsh to Jesus’ words in that post, and I felt the same way at first glance this morning. But then in re-reading the passage I noticed that the Pharisee had brought it on himself by first attacking Jesus: The Pharisee was astonished to see that He did not first wash before dinner. (v. 38) So today I see Jesus’ words as simply a response to the Pharisee’s charge that becomes a fundamental teaching, a response that we hearken to still today – what’s inside a person is more important than what’s outside!

But the thing I love most about today’s reading is the lawyer jumping into the fray: One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” (v. 45) Like shaking your finger in front of a rattlesnake – of course he’s going to bite!! So Jesus deals with lawyers just as he had done with Pharisees. “Woe to you Pharisees!” (v. 42a) “Woe to you lawyers as well!” (v. 46a) So if I find myself disagreeing with Jesus, I don’t bait Him. He’s God, I am not!!

Blessings!

Luke 11:14-36

Dear RTB’ers,

A mix of topics today. Jesus casting out a demon leads to a long discourse from Jesus about demons and unclean spirits, then more teaching from Jesus, much of which is also covered in Matthew and Mark.

I don’t have much to say about demons, other than trusting what Jesus says. We believe that Satan and his demons are alive and at work in our world today. We can’t see their actions, but sadly we can see their outcomes. We read in today’s passage how Jesus was more powerful than these evil forces when He walked the earth and we know that we have the Holy Spirit to do battle for us today. But it remains a mystery area for me, personally, and I pray that I never have to deal with demonology beyond the tools of confession and repentance that we’ve been given.

Jesus’ teaching on the return of the unclean spirit (Luke 11:24-26) is interesting. I’ve always been fascinated with the truth of Jesus’ words. It’s great to see someone turn away from a past life and accept Jesus as his/her Savior. But there’s more in making Jesus as Lord in our lives. I mentioned confession and repentance yesterday, I mentioned it above today, and now it pops up here. Confession and repentance form the beginning of a new life. But that new life needs to be filled with something more. All this really points to an area where Ben is focusing these days – discipleship. He has chosen the book, Deeper as a Lenten study book. The title alone tells us where the author is headed – we need to go deeper into Jesus, to be filled with that “something more”. I hope that everyone of you has bought the book and joined a Deeper group. I see change on the horizon!!

Blessings!