Now Listen! - Luke 10:38-42 - Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

 

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

 

Luke 10:38-42 NIV

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Now Listen!

It’s just a few verses of Scripture. Over the last few weeks of reflections, we have been travelling along with Jesus and His disciples as He sets His face to go to His death in Jerusalem. We have seen a realm of teaching from Jesus along the way, like how Jesus IS God, the Son. He teaches about God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, all three yet one. All who eternally love what was created and saves and gifts us with life eternal and love eternal. I related to the demon possessed man and how God casts out my evil to make me like Him through Jesus alone. I can rejoice along with all the sinful, which is everyone but Jesus, that God will rescue me. I saw the determination that Jesus has for all mankind as He goes to the cross to take on sin, death and evil, and defeat the powers of evil, FOR all people. Jesus put the power of sin, death and evil behind once and for all time, rose from the dead and ascended into to heaven. What great news is that! All that we may live in His Kingdom, with God eternally. All along this journey, we see how Jesus accepts ALL people, even those we would love to send fire down upon, and keeps His goal of saving ALL of us in His mind. I saw Jesus send out His disciples to proclaim the Good News then AND today. And just last week Jesus told us how to act out in love towards those unlike ourselves. How to be a neighbor to ALL people, no matter what.

So, as the walk with Jesus towards Jerusalem takes place we have learned:

·       Give up status

·       Become like children

·       Accept “others”

·       Don’t “get even” by retaliation

And now Listen! A huge reminder from God the Father on the Mount of Transfiguration… from Luke 9:35

³⁵ A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

Well, this week Jesus continues to teach us. He teaches about REAL food. What? He teaches how HE IS real food. How can you NOT think of the body and the blood, the bread and the wine of Holy Communion…

Is this Scripture a warning that our Christian life is not deeds alone? Think of the Mercy-Kindness and action of the Good Samaritan of last week’s reflection.

Might we lose our souls to useful activity and constant service?

Or RATHER … Might we go back and forth listening to God’s Word to action IN God’s Word to LOVE GOD and neighbor?

In these few verses involving Jesus, Martha and Mary, we witness both Listening and learning and action. Here Jesus calls us first to undivided attention and laser focus on Him… Think of God the Father’s bid for us to listen to Jesus.

Martha in her worries of preparations and actions, lost focus. The WORD, which is Jesus, must BE the REASON FOR our actions. Jesus’ teachings must take priority OVER food and drink. Later in Luke we hear the words of Jesus in, His advice about worrying…  Luke 12:29-31…

²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

There is ONE thing that IS MOST important. And that ONE thing is the WORD, is Jesus.

It’s easy to be distracted to enjoy OTHER less important THINGS… like stuff, riches, luxuries, AND THEN to lose the WORD to our own selfish pleasures.

Sometimes to HAVE LIFE, we need to LOSE OUR LIFE.

Our REAL food is… like Jesus says in Matthew 4:4

“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

OK… sure… without bread or food, we die… BUT without the WORD- that is Jesus… we lose our desire to live… when you have time look back to John 6 and read the chapter, about when Jesus fed the five thousand, walked on water, and declared how HE IS the Bread of Life. We NEED Jesus to live! We NEED to listen to Him. We NEED to feed ON HIM! Many found this disgusting and unthinkable and turned away and left Jesus.

BUT, others, then and throughout time, paused and LISTENED to Jesus, fed on the WORD, and believed and LIVE.

God comes to us when we least expect Him to come. As God comes to us, we disciples seek the face of God in the hope promised by the Gospel.

Thanks be to God for Jesus saving us and forgiving us and giving us eternal life with God. Thanks be to God for Mary stopping to LISTEN TO HIM. And thanks be to God for Martha in her ACTION of love… all… today… tomorrow… and forever… Thanks be to God!

I leave you with this YouTube Video that inspired me for this reflection…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef52AmdVwYI&list=RDEf52AmdVwYI&start_radio=1

Mercy-Kindness - Luke 10:25-37 - Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

 

Luke 10:25-37 NIV

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

 

Mercy-Kindness

Do we really exhibit compassion for ANYONE in need? Or do we exhibit compassion ONLY for those like ourselves? Think about this. Read the paper and watch the news, with this in mind. How do we ACT in our world and society today?

We, including me, like to be kind to people. But kindness WILL NOT save us. BUT we know that kindness pleases Jesus. We can’t be, or even claim to be disciples of Jesus, or take the name of Christian, AND be indifferent to the suffering of ANYONE.

Read or hear these words of Jesus from Matthew 25:40-45…

⁴⁰ “The King (Jesus) will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

However, this does NOT imply that we are to encourage an able-bodied, lazy person. This IS NOT KINDNESS… 2 Thessalonians 3:10 – the words of Paul

¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

Enabling someone IS NOT KINDNESS to that person. This is a false notion of help that we all can get easily hung-up in.

Yet, in this passage of Scripture from Luke, we need to look back to the recent past of this journey Jesus and His disciples are taking. Remember? Jesus had just been rejected by Samaritans because He was intent, determined, and had set His face as flint to journey to Jerusalem and His death. Remember, the Samaritans and the Jews hated one another. Yet, here Jesus tells of His love for them in this story.

Here is that passage of Scripture that we looked at just a couple of weeks ago.

Luke 9:51-56

⁵¹ As the time approached for him (Jesus) to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; ⁵³ but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” ⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Then he and his disciples went to another village.

It's easy for any of us, James and John included, to hate someone we don’t agree with. Yet, Jesus stomps out this emotion and rebukes James and John, and me and you, by extension as well in a stern rebuke. Jesus loves ALL kinds of people, even those different from ourselves.

So, let’s look at LOVE. The love that Jesus teaches in this passage for this time is different from what we commonly think about. This LOVE comes in three ways.

·       Love that is beyond rules or laws – this is a love that becomes required.

·       Love that is between the rules or laws – this is a love that changes our behavior.

·       Love that is under the rules or laws – this is a love that motivates action.

Take that in, a while, and mull on it. This LOVE is a bit different, and calls us out, from ourselves towards action FOR our neighbor.

To just obey the LAW is an attempt to save ourself. Think of it this way, if I believe I can do ALL the actions needed by the law --- THEN --- I can bring myself up and don’t need any help from anyone else.

BUT --- to love the LAW of God is to serve God. This is a service of slavery that produces freedom from self. By serving God, we are free from ourselves.

So, what is LOVE here? The LOVE Jesus speaks of is a desire for the well being of another person. ANY other person. NOT just someone like ourselves or in our wheel of life. Yes, we pray that this person is saved.

Yet LOVE IS NOT – an emotion like you feel for your wife, sister, brother, mother or father or even someone like yourself alone. NO – LOVE here is NOT a tender emotion, BUT rather a desire for the well being of SOMEONE else. Here in this scripture, that someone else is NOT like yourself.

This scripture is exhibiting a LOVE that moves.

·       From God to Man

·       From Man to God

·       From Man to Man

God comes to us in Jesus. We reach out to God and listen and know the love God freely gives to us each day. AND we reach out to ALL mankind in the love that God has freely given us and demonstrated for us, TO our neighbor.

Notice, how in this Gospel passage, the lawyer wanted to justify himself for eternal life with the question he posed to Jesus. This question led to a second question to Jesus about just who is his neighbor.

It’s in this second question as the lawyer attempts to justify himself and his own action, it seems, that Jesus issues a different than expected twist to the neighbor question, by telling a story to illustrate the idea of not who is my neighbor, but rather, how can I BE a neighbor to ANYONE!

A bit of background is useful here. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a rocky road that drops steeply. Think of taking a hike down a rocky path and how difficult this can be on the knees, feet and legs. This particular road was an ideal road for robbers and was common in that day. This road was about 17 miles long. Not just an easy trot.

The Samaritan that eventually helped the man attacked by robbers, dealt in an opposite manner that the lawyer was expecting. This story defined not only who IS my neighbor, but more importantly, how am I to BE a neighbor. Jesus didn’t tell the lawyer who to help, but rather HOW to BE or behave or act AS a neighbor to ANYONE.

And this brings us back to love. Let’s first go back to a previous passage of Luke… specifically Luke 9:23… in Jesus words…

²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Who is self? This is NOT like how much love. It’s not like how love is to act… BUT… Rather HOW love DOES act.

Look not at yourself, or your kind of people or folks, BUT love ALL. Yes, look to what Jesus has done for God’s people. God loves ALL mankind as one. So, deny self and love ALL mankind as one yourself.

As you look at the news in print or on video, reflect on how mankind is acting as neighbor to those we interact with. Are we stopping to care for each person? Why do we kill one another? Why do we separate ourselves? Why do we or you or me leave the injured on the side of the road? Why do we walk by? We all fall guilty, and at least for many of us, who follow Jesus, should take heed and ACT like a neighbor who loves ALL people. ALL people even if they don’t match, our own race, religion, country, political party, or whatever. We are call to ACT like a neighbor to ALL God’s people, not pick and choose who to love. God sets people in our lives for a reason. Don’t pass by. Show the love and compassion and deny yourself. Look to Jesus and follow Him. Don’t feel the draw of evil that we witness in so many pages of the daily news. BE and ACT different!

For me? I love how Jesus puts all prejudice, politics, and shows REAL love. It’s not about who I love anymore for me. After this week, I see it’s HOW I love. Jesus brings the ACTION of neighbor to life. ALL people are my neighbors. But what’s of importance, is my ACTION in BEING a neighbor to ALL people. No matter what, no matter who.

No bombs… no raids… no hatred… no name calling… no insults… no greed… no idol worship… no anything… ALL love.

Yes! In the words of John…

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.

That’s tough and impossible for me as I live out this life, but day by day I look to Jesus, I hear His voice, I follow his ACTIONS, and I turn from my sinful ways, depending on the forgiveness God grants to me until I leave this world and this place in which God has set me to ACT out Love… today… tomorrow… and forever. Thanks be to God!

Here is a YouTube Video illustrating this passage…

“On The Road To Jericho”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1HGQOsqyjk&list=RDM1HGQOsqyjk&start_radio=1

"On The Road To Jericho"

Urgent - Luke 10:1-20 - Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

 

Luke 10:1-20 NIV

10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. ² He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. ³ Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴ Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

⁵ “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ ⁶ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

⁸ “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. ⁹ Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

¹³ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.

¹⁶ “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

¹⁸ He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰ However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Urgent

The Perean-Judean journey that we spoke of in the last session of “Pointing To Jesus” continues. Jesus teaches us, by extension, once again this week, about the Plan God has for the early church as well as the church of today. Last week, Jesus showed us, through His very own example how we need determination with God’s call and plan in our lives. This week’s passage teaches us. As disciples, through a trip out into the world. A trip to proclaim the Gospel of how God offers healing, forgiveness, and love. Jesus sends out His disciples to walk in the faith God has richly and freely supplied, to go out into the world in determination, mission, and boldness to meet and greet those God sets before them, with a proclamation that the Kingdom of God is near in Jesus.

The purpose of this was to prepare people for the Advent of Jesus, the Messiah, as He goes to His death on the cross. A death FOR ALL, even Samaritans and Gentiles. Jesus death was not ONLY for Jews, but for ALL. This was an important work of Love.

Jesus and His disciples are leaving the region of Galilee.

Right from the start we deal with the number 72, or as other sources use, 70. There are all sorts of number games here. Some look at 70 as the number of elders of Moses, some look to a number in the Sanhedrin, others look at Genesis 10 as the nations of the world at that time, even something about Elim and an oasis of 12 wells and 70 palm trees, from Exodus. But really, for me, Jesus sent out a bunch of His disciples with a mission and a purpose to proclaim just how close the Kingdom of God was to them in what Jesus was about to do in going to the cross.

Preaching the Kingdom of God IS IMPORTANT and URGENT. People who accept the Gospel, accept salvation and the forgiveness God offers. Likewise, those who reject the Gospel are choosing, on their own, judgment and death.

Yes, the Kingdom of God is near and IS NOW, no matter how long history goes on. These sent disciples are confronting the world with the alternatives to accept the Gospel OR choose death. You see, God gives life, BUT, YOU CAN choose to not accept life.

In this case as well as others throughout time, people ARE ready for the message of the Gospel, if they can be reached. And that’s what we are to do, in the church today… reach people with the Gospel of God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus death, resurrection and ascension.

Yet, disciples must be cautioned. If you think your actions of proclaiming the Gospel through word and deed, raises you up to heaven; well then look out! If you raise yourself to heaven, YOU WILL, be cast into hell. This preaching the Gospel IS NOT about you, it IS about God’s gift of life to all the world.

As these sent disciples came back to report to Jesus, the satisfaction IS NOT in what they did or have done. The satisfaction is in belonging to God AND being used to give life to the world through the forgiveness God gives which grants LIFE eternal. YOU WILL ALWAYS stand in the need of God’s mercy and love yourself.

But as Jesus reflects, this sending IS SUCCESS. A new age has started.

So, what’s our take? With determination and URGENCY, God sends His Church into the world to proclaim what God has done to forgive and grant LIFE to everyone… today… tomorrow… and forever. Thanks be to God!

Enjoy this YouTube Video that puts to word and music the Gospel...

Jesus