Luke 7:36-39

Luke 7:36-39 

English Standard Version 

  You and I see things different ways.  We all view people and events separately.  Anymore, we get personalized views based on what some algorithm thinks we might click on.  We'll get shown different articles written by different people, and we might have completely different views on the same event.  This is not new.  In this ready from Luke, a sinful woman anoints Jesus' feet, and the event and woman are viewed completely differently by Jesus and the Pharisee.  (Let's give the Pharisee a little credit here for inviting Jesus into his house.)  

  The Pharisee sees the woman's past.

  Jesus sees her heart.  

  It's a reminder that there will always be people who judge us based on our pasts.  We cannot avoid this.  We cannot change it.  

  But we can give thanks that Jesus doesn't judge us based on our pasts.  The Gospels tell us that we are claimed by Christ in the waters of baptism and judged on the basis of Christ's worthiness (which is better than ours!).  So we are marked as worthy because of what Christ has already done for us.  

  Jesus sees us differently than many people in the world do.  May we give thanks for that, and may it inspire us to look upon others with mercy and grace.

Luke 7:29–35

Luke 7:29-35 

English Standard Version 

  There are people in the world who have made up their minds to never be satisfied.  Nothing you do for such people will ever be enough.  You can spend every ounce of energy trying to please them... and they will find the flaws.

  Jesus had people like this... John was too strict for them, Jesus was too celebratory for them.  They probably didn't welcome Paul or Peter or any of the others.  They'd made up their minds, closed off the doors of their hearts, and found what was wrong in everything offered.

  It's wise for us to pray to God for softening of our hearts.  We can easily close ourselves off if we're not careful.  May we pay attention to how the Spirit is moving, keeping an open mind to where God is on the move.  Think of all the Pharisees who missed what Jesus was doing in their midst -- it's one of the saddest chapters of history in my mind.  He was right there!  They completely missed it.

  So what might I be missing?

Luke 7:24–28

Luke 7:24-28 

English Standard Version 

  What's your goal?  What's your dream?  It's easy to think of riches or power or fame or peace.  

  Here is Jesus, telling the crowds that John the Baptist is greater than anyone else... and yet the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than John.  Jesus is urging us to think of eternity, to think of heaven, and to make that our goal.  We should dream of being citizens of the Kingdom of God, for there is no person in this world that can be so great that can even eclipse the least in the Kingdom of God -- it's that much better.  We're that much better.  

  So dream of heaven, friends.  Read the end of Revelation, which describes a city where the light never fades and the gates do not shut and the tree of life blooms for the healing of all the nations.  Think on that, and then make choices in this life that align with drawing closer to God's Kingdom.

Luke 7:18–23

Luke 7:18-23 

English Standard Version 

  I think back to the baptism of Jesus -- the heavens parted and a voice from God affirmed that Jesus was the Messiah.

  And yet, here is John, uncertain if Jesus is the one that everyone is waiting for.  We want to point back to the baptism and ask if that wasn't enough, if John needed more proof. But John wasn't sure, and he wanted to be sure.  

  Jesus doesn't give a direct answer -- instead, Jesus points to the miracles that have been performed.  Jesus points to his actions to affirm his identity.

  We're so much like John.  We have moments where we're certain of who Jesus is, and then there are others, where we're crippled by uncertainty, wondering if Jesus can really be who everyone says that he is.  How can we know? 

  Jesus points us to his actions.  He points to the miracles he performed.  We have the benefit of looking at the greatest miracle Jesus ever performed, his resurrection, which historians have never disproved.  All the research I've done has pointed to the historical reliability of the accounts of the resurrection, and so believe that Jesus is the Messiah.  Jesus was a known person at the time -- there are non-Gospel historical accounts that speak of him, written far closer to his life than many other historical accounts that we don't doubt.  

  Jesus doesn't scold John.  He points to things that affirm his identity.  In the same way, grace is extended to us, mercy for when we are weak, thanks be to God.

Luke 7:11–17

Luke 7:11-17 

English Standard Version 

  We were at a science museum yesterday, and when we were walking out, it felt like I was covered in germs.  Going to places with hundreds of small children in the midst of flu season, I'm extra conscious of the reality of contamination.  

  Here is Jesus, who is perfect in purity.  When confronted with a funeral bier, which is the most contaminated thing around, he doesn't shy away from it.  He walks up and touches it, filled with compassion for the suffering widow.  He doesn't shrink back from our contamination, because he is able to purify and cleanse it.  He enters into our suffering, redeeming it through his perfection.

  Thanks be to God that Jesus doesn't remain distant.  He comes into our worlds, into our lives, so that we might have hope.

Luke 7:6-10

Luke 7:6-10 

English Standard Version 

  It's not an easy thing to trust in the authority of God.  We so badly want to hold on, because we think that if we let go, we won't be in control of the outcome.  So we worry... and we worry... and we keep worrying.  It's a way we can control the uncontrollable, because it's always on our minds.  We keep worrying.

  I like the saying that worry is negative prayer -- it's handing something to God and then taking it back, because we can't bear to let go.  But to offer it in prayer is to hand it over and not to be in control of the outcome.  Do we trust God's wisdom in reality, or just in theory?  It's easy for me to tell someone else to trust God -- but when it comes to things that are close to my heart, am I willing to hand that completely over?  It's like the saying that it's a procedure when it happens to someone else, but its surgery when it happens to you -- things are different when it's something you care deeply about.  Do you trust God's wisdom?  Is the one who crafted the stars in the sky and sets the human heart in motion -- is that one trustworthy? Or do you need the outcome to come from your hands?

  It's a hard question for us, and it's hard to stop worrying.  We need to breathe, to ask the Holy Spirit to come in, and breathe out control of those things that we have a hard time letting go of.  Write it down and throw it away.  Do whatever it takes, but trust God.

Luke 7:1–5

Luke 7:1-5

English Standard Version 

  When you're in power, you're used to people simply doing things for you (at least that's how I imagine it.  You have people for things).  A centurion would, I think, be accustomed to his orders being followed.  But he doesn't approach Jesus from a position of authority -- he does so through humility.  Others come on his behalf, clearly indicating that the man has invested in relationships.  He doesn't become kind as a way to get Jesus to do something for him - he's living in a such a way already.  His faith leads him to respect others and to humble himself before Jesus.  

  Faith should change us.  It should cause us to think about what we do and why we do it.  Faith should lead us to treat others with humility, to serve even when we're in positions of power, that others may see the light of Christ shining in us and through us.

Luke 6:46–49

Luke 6:46-49 

English Standard Version 

  Jesus is ending his sermon with a clear statement -- we who believe in his words are charged to go out and put them into practice.  Jesus isn't simply a good teacher coming to warm our hearts, he's coming to move our hands and feet, as well, so that our actions might be changed as well as our words.  It's not just for his benefit -- he's telling us that storms will come, and following his teachings will prepare us to weather the storms.  Basing our identity and sense of self and our relationships on God's unconditional love organizes our life in a way that storms cannot take what we have, because God is stronger than the storm.  If we base our house on a career or sense of self, then what will we have when that career falters or when we fail?

  Christ is always with us, always before us, always loving us.  Follow Christ, obey his teachings, and true life will lead us forwards.

Luke 6:43–45

Luke 6:43-45 

English Standard Version 

  If you drive by an apple orchard and see trees laden with apples, you can make a pretty easy guess at what types of trees there are.  The same is true with an orange grove -- you know the tree based on the fruit heavy on the branches.

  We understand people the same way, too.  When you see people selflessly serving others, you can make a guess at the character of these people.  Our actions reveal our hearts.  

  So when we want to change the way we act, we start with asking God to transform us from the inside out.  The more we understand that we're selflessly and infinitely loved by God, the more we are then moved to selflessly love others.

Luke 6:39–42

Luke 6:39-42 

English Standard Version 

  St. Augustine said that the church isn't a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners.

  Humility is hard.  We talk of it often, but it's a hard thing to look at yourself and admit your faults and failings.  We like to hide them, to sweep them under the rug, or to find someone else who has seemingly worse faults and make ourselves feel better by comparing ourselves to them.  

  Jesus is giving us permission to admit our faults.  God knows them all anyway.  So when we humbly admit them, our pride doesn't get in the way of our relationships.  We can admit our weaknesses and help one another.  As someone said, the church is simply one beggar telling another where to find bread.  We're all hungry, we're all broken, and the more honestly we're able to admit that, the better we can serve one another.

Luke 6:37–38

Luke 6:37-38 

English Standard Version 

  This reminds me of a psychological point that I read years ago.  When we make mistakes, we tend to attribute it to circumstances -- when we cut someone off in traffic, it's because we're late for something very important.  When others do it, we attribute it to their character -- they're bad people and should be punished.  We mentally don't extend the grace to others that we give to ourselves.

  Jesus is warning us about the dangers of judgment -- it hardens our hearts towards others.  We judge them for their actions, and we assume things about their character that leads us to putting up walls.  That's not how God treats us, and it's not how we're called to treat one another.  We're called to extend the same grace that's given to us, the same love that's poured out on us.

Luke 6:32–36

Luke 6:32-36 

English Standard Version 

  I suppose everything is credit card based now, but I remember being in a different country years ago and having different money that didn't spend there.  You had to get your money changed so that you could spend it, because the system of exchange was entirely different.  

  Jesus is pointing towards the difference in the Kingdom of God.  The world uses a system based on rewarding those who are good to you.  If that's all we do, we're no different than the world.  But God's Kingdom is defined by mercy, and that mercy is generous, given to those who don't deserve it.  It's a different system of relationship.  It has different rules.  It's not merely a transaction -- to love and serve without expectation of a reward, without it having been earned, is to reflect the love and tender mercy of God.  

Luke 6:27–31

Luke 6:27-31 

English Standard Version 

  This doesn't exactly align with how we usually live, does it?  Our instincts towards our enemies don't often lean towards selfless love, and when others curse us, we're often not responding with blessings.  

  Jesus is trying to help reorient the ways we interact.  We often default to defensiveness, and we're worried about trying to keep the scoreboard even (or tilted in our favor), which means that if we're slighted, we need to take revenge.  We often interact based on how someone else is treating us.

  That's not how God responds to us.  We were enemies of God due to sin, and God reaches out in grace, seeking to heal the relationship, to build a bridge where we built barriers.  God acts in grace even when we don't deserve it.  If we can recall that, it can soften the ways we interact with one another.  Not that we're being set up to be taken advantage of -- but leading in grace, as God led with grace towards us.  When love is our default, which can happen when we contemplate the great love with which God loves us, then our interactions change.  It's a different way of interacting, but that's what Jesus is calling us into -- a different kingdom, defined by God.