Luke 17:20–21

Luke 17:20-21

English Standard Version 

  We were driving home the other night from Cincinnati and saw a massive storm ahead of us, with lightning and some rather imposing clouds.  We stopped for dinner, and by the time we were done, there was a huge rainbow going clear across the sky.  It was all very dramatic.

  That's what we expect when we think about the coming Kingdom of God.  The Pharisees were waiting for the same.

  Jesus tells us that the Kingdom often comes in quiet ways, and it's already in our midst, for in the coming of Jesus, the Kingdom has come.  There is much still in the future, but it's already breaking in, and we're invited to live into it in the here and now, to join with Christ in forgiving and loving and serving.  The Kingdom has come, and the transformation Christ offers us is available now, through the often quiet work of the Holy Spirit, calling us in our midst to live as disciples.

Luke 17:15–19

Luke 17:15-19 

English Standard Version 

  You've likely given and received lots of gifts in your life.  We can debate which is better, but regardless of where you land, a gift between people who know each other very well is something wonderful -- the gift is special, but it's special because it's wrapped up in the midst of a relationship.

  That's what Jesus is getting at here.  The gift of healing is a wonderful thing, and Jesus doesn't take the gift away from any of those who were healed.

  But one of the former lepers realizes that there is more than just a gift.  There is an opportunity to have a relationship with the one who gives every good gift.  His life has been transformed in more ways than just one -- he wants to enjoy God.  

  It's a fine thing to enjoy God's gifts, whatever those may be.

  But may we never lose sight of the reality that the gifts are meant to encourage us to dive deeply into a relationship with God, to immerse ourselves in the love and grace of the one who gives.

Luke 17:11–14

Luke 17:11-14

English Standard Version 

  Lepers stayed at a physical distance -- they were separated in so many ways from the community.  Jesus, at a distance, tells them to go show themselves to the priests, and they are healed.  

  Notice when they're healed.  It's as they are going.  It wasn't as soon as Jesus spoke.  They started to go before they were healed, and it was in the process of obeying Jesus that they were healed.

  Sometimes, we need to move before we see results.  So often, we do the reverse -- we wait for God to show us something dramatic or move in some way, telling ourselves that we'll move once God does.  

  But Jesus sometimes sends us with a command, and then results happen along the way.  So let us focus on obedience, and trust Jesus to be at work as we live.

Luke 17:7-8

Luke 17:7-10 

English Standard Version 

  Here, I believe Jesus is trying to ensure we don't develop a sense of entitlement, where we start thinking that God is the vending machine in the sky, where we deposit an act of faithfulness and get a reward.  The expectation is that we ought to be faithful in response to the grace that God showers upon us.  We have not earned it, and yet salvation and hope are given to us.  

  So we're encouraged to live and interact with humility.  All that we have is gift, and we should live with that in mind.  Our Christian duty is a response to God's initiating love.  We love and serve because we have been loved and served.