Luke 12:49-59

     Turn the other cheek
     Peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you.
     Forgive.
     Judge not.
     Love your neighbor.
     Love your enemy.
     He who lives by the sword will de by the sword.
     All these teachings of Jesus and the Judeo-Christian scriptures seem oddly incongruous with the words he speaks in this portion of chapter twelve, that he has come to bring not peace but a sword. That he had come to bring division. That his coming would set even families against each other.
      These words are especially troubling in an era when the extremists of most world religions have practiced terrible violence.
      Was Jesus condoning such violence? Or was he making an observation upon reality?
     Christians early found that their belief was sometimes a source of outer conflict even while it brought them peace and joy of the spirit. Becoming a Christian could break up a marriage. It could lead to persecution. Jesus surely knew this would happen. Was he referring to this when he spoke of bringing a sword? Could the sword sometimes be metaphorical?
     Yet, a few sentences later, in verses 57-9, he speaks of making peace with an opponent before he drags you to court and perhaps lands you in jail. One scholars suggests that the goal is tHaso encourage people to reconcile with God--i.e. if you are clever enough to reconcile before a worse fate with humans, surely people are wise enough to do it in regard to their faith. People are able to interpret signs of the weather, so it is ironic that they can’t interpret the signs of God’s actions.
     Some traditions may not find these words of Jesus troubling. Others will. Though the suggestion of violence is difficult to understand for some, it is undeniable that Jesus came to create change. And change is often difficult. Jesus is not the lord of passivity, or apathy. Christians are called to wholehearted commitment and passionate faith. A question to be raised, then, is how to be passionate, without becoming like one of the extremists who lose all the positive aspects of their faith teachings.
 

If the “sword” could be a metaphor, what would it represent in your life?
What would passionate faith mean to you?
Has your faith ever caused some form of disruption in your life and relationships?

Luke 12:32-48

     The discussion of worldly goods, anxiety and faith concludes with Jesus telling his disciples to have no fear, sell possessions so they can give to the poor, to provide for themselves spiritual purses, whose wealth is in heaven, for no moths can chew that up and no thieves can steal it. For, Jesus said, where our treasure is, so will our hearts be.
     Few Christians have been as radical as to sell all their possessions, yet many Christians have learned the joy of denying themselves and giving generously. Jesus here masterfully points meaning back at the story which he had used earlier, that of the man who had built a bigger barn thinking that was what he needed, only to learn that earthly belongings are temporary--he should have been paying more attention to matters of the soul.
     The climax of what Jesus says is his comment that where our treasure is, that is where our hearts will be found. Jesus understood human nature extremely well. If what we treasure is earthly, our souls will be earthbound. If what we treasure is spiritual, our souls will gain wings.
     Jesus then shifts to another matter, the subject of readiness. He images a servant waiting for the master to return home from a wedding party. Such a party could conclude at any time, short or long. The master might leave the party at any time. The servant doesn’t have any idea. Does the wise servant head for sleep and figure there’s plenty of time?
      Forget modern concepts of fair employment and eight-hour workdays--those don’t apply here. In the day and time of Jesus, the servant paid attention to the needs and wants of the master. If the master returned home and found things out-of-place, not prepared, there would be reprisals. Jesus was pointing out that the wise servant stays ready.
     Then Jesus shifts to a situation anyone might face, even the poor. No one expects a burglar. No one knows the time someone might break in a steal something. Even if it has never happened, the wise householder does not lull themselves into a state of security. It could happen, without warning.
     Using these images of wisdom and preparedness, Jesus reminds them to be ready, because they never know when the Son of Man is be among them.
      Peter, ever the literal man who wants detailed instructions, wants to know if this applies to everyone, or just to the disciples.
     Jesus, ever one to ask people to think, doesn’t give a simple yes or no. Instead he returns to the image of the wise and trusty servant. Who is this servant? Who is the one appointed as the steward (a powerful and honorable position)? It won’t be the one who slacks off and abuses the other servants. It will be the one who was faithful and ready.
      Jesus concludes with the comment that to those who have been given much, much will be expected. This is reminiscent of his parable of the talents.

Where would you say your treasure is?
Is readiness important for you?
What are you waiting for?
What is your readiness as a steward?

Luke 12:22-31

     After telling a story about a man who had a great crop and built a bigger barn to put it in, Jesus directed some words to the disciples. He told them not to worry about what they needed for food and clothing. Life is more important than food and the body more than clothing. The birds don’t plant seeds or harvest, they don’t need barns, but God still feeds them. And “you” are worth so much more than birds.
     Taken literally and to the extreme, these words seem completely contrary to the responsible work ethic that many of us hold. If the birds don’t sow and reap, why should we?
     It isn’t enough to say, ‘well, he was talking to his disciples and not to the rest of us.’ Most of what he said to his first followers is definitely applicable in some way to the chain of disciples down the line 2,000 years later. Did he intend the disciples and succeeding followers to forget about earning a living and expect it to fall from heaven?
      It is hard to believe that Jesus was advising people to do nothing in life or to expect other people to take care of them. He certainly wanted people to use their resources wisely and charitably, and that assumes people will have some resources to manage. The question may boil down to how “excessive” is defined. Jesus was talking that day to a group of extremely practical men, literal, largely unimaginative, and with a tendency to put excess worry into the wrong things.
     This is further emphasized by his next words as he asks his disciples whether they can add even a day to their lives by worrying about it? If not, then why worry about all the other matters? And he continues with the example of the wayside flower, noting that even wealthy King Solomon was not clothed as beautifully as the bloom in the field, though the flower neither spins nor sews. Won’t God clothe the disciples as well?
      As the modern reader of health articles know, “worry” or “stress” is the bugaboo for blood pressure and other health problems. The proliferation of acidic stomach, tension headaches, etc. can attest to it. Yet since the first attempt to turn “stress” into a wholly negative aspect of life, others have pointed out that stress is natural to life and some of it is vital for survival. Balance is often the recommended approach. But could Jesus have talked to these worrying, obsessed disciples about “balance” and have them understand? There was a cultural tendency toward hyperbole, which should never be underestimated, even while we take the teaching seriously.
     Jesus concludes by commenting to the disciples on how small their store of faith is.
     We may all have known people who sat back and declared that “we should act on faith.” Members of churches or other Christian organizations have sometimes made decisions on the belief that they should act on faith and that God will provide. Sometimes that calm belief has proven itself in spectacular ways. In other cases, those who acted on faith ended with a lost mortgage or other problem on their hands. It is possible to say that perhaps what they originally wanted was wrong and that is why God didn’t “provide.” But that backs the question up to the original statement of faith and whether people should be cautious about leaping off the roof and simply expecting God to catch them.
       Of course, it is extremely unlikely that the disciples would ever choose to be non-workers, living off the efforts of other people. They were generally a hard-working responsible group who took a huge leap of faith in leaving their nets and other tasks behind to follow Jesus. Now that they were in the middle of it, they were obviously stewing over what was going to happen next. Was Jesus trying to remind them of the leap they’d already taken and encourage them to hold fast?
      Jesus contrasts the lack of worry he is advising them to have with the pagans who are always concerned about what they will eat and drink. Comparing them with pagans may have been a shock statement. Instead, he tells them, your Father knows that you need these things.
       Once again, the “but” could be asked. There are people of deep and sincere faith who have starved to death, have gone unclothed or watched their children die. We must be honest enough with our faith and its ideals to confront reality. But would Jesus want us to use that as an excuse for scrambling after worldly “security?” Or would he use it as a call to manage any resources we have so we can share with others?
     One thing is certain, excessive anxiety and grasping after worldly goods can exclude God from consideration. It can trap us in our own concerns and close off our compassion for other people.
     Whatever it meant to the first disciples, Jesus’ words challenge us today.
     What does it mean to be people of faith?
      How much planning and work and caution is stewardship, and when does the excess become foolish and counterproductive worry?
     Have you ever taken a leap of faith? Enough of them?

Luke 12:13-21

     Jesus is by now a known and respected speaker. A man in the crowd spoke up and asked Jesus to require his brother to divide with him the property their father had left for them. It has been speculated that this would have been the younger brother. The larger share of property always went to the eldest son in the family. Although this seems unfair to most people today, it was the accepted practice in many cultures throughout history. Scholars say that it was to ensure the maintenance of larger estates for social stability.
     This isn’t to say that the younger brothers enjoyed the situation...as this story and the tale of the prodigal son both illustrate. In this particular situation, the elder brother has apparently refused to give the younger sibling his allotted share and this defrauded man looks to Jesus to remedy the situation.
      From a certain perspective, this may have seemed right. Jesus was respected. He clearly had an air of authority that impressed the crows and made his opponent nervous. Perhaps the brother had even come and joined the crowd, thereby acknowledging some sense of respect for Jesus’ opinion. Yet, from the perspective of time, we might look at this man and wonder why he was bothering with physical property when he had the lord of life in front of him.
     The response of Jesus doesn’t appear to be scornful, but more sad when he asks who had given him the right to judge the matter. Then he used the moment to pass on a teaching to the entire crowd when he warned them to beware of greed, for their true and genuine life was not summed up in what they owned.
      Jesus proceeded to tell the parable of the man with the bigger and better barn. He’d had a great harvest and decided to tear down his barn and build one good enough for his harvest. Once it was done he congratulated himself and decided he could be at ease. But God tells him he’s a fool, for he would die that night and what good would his barns or harvest be?
     This is how it was, Jesus said, with those who pile up earthly riches, but are not rich with God and spirit.
     Jesus had a clear sense of priorities. A person grasping after wealth was missing out on eternal riches. Most spiritual paths have tended to raise concern over those who emphasize the physical over the spiritual. A Hindu fable ends with the comment that those who live only for bread will do anything to attain it.
     One wonders if the man wanting his share of the his father’s property understood, or rejected the teaching. Certainly, Christians have not always had a comfortable relationship with the physical world. Responses range from ascetics who reject all physical pleasure or comfort, to those who have convinced themselves that being a Christians is a path and justification for affluence.
     It is true that Jesus’ words can be taken in more than one way. He doesn’t necessarily say that wealth and spiritual riches are necessarily exclusive. That is, perhaps someone can be rich in both ways. The dangers of it are clear--the temptation to forget priorities in the pursuit of worldly gain. On the other extreme, few Christians have gone the path of someone like Mother Teresa, and many feel a sense of spiritual angst in observing that sort of consecration.
      It is not a subject that is or should be easily resolved.

What is your relationship with money?
If you were brutally honest with yourself, how important is physical wealth to you?
Would your attitude toward worldly security lead you to be blind to the treasure of Jesus standing in front of you?

Luke 12:4-13

     Please Note:  After today, the Bible Study will be taking a 2-week break - and will be back on May 4.   
    No doubt because of the gathering enmity, Jesus talks about priorities to his disciples. At this point he may also be addressing the crowds who’ve come to hear him. They need to keep priorities straight. Ones who can hurt or kill the body can do nothing more than that. They need to keep their eyes on eternity and the one who presides over it. Though he uses a fearful image of hell here, he goes on to speak of the more tender compassion of God watching over the sparrows that from a human aspect are sold for almost nothing. Even the hairs on a perso’s head are counted by God. He ends this little teaching by saying they should not be afraid, for people are of more value than many sparrows
    Note the use of the image of fear. Jesus spoke of “fearing” God who has charge of eternity, yet a few sentences later tells them not to be afraid. There are, of course, two kinds of fear. There is the kind we feel at pain or loss or approaching danger or disaster. But fear as the bible speaks of it in relation to God is something different. Respect and aw are closer in meaning here. In other words, we should feel tremendous respect and breathless awe for the lord who made heaven and earth, and who presides over eternity. But we need not tremble with any other kind of fear because of that. We are valuable to that same God.
     Jesus promises to represent his followers to God. His words are difficult to understand about forgiving those who speak against him but not those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, especially as elsewhere the impression is given that a loving God is prepared to welcome and love the returning sinner. One scholar suggests that the attitude of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is to be in a state in which no forgiveness is wanted nor could it be communicated to such a person. That might more sense in the context of the larger picture of God’s love. A person might voluntarily separate him/herself from God and forgiveness would mean nothing to this person in that state. But if the state would change, (as in the prodigal who came home) then a new possibility might present itself.
     Jesus goes on to speak of what seems to be another subject, related only by its connection to the Holy Spirit. When brought before the powerful of the world, they should not worry about what to say, because the Holy Spirit will teach them in that hour how to respond. In its own way, these words of Jesus are equally challenging. Many who have faced a difficult question or confrontation on their faith look back and wish the answers had come more easily and had been more effective or meaningful. Although Jesus could have been directing these words solely to his first set of disciples and the special challenges they would face, it seems unlikely it would have been recorded in the bible if that was the case. We generally have a conviction that what Jesus said to his first followers applies to all those who have sought to be his disciples.
     It is all right to have questions and not neatly package up something from the Bible as ‘understood and dealt with.’ In fact, nothing should be--we should always remain open for further growth and understanding. A passage we never “got” may suddenly gain meaning in certain situations. A passage we have loved but thought had nothing new for us may come to challenge us or raise new questions. It is a process of growth. One of the possible ways to approach these particular words is to remember that we can’t anticipate the times Jesus was saying his followers would meet. Our answers in such situations can’t be canned or said by rote. We can only prepare by trying to grow in God’s spirit and trusting in God rather than ourselves.

What things are fearful to you?
How do you discern the activity of God’s spirit in your life?

Luke 12:1-3

     What Jesus said to the Pharisees was in a private home, though the dinner party likely wasn’t private in the way we think of privacy. Scholars tell us that in a situation where such a dinner was held with a guest like Jesus, the home was open for people to come and listen to the dinner conversation. No doubt it was a mark of distinction if your home was a popular spot for those who wanted to be aware of the intellectual life of the community. And it probably added to the ire of the Pharisees that Jesus’ criticisms of them were not kept for their ears alone.
     Now Jesus has left the home, the Pharisees are looking for ways to catch him up, and the crowds have gathered in large numbers to see him. Jesus speaks first to his disciples, telling them to beware of the “yeast” of the Pharisees. They had not, apparently, been invited to dine along with Jesus, although some of them likely did join those who stood on the edge of the room to listen. But Jesus’ warning gives the impression that others may not have been there, and perhaps without thinking were considering Jesus’ presence in the prominent Pharisee’s house as a climb up the social scale for the ministry. Perhaps they thoug ht it was, by extension, a mark of distinction for them. But Jesus did not want them led astray by hypocrisy, which was common amongst many Pharisees. He told them that things that are hidden or covered and anything secret will become known. He applies it to the disciples saying that anything they have said in the dark will be heard in the light, anything they have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the rooftops.
     Jesus was not all about pointing fingers at other people. It’s easy to talk about other people’s hypocrisy and forget your own. Jesus seems to be seeking to guard his disciples against it by reminding them that you can’t count on anything remaining unknown. If there is something disjointed between what they claim to believe, and what they actually do, then they also will be discovered to be hypocrites.
      There was a time when Christians wanted to guard themselves against charges of hypocrisy or self-righteousness. There was an attempt by any Christians to prove that they were just like other people and didn’t consider themselves any better. One way some did that was to let their public behavior reach some of the lower common denominators. But the effort to prove they were no different from other people as Christians inevitably raises another question. Why be a Christian if Christians are no different from other people? Jesus called his followers to follow--not the standards of other people--but a higher internal one. It isn’t about being better than other people, but about continually becoming a better person than you were the day before.
     One of the more modern definitions of integrity is doing the right thing even when no else knows you are doing it. The words of Jesus here tell us he could approve of that definition.

If someone called you a hypocrite, how would you respond?
Has the hypocrisy of “Christians” ever bothered you?
Have you known people who used the hypocrisy of Christians/church-goers as an excuse to avoid church or active faith involvement?
What efforts do you make to lessen the hypocrisy in your own life and actions?

Luke 11:36-54

     A Pharisee invites Jesus to a meal and Jesus seems to court controversy and conflict. Upon arriving at the home, he does not do the ceremonial washing that was customary at the time. The Pharisee notes this with surprise. Although Luke doesn’t tell us that the host comments, Jesus responds in any case. His words are bold saying that the Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and plate, but inside there was nothing but greed and wickedness.
     It is hard not to wonder if part of the story has here been left untold, since the launch into woes to the Pharisees comes so fast and with seemingly little provocation from the man who had invited Jesus to dinner.
     For Christians, “Pharisee” is a symbol of opposition to Jesus, for hypocrisy and enmity to the truth of God. Yet, this may not be a completely accurate picture of the time or their relationship with Jesus. There are some scholars who have speculated upon whether Jesus began himself as a Pharisee, but came to call them to account for their religious and spiritual faults and abuses. This would raise particularly negative emotions on the part of the Pharisees since it would have come off as disloyalty and ‘treason from within.’ There is no evidence, however, so this remains speculation. It is known that the Pharisees were largely responsible for sustaining the faith of Israel through and after the fall of Jerusalem and is remembered positively for the part it played. And it should be remembered that there were Pharisees who believed in Jesus.
     That isn’t to minimize pharisaic abuses and problems. The religious elite of Jesus’ day were often elitist. The ritualistic part of Jewish life was often emphasized far out of proportion than it should have been. If a person didn’t have the time (working class) or the money (again, the poor and the working class) to maintain all the rituals, such as ritual cleansing, then they were often defined by the Pharisees as sinners and unacceptable.
     It is a temptation of religious minded people to emphasize rules and outward regulations or some other specific issue when under duress or other forms of stress. Christians today sometimes pinpoint one or two issues, neglecting many other things Jesus called us to do in the same way. It is easier to define who is acceptable if there is a simple yardstick. But Jesus tended to avoid these. It was that we can be satisfied with a simple seven times forgiving our neighbors, instead should forgive a ridiculously large number of times (implying a number too large to count). It is spiritual and moral cleanliness on the inside, instead of rituals on the outside. Jesus accused the Pharisees of using the tithe of herbs and spices as the measurement, while neglecting justice and the love of God. Why couldn’t they do both?
      Jesus is not here rejecting rituals or things like the tithe. He would himself follow them in a wholesome manner, not for the sake of a rule, but become the ritual can be a healthy and wholesome aid to the spiritual journey.
     To emphasize the appearance of faith with nothing on the inside backing it up is hollow and dangerous. Jesus said the Pharisees liked the places of honor, but they are like unmarked graves.
     At this point, the lawyers got annoyed and spoke up, feeling they’d been insulted as well. And Jesus said it was no better with them. They load people with terrible burdens and give no aid to help people bear it. They are no different than their ancestors who murdered the prophets (who also called Israelites to repentance).
      It is controversies such as these that got people mad enoughto want Jesus dead. No one likes being called a hypocrite. No one wants to be told that their way of doing things has gone off the tracks of what it should be.
     What those who stereotype the Pharisees (and lawyers) of these biblical controversies is that if they didn’t care on some level about being right with God, they probably wouldn’t have been so offended. But it is also instructive that even those who do have this desire can still be on the wrong track in how they act upon it. Is it any wonder that Jesus spent so much time on the sins of self-righteousness and judgmentalism? These are the sins of the religiously inclined - including Christians.
      Sadly, rather than taking his words to heart and seeing to their own faults, these Pharisees and lawyers became his enemies, trying to trap him with his own words.

Who are the “Pharisees” of our world & church today?
How much “Pharisee” lies within you?
For what would Jesus call us to account today?