Luke 6: 41- 42 The Splinter.

Luke 6: 41- 42 The Splinter.

“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,' when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye.”

The second short parable Jesus tells is about removing the plank in our eye. Why look at others’ troubles and judge them? Why try to busy yourself with their issues when you have your own problems? Begin with yourself, Jesus says, with your own spiritual improvements. It is a peculiarity of human nature that we find it easier to judge others than to judge ourselves. Why is that? Our ego or pride gets in the way. We want to believe we are better than others. I think this is especially true where religions are concerned. How does God see us? He sees us all as who we could be - our best selves – and loves us for trying to achieve that and forgives us for the times we fail. Just a few days ago we heard about God’s capacity to love even the wicked and the ungrateful. God loves us even though we have a plank in our eye. He wants us to remove it, then to help others, but always without judgment and with compassion.

One final note: I can’t but help noticing how negative Christ feels about hypocrites – those who accuse others of what they themselves do or fail to do. Again we see that warning against blindness, judgment, lack of compassion. In contrast we see Jesus as humble and generous and loving, our ultimate example, our ultimate model.

Luke 6:39 – 40 The Blind Leading the Blind

Luke 6:39 – 40 The Blind Leading the Blind

And he told them a parable, "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.”

Jesus moves on to use several small parables to get his point across. The first is about the blind leading the blind. What is he talking about? His next statement offers a clue – he is speaking about students and teachers. To his audience the teacher is the rabbi and the students his disciples. In our natural state (spiritually speaking) we are blind, fumbling and bumbling through life and not getting anywhere in particular. We need guidance, we need information, we need instruction, we need inspiration. All this a teacher, the Teacher - Jesus Christ provides. But learning is work. It takes time and effort. But what a result if we work at learning Christ’s teachings! Following him, we become like him – “on a par with our teacher”. Is this blasphemous - To seek to be like Christ? I don’t think so. Of course there is only one Christ, but to the extent we can be like him, emulating him in word and deed, the better our life and the lives of those around us will be.

Luke 6: 36 – 38 Love Your Enemy Why????

Luke 6: 36 – 38 Love Your Enemy Why????

“Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

Jesus goes on to lay out some of the gospel’s most powerful (and I think important) teachings. “Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not Judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn. Pardon. Give. The measure you measure with will be measured back to you. This is the “why” of love behind the “what” of love. Why love, why turn the other cheek, do good, give, etc.? Because our Father does so. Cultivate compassion and mercy, avoid judgment and condemnation. Give generously it will be returned to you generously. Mother Teresa had a beautiful prayer called (I think) “Anyway”. In it she urged us to build, give, etc. even though others will breakdown and devalue what we do. Do it anyway she said, because in the end it’s not between us and them but between us and God. I think that is what Jesus is saying here about our efforts to be compassionate, forgiving, generous, etc. It might seem fruitless or even crazy by man’s standards. But not by God’s. By acting in these ways we emulate God. What better role model could we have?

Luke 6: 27 – 38 Love of One’s Enemy

Luke 6: 27 – 38 Love of One’s Enemy

"But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit (is) that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount. But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Jesus lays out a new ethic of how we should treat others. He not only uses the word love repeatedly, but at an entirely new level. You should not love only those who love you – your family, your friends, your admirers. There is nothing extraordinary about that – even sinners do so. Think about how devoted to family the “Godfather” was in that series of movies.

Jesus asks us to do much more. To love our enemy, and do good not only to those who have no ties to you, i.e. the stranger, but also to your enemy, to the one who takes from you, who seeks to hurt you. What is this all about? Who does that? Jesus does that as “a son of the most high” and he says that we should do so as well if we want to be “sons and daughters of God”. For God himself is good beyond deserving to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Luke 6: 24 – 26 The Woes

Luke 6: 24 – 26 The Great Discourse, continued

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.

The other day when I wrote about the “blesseds” I made the case that the “blesseds” were promises (not observations) on Jesus’ part to the poor – assurances that their present was not their future. But what about the woes? Are they observations of fact or promises (of retribution)? Again if they are an observation, they are pretty judgmental and even damning. That wouldn’t seem to be Jesus’ way. Jesus is here to call people to change their lives, to repent and turn back to God, to live in the Kingdom today. I take the woes as I take the blessings - as a promise, or in this case, a warning. If we center our lives on what we have and the false sense of security that brings and do not live as Jesus calls us to live – loving God and loving others – then all the things of the world will not bring us salvation. Jesus never promises happiness or comfort. He promises salvation and resurrection for those who remain in him and he in them. In this case are happiness and comfort false gods? If that’s what we dedicate our time and energy and resources towards. By putting aside Jesus’ commands to love God and each other we are definitely heading in a dangerous direction. “Choose Life” says God in Deuteronomy by loving God and following in God’s ways.

Luke 6:17 – 23 The Great Discourse

Luke 6:17 – 23 The Great Discourse

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.

The Great Discourse starts off with some of the most famous words in the Bible – “Blest are you poor . . .” These are known as the beatitudes. And then after the Blessings are the Woes: “Woe to you rich, woe to you who are full . . .etc.” which are left out of the other Gospels. Let’s start with the Blests.

Blest are you poor, the reign of God is yours. What is so blessed about being poor? Is this an observation or a promise? An observation in that Jesus is stating that the poor have less “things” to get in the way of their relationship with God? This could be what Jesus meant after all in the second half of the passage he does say woe to you rich, you full, you laughing. But to me this kind of clinical, dispassionate approach does not seem like the Jesus I think I know – a Jesus who is loving, compassionate, involved in the lives and troubles of his followers and the poor people around him. So I think I am coming to the conclusion that these are promises – promises that those who struggle, those who are poor, down-trodden, hated, discriminated against, held down by indifference, greed, violence, etc., will find justice, mercy, love, fulfillment, and peace in the Kingdom Christ is committed to bringing about.

Luke 6:12 – 16 Choosing the Apostles

Luke 6:12 – 16 Choosing the Apostles

In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus, after going out to pray chose his 12 closest followers. Many of these individuals remain just names to us - except for those who are called as a part of the story – Peter, formerly Simon, John, Judas. I wonder what their families and friends thought of them and their callings. I believe young men were an integral part of their families’ support – what did those families think of them traipsing after this preacher? Were they supportive? Were they critical? Did they plead and exhort their young friends and sons to “snap out of it”? This was a real counter cultural action on their parts. They had new work to do – far removed from their traditional work - keeping company with Jesus, learning from Jesus’ words and actions, bearing their own witness to greater or lesser degrees, and most of all preparing for the time when Jesus would be gone and they would have to step up to nurture the beginnings of the faith Jesus left behind.

Luke 6: 1 – 11 The Sabbath

Luke 6: 1 – 11


While he was going through a field of grain on a Sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Have you not read what David did when he and those (who were) with him were hungry? (How) he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions." Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath." On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the Sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him. But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, "Come up and stand before us." And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" Looking around at them all, he then said to him, "Stretch out your hand." He did so and his hand was restored. But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

Jesus continues to rattle the cages of the authorities. They watch him like hawks, determined to preserve their rules and their prerogatives at all costs. And Jesus continues as well, determined to do something new. This brings to mind a question and a thought. Can any one institution remain vibrant without significant renewal? And what constitutes renewal? Can it be brought about from within or must it come from outside??? I saw a brief snippet on a local Public TV show the other evening on this very topic. John Carroll was being interviewed by the host about his new book “Practicing Catholic”. He said that the Catholic Church is the largest NGO in the world, that it has done and has the capacity (and the call) to do much more in the world. He remarked how deeply the world needs an active, self-critical, reformed Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church that we have seen in recent weeks, trying to deflect blame and criticisms seem very far from that place. During Lent I read a short but very interesting book by Phyllis Tickle called “The Great Emergence – How Christianity is Changing and Why”. She makes the case that about every 500 years the Church has a “giant rummage sale” cleaning out old, calcified structures and replacing them with new. To shore up her point she goes back about 500 years to the mid 1500s to the Great Reformation when Martin Luther tacked up his 95? theses. The ensuing times gave birth to Protestantism in all its forms. Five hundred years before that was the Great Schism between the Eastern (Greek) Church and the Roman Church, 500 years before that was the Fall of the Roman Empire and the Dark Ages when Christianity basically only survived because of the monasteries and the abbeys, and then 500 years before that was the effective birth of the Apostolic Church. She says that we are currently in a “hinge time” where the current forms of the church seem dated and in vast need for reform. This is what I have prayed for today – that that reform comes to the Catholic Church – either from within or without – in my lifetime.

Luke 5: 33-39 Fasting and New Wine

Luke 5: 33-39 Fasting and New Wine

And they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink." Jesus answered them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days." And he also told them a parable. "No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. (And) no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.'"

I think in these two scripture passages Jesus is talking about how difficult it is for people to change – especially those who have a vested interest in the status quo. The authorities are “troubled” by the fact that Jesus and his disciples do not fast as often as John and his disciples did. Actually they are complaining. Jesus goes on to talk about how difficult it is to use old wine skins for new wine – in other words, how difficult it is to do something new starting from inside something old and established. The new stretches the boundaries of the old and those used to the old ways resist the new. Jesus does not seem angry about this, just observant and understanding of human nature. Jesus is definitely something new. He is challenging both to the system and the authorities and to those who would follow him. He preaches repentance and love and forgiveness in sharp contrast to rules and hierarchy and power.

Luke 5:27 – 32 Tax Collectors vs. Pharisees

Luke 5:27 – 32 Tax Collectors vs. Pharisees

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners."

Tax collectors in the time of Jesus were the lowest of the low. They were collaborators with their people’s oppressors. Some, I’m sure took full advantage of the power their position gave them, others saw it as a way to make a living. We don’t know what sort of tax collector Levi was, although the fact that he left everything behind to follow Jesus speaks well of him. Jesus didn’t make assumptions about Levi. By reaching out to Levi regardless of his job title, Jesus found a follower who brought additional tax collectors into his presence and exposed them to his message. It’s great that they were open to hearing Jesus and that Jesus didn’t pre-judge them. In contrast, the Pharisees were also in positions of power over the people, yet they had nothing but criticism for Jesus. In their own minds they were secure in both their positions and in God’s favor (aka, self-righteous). They are also exposed to Jesus message of repentance and reform. Instead of being open to it as were the tax collectors, they denigrated and dismissed both the message and the messenger. One of Jesus most admirable characteristic in my mind is his humility and his gentleness. Self-righteousness is the polar opposite of this.