Luke 11:29-32 The Sign of Jonah

Luke 11:29-32 The Sign of Jonah

While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah." Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.

In this passage, Jesus speaks of Jonah, the Old Testament prophet who moaned over the task given to him by God to the point where his traveling companions tried to do him in – sacrificing his life so that they might be saved. He was swallowed by a whale and then regurgitated three days later. Obviously, Jesus is familiar with this dramatic story. I wonder if the crowds following him know what he was speaking of. What was the task Jonah despaired of? I looked it up and found that he despaired of being taken seriously by the Ninevites when he preached the need of repentance to them. He didn’t want to do it and ran away. Ultimately after surviving the run in with the whale, he came around to preach God’s intended message even though he thought it useless. For those in Jesus’ audience who needed more information, he spells it out, “This is an evil age.” That is plain speaking indeed. Not only is it evil, but it sees no urgent need to change its ways. “It seeks a sign.” So a miracle or some other type of shocking event might be enough to jar them out of their complacency. What if God or Jesus had complied and performed a miracle? Would our world be any different today? I hate to sound cynical, but I don’t think so. Our culture bombards us with messages that we need and deserve things that we really don’t need or deserve, and since the consequences of these actions are often far off, (debt, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.) we cannot marshall the will power to deny ourselves. What’s my point, you ask? Around our country and the world poverty, injustice, environmental degradation, war, etc. abound. Lack of food, clean water, medical care, fair wages are the norm for many while power and wealth rest in the hands of the few. Jesus message of the need to reform, of living a life of humility, of service to others, of love for God and neighbor, is easily lost in the noise. Apparently, Jesus’s words, his example are all we are going to get. Gulp.

Luke 11:27 – 29 True Happiness

Luke 11:27 – 29 True Happiness

While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed." He replied, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."

This very short passage is entitled “True Happiness” in my bible. A woman heaps praise upon Jesus calling him blessed along with the one he came from. Jesus answers that true blessedness is found in the one who hears God’s word and keeps it. One without the other will not do. Simply hearing, listening, is not enough. It must bear fruit in action. Understanding, Acceptance and Action. Word and then deed. Simple and straightforward. Amen

Luke 11:14 – 26 Power

Luke 11:14 – 26 Power

He was driving out a demon (that was) mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute person spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that (I) drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. "When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, 'I shall return to my home from which I came.' But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first."

Jesus follows with a few short parables. The first of these is about people questioning the source of his power. Some said, “Only by the power of the Prince of Demons is Jesus able to cast out demons.” Jesus refutes with logic by saying “a house divided against itself will surely fail”. He and the miracles he performs “by the finger of God” are evidence that the kingdom of God is present among them. This is the proof that people were asking for. He cautions his listeners to be wary of the (destructive) power lack of faith and doubt can have in our lives. There is evil in the world. The very person Jesus just cast the devils out of is vulnerable to their return. Those devils are looking for a new home, maybe back with that same individual. We all have our weaknesses. They are hard to overcome and still harder to permanently defeat. Jesus understands our human nature very well. He knows how hard it is to overcome temptation – because he is beset by it himself. Be wary he seems to be saying. Trust in him and he will see us safe.

Luke 11:5 – 13 Asking and Receiving

Luke 11:5 – 13 Asking and Receiving

And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Who among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

Jesus uses a parable to talk about asking and receiving. He gives the example of asking an acquaintance for something in the middle of the night, an inconvenient time to say the least. If you do not get what you need because of the relationship, then you eventually get what you need because of your persistence. Then follows a very famous triplet: Ask and you shall receive, Seek and you will find, Knock and it will be opened to you. First we must make an effort – to ask, to seek, to knock, before anything else happens. Putting yourself out there by asking etc. and persisting, showing you really want it, must happen first before you get anything.

Then Jesus segues to speak of fathers in general and his Father in particular . . . about a father’s loving care for his children. He closes with a question about a specific gift from his Father – something that I almost missed. Jesus says, “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

I need to think about this for a minute. Jesus seems to be drawing a parallel from human fathers giving their children “good gifts”, (fish, eggs, etc.) to God our Father giving us the Holy Spirit. Is the Holy Spirit the “good gift” the Father gives to us for our well-being? What does that mean? I have long had a “thing” for the Holy Spirit, for his importance in our world and in our faith. Is Jesus saying that if I have the Holy Spirit in my life then everything about me should and would be changed? How and why I do things would change, my motivation, my understanding, my accomplishments, my goals, my thoughts, words and deeds? The passage from Galations 5:22 that lists the fruits of the spirits comes to mind: love, joy, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faith, mildness and self control. I think through this passage Jesus is trying to tell us how important the Holy Spirit is to him and to us as we live out our lives. Come Holy Spirit.

Luke 11: 1 – 4 The Our Father Part II

Luke 11: 1 – 4 The Our Father Part II

I want to think more about the Lord’s Prayer as Jesus’ personal prayer to his father – part of an ongoing conversation if you like. It is not only personal, but passionate, a cry from his very heart and soul. First it’s intimacy is astounding. Was this the first time Jesus addressed God as his “father” to the disciples? I don’t know. Certainly, in those days and all through the ages God was a figure of awe and fear to his people . . . definitely not a beloved, caring father. Yet even though Jesus claims God as father, he also acknowledges God’s holiness, his precedence, and his plan to bring about the Kingdom. Then Jesus switches gears, including others, in this case the disciples, in his prayer – “Give us our daily bread, Forgive us our sins” to let us know we are never alone. In the latter case, Jesus I think is letting us know that we can always change our ways, free ourselves of discouragement and move towards healing (ourselves and others) by asking for, receiving and extending forgiveness. I think the final line is a cry right out of Jesus anguish at that moment. He knows what is coming both for himself and for his disciples and he asks that they be passed over. This is a cry from Jesus’ heart right to the heart of God. It’s intimacy and immediacy is remarkable, and humbling. When I think of how I recite this prayer by rote with hardly a thought I am ashamed. But perhaps the way to do better, for me at least, is not to pray that prayer more thoughtfully, but to use it as an example to work toward my own intimate conversation with God.

Luke 11: 1 – 4 The Our Father

Luke 11: 1 – 4 The Our Father

He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test."

The Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father as presented in Luke is a sparse, almost spartan affair. Jesus leaves off all words that are non-essential. It is a direct prayer without any stage-setting or slow build-up.

“Father” The prayer is intimate, addressing God as “Father” – a bold start at least as far as the disciples would be concerned. Jesus’ re-introduction of God as “Father” is huge!
“Hallowed be Thy Name” Jesus acknowledges his Father’s holiness, the appropriateness of honoring and worshiping him.
“Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done” I think this is both a recognition of God’s primacy and a submission to his will. His kingship, his will. . .
“Give us each day our daily bread” Ultimately we acknowledge that we must have faith that God will provide us with what we need. . . in the form of skills, or gifts, whatever.
“Forgive us our sins as we forgive others” Forgiveness is a two-way street in God’s kingdom. We must be as generous with forgiveness for others as God is to us.
“Subject us not to the final test” What does this mean? Is it a recognition that we are only human, that we are weak? Or is it a plea right out of Jesus personal prayer at that time - a prayer that knows the cross is coming with all the agony it will mean for him and his disciples? If this is true then Jesus is encouraging us, after we acknowledge our Father’s holiness and primacy, his care for us (providing for our needs and offering us forgiveness if we forgive others) to bring God into our present and share with him our joys and sorrows, our fears and our hopes.

Luke 10: 38 – 42 Mary and Martha

Luke 10: 38 – 42 Mary and Martha

As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary (who) sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

This is a very famous scripture passage. Martha and Mary are two sisters whose home Jesus is visiting. I’m guessing that Martha is the older sister since she is the one who welcomes Jesus. She then begins to perform all the traditional tasks that hospitality calls for, tasks that keep her busy and away from actually being with her guest. Mary, her sister, upon meeting Jesus immediately dropped everything she was doing and settled at Jesus feet to listen to his words. Martha appears a bit disgruntled – to the point where she asks Jesus to intervene and set Mary straight. She is upset and anxious about many things, Jesus says, when only one thing is required. What do you think Jesus means by this? The many things are the thousand little details of our lives – everything that we busy ourselves with. The one thing is taking advantage of being with the Lord when presented with the opportunity. That could be daily prayer, or Sunday Mass, or monthly Adoration, or the Women or Mary or the Men of St. Joseph. What ways is Jesus calling me to enter into his presence, sit at his feet and listen to his words?

Luke 10: 29 – 37 The Good Samaritan

Luke 10: 29 – 37 The Good Samaritan

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.' Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?" He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

The lawyer who just summarized our entire faith in under 30 words asks another key question: “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus replies with one of his most famous parables, The Good Samaritan. Of the three men who came upon the man in need only one, and that one the least likely, responded. The other two, the priest and the Levite, passed him by. The unlikely person, a Samaritan, was a “neighbor” to the man set upon by robbers. This is a powerful teaching that, as Jesus sees it, all men and women, even the most unlikely pairings, can and should be neighbors to each other. No matter their race, religion, nationality, status, you name it. No one is too high or too low to avoid this designation in Jesus eyes and thus in the Kingdom. What does being neighborly involve? Taking care of one another. The Samaritan went to quite a lot of trouble to help this stranger. First he went out of his way – putting aside his own agenda for that day. He bound up the wounds of the man, lifted him onto his beast, took him to a safe place and saw that he would be cared for. Although he then had to leave, he clearly planned to come back to make sure that the innkeeper was fairly compensated for his part in the rescue. By this I conclude that a neighbor is compassionate, generous, and responsible - regardless of who is in need - even if that person is a stranger to him, and different from him in every way.

Luke 10:25 – 28 The Golden Rule

Luke 10:25 – 28 The Golden Rule

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."

A Lawyer – yes, apparently they had them even in ancient times – posed a very straightforward and important question. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” When Jesus asked him what he thought, the lawyer answered with a succinct summary of the Ten Commandments: You shall love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. This man’s synthesis of the Law bypasses rules and regulations, avoids controls and standards, and skips measurements and judgments. Love God and treat others as you like to be treated. Simple, impossible to misunderstand . . . no owner’s manual or arbiter required. You could carry it around written on your hand and yet it tells you all you need to know. Brilliant!