Transitions

There is a dividing line in Scripture. We think it is between the Old and the New Testament. And it is. But Jesus draws the line very specifically at John the Baptist. “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.” Luke 16:16-18

I wonder what is meant by “everyone forcing his way into it”? And what is meant be “the least stroke of the pen to drop out of the Law”? I don’t think Jesus is ‘dissing’ the Law. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17 But I wonder if he was addressing the way the Law was used and added to. There had been thousands of years of refining and defining the Law and the hearts were focused on following the Law to the letter rather than on the God who had given them the Law to guide their living. And in focusing on the Law rather than the Giver of the Law, grace and mercy were lost and judgment of others was rampant.

I wonder if the “forcing his way into it” was people trying to use the Law to get into God’s kingdom rather than accepting God’s grace. They were holding onto everything they had been taught tenaciously while trying to understand what Jesus was teaching and the ‘new wine’ was not going into the ‘old wine skins’ very well. (Matthew 9:17) Both John and Jesus were calling for radical changes in people’s lives. They were calling for a change of heart that didn’t do things because it was the Law but rather because they understood God’s mercy and grace and the expanse of his love for them and they now should extend that mercy and grace and love to others. John says, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same… Don’t collect more than you are required to…Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely…” Luke 3:11-14 Jesus says, “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27

It seems that people were using the Law to excuse themselves from treating others with love rather than understanding God’s love and extending it to their friends, neighbors, and yes, even their enemies.

Jesus tells a story of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Lazarus was covered with sores and was very hungry. He apparently couldn’t even walk as he was laid at the gate of the rich man. But the rich man ignored his needs. Then over time, both died, the beggar going to Abraham’s side and the rich man to hell. The tables have turned and the beggar is comforted and the rich man is in agony. Interestingly, the rich man still thinks of himself as better than the beggar and asks that the beggar come to him and serve him water. “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.” Luke 16:25 When he is told that it is not possible for Lazarus to come to him, he then begs that Lazarus be sent to his brothers and warn them so they will be spared the agony he is in. (He is still asking Lazarus to serve him.) To this Abraham replies, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.” Luke 16:29

It seems to me that Jesus is saying that you can find God’s heart in the Law that was given through Moses and if you listen to the Prophets you can learn how to follow the Law. Moses told us to love God and our neighbors and the Prophets told us to do this with justice and mercy, caring for the poor, the widows, the fatherless.

And Jesus came and showed us over and over God’s heart of compassion, mercy and grace as he related to people, healed the sick and even raised the dead. If I truly am living a life as a disciple of Jesus Christ, I cannot walk over or ignore the beggar at my gate, I cannot ignore the grieving widow, and I cannot look the other way when children are being hurt by abuse or neglect. Whatever blessings I have in this world are not meant for me alone – they are meant to bless others as well. I am simply a manager and my Lord will someday ask me to give an account.

Oh Lord, help me to be faithful – to use what you have given me to show compassion and love to others. Keep teaching me your heart and give me the courage to follow you.

Managing My Wealth

A manager was mismanaging the funds. The rich man who owned the funds heard about it and did an audit asking the manager to give an account of his management. Knowing he was caught and not liking his prospects, he quickly began using the rich man’s wealth to make friends while he still could. He called in some of the people who owed money and reduced their bills. Even though he had been taken by the manager, the master commended his shrewdness. “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” Luke 16:8-9

At first look, it seems that Jesus is saying to use money to buy friends. But since that doesn’t line up with other things Jesus taught, I have to go back and look at that again. Maybe I can come in through the back door and look at what Jesus ties to being welcomed into eternal dwellings.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:34-36

Using my resources to care for others is important to God. Jesus says that is what will separate those whose hearts belong to God from those whose hearts are focused on themselves. So maybe what Jesus is intending here is for us to understand that worldly wealth needs to be left in the world. Use it to help others and Jesus will call you his friend because that is where the heart of God is. Jesus read Isaiah in the temple when starting his ministry, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-19

If we are using our resources to help carry out his mission, he will be pleased with us. Jesus goes on in explaining his parable about wealth. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? Luke 16:10-12

How we handle wealth and resources in this world is an indicator of how we will handle ‘true riches’ which I would take to be eternal life. Is it possible we are building our own mansions in heaven by how we use what God gives us here on earth? In that case, I’m paying very close attention to the widow who gave 2 small copper coins – all she had – because in God’s accounting, she gave more than the rest of them put together. It’s not the physical amount, but the heart that gives it. By giving everything she had, she showed that she fully trusted God to take care of her.

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:13 About the matter of the heart… am I motivated by money or by God? Money in itself is not bad. In fact it is quite useful. But if I make my decisions to keep or have more money and if I use my money to seek power over other people, my heart is not with God’s heart.

“The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.’” Luke 16:14-15

Oh God, keep teaching me your heart. Help me to look at your face as I look into the faces of others who have needs. Help me to respond with a heart fully tuned in to you and trusting you with everything I have because everything I have comes from you and belongs to you.

Parables of the Lost

There were once four people traveling in a car. They were going to see a relative whom they had not visited for many years. The driver was sure the way would become clear as they got closer and indeed began to recognize certain landmarks. But as time went by, it became apparent to the others that the driver was not remembering the way. They were lost. The driver, however, persisted trying this way and that way and driving all around the countryside. Finally after an hour of being lost, the driver gave in to their constant requests to stop and call for help. Once the directions were clear, the four arrived quickly at their destination and there was great rejoicing. Those who are familiar with the area don’t need maps or directions to find their way around. But those who are lost are the ones who need the help.

There was once a sheep that wandered away from the rest of the flock. When the shepherd counted and noticed one was missing, he went looking for the sheep and didn’t stop until he found it. Then there was great rejoicing. The rest of the sheep that had stayed close were safe. It was the lost one who needed help and the shepherd went after it.

Once a woman had ten silver coins. One day, she noticed she had lost one. It greatly concerned her and she searched high and low, cleaning places she hadn’t cleaned in a long time, until she found the coin. There was great rejoicing for the one that was lost was valuable and was found. Friends and neighbors celebrated with her.

There was once a young man who said to his father, “Why don’t you go ahead and die already? I want my inheritance.” His father divided the estate between him and his brother and the young man took his wealth and left home. He enjoyed himself and had many ‘friends’ as long as he had money. But when the money ran out, he became destitute and without friends. When he found himself feeding hogs and wishing he could eat their food (forget kosher, he was starving) he remembered he had a father who treated his servants way better than that. Maybe he could crawl home and his father would hire him. So he set off for home. His father had been very sad since the son left and longed for him to come home. He scanned the horizon every day watching for him. One day as he was scanning the horizon, he saw someone approaching. Could it be him? Yes! It was his son. He ran to meet him and threw his arms around his dirty, ragged, starving son. He welcomed him home and threw a huge banquet to celebrate.

In each of these cases, the lost is found and there is great celebration. Okay, I just threw the first one in there. It’s not in the Bible. I was just trying to get a handle on the idea of lost and found. Jesus told his first two stories as a warm up. They show us how he notices and looks for the lost. All three stories show us how much celebration occurs when the lost are found.

But wait. There is more. In the third story, Jesus addresses the Pharisees and teachers of the law who are standing there muttering about him hanging out with sinners and tax collectors – the scum of society. There is a jealous older brother who has been a model son, working hard, being obedient, taking care of his aging father. Why on earth would his father throw a party for his younger brother who had been living lower than low after squandering half of the family wealth? He shouldn’t even let him come home. And all this time that he has been helping his father, there was never a party celebrating how good he was doing. He is throwing a hissy fit and won’t even come to the party.

The father loves the older brother too. In fact, he says, “You are always with me and everything I have is yours.” Luke 15:31 We never hear the older brother’s response to this. What we hear is the father’s heart rejoicing in the lost being found, in his son coming home. The older brother was totally missing the father’s love for him. He saw himself as a slave or servant of his father. I wonder what he thought when his father said, “Everything I have is yours.” Here he could have thrown his own party anytime and he was so busy being the perfect son he didn’t realize it.

I wonder what the Pharisees and teachers of the law were thinking at this time. I wonder if they pondered what Jesus was saying and saw their ‘older brother behavior’ toward the sinners and tax collectors. I wonder if they thought about how much they were missing because they didn’t realize that they already had everything. I wonder if they thought about how hard they work to obey all the laws and live ‘above’ the scum and not associate with the scum of the earth.

And then I wonder if I have some older brother in me. I grew up in a faith-filled home, was read the Bible before I could read and have read the Bible ever since. I have gone to church regularly all my life and tried to keep the Sabbath. I don’t lie, cheat or steal. I don’t murder or commit adultery. Do I look down my nose at those who do? Do I make it impossible for them to come back because they had their chance and they blew it? Or do I stand with my Father scanning the horizon for those who have lost their way who might be trying to return? Do I stand with my Father opening my arms wide to embrace those who return? Do I celebrate with the angels in heaven when they return?

We have a Shepherd who notices if we are missing and looks for us. We have a Father who runs to meet us if we make just the smallest effort to come to him. We have a chorus of angels in heaven rejoicing when we come to our senses and return to the One who loves us. Can we stand with him and do the same for those who are lost?

Hate is a Nasty Word

Jesus is addressing large crowds who have been following him around when he says something that confuses me. I either skip over it fast or struggle deeply with it.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26-27 At first read, it seems inconsistent with the character and teachings of Christ. An explanation would be nice here.

The explanation that follows is about counting the cost. We don’t build anything without first planning – designing, material availability and cost, cost of labor, permits, etc. And kings don’t go to war without counting their resources – number of trained soldiers, weapons – and being confident they can win the battle. They may choose to negotiate peace if they don’t think they can win a war. “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33

I’m wondering… When I use the word hate, it is usually not directed at people but at behaviors or incidents like, “I hate it when the basement floods and I have to clean everything up and dry it out.” And Jesus definitely teaches us to love even our enemies when it comes to people. So I’m thinking that we have another interpretation issue here. What does Jesus mean by the word ‘hate’? How can it be consistent with his other teachings?

Most often, he uses the word hate when he is saying that others will hate us if we are his followers. In this case, he is telling us to hate specifically those who are closest to us, those who nurture and encourage us in life and even our own lives. I’m pretty sure that he doesn’t mean for us to walk around shoving our own and family member’s heads into walls or throwing them down and stomping on them.

As I ponder this, I believe Jesus means more of a letting go of those he tells us to hate. In our natural state, we tend to put those we love first in our priorities of life. We protect ourselves above all. When we make decisions, we hear their voices in the back of our minds (sometimes in the front) and we regard our perceived needs and the needs of those we love as primary. I think Jesus is saying that we need to make him our focal point if we are going to be his disciples. If he calls us to go into foreign missions or move across the country, our decision cannot be based on not wanting to be far from family or not wanting to move the children into a different school system. Surely we care about those things, but if we trust God completely we will trust him to work things out and follow him.

While we love our families dearly, we cannot exclude others Jesus brings to us to be nurtured in their faith. We may be called to open our homes to homeless, to foster children, to struggling teenagers, or despondent neighbors. Will we fear for our children and refuse to do what God is calling us to do?

The bottom line is trust. Do we trust God enough to lay our lives and the lives of those we love on the line?

Jesus ends this discourse with, “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is neither fit for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Luke 14:34-35 At first glance, this seems like it is totally unrelated to the previous thoughts. But then, as I wonder about it, it seems that he might be referring to those who start out thinking they will be disciples and then decide it’s too hard and turn away. It follows his thoughts on counting the cost of being a disciple. Someone who starts out and then quits loses their effectiveness.

Most of us want so much to walk in the middle. We adore Christ and encourage and even financially support those who go into missions, but we like staying comfortable – taking care of our families and building a good retirement account so we can relax and vacation the last 20-30 years of our lives. I wonder if Christ is calling us to a deeper trust and a deeper commitment to following him.

Lord, open my ears to hear your voice and give me the courage to follow you – wherever you lead me.