A Slam Dunk

Two weeks ago I wrote a piece called "Recognition." It talked about our ability to recognize who Jesus is with our hearts as we go about our lives, always busy and always focused on everything, except this Lord who laid his life down for us. In that piece, it talked about those during Christ's time on earth, who seemed to have an instant recognition of Jesus as the Christ without a miracles as proof.

Once again in the passage of Luke for today we are dealing with recognition. Many times Jesus asked his disciples questions, but here in Luke 9: 7-27 we hear probably the most important question that Jesus ever asks of his disciples or of any of us: "Who do you say that I am?" 

So often when we are with people who are non-believers, or with those who are seekers but have not found the truth, or with those who have a thin veil of faith, or with  those who attend a church but are clearly more involved in the ritual without the substance of knowing Christ in their heart, we want to ask them this question: "Do you believe in Jesus as the Son of God?" Their answers may vary but often it is a  "yes" with all sorts of "but's…"  because they want to qualify their interpretation of Jesus as a great teacher, or a wonderful rabbi, or an extraordinary  philosopher, or a profound thinker, or a great man, or  a powerful religious person etc.  None of which describes who He truly was or is.

In stating this, I can hear those out there, many who are either in liberal and culturally adaptive churches who would disagree and argue with me. They would see nothing wrong in allowing anyone to believe however they wish to interpret Jesus.  In their estimation, I would be some sort of poor, pathetic non-intellectual, who cannot see Jesus with objectivity or "diversity" because I accept what Jesus said of himself: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51 " I and the Father are one." John 10:30

So here really is the mandate, as I see it, in our thinking. The key question to pose to anyone- to the devout or to the those lacking any faith-- is not simply " do you believe in Jesus as the Son of God" but rather the more personal and introspective, right to the heart of that matter  question that Jesus asked of his own twelve followers: "Who do YOU say I am?"  Then before answering it, let it settle in your heart and soul. It is that important. It is not a survey question. It is THE question.

It calls to mind what C.S. Lewis stated so well in his book Mere Christianity: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."  

Jesus  did not open the door to diverse interpretation of himself. He said "I am who I said I am." With the question posed to us in our faith, "who do you say I am," there has to be an answer that is at the heart of truth and at the very bottom line of our soul. If we cannot answer as directly and without hesitation as Peter did, then we need to re-examine where we are in the Christian faith.

Laurie Erdman

 

 

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More Than Superstition

Luke 8:40 - 9:6

I’ve studied the account of this bleeding woman many times, and it is one of the most powerful narratives in Scripture for me. A woman, bleeding for twelve years, has desperately tried everything to find a cure. Other gospels tell us she spent everything she had on doctors, but only got worse. But one day, she hears that Jesus is coming to town. She knows she’s not allowed to touch other people because her bleeding makes her unclean, but she must make her way into this mob of people in hopes of getting close to Jesus. She doesn’t want to make a scene, but she’s convinced that if she could just reach out and touch the tassels on Jesus’ cloak (or prayer shawl), that she would be healed.

Why did she think touching Jesus clothes would heal her? These tassels were reminders of the 613 commandments of the Torah. The tassels hung on the fringe (or wings) of the garment, and had come to represent Messianic power, like that described in Malachi 4:2, “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings.”

This woman knew that Jesus was her only hope, and her compulsion to reach out and touch these tassels suggest that she believed Jesus was the Messiah, not just a miraculous healer. Jesus calls her out of the crowd, “Who touched me?” Afraid of rebuke for getting too close to people in her condition, she hesitates, but eventually comes forward. Jesus, making sure she doesn’t leave and one day convince herself that his clothes were magic, meets with her face to face, affirms her faith in him, and calls her out from her shame, saying, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

The images we see of Jesus in this text reveal a Messiah who can do impossible things, for nothing is impossible with God. Raising a little girl from the dead and healing a woman who has been bleeding and suffering for years, these are things only God could do. Jesus is God in the flesh, the resurrection and the life. And as we begin chapter 9 at the end of this reading, we see that Jesus bestows this soul-saving power on his followers. We have been given this same power and authority in the Holy Spirit to take the gospel – the power of God for salvation – to the people around us and throughout the world. Then they, too, can experience the impossible work of God to bring life to people dead in their sins and accomplish for them what no doctor or philosopher or person can – the healing of their souls.

Living With Fear

I am struck by the common thread of fear in the two stories from Luke 8 today.  The disciples were afraid that Jesus would not save them from a powerful storm, and then the townspeople were overcome with a "great wave of fear" after Jesus saved a demon-possessed man from a life of torture and misery.   Like these people, are we sometimes afraid that Jesus won't act in our lives, at the same time we are afraid that He will?  We seem to want to have it both ways - for God to act when we ask, and stay silent when we do not.    In the midst of our personal storms, we plead for God to intervene, as we should. " Master, Master....mend my marriage...save my job...rescue my children....help me.   You're mighty, Jesus; I know you can do anything because even the wind and the waves obey You.  Please show that power in my life."   Whether we like to admit it or not, we also occasionally ask God to stay silent.  "Lord, I know this person I'm dating is not a believer, but I still want this relationship to work.....they don't know I'm a Christian at school, so please don't ask me to share my faith....if I refuse to take part in that questionable deal at work, I might lose my job.  I just want my life to be easy, Lord...please don't ask too much of me."    God's mercy, authority, righteousness and purpose never change.  They do not change with my circumstances, and He does not need my permission to intercede in my life.  Sometimes, He miraculously calms the storms in and around me, and sometimes He does not.  Other times He allows my comfort or sense of entitlement to fall away and I feel like the farmers did while watching their 'security' go over the edge of a cliff.  His ways are not my ways - will I trust Him with my fear?  Or will I follow the example of the townspeople and ask Him to go away and leave me alone?   Psalm 27:1 says "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?"   This day, and every day for that matter, God asks me to allow His perfect love to cast out my fears.  Whether He acts on my behalf or not...when He asks much of me or little.....I will still trust Him.  Of whom, or of what, shall I be afraid?   Karen

Privilege and Responsibility

Parable has been defined as “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning”.  Why do you think it was that Jesus often used parables?  You might think – “Well, everyone loves a story!”  True!  It is also true that we learn lessons when they come to us in story form.  Quote: “Good story telling is like painting a picture on the canvas of the mind of another person.  They see it!”  verse 18  This gives us some additional insight into lessons Jesus taught.  He acknowledge His family members, but He went beyond that to teach each of us that when we believe in Him as Savior & Lord, we are a part of His family!  Think about that!  How does that make you feel right now?  Note the close relationship between privilege and responsibility as taught in so many ways and places in the Bible and in our faith experience.  Ask yourself, “Am I expecting privilege without wanting responsibility?”

 

Donald E. Pardun

By Invitation Only

Luke 7:36 - 8:3

I have to admire this woman for her boldness.

I picture Simon the Pharisee's home, the warm lamp-light shining through the windows, and standing near, feeling very much an outsider, this woman looking in at a place she was not invited.

She knows that her Lord is inside, and she probably imagines that Jesus is among his kind, in a place he belongs, discussing all the important philosophical questions.

But she knows that Jesus isn't like the Pharisees. She knows that he is different. And though bursting in on this scene, interrupting this important dinner with important men, is sure to bring her nothing but scorn, she is compelled to do it.

Had she not taken it upon herself to boldly approach Jesus, who would have invited her in?

What kind of barriers do we put in place that keep seekers from getting to Jesus? Do we sit behind a wall of social status that makes the outsiders feel uninvited?

I suspect this dinner gathering wasn't as warm and friendly as it might have appeared from the outside. The Pharisees weren't so sure about Jesus. And while Simon may have been genuinely open to hearing what Jesus had to say, he retreated behind his barrier of pride as soon as this woman burst onto the scene.

Jesus, he reasoned, must not be much of a prophet if he doesn't know that this woman is a sinner. Jesus' status was certainly decreased in Simon's eyes.

Jesus says that this woman loved much because she had been forgiven much. But those who are forgiven little, love little.

We love little when we are unaware of our status. We imagine our status to be one of righteousness, but our status is exactly the same as this woman's. We sin much, and we have been forgiven much.

When we begin to understand this, when we finally become aware of our true status -- the status we all share -- we will love Jesus very much.

We are all outsiders. But we are not uninvited.


Drew Clausen

Tell Me Again

Luke 7:11-35

"Should we keep looking for someone else?"

Yes, John, ask it for all of us! Ask it for me. Do I really know that I know that I know that Jesus is the One? Just tell me again Jesus that You are the answer, my answer, promised Messiah, the One who makes me right with God.

In our reading today, we hear Jesus' affirmation, "I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John." Not Luther? Nor St. Patrick? Not Billy G. or St. Theresa?! No, none greater than John. And yet, just verses before we see John call his own disciples and send them to Jesus to ask Him, "Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?" (vv. 19,20)

Should we keep looking for someone else?

The greatest who ever lived, who KNEW Jesus was the One when he baptized Him in the Jordan!, the one who even as an unborn child FELT it in his gut and leaped for joy that he was in presence of the Divine! -- still like me, with evidence completely enveloping me (v22) that Jesus is who He says He is, please Jesus today, at your Supper, this Easter morning... just tell me again.

-PPaul

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