Mind your own business!

Luke 13:22-30

Jesus went on teaching from town to village, village to town, but keeping on a steady course toward Jerusalem. 23 A bystander said, "Master, will only a few be saved?" He said, 24 "Whether few or many is none of your business. Put your mind on your life with God. The way to life--to God!--is vigorous and requires your total attention. A lot of you are going to assume that you'll sit down to God's salvation banquet just because you've been hanging around the neighbourhood all your lives. 25 Well, one day you're going to be banging on the door, wanting to get in, but you'll find the door locked and the Master saying, 'Sorry, you're not on my guest list.' 26 "You'll protest, 'But we've known you all our lives!' 27 only to be interrupted with his abrupt, 'Your kind of knowing can hardly be called knowing. You don't know the first thing about me.' 28 "That's when you'll find yourselves out in the cold, strangers to grace. You'll watch Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets march into God's kingdom. 29 You'll watch outsiders stream in from east, west, north, and south and sit down at the table of God's kingdom. And all the time you'll be outside looking in--and wondering what happened. 30 This is the Great Reversal: the last in line put at the head of the line, and the so-called first ending up last.

Food for thought

Jesus' answer to the man's question must have come as a shock. With it Jesus declared that entry to the kingdom cannot be taken for granted; it is the result and the reward of a struggle. "Keep on striving to enter," he said, the way to life, to God, to success, to victory, is a struggle. A bystander had said, "Master, will only a few be saved?" Jesus told this man to mind his own business: “Do your best to go in through the narrow door; because many people will surely try to go in but will not be able.

It is easy to look at some people as hell bound and ourselves as heaven bound. Sometimes we think that, once we have made a commitment of ourselves to Jesus Christ, we have reached the end of the road and can, as it were, sit back as if we had achieved our goal. There is no such finality in the Christian life. We must ever be going forward or else we go backward.

Please note the defense of these people was, "We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets." There are those who think that just because they are members of a Church all is well. They differentiate between themselves and the rest. But belonging to some church is not all; going to mass is not all; that is no reason for sitting back content that all is well. Rather, belonging to a church, going to mass should inspire us to be and do more; to struggle to improve what is good to being great.

As Jim Collins says, “Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don't have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don't have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”

Jesus is urging and cautioning us not to take salvation for granted; not to settle for the good, but for the great. He is urging us to keep on struggling; keep on going; keep on walking, and working, and loving, and forgiving, and hoping, and believing. Let us all do like Jesus did: "He went on teaching from town to village, village to town, but keeping on a steady course toward Jerusalem."

Matthew 9:35

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.

Acts 10:38

Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

From nothing to something!

Luke 13:18-21

So Jesus said to them, "To what is the kingdom of God like, and to what will I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and cast into his garden; and it grew until it became a tree, and the birds of the air found a lodging in its branches. Again Jesus said, "To what will I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened."

Food for thought!

Jesus wants his listeners to understand the kingdom of God. For him, the kingdom of God is like, that is, is similar to the mustard seed. The kingdom of God is not the mustard seed, and the mustard seed is not the kingdom of God. But the dynamics of the kingdom of God are like those of a mustard seed; although the two realities are different, they are similar.

The grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is very small, grows up and becomes formidable tree, that puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade. Though very small, when the mustard seed is sown upon the ground, grows into something very big indeed, which welcomes and accommodates other creatures. Jesus is saying that from its small beginnings comes great endings. This is the gist or essence of the parable of the mustard seed.

Again Jesus said, "To what will I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened."

As we might know, behind all things there is a leaven, there is an idea or ruling principle. We all have it; we are all driven by something. There is some idea or philosophy or principle or force that drives us in what we do. As it has been stated by others, there is a ruling principle for each one of us. We may not know it, but it is there. There is a guiding force, a controlling assumption, a directing conviction behind everything that happens. It may be unspoken; it may be unknown to many; most likely it’s never called by any name. But it is there, influencing every aspect of our life.

We do not see the leaven working but all the time it is fulfilling its function. We too, don't and can't see the change and transformation at work; it is as if nothing is happening in us. Jesus assures us that, like a seed growing, like yeast in flour, the change and growth are there, day and night. This is what Paul told us in Rom 8:22-26

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. 23 These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. 24 That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. 25 But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. 26 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans.

Jesus is our peace!

Luke 6:12-16

At that time Jesus went up a hill to pray and spent the whole night there praying to God. 13 When day came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter) and his brother Andrew; James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15 Matthew and Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon (who was called the Patriot), 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became the traitor.

Food for thought!

Jesus needs all of us. This passage reminds us that Jesus can and does use all of us. As we look at the kind of men Jesus chose and used in those days, it gives us hope in these days. If Jesus can use men like those he used and in the manner that He did, then surely He can use you and me in these days.

Jesus chose a very mixed group. In it the two extremes met. Matthew was a tax-collector and, therefore, an outcast; he was a renegade and a traitor to his fellow countrymen. Simon the Cananaean was a Zealot; and the Zealots were a band of fiery, violent nationalists who were pledged even to murder and assassination to clear their country of the foreign rulers; today we call such as these terrorists. Between Matthew and Simon there were all kinds of backgrounds and opinions, there are all of us. Only Jesus can bring us together and keep us together.

Judging them by worldly standards the men Jesus chose had no special qualifications at all. They were not wealthy; they had no special social position; they had no special education--they were not trained theologians; they were not high-ranking churchmen and ecclesiastics; they were twelve ordinary men. But they had two special qualifications.

The fact that Jesus was able to use these men with all their weaknesses and failures lets me know that he can use us too. These men lacked spiritual understanding. They lacked humility. They lacked faith. They lacked commitment. They lacked power. These men were always getting into trouble; missing the point or Christ’s teachings; saying the wrong thing; walking away from their commitment to Jesus; among other failures and problems. Despite their weaknesses, the Lord used these men to turn the world upside down for His glory. If he can use them, surely he can use us too! That gives me and you hope today!

With these men, Jesus set a precedent of looking, not so much for extraordinary people, as for ordinary people who can do ordinary things extraordinarily well. Jesus sees in everybody, not only what that man or woman is, but also what he can make him or her. Jesus chose these men, not only for what they were, but also for what they were capable of becoming under his influence and in his power. Yes, under Jesus you and I can become different and can make a difference in your world.

Iatrogenic Sinners!

Luke 18: 9-14 

9-12 Jesus told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the rest of the people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’

13 “Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ‘God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’” 14 Jesus commented, “This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”

Food for thought!

Have you ever heard of "Iatrogenic"? Well, it refers to a disease or illness that is contracted in the process of being treated by a physician. The physician treats you for one sickness, but the treatment, while healing you of that one sickness, makes you ill with another. Iatros, physician (or healer); genic, origin. So, iatrogenic, a disease or illness that originates in the process of being healed.

Today, Jesus is teaching us of a similar thing. The Christian church is a Holy place, where salvation is proclaimed and sins forgiven; we go to churches to be healed, be forgiven, be cleansed, be inspired, etc. This said, our churches can also be places where we sin.

Today's gospel says that Jesus "told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people." Please, notice that the setting is a holy place, a temple or church.  “Two men went up to the Temple to pray! 

It is the only story Jesus told that is set in a place of worship. All his other stories take place in nonreligious settings, farms and suppers and weddings, and use mostly a nonreligious vocabulary from the workplace world. This one is different: it all happens inside a church. Both Pharisee and tax man have entered a church to pray. That is what churches are for. People go to church for many of the wrong reasons. The right reason for going to church is to pray.  

Back to Iatrogenic disease. There is one form of sin that flourishes in churches among religious people; it begins and flourishes in places of worship. Religious or holy places provide the conditions for this spiritual disorder, this sin, to happen. The common name for the sin is self-righteousness. This is Jesus placed this story inside a temple; and he told it to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else. 

In order to take root, the sin of righteousness requires the soil of a community in which righteousness is honoured and pursued. Without a community in which righteous ways are practiced, self-righteousness would not be possible; there are some sins simply not accessible to the non-Christian, the person outside the faith. Only men and women who become Christians are capable of and have the opportunity for some sins, with self-righteousness at the top of the list.

The Pharisee in the story is a picture of many of us in the church. Everyone who sees us thinks we are pure, holy and righteous. We have convinced everyone that we are the epitome of righteousness, holiness and virtue. We have even convinced ourselves that we are right and everyone around us who is not exactly like us is wrong.

The second man, a tax-collector, is a picture of another kind of people in our churches. These are the people who do not act like we think they should. They might not dress like we think they should. They might not do things and say things just like we think they should; these people are often looked down on by the other people who think they are more spiritual.

This parable unmistakably tells us certain things about prayer.

(i) No man who is proud can pray. The gate of heaven is so low that none can enter it save upon his knees. 

(ii) No man who despises his fellow-men can pray. In prayer we do not lift ourselves above our fellow-men. We remember that we are one of a great army of sinning, suffering, sorrowing humanity, all kneeling before the throne of God's mercy.

(iii) True prayer comes from setting our lives beside the life of God; not comparing ourselves with other people. No doubt all that the Pharisee said was true. He did fast; he did meticulously gave tithes; he was not as other men are; still less was he like that tax-collector. But the question is not, "Am I as good or bad as that man or woman?" The question is, "Am I as good as Jesus?" If and when we look at ourselves through the eyes of Jesus, we will say like the tax collector, "God be merciful to me, the sinner."

For further Reading: Eugene Peterson, "The Word Made Flesh." 

Luke 13:1-9

Luke 13:1-9

Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’

He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’

Food for thought!

Today, we have a parable that is at one and the same time lit by grace and full of warnings.

(i) The parable reminds us that we will be judged according to the opportunities we had in life. All of us and each one us was given much, was equipped for productivity and success. The Bible says, "God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:27). In other words, we have the image and likeness of God and yet sometimes we behave like we have the image and likeness of beasts. Never was a generation entrusted with so much as ours and, therefore, never was a generation so answerable to God.

(ii) The parable teaches that uselessness invites disaster. The tree was given all it needed to grow, and yet did not produce expected fruits. This is why the most searching question we all have to make to ourselves is "Of what use are we in this world? What difference have we made in this life?"

(iii) Further, the parable teaches that nothing which only takes out can survive. The fig-tree was drawing strength and sustenance from the soil; and in return was producing nothing. That was precisely its sin. In the last analysis, there are two kinds of people in this world--those who take out more than they put in, and those who put in more than they take out. Where do you belong?

(vi) In one sense we are all in debt to life. We came into it at the peril of someone else's life; and we would never have survived without the care of those who loved us. As you know, man is the weakest animal at birth. Many beasts can survive on their own immediately at birth, but not man. Without our mother, none of us would have survived. After carrying us for nine month, our mother carried us, fed us, washed us, educated us, etc. That is why we must  be grateful to our mothers, and must be mothers to some one; we must give life and living to others. Each one of us must pass on to others what she or he got; we must put into life at least as much as we take out.

(v) The parable tells us of the gospel of the second chance. A fig-tree normally takes three years to reach maturity. If it is not fruiting by that time it is not likely to fruit at all. But this fig-tree was given another chance. It is always Jesus' way to give us chance after chance. God is infinitely kind to those who fall and rise again; with God there is always a second chance.

(vi) But the parable also makes it quite clear that there is a final chance. If we refuse chance after chance, if God's appeal and challenge come again and again in vain, the day finally comes, not when God has shut us out, but when we by deliberate choice have shut ourselves out. God save us from that!

Use your brains!

Luke 12:54-59

54-56 Then he turned to the crowd: “When you see clouds coming in from the west, you say, ‘Storm’s coming’—and you’re right. And when the wind comes out of the south, you say, ‘This’ll be a hot day’—and you’re right. Frauds! You know how to tell a change in the weather, so don’t tell me you can’t tell a change in the season, the God-season we’re in right now.

57-59 “You don’t have to be a genius to understand these things. Just use your common sense, the kind you’d use if, while being taken to court, you decided to settle up with your accuser on the way, knowing that if the case went to the judge you’d probably go to jail and pay every last penny of the fine. That’s the kind of decision I’m asking you to make.”

Food for thought!

Jesus expects us to use our mind and intellect. He says, “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky.” In other words, you know how to use your eyes and your minds to draw right conclusions when it comes to the natural world. So he approves of their use of empirical observation and rational deliberation. In fact, it’s precisely this approval that makes the following disapproval valid.

He says at the end of verse 3, “But you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” And when he says, “You cannot,” he does not mean you don’t have the sensory and rational capacities to do what needs to be done. We do in fact have the sensory and rational capacities to do what needs to be done.

We are very adept at observation and deliberation when it comes to getting along in this world. Why then can’ we use those same faculties to interpret the signs of the times? Answering this question will open a window on how faith and reason are connected. Why do we, with all our reasoning abilities, not able to use them to come to faith in Jesus. What’s wrong? Why is their thinking working so well at the natural level but so badly when it comes to perceiving spiritual things? Why not judge for ourselves what is right? Wonders Jesus.

What Jesus says is that we do have all it takes to understand, and that we are perfectly able to use our senses and our minds to make valid judgments when we are trying to draw conclusions about what we want. Our minds are in full gear to think clearly about sunrise and sunset. But not so when it comes to thinking clearly about Jesus.

“You don’t have to be a genius to understand these things. Just use your common sense, the kind you’d use if, while being taken to court, you decided to settle up with your accuser on the way, knowing that if the case went to the judge you’d probably go to jail and pay every last penny of the fine. That’s the kind of decision I’m asking you to make.”

I've come to disrupt and confront!

Luke 12:49-53

49 Jesus said to his disciples, "I've come to start a fire on this earth -- how I wish it were blazing right now! 50 I've come to change everything, turn everything rightside up-- how I long for it to be finished! 51 Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I've come to disrupt and confront! 52 From now on, when you find five in a house, it will be three against two, and two against three; 53 Father against son, and son against father; Mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; Mother- in- law against bride, and bride against mother- in- law."

Food for Thought:

Jesus knew all about his life; he knew what would happen, when it would happen, how it would happen, and why it would happen. "I have," he said, "a terrible experience through which I must pass; and life is full of tension until I pass through it and emerge triumphantly from it." The cross was ever before his eyes; his passion and death was always before his eyes.

We too, have to go through hardships before getting the results we need; things normally get worse before they get getter. If your life is going to get better, you'll have to make some sacrifices; you will have to go through hardships. There's simply no way to the top that does not include climbing. 

That's why we don't concentrate on hardships, but on the good results. Remember this, obstacles are what we see whenever we take our eyes off the goal. If you're afraid of hardships and terrible experiences, you'll never accomplish great things.  You can improve your life, if you too drink the cup like Jesus.

One of the terrible experience to go through will inevitably be your dear ones, some of whom may object to your aspirations; sometimes our people are the greatest obstacle in the realization of our dreams. You will have to decide whether you love more your dear ones or Christ; whether you love more comfort or hardships, whether you follow Christ through a Good Friday or follow Judas Iscariot who wanted easy money without a struggle; he eventually killed himself.

Following Christ's (hard) way is a choice we have to make. This choice many times implies division, estrangement and opposition, sometimes even from our dearest people. He says, Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I've come to disrupt and confront! We must ready ourselves for rough ride.

Like Jesus, we sometimes have to take social risks and do things that others might disapprove of. That is not easy. Society frowns on disagreeableness. As human beings we are hardwired to seek the approval of those around us. Yet a radical and transformative thought goes nowhere without the willingness to challenge convention. “If you have a new idea, and it’s disruptive and you’re agreeable, then what are you going to do with that?” says Peterson. “If you worry about hurting people’s feelings and disturbing the social structure, you’re not going to put your ideas forward.”

As the playwright George Bernard Shaw once put it: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

Maximize the present moment!

Luke 12:39-48

39 "You know that if the house owner had known what night the burglar was coming, he wouldn't have stayed out late and left the place unlocked. 40 So don't you be slovenly and careless. Just when you don't expect him, the Son of Man will show up." 41 Peter said, "Master, are you telling this story just for us? Or is it for everybody?" 42 The Master said, "Let me ask you: Who is the dependable manager, full of common sense, that the master puts in charge of his staff to feed them well and on time? 43 44 He is a blessed man if when the master shows up he's doing his job. 45 But if he says to himself, 'The master is certainly taking his time,' begins maltreating the servants and maids, throws parties for his friends, and gets drunk, 46 the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes. 47" The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. 48 But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he'll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!

Food for Thought:

The unwise steward made two mistakes we all so often make.

(i) He said, I will do what I like while my master is away; he forgot that the day of reckoning always comes. We have a habit of dividing life into compartments. There is a part in which we remember that God is present; and there is a part in which we never think of him at all; there are days, moments and places we are godly, and others we are not. We tend to draw a line between sacred and secular; between holy and profane; but if we really know what Christianity means we will know that there is no part of life when the master is away. We are working and living forever in our master's eye. Our Master is never away. God is watching us.

(ii) He said, I have plenty of time to put things right before the master comes; there is nothing so fatal as to feel that we have plenty of time. Jesus said, "We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night comes when no one can work" (Jn.9:4). Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

One of the most dangerous days in a man's life is when he discovers the word "tomorrow." Tomorrow never comes; yesterday never comes back; only today matters. Live it well.

Each new day embodies the fullness of the past, the excitement of the present, and the promise of tomorrow. Each day is a new opportunity for service! “The past is a bucket of ashes, so live not in your yesterdays, nor just for tomorrow, but in the here and now. Keep moving and forget the post-mortems.” — Carl Sandburg. 

Try to hold this simple truth in mind: Yesterday is gone. No matter what happened in the past, it’s over. We cannot go back. Tomorrow may never come, so the present is the moment we have. Let us strive to make the best, most positive use of every precious moment, each special day.

The passage finishes with the warning that knowledge and privilege always bring responsibility; our privileges, our opportunities, our riches, our money, our talents all is responsibility. To whom much is given privileges, opportunities, riches, money, or talents, much will be demanded of him. Sin is doubly sinful to the person who knew better; failure is doubly blameworthy in the person who had every chance to do well.

Are you ready for what you want?

Luke 12:36-38

Jesus said to his disciples: "See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit! Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He’ll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn’t matter what time of the night he arrives; they’re awake—and so blessed!"

Food for Thought!

Jesus has many ways of teaching us. He is the teacher. Today he teaches us the law of life, that Preparedness is the first step to success! Always chance favours the prepared. Opportunity knocks at our doors many more times than we may realize. If the moment of opportunity is not seized, it may be because we don’t recognize it or are unprepared to seize it. For instance, when you get up in the morning, do you greet the day with "Good morning, God!" or "Good God, morning!"?

This is why Jesus tells us to be ready, dressed for action, ready to seize the opportunity when it comes our way. "Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. He’ll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them."

Far too often many of us do not prepare ourselves for success; many people are just not ready for what they want. Many times we only have wishful thinking for our needs. We forget that if we’re not prepared for success, we may find it difficult to hold on to the opportunities that come our way.

As an exercise, ask yourself from time to time what you are really doing to prepare yourself for opportunity. Have you established and become fully committed to your goals? Are you willing not only to cultivate the soil and plant the seed but also to nurture and care for the tender blade and the young ear as it appears? Are you willing to go the extra mile, and give the energy and attention that the opportunity calls for? Are you willing to stand firm with your convictions, your principles? Are you prepared to stand alone if necessary? Have you trained yourself to recognize opportunity when it knocks?

And you never know when it may knock. Opportunity often presents itself in an unexpected form. As Jesus put it, "It doesn’t matter what time of the night he arrives; they’re awake—and so blessed!" Or as Jesus says in Revelation 3:20,

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If any of you hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with you. And you will eat with me."

Song of Solomon 5:2-4

The Woman:

"I was sound asleep, but in my dreams I was wide awake. Oh, listen! It’s the sound of my lover knocking, calling!"

The Man:

"Let me in, dear companion, dearest friend, my dove, consummate lover!

I’m soaked with the dampness of the night, drenched with dew, shivering and cold."

The Woman:

"But I’m in my nightgown—do you expect me to get dressed? I’m bathed and in bed—do you want me to get dirty?"

But my lover wouldn’t take no for an answer, and the longer he knocked, the more excited I became. I got up to open the door to my lover, sweetly ready to receive him."

Keep others in the equation!

Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “tell my brother to divide the family property with me.” Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge or umpire between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against wanting to have more and more things. Life is not made up of how much a person has.”

Then Jesus told them a story. He said, “A certain rich man’s land produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have any place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my storerooms and build bigger ones. I will store all my grain and my other things in them. I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things stored away for many years. Take life easy. Eat, drink and have a good time.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You foolish man! This very night I will take your life away from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“That is how it will be for anyone who stores things away for himself but is not rich in God’s eyes.”

Food for thought!

Last August we had this same gospel. We entitled it, "Keep God in the Equation." We have the same gospel today. And today, we are going to make a small twist to what we said back in August. Today, we are saying that keep others in the equation.

As we said in August, the man in the parable never saw beyond himself; he never saw any human need except his need. This is why he kept saying words as I, me, my and mine; he does not mention other people. The rich fool was indeed self-centred. This man had never thought of sharing with anybody his surplus. His equation did not include other people. He may not have expected a thing from others, but certainly the others expected much from him; the richer you become, the more others expect from you; the greater you become, the greater the people expect from you.

This man not only did not include God in his equation (as we pointed out in August), he also did not include man in his equation; he also ignored completely his neighbour. And this was his and our mistake. This is why Jesus asked him: "who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" This is the question we must ask ourselves every single day: who will get what I have prepared for myself? We should ask it when we get our salary. With whom am I sharing my salary, my money, my time…?

When we share with others our gifts and our blessings, they increase for us and for others, just the loaves and fish of Jesus increased when he shared them. So, what are some of your resources, inner and outer, that you may share with other people? Never say that you are too poor to give, just as never say that you are too rich to need anything from others. We are both poor and rich. Nobody is too poor not to afford to give anything. This is what Jesus was saying when he said, "I assure you that everybody who gives even a cup of cold water to these little ones because they are my disciples will certainly be rewarded." (Mt 10:42). Even the poorest of the poor can afford to give water.

Focus on it by praying over it!

Luke 18:1-8

Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. 2 He said, "There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. 3 A widow in that city kept after him: 'My rights are being violated. Protect me!' 4 "He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, 'I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. 5 But because this widow won't quit badgering me, I'd better do something and see that she gets justice--otherwise I'm going to end up beaten black and blue by her pounding.'" 6 Then the Master said, "Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? 7 So what makes you think God won't step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won't he stick up for them? 8 I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?"

Food for thought!

Jesus told them a story to show them that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit.This is very revealing. Jesus tells the story in order to tell his listeners the need for constant and consistent prayer. You, just imagine: Jesus telling his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. Do we still need Jesus to convince us the need for prayer? In other words, are you convinced that you need prayer? Do you still struggle to pray? Does prayer come naturally to you?

This parable is not liking God to an unjust judge; it contrasts him to such a person. Jesus is saying, "If, in the end, an unjust and rapacious judge can be wearied into giving a widow woman justice, how much more will God, who is a loving Father, give his children what they need?"

The reason why Jesus wants us to pray consistently is simple.  Whatever we focus our attention on increases. If you fix all your attention on something,  you end up getting it. What consistent prayer does is that it fixes our attention on something we are praying for. This is what the woman in the gospel reading did: she never gave up on her desire for justice. Day and night she was always there with her request that justice be made to her. She fixed all her attention on that one thing. Eventually, she got it.

Is there anything you earnestly desire for yourself or for others?  Have always your attention on it. And the best way to do that is by transforming your desire into a prayer. When we pray we focus. Focus brings tremendous power. Without it, you'll often feel drained and unable to accomplish much. With it, you'll find that your talents and abilities gain direction and intentionality. And this will bring you what you want to achieve.

The law of focus is like chasing rabbits.  If you chase many at once, you catch none.  But if you focus on one only, you get it. If so many things clamor for your attention, bend all your energies to one, and pursue it until you get it. Something wonderful happens when we narrow our focus, says John Maxwell, because our mind doesn't reach towards achievement until it has clear objectives.

Sin against the Holy Spirit

Luke 12:8-12

And I tell you, Whoever declares openly [speaking out freely] and confesses that he is My worshiper and acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man also will declare and confess and acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9 But he who disowns and denies and rejects and refuses to acknowledge Me before men will be disowned and denied and rejected and refused acknowledgement in the presence of the angels of God. 10 And everyone who makes a statement or speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit [that is, whoever intentionally comes short of the reverence due the Holy Spirit], it will not be forgiven him [for him there is no forgiveness]. 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the magistrates and the authorities, do not be anxious [beforehand] how you shall reply in defense or what you are to say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour and moment what [you] ought to say.

Food for thought!

The unforgivable sin, which is the sin against the Holy Spirit.

Both Matthew and Mark record that Jesus spoke about this sin immediately after the scribes and Pharisees had attributed his cures to the prince of devils instead of to God see Matt.12:31-32; Mk.3:28-29. These men could look at the very grace and power of God and call it the work of the devil. So, the sin against the Holy Spirit is about calling good evil, treating good as if it was evil; it is refusing to accept the good that others may have.

Why is this so? Why is that the unforgivable sin? Because in such a state repentance is impossible. If a man does not even realize that he is sinning, if goodness no longer makes any appeal to him, he cannot repent. Will he? God has not shut him out; by his repeated refusals he has shut himself out. That means that, he is so dead to God that he is conscious of no sin at all. 

We offend God when we love evil, when we prefer evil to good, when we deliberately refuse to see and acknowledge the good in others. This is what the Pharisees and scribes did with Jesus. They called him agent of Satan. How often do we do the same? The people we dislike we label them as evil I even when they do good, we see their good as evil. This is the sin against the Holy Spirit.

Seventy-two others!

Luke 10:1-9

10 After this the Lord chose seventy-two others and sent them out two by two, to go ahead of him to every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 He said to them, “There is a large harvest, but few workers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest. 3 Go! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. 4 Don't take a purse or a beggar's bag or shoes; don't stop to greet anyone on the road. 5 Whenever you go into a house, first say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ 6 If someone who is peace-loving lives there, let your greeting of peace remain on that person; if not, take back your greeting of peace. 7 Stay in that same house, eating and drinking whatever they offer you, for workers should be given their pay. Don't move around from one house to another. 8 Whenever you go into a town and are made welcome, eat what is set before you, 9 heal the sick in that town, and say to the people there, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near you.’ 

Food for thought!

The Lord selected seventy OTHERS and sent them. This statement is very revealing. It tells that Jesus worked and works, not only with the twelve apostles, but with many others. It is a gross misunderstanding to hold that the Lord worked with only the twelve; that the Lord works only with bishops and priests and nuns. In all times, even in ours, there are the OTHERS, nameless men and women chosen to help Jesus.

As the Gospel says, he "sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go." These people were chosen to represent Jesus. As we know, Jesus never could have been in 35 cities (35 pairs), in the short three years that lasted his ministry. He however, devised a way of multiplying himself, so much so that he did go to 35 places without going there! This is normally called delegation. It means that Jesus also delegated. Why? Because delegation multiplies us. It frees us up to do other things that are a better use of our time and talents.  I wonder what Jesus stayed doing when the 70 went out!

With the 70 others, Jesus teaches us some truths about delegation. First and foremost He is teaching us what we know: we dream alone but we never realize our dreams alone. We need a team; we have to delegate.

In your professional life, do you ever imagine yourself as being part of Jesus' team? Do you know that you're Jesus' delegate whenever you are and go? Do you realize that your ultimate manager is Jesus? Do you ever talk to him about your job, asking him to send you more human resources, more financial resources, more customers, more opportunities? Do you listen when the Lord tells you what to do and how to do it? Do you ever pray at your workplace?

Jesus gave them this charge: "What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands."

Are you feeling overwhelmed by your situation? Do you sometimes feel like a lamb in a wolf pack, that is, surrounded and threatened by adversaries? Do you sometimes feel the Lord is sending you, as he did to 72 disciples,  among wolves, ready to devour you? Well, get on your knees. This is the advice from him who sends you thus. And when you have prayed, when you have been on your knees, when you have prayed about it, get up and go straight and face the very challenge that was threatening you.

It is interesting to note that Jesus, after telling us to pray, he commends us to be careful. In other words, we are not going to be reckless just because we have been on our knees; prayer does not replace carefulness; prayer is not recklessness. Prayer means wakefulness. In other words, as we normally say, trust in God but lock your house or car!

Are we Pharisees!?

Luke 11:47-54

47-51 “You’re hopeless! You build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed. The tombs you build are monuments to your murdering ancestors more than to the murdered prophets. That accounts for God’s Wisdom saying, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, but they’ll kill them and run them off.’ What it means is that every drop of righteous blood ever spilled from the time earth began until now, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was struck down between altar and sanctuary, is on your heads. Yes, it’s on the bill of this generation and this generation will pay.

52 “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars! You took the key of knowledge, but instead of unlocking doors, you locked them. You won’t go in yourself, and won’t let anyone else in either.”

53-54 As soon as Jesus left the table, the religion scholars and Pharisees went into a rage. They went over and over everything he said, plotting how they could trap him in something from his own mouth.

Food for thought!

As you may have noticed, Jesus reserved his harshest words, not for thieves, or prostitutes but to the Pharisees, who he identified as hypocrites. Jesus is committed to exposing these people who claim to represent God and his ways, while not living out what they claim to be. Worse, as Jesus said, these people took away the key of knowledge! They did not in themselves, and prevented others going in who wanted to.’ But who were these people?

The Pharisees were the Religious Fundamentalists of their day. They were very legalistic when it came to keeping the Law of Moses. Most were very well educated in the Jewish law as well as the oral traditions that had been passed down from generation to generation. This is why today's gospel calls them religion scholars!

To Jesus these poeple were men who were religious actors. What he meant was this. Their whole idea of religion consisted in outward observances, the wearing of elaborate garments and vestments, the meticulous observance of the rules and regulations of the Law. But in their hearts there was bitterness and envy and pride and arrogance. To Jesus these Scribes and Pharisees were men who, under a mask of elaborate godliness, concealed hearts in which the most godless feelings and emotions held sway.

That accusation holds good in greater or lesser degree of anybody, including you and me, whose life is on the assumption that religion consists in external observances and external acts. Religion is an act of the heart. The laws and rules and rituals and ceremonies are intended to be manifestations of our heart. When this does not correspond to those, when that which happens in the heart is different from religious laws and rules and rituals and ceremonies, we become mere actors, we become hypocritical.

Perhaps the most frightening thing about the Pharisees is that they were the group of people in the gospels who most closely resembles us. So far as the fundamentals are concerned the Pharisees believed in nearly everything we do. They believed in the inspiration and authority of the Bible (in their case it was of course the Old Testament). They believed in the supernatural, in Satan, angels, heaven and hell, and the resurrection of the dead.

As yesterday in the gospel, when Jesus talks to some people he talks to all of us; when he talks to the Pharisees he talks to us as well.

Master when you speak you insult us too!

When Jesus speaks to you he speaks to me, and vice versa!

Luke 11:42-46

Jesus said, "I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but manage to find loopholes for getting around basic matters of justice and God's love. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. 43 "You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You love sitting at the head table at church dinners, love preening yourselves in the radiance of public flattery. 44 Frauds! You're just like unmarked graves: People walk over that nice, grassy surface, never suspecting the rot and corruption that is six feet under." 45 One of the religion scholars spoke up: "Teacher, do you realize that in saying these things you're insulting us too?" 46 He said, "Yes, and I can be even more explicit. You're hopeless, you religion scholars! You load people down with rules and regulations, nearly breaking their backs, but never lift even a finger to help.

Food for thought!

There is something curious about Jesus: when he speaks to some, he speaks to all. What Jesus speaks to some people is relevant to all peoples. Why so? Because, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account." (Heb 4:12-13)

This is what is happening in today’s Gospel Reading. Jesus is addressing the Pharisees, but as he does so, one of the scribes that is, the religious scholars, jumps in with a personal confession: "Teacher, do you realize that in saying these things you're insulting us too?" It means that as Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, the scribes were getting the message as addressed to them too.

It means that we really cannot hide from Jesus and his word. It means that it is wrong to imagine that what Jesus teaches applies to others and not to us; that it is the others that must change their lives and not ourselves. Yes, like the religion teacher, we do well to admit like he did, “you have insulted us, too, in what you just said; you have touched us too; you have taught us as well.” When Jesus speaks to some, he speaks to all.

When Jesus speaks to you, he speaks to me. When he speaks to me, he speaks to you; when he speaks to women, he speaks to men; when he speaks to men he speaks to women; when he speaks to sinners he speaks to me. When Jesus speaks to Pharisees and to scribes, when he speaks to the people of yesterday and of long ago, he speaks to me and to you and to us all, people of today. To him be praise and honour and glory, both now and forever. Amen.

Lost in details!

Luke 11:37-41

As he spoke, a Pharisee invited Jesus to have a meal with him, so he went in and took his place at the table. 38 The Pharisee was astonished when he saw that Jesus did not first wash his hands before the meal. 39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Didnʼt the one who made the outside make the inside as well? 41 Cleanse the things that are within--and look you--all things will be pure for you.

Food for thought!

The Pharisee was surprised that Jesus did not wash his hands before eating. This was not a matter of hygiene but of the ceremonial law. The law laid it down that before a man ate he must wash his hands in a certain way and that he must also wash them between the courses. First the water must be poured over the hands beginning at the tips of the fingers and running right up to the wrist. Then the palm of each hand must be cleansed by rubbing the fist of the other into it. Finally, water must again be poured over the hand, this time beginning at the wrist and running down to the fingertips. To the Pharisee, to omit the slightest detail of this rite was to sin. Jesus' comment was that, if they were as particular about cleansing their hearts as they were about washing their hands, they would be better men.

Two things stand out about the Pharisees and for these two things Jesus condemned them.

(i) They concentrated on externals. So long as the externals of religion were carried out that was all that mattered. Their hearts might be as black as hell; they might be utterly lacking in charity and even in justice; but so long as they went through the correct motions at the correct time they considered themselves good in the eyes of God.

We may be regular in our church attendance; we may be diligent students of our Bible; we may be generous givers to the church; but if in our hearts there are thoughts of pride and of contempt, if we have no charity in our dealings with our fellow men in the life of the everyday, if we are unjust to our subordinates or dishonest to our employer, we are not Christians. Nobody is a Christian when s/he meticulously observes the conventions of religion and forgets the realities of the Christian life.

(ii) They concentrated on details. Compared with love and kindness, justice and generosity, the washing of hands and the giving of tithes with mathematical accuracy are unimportant details. How often church meetings and church people get lost in totally unimportant details of church government and administration, and even argue and fight about them, and forget the great realities of the Christian life!

God in the ordinary!

Luke 11:29-32

Now as the crowds were [increasingly] thronging Him, Jesus began to say, This present generation is a wicked one; it seeks and demands a sign (miracle), but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah [the prophet]. 30For [just] as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will also the Son of Man be [a sign] to this age and generation. 31The queen of the South will arise in the judgment with the people of this age and generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the [inhabited] earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and notice, here is more than Solomon. 32The men of Nineveh will appear as witnesses at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, here is more than Jonah.

Food for thought!

Great number of people kept coming to Jesus, not to get Jesus but his miracles. Sounds familiar? Many people today go to Jesus not because of Jesus himself but in search of the miracles of Jesus; many go to church not of Jesus but because of someone. This is what Jesus is condemning in the Gospel reading.

People want what is sensational; what is emotional; what is entertaining. This is what Jesus is condemning. "This present generation is a wicked one; it seeks and demands a sign (miracle), but no sign shall be given to it." God comes in the ordinary, just as He did in Jesus of Nazareth. The best way to serve the Lord is to do our ordinary and daily duties extraordinarily well. If we had the eyes of the queen of Sheba or of the people of Nineveh, we would see God all in all the ordinary. Yes, God is not only in the churches but everywhere, including in our offices, homes, streets and neighbourhood.

Long ago, the queen of the South came from the far away just to listen to Solomon; and later the prophet Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh, and because of his sermons, the people repented. In other words, the people were able to go beyond Jonah to whom Jonah represented. The people knew how to go beyond the man of God to the God of the man.

Jesus is saying that he is more than Solomon and Jonah. Jesus is more than kings and prophets. Jesus is God made visible. Jesus "is the image of the unseen God coming into existence before all living things; 16For by him all things were made, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, authorities, lords, rulers, and powers; all things were made by him and for him; 17He is before all things, and in him all things have being." (Col. 1:15-17).

Don't take life for granted. Be thankful!

Luke 17:11-19

11 It happened that as Jesus made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance 13 but raised their voices, calling out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 14 Taking a good look at them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." They went, and while still on their way, became clean. 15 One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. 16 He kneeled at Jesus' feet, so grateful. He couldn't thank him enough--and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus said, "Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? 18 Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?" 19 Then he said to him, "Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you."

Food for thought!

The lepers kept their distance.

This was in accordance to Lev.13:45-46 that stated “Any person with a serious skin disease must wear torn clothes, leave his hair loose and unbrushed, cover his upper lip, and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as anyone has the sores, that one continues to be ritually unclean. That person must live alone; he or she must live outside the camp.

Another injunction was in Num. 5:2 that banned from the community anyone who has an infectious skin disease. It was because of these Old Testament commands that made the lepers stand at a distance, lest they contaminated Jesus and his disciples. In other words, Jesus's healing was not only of the disease; it was of the isolation, discrimination and separation as well. But like many of us, these lepers took their new life for granted.

No story in all the gospels so poignantly shows man's ingratitude. The lepers came to Jesus with desperate longing; he cured them; and nine never came back to give thanks. So often, once we get what we wanted, we never come back.

(i) Often we are ungrateful to our parents. There was a time in our lives when a mother's neglect would have killed us. Of all living creatures man requires longest to become able to meet the needs essential for life. There were years when we were dependent on our parents for literally everything. Yet the day often comes when an aged parent is a nuisance; and many young people are unwilling to repay the debt they owe. As someone once said: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!"

(ii) Often we are ungrateful to our fellow-men. Few of us have not at some time owed a great deal to some fellow-man or woman. It often happens that a friend, a teacher, a doctor, a surgeon does something for us which it is impossible to repay; but the tragedy is that we often do not even try to repay it.

(iii) Often we are ungrateful to God. In some time of bitter need we pray with desperate intensity; the time passes and we forget God. Many of us never even offer a grace before meal, let alone after meal. God gave us his only Son and often we never give to him even a word of thanks.

We need to know the force of being gratitude and thankful. Thanksgiving is a creative force that, if lived on a continuous basis and not just for one day each year, can create more good in your life; take a look at your life and count your blessings. Counting our blessings can transform melancholy into cheerfulness. Even in situations that at first appear difficult or unpleasant, see all the good you can and bless the good you can see! Praise the good and watch it multiply. Learn to give thanks for your problems and challenges.

A second way to experience thanksgiving is to give thanks ahead of time for whatever good you desire in your life. This is what the Samaritan did. And this is why Jesus told him: "Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you."

When looking at the glass that symbolizes our life, we can view it as half full or half empty. The choice is ours. The person who sees the glass as half empty may bemoan his lot. But the person who cultivates an attitude of gratitude will more readily see the glass as half full, and this positive outlook is self-perpetuating. The more joyful we are, the more attractive we become. When we feel gratitude for our experiences, it becomes easier to see the good that always exists. When we give a smile to someone else, we are likely to receive one in return, and that smile reflects a happy heart that is open and receptive to what the good life has in store.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." (Ps.103:2.)