As well as certain women!

Luke 8:1-3

After that, Jesus travelled through the country, town by town, and village by village, preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, as well as certain women, who had been cured from evil spirits and from illnesses. There was Mary, who is called Mary Magdalene, out of whom there went seven devils, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, who was Herod's agent, and Susanna and many others. It was their habit to minister to their needs out of their resources.

Food for thought!

Jesus is on the road. The synagogues were not now open to him, as once they had been. He had begun, as it were, in the church, where any man with a message from God might expect to find a responsive and receptive audience. Instead of a welcome he had found opposition; instead of eager listeners he had found the scribes and Pharisees bleakly waiting to catch him out; so now he took to the open road and the hillside and the lake shore.

And Jesus is not alone. Besides men, this passage lists a little group of women who served him out of their resources. But, as with the disciples, so with these women, we cannot fail to see how mixed a company they were. There was Mary Magdalene, that is Mary from the town of Magdala, out of whom he had cast seven devils. Clearly she had a past that was a dark and terrible thing. There was Joanna. She was the wife of Chuza, the official who looked after the king's financial interests. It is an amazing thing to find Mary Magdalene, with the dark past, and Joanna, the lady of the court, in the one company.

It is one of the supreme achievements of Jesus that he can enable the most diverse people to live together without in the least losing their own personalities or qualities. Only Jesus can make the lion lie down with the lamb, as Isaiah prophesied:

Isa 11:6-8

6 The wolf will romp with the lamb, the leopard sleep with the kid. Calf and lion will eat from the same trough, and a little child will tend them.

7 Cow and bear will graze the same pasture, their calves and cubs grow up together, and the lion eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child will crawl over rattlesnake dens, the toddler stick his hand down the hole of a serpent.

This text is too lightly interpreted. It is constantly assumed ... that when the lion lies down with the lamb the lion becomes lamb-like. But that is brutal annexation and imperialism on the part of the lamb. That is simply the lamb absorbing the lion instead of the lion eating the lamb. The real problem is --Can the lion lie down with the lamb and still retain his royal ferocity? That is the issue; that is the miracle Jesus achieved and achieves. He can make different people live in harmony together. Jesus is our peace.

In this list of women we have a group whose help was practical. Being women, at that time as like today, they would not be allowed to preach; but they gave the gifts they had. They helped Jesus in his ministry. Yes, in the company of every great man, there is a great woman. Even in the company of Jesus there were great women. It is not always the person in the foreground who is doing the greatest work. Many a man could hardly survive one week without the help of a woman in his company! Many women today are in the background, unseen but essential to us men.  GOD said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion." (Gen. 2:18)

None of us will judge any of us!

Luke 7:36-50

36 One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee's house and sat down at the dinner table. 37 Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume 38 and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him." 40 Jesus said to him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Oh? Tell me." 41 "Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. 42 Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker cancelled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?" 43 Simon answered, "I suppose the one who was forgiven the most." "That's right," said Jesus. 44 Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, "Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. 45 You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn't quit kissing my feet. 46 You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. 47 Impressive, isn't it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal." 48 Then he spoke to her: "I forgive your sins." 49 That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: "Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!" 50 He ignored them and said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."

Food for thought

How much extravagant are you with Jesus? How much are you ready to do for love of Jesus? Look at this woman's extravagancy. She took the most precious thing she possessed and spent it all on Jesus. Love is not love if it calculates the cost. Love gives its all and its only regret is that it has not still more to give. What is most expensive to you?

"She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. This is the verdict that Jesus made of the woman!" GRATEFULNESS!

Do you awaken every morning with a song of praise on your lips? Do you feel full of appreciation for life as you live it every day? Or, do you have to think long and hard before finding something to be grateful for? Someone once said, “A grateful mind is a great mind which eventually attracts to itself great things.” An old adage states that “where your attention goes, your energy flows.” This means we tend to attract that to which we give our attention. The more good you can see and praise, the more you direct creative energy to positive results. So, practice waking up each day with an inherent expectation of good and with a wonderful feeling of thanksgiving for life itself. Your days will be filled with exciting adventures.

Be like Jesus. Even in situations that at first appear difficult or unpleasant, see all the good you can and bless the good you can see! Focus on the good and watch it multiply. While the Pharisee was seeing evil in the woman's act, Jesus was seeing goodness: "When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him.'" Jesus on the other hand said: "Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. 45 You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn't quit kissing my feet. 46 You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. 47 Impressive, isn't it?"

Some people are like the Pharisee; they only see evil in others' acts. But at the end of the day, who can and does judge all is Jesus, not man. It is only Jesus who will judge all of us. None of us will judge any of us. Thank God.

Jesus eats and drinks!

Luke 7:31-35

"How can I account for the people of this generation? 32 They're like spoiled children complaining to their parents, 'We wanted to skip rope and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk but you were always too busy.' 33 John the Baptizer came fasting and you called him crazy. 34 The Son of Man came feasting and you called him a lush. 35 Opinion polls don't count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating."

Food for thought!

Today's words of Jesus tells of the perversity of our heart. John had come, living with a hermit's austerity, and some people had said that he was too much less for their liking. Jesus had come, living the life of men and entering into all their activities, and they had labelled him too much for them. Jesus does not force himself on us; if you think you don't need him, he will not force you. (Rev 3:20) "Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I'll come right in and sit down to supper with you."

This is what Jesus did then and does now: knock at our doors and wait.

Jn 1:10-13

He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn't even notice. 11 He came to his own people, but they didn't want him. 12 But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made become children of God. 13 These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten.

Rev 3:15-18

"I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You're not cold, you're not hot-- far better to be either cold or hot! 16 You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit. 17 You brag, 'I'm rich, I've got it made, I need nothing from anyone,' oblivious that in fact you're a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless. 18" Here's what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that's been through the refiner's fire. Then you'll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You've gone around half- naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see.

Jesus saves us in life and in death!

Luke 7:11-17

11 Not long after that, Jesus went to the village Nain. His disciples were with him, along with quite a large crowd. 12 As they approached the village gate, they met a funeral procession-- a woman's only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a widow. 13 When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. He said to her, "Don't cry." 14 Then he went over and touched the coffin. The pallbearers stopped. He said, "Young man, I tell you: Get up." 15 The dead son sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother. 16 They all realized they were in a place of holy mystery, that God was at work among them. They were quietly worshipful-- and then noisily grateful, calling out among themselves, "God is back, looking to the needs of his people!" 17 The news of Jesus spread all through the country.

Food for thought!

When Jesus came to Nain he met a sad scene by all standards. We are told that the victim is a young man. That he is “the only son of his mother”. And we are told that the mother was a widow. In other words, she had lost her husband, and now her son. Double tragedy!

Here is a young man whose life had been filled with great potential. He might have had hopes of marriage and of fathering children, but now he is dead. There may have been plans of going into business to support himself and his widowed mother, but now he is dead. Those eyes which had been bright with the gleam of youth are now dulled by death. That mind that had hoped and dreamed was now stilled by the cold embrace of death. That voice that had laughed and cried has been silenced forever. Death has come and it has brought with it all the cruelness and heartache it possesses.

You will notice the wording of the text: “there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.” Here is a woman who had already felt the icy hand of death as it took her husband from her life. The only things remaining from her marriage are a few memories and the only son that she and her husband brought into the world. Now, her precious son has been taken away by death, as well.

But, there is more here than just the death of a beloved son. This poor woman had no one left to care for her in her old age. In that day there was no welfare or assistance available to widows like her. It was up to a woman’s children, especially her sons, to see that she was cared for in her declining years. But, she has no one left! She is all alone, helpless and caught in a desperate condition.

If yesterday it was a desperate centurion that Jesus helped by Jesus, today it is a desperate woman. If yesterday it was sick man that Jesus healed, today he raises a dead man back to life, back to dreaming, back to living! The gospel says that the dead man began to talk AGAIN! Jesus is not only the Lord of life; he is the Lord of death also. This miracle, as the miracle of his own resurrection, is what makes Jesus stand out of all the other religious figures. As you know, Jesus raised three dead people from the dead. One had just died (Luke 8:40-56); the second is this one of today's gospel, who was being carried to be buried; the third is Lazarus that had been in the tomb four days (Jn 11:1-44).

What is noteworthy about all of them, is the moment they were brought back to life: one had just died; another was on the way to the cemetery; the last was in the cemetery already for four days. It means that, for Jesus, time means nothing. He will rise those who died long ago, those who died recently, and those who will have died. He will rise us all who believe that he will.

It also means that for Jesus it is never too late. With Jesus, we can rise up from where we fell, regardless of when. If and when we fall into sin, into hopelessness, into helplessness, into confusion, into desperation, He can bring us back to normality, regardless. It means that never lose hope in Jesus, with Jesus never write yourself or anybody off. You are never too dead of anything to rise up again. There's no sin, no state he cannot rescue us from. To him be praise and honour and glory, both for now and for ever. Amen.

Liked and likeable person!

Luke 7:1-10

1 When he finished speaking to the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 A Roman captain there had a servant who was on his deathbed. He prized him highly and didn't want to lose him. 3 When he heard Jesus was back, he sent leaders from the Jewish community asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 They came to Jesus and urged him to do it, saying, "He deserves this. 5 He loves our people. He even built our meeting place." 6 Jesus went with them. When he was still quite far from the house, the captain sent friends to tell him, "Master, you don't have to go to all this trouble. I'm not that good a person, you know. I'd be embarrassed for you to come to my house, 7 even embarrassed to come to you in person. Just give the order and my servant will get well. 8 I'm a man under orders; I also give orders. I tell one soldier, 'Go,' and he goes; another, 'Come,' and he comes; my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." 9 Taken aback, Jesus addressed the accompanying crowd: "I've yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know about God and how he works." 10 When the messengers got back home, they found the servant up and well.

Food for thought!

We are beginning our work week with a civil servant, a Roman soldier; and he was no ordinary man. The mere fact that he was a centurion meant he was no ordinary man. A centurion was the equivalent of a regimental sergeant-major; and the centurions were the backbone of the Roman army. Wherever they are spoken of in the New Testament they are spoken of well (compare Lk.23; Lk.47; Ac.10:22; Ac.22:26; Ac.23:17,23,24; Ac.24:23; Ac.27:43).

He had a completely unusual attitude to his slave. He loved this slave and would go to any trouble to save him. The attitude of this centurion to his slave was quite unusual, and should help us shape our attitude towards our house girls, our maids, our servers, our assistants or even our colleagues at work. When his slave fell ill, he sought Jesus, because "He prized him highly and didn't want to lose him." We all know the importance of those people who work for us; the day they don't show up at work, some of us are completely lost, unable to do anything.

He was a liked and likeable man. He was not a Jew, but Jews liked them. They came to Jesus and urged him to do him a favour, "He deserves this. He loves our people. He even built our meeting place." This is what we should be, liked and likeable. As you know, it is what people really think of you, not what they say TO YOU, that matters!

He was a humble man. He knew quite well that a strict Jew was forbidden by the law to enter the house of a gentile (Ac.10:28); just as he was forbidden to allow a gentile into his house or have any communication with him. He would not even come to Jesus himself. He persuaded his Jewish friends to approach him. This man who was accustomed to command had an amazing humility in the presence of true greatness.

He was a man of faith. His faith is based on the soundest argument. He argued from the here and now to the there and then. He argued from his own experience to God. If his authority produced the results it did, how much more must that of Jesus? He came with that perfect confidence which looks up and says, "Lord, I know you can do this." If only we had a faith like that, for us too the miracle would happen and life become new.

Taken aback, Jesus said of him to the people: "I've yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know about God and how he works." Sometimes, non-Christians behave better than we Christians!

God according to Jesus Christ!

Luke 15:1-32

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them: ‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.

  

‘Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it? And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” she would say “I have found the drachma I lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.’

  

He also said, ‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.

  

‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.

  ‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

  

‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”

  

‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’

Food for thought!

The parables in today's gospel arose out of real life situation. It was an offence to the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus associated with men and women who, by and large, were labelled as sinners. So Jesus told them the parable of the lost sheep and the shepherd's joy, in order to tell us something about God. This story should correct our false notions about God.

God the Father, says Jesus, is as glad when a lost sinner is found as a shepherd is when a strayed sheep is brought home. As a great saint said, "God, too, knows the joy of finding things that have gone lost."

There is a wondrous thought here. God is kinder than men. Many of us write off many people we label as sinners or worthless, and as deserving of nothing but hell; not so with God. We may give up hope of a someone; but not God. God loves the saints, but in his heart there is love for sinners.

What is the difference between a crisp $20 bill and a soiled and rumpled $20 bill? A preacher showed his congregation a crisp $20 bill and asked who wants it. All hands went up. Then he crumpled it in his palms and asked who still wanted it. Again all hands went up. Lastly he threw it on the ground, marched on it and repeated his question. Still the hands went up. Then he explained to them that the difference between a new, crisp $20 bill and a rumpled and soiled $20 in our eyes is the difference between a good person and a bad person in the sight of God. Both are equally acceptable. Basically both stand equal before God "since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Henri Nouwen says it differently: "We are all handicapped; some are more visibly handicapped than others."

Today's gospel is the family story of a man and his two sons. At the beginning of the story we see that the younger son is the bad boy and the elder son the good boy. But by the end of the story we see that both of them are bad. The problem begins with the younger son. Without waiting for his father to die he asks for his share of the inheritance. Then he abandons his duties and responsibilities in the family estate and goes abroad to live a life of fun. His reckless lifestyle drains his fortunes and he finds himself reduced to abject poverty and misery. But no matter how far sinners stray from the father's house, the loving heart of the parent always follows them, gently whispering in their hearts, "Come home! Come home!"

The wild, fun-loving sinful youngster has one good thing: he is not too proud to go back and say, "I have erred; I am sorry." And this is precisely what he decides to do. Parents, are you ready to receive back home your strayed children? Spouses are you ready to receive each other back? If you are ready make the first step. Did you notice that both the father and the young son each took the first step? As the son was coming, the father too was waiting. Do the same.

I can imagine how the young son's heart was pounding as he approached his father's house, not knowing whether his father would take him back or not! But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. I imagine how the young man begins to read his prepared confession, while his father, so overjoyed he does not listen. But also he does not accuse. He instead says to his slaves, Quickly, bring out a robe -- the best one -- and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! And they began to celebrate.

This story tells us also that it is a thousand times easier to come back to God than to come back to humans. I wish the story ended here, but it does not. It continues to show us the flaws of the good elder brother. Instead of rejoicing that his brother who was presumed lost has come back, he is angered by the fact that their father has received him back with a celebration. In anger he distances himself from his own family and from the party. As he leaves he mutters to himself, "This is unfair. This is unfair" – a word that is often used to justify anger, intolerance, self-righteousness and violence.

Which lessons do we take from this story? Many. One of them is that we are all sinners. Whether your sins are more visible like those of the younger son or more hidden like those of the elder son, the message for us today is that we all need to repent and return to the father's heart.

Did you know that the speck you judge in someone else's eye may very well be a reflection of the plank in your eye?  When you judge someone for being prejudiced, could it be because you struggle with prejudice yourself? The older son says, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.” Until now, no one knows anything like "his women" until the elder son mentions them; the gospel talks of "a life of debauchery" not of women, as the elder son puts it. He thinks his sins are every body's sins.

The Cross of Jesus reminds us of the Jesus of the Cross!

John 3:13-17

13 "No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. 14 In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up-- 15 and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life. 16" This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. 17 God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

Food for thought!

On 14th of September, we mark the Feast of the Holy Cross. To understand the significance of this feast, let's go back to the Old Testament. There, in the Book of Numbers, we read: Num 21:4-9

4 They set out from Mount Hor along the Red Sea Road, a detour around the land of Edom. The people became irritable and cross as they traveled. 5 They spoke out against God and Moses: "Why did you drag us out of Egypt to die in this godforsaken country? No decent food; no water-- we can't stomach this stuff any longer." 6 So GOD sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit them and many in Israel died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke out against GOD and you. Pray to GOD; ask him to take these snakes from us." Moses prayed for the people. 8 GOD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it on a flagpole: Whoever is bitten and looks at it will live."
9 So Moses made a snake of fiery copper and put it on top of a flagpole. Anyone bitten by a snake who then looked at the copper snake lived.

This incident is rather puzzling in view of the fact that the Bible absolutely forbids to make and use graven images. And in this text, the Lord explicitly commands Moses to make one and present it before the people. "Make a snake and put it on a flagpole: Whoever is bitten and looks at it will live." So, what's all this about? How can we explain this and the images / statues in our churches and homes?

First and foremost, it was not the serpent that gave life. So long as Moses lifted up the serpent, the people believed in him who had commanded Moses to act thus. It was God who healed them, not the serpent. The serpent served only as visual aid, as icon, as reminder. The healing power lay not in the brazen serpent; it was only a symbol to turn their thoughts to God; and when they did that they were healed.

Man is an animal of symbols. We use symbols all over, like marriage rings, flowers, road signs, etc. All these are intended to lift our mind to what they stand for; symbols point beyond themselves to what they represent. They're just pointers to something invisible. This is what that bronzen snake became for the Israelites. The same with the holy cross of Jesus: it lifts our mind to Jesus; it points beyond itself to whom it represents, Jesus.

For that reason, the crucifix we carry on our chest, in our cars, homes, etc, is intended not for others to see how religious we are; it is for us to remember Jesus and his sacrifice of love for us! We don't use religious images to show off, but to lift our mind and heart to the Lord. The same with wedding rings, they're reminders to the bearers that they're committed. The husband or wife that forgets that s/he is married and committed, will always run into not a few problems! The holy cross of Jesus is a constant reminder of Jesus of the cross!

Criticism breeds criticism!

Luke 6:39-42

39 Jesus quoted a proverb: "'Can a blind man guide a blind man?' Wouldn't they both end up in the ditch? 40 An apprentice doesn't lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you follow as your teacher. 41" It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbour's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. 42 Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this I- know- better- than- you mentality again, playing a holier- than- thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbour.

Food for thought!

Jesus warned that no teacher can lead his scholars beyond the stage which he himself has reached. That is a double warning to us. In our learning we must seek only the best teacher for only he can lead us farthest on; and our best and only teacher is Jesus.

And what is it that our teacher is teaching us with a picture of a man with a plank in his own eye trying to extract a speck of dust from someone else's eye? He is teaching us that we have no right to criticize others unless we ourselves are free of faults. That simply means that we have no right to criticise at all, because as Edward Wallis Hoch put it, "There's so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly behoves any of us, to talk about the rest of us."

John M. Templeton said, "Any of us may experience stressful times at home, at school, or in our work. When things are not going well, it is often tempting to criticize others. We may think finding fault with someone else can help us feel better about ourselves or our condition. Or maybe it could be simply that misery loves company!

"In those 'down' moments that each of us has experienced, it may be best to remain silent if we cannot say things that are helpful and kind. Destructive language tends to produce destructive results. Besides causing unnecessary pain and suffering for those around us, our negative words frequently compound our own problems."

Dare to be and do different!

Luke 6:27-38

27 "To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. 28 When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. 29 If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. 30 If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit- for- tat stuff. Live generously. 31" Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! 32 If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run- of- the- mill sinners do that. 33 If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden- variety sinners do that. 34 If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that's charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that. 35 "I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never-- I promise-- regret it. Live out this God- created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst. 36 Our Father is kind; you be kind. 37" Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults-- unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you'll find life a lot easier. 38 Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back-- given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. "

Food for thought!

In this passage, Jesus teaches us some great facts about the Christian ethic.

(i) The Christian ethic is positive. It does not consist in not doing things but in doing them. Jesus gave us the Golden Rule which bids us do to others as we would have them do to us. That rule exists in many writers of many creeds in its negative form. Hillel, one of the great Jewish Rabbis, was asked by a man to teach him the whole law while he stood on one leg. He answered, "What is hateful to thee, do not to another. That is the whole law and all else is explanation." Philo, the great Jew of Alexandria, said, "What you hate to suffer, do not do to anyone else." Isocrates, the Greek orator, said. "What things make you angry when you suffer them at the hands of others, do not you do to other people." The Stoics had as one of their basic rules, "What you do not wish to be done to yourself, do not you do to any other." When Confucius was asked, "Is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?" he answered, "Is not Reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others."

Every one of these forms is negative; all are in the form of DO NOT! It is not really difficult to keep yourself from not doing; it is rather easy to refrain from doing, but it is a very different thing to go out of your way to do to others what you would want them to do to you. The very essence of Christian conduct is that it consists, not in refraining from bad things, but in actively doing good things.

It is not enough not to do evil, it important to actively do good. Many of us, thank God, we do not do much evil, but also do not do much good. Everybody can do this.

(ii) The Christian ethic is based on the extra thing. Jesus described the common ways of sensible conduct and then dismissed them with the question, "What special grace is in that?" So often people claim to be just as good as their neighbours. Very likely they are. But the question of Jesus is, "How much better are you than the ordinary person?" It is not our neighbour with whom we must compare ourselves; we may well stand that comparison very adequately; it is God with whom we must compare ourselves; and in that comparison we are all in default.

(iii) What is the reason for this Christian conduct? The reason is that it makes us like God, for that is the way he acts. God sends his rain on the just and the unjust. He is kind to the man who brings him joy and equally kind to the man who grieves his heart. God's love embraces saint and sinner alike. It is that love we must copy; if we, too, seek even our enemy's highest good we will in truth be the children of God.

Happy but which happiness!

Luke 6:20-26

20 Then Jesus spoke: You're blessed when you've lost it all. God's kingdom is there for the finding.21 You're blessed when you're ravenously hungry. Then you're ready for the Messianic meal. You're blessed when the tears flow freely. Joy comes with the morning. 22 "Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. 23 You can be glad when that happens-- skip like a lamb, if you like!-- for even though they don't like it, I do... and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this. 24 But it's trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you'll ever get. 25 And it's trouble ahead if you're satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long. And it's trouble ahead if you think life's all fun and games. There's suffering to be met, and you're going to meet it. 26" There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests-- look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.

Food for thought!

These words of Jesus are bombshells. It may well be that we have read and heard them so often that we have forgotten how revolutionary they are. They are quite unlike any conventional laws. They take the accepted standards and turn them upside down. The people whom Jesus called HAPPY the world would call WRETCHED; and the people Jesus called WRETCHED the world would call HAPPY. Just imagine anyone saying, "Happy are the poor, and, Woe to the rich!" To talk like that is to put an end to the world's values altogether.

Where then is the key to understanding these words? It comes in Lk.6:24. There Jesus says, "But it's trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you'll ever get." The word Jesus uses for have is the word used for receiving payment in full of an account. What Jesus is saying is this, "If you set your heart and bend your whole energies to obtain the things which the world values, you will get them--but that is all you will ever get." In the expressive modern phrase, literally, you have had it! But if on the other hand you set your heart and bend all your energies to be utterly loyal to God and true to Christ, you will run into all kinds of trouble, you may by the world's standards look unhappy, but much of your payment is still to come; and it will be joy eternal.

We are here face to face with an eternal choice which begins in childhood and never ends till life ends. Will you take the easy way which yields immediate pleasure and profit? or, Will you take the hard way which yields immediate toil and sometimes suffering? Will you seize on the pleasure and the profit of the moment? or, Are you willing to look ahead and sacrifice them for the greater good? Will you concentrate on the world's rewards? or, Will you concentrate on Christ? If you take the world's way, you must abandon the values of Christ. If you take Christ's way, you must abandon the values of the world. The challenge of the beatitudes is, "Will you be happy in the world's way, or in Christ's way?"