We will gather as a church family tonight around the table and share a simple meal. Sometimes, the very familiar and simple things we do have great value.

How do you share a meal in your house?

Is it rushed, with people going all sort of directions, finding it difficult to sit down?

Is it in isolation, with only you sitting at the table or perhaps in front of the tv …

Or is it something else.

Meals are where Jesus lived much of his ministry. Eating with the sick or lonely or outcasts. Even eating with law breakers. He healed … he loved … he listened … he taught.

Tonight we will come together to be a church family who remembers the love Jesus asks us to share with one another … no matter who we are.

After we eat, we will read and remember how Jesus was arrested, beaten, given a trial, and then walked to the cross. This was a time of great suffering for Jesus.

His suffering was 100% for us!

I hope you will be able to join us tonight for this meal. But if you cannot, please take some time today to meditate on the suffering Jesus allowed himself to endure because of the love he carries for us.

It is tempting for us to pass through Holy Thursday and Good Friday and jump into the joy of Easter. But pause. Find the depth of love Jesus is offering to you today. Find someone to share this with. Perhaps around a meal.

Pause

Share a meal

Read the Scripture story.

Mediate on God’s love shared through the enormously selfless acts of his son, Jesus.

If you have not already, please let me know if you will be joining us tonight.

Luke 22:7-28       The Last Supper

As Jesus calls his disciples and close friends together to share in the Passover meal, I can imagine his heart being full of love and concerns. In the 3 years they have been together, his love has grown deep for these friends. And because of this love, he is also concerned. 

Will they understand why he has to go to the cross?

Will they be able to move forward as he has preparing them to do?

Will they turn to each other for strength, courage and the ability to live into all they have been taught?

What do you imagine being on Jesus’ mind during this last meal?

How do you think Jesus feels on this very special night?

When the meal was over a couple of the disciples started to argue about which one was the greatest. WOW! Jesus just opened his heart and shared his life, and two disciples start to argue about who is the greatest!

This scene gives me tremendous respect for the patience Jesus had with his disciples. And it makes me grateful that Jesus also has this much patience with me!

How many times, in the midst of what is holy, do I miss God’s glory and complain about the little thing that is bothering me in the moment?

How many times is God trying to show me an opportunity to share his love, but in my selfishness, I cling tighter to what I want to keep for myself?

How many times is God calling for humility of heart, but my stubborn ego or pride refuses to back down?

My prayer today is that Jesus will continue to be patient with me … continue to abundantly pardon and graciously love me.

What might your prayer for today be?

The last week in Jesus’ life as recorded in Luke

On Sunday we remembered when Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the crowd of people swarmed around him shouting their hosannas. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd told Jesus to silence them. In fact, they said he should rebuke them.

Why?

Because their actions were proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah that they have been waiting generations to come to them. This was a very dangerous proclamation. It would upset the Roman Officials, who would in turn make their life unbearable.

Once Jesus entered Jerusalem he went to the temple and began to toss things around. As it turns out, Jesus was not afraid to disrupt status quo. In fact, he knew things had to be turned upside down in order to be straightened out!!

Disruption seemed to be the name of the game in this final week.

So many things were out of place. 

        The rich were getting richer. 

        the powerful were abusing their power.

        the poor were being trampled on.

The message of love that Jesus had been living and teaching for the past 3 years was being met with resistance. Harsh and cruel resistance.

In this week we call Holy Week, let’s allow our attention to be disrupted a bit so we can see what Jesus is trying to show us, and learn what Jesus is trying to teach us.

How can you stop today to hear what Jesus is saying to you, or see what Jesus is trying to show you? 

Will you allow your life to be disrupted this week by the life and death of Jesus?

Could Jesus be calling YOU to be a disrupter in the world around YOU?

Luke 12:22-32 – Do not worry …

At this time of year, we yearn for the color of spring to pop up from the ground and blossom on trees. After a drab winter, the warm weather and color sprinkled on the canvas of life is refreshing and very welcomed.  But don’t we know that come next winter they will be gone …. Then next spring they will reappear … then next winter they will be gone … on and on goes the cycle of life.

Jesus was referring to this cycle as he told his disciples to not worry. As God brings the cycle of the seasons, so will God provide the gift of life and grace for us.  This little section of Scripture is not about us worrying about getting things that we want, or even getting what we think we need. It is about much more. We all know that hard times come to us all. There will be times we do not have what we need or want. But what God will always be faithful to give is grace and love and life.

The answer to worry, says Jesus, is to cast our vision on the kingdom. He says God has given us the kingdom, and no amount of wealth or possessions can compare to that gift. Putting aside worry is a hard thing to do! For most of us, it is impossible!  Let us, today, seek to see God’s grace in our lives, and give thanks for all that God is providing for us.

Luke 11:37-53   The Six Woes

Have you ever had a friend or co-worker set you down and tell you something you needed to hear, but did not like hearing? How did you take it?

In this section of Luke’s Gospel Jesus has been invited to eat with a Pharisee. We do not know what the original intention of this meal was, but Jesus opened up a conversation that went right to the heart of the way this man lived his faith. Jesus opened with an analogy of a cup that is clean on the outside, but dirty on the inside, comparing this to the heart of the Pharisee. He lived his life pure on the outside, but the way he treated the poor and outcast revealed that inside he was not living as God would want.

The Pharisee was greatly insulted, and the text says he began to oppose him fiercely. One reason this passage is recorded for us to read is to put ourselves in the shoes of the one Jesus is addressing. 

How do we put ourselves before others?

How do we take every advantage that is given to us and not recognize those who have every advantage taken away?

How do we share what we have with one another?

Jesus spoke often about hypocrisy and pointed out how it caused injustices to go unanswered. Jesus’ words to the Pharisees and Sadducees of his day are meant to stir in our heart today.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you for the love you have poured into my life and the grace you have given me. I thank you for the blessings that surround and fill me. Help me to extend that love and share your grace with people around me – especially the ones that I am tempted to look past or ignore; the ones you love equally to me, but the world has rejected. Open my eyes to see how and who you call me to see. Amen

Luke 11:1-13  The Lord’s Prayer

The disciples noticed how often Jesus went off by himself to pray, and asked one day if he would teach them how to pray. This prayer has become one we have continued to teach to our children and offer in almost every worship service we share together. I remember as a college student I tried to test this prayer and change the pronoun from us to me. “Give me today my daily bread  … give me my daily bread …forgive me …

It didn’t feel right. It didn’t work that way. I realized that this prayer was meant to be prayed together in community and included everyone. Even when we pray it silently by ourselves, it reminds us that we are a community of faith. Perhaps that is why Jesus immediately followed this prayer with the example of having a friend who has a friend in need. Your friend comes to you at midnight asking for 3 loaves of bread so he can go and help his friend. This intentionally broadens the community of faith!

As you offer the Lord’s prayer today think about who is “us” in your life.

And then go a bit further and include who the “us” is in your friend’s life.

We are all in search of our daily bread and all in need of receiving forgiveness.

Let’s us pray together, for one another.

Luke 10:38-42 The Home of Mary and Martha

I love this story about two women who have become very close friends of Jesus. They and their brother are a family Jesus has found a safe home with. I imagine him crashing for the night on occasions when he needs some rest or some quiet. Sometimes his whole entourage is with him. Mary and Martha have perhaps learned to read the “clues” as to what he needs when he arrives. On this occasion, Mary read the “clues” better than Martha. Martha is busy taking care of all the big and little details necessary when a dinner party is underway. But Martha has noticed something is very different about Jesus on this visit. She breaks all the rules and sits with the men in the living, drawn into every word Jesus is speaking.

Martha is too busy being busy to notice.  What she does notice is that Mary is not helping her! She complains to Jesus (the guest) and asks him to reprimand her sister. Who of us would ask our guest to reprimand our sister!

Even Martha recognized the importance of who Jesus was in their lives! Let’s not take that away from Martha. She recognized who Jesus was! But in this instance she could not let her life slow down enough to listen to him, learn from him, and worship him. Mary chose the better way that night.

There is a time to serve and there is a time to worship.

There is a time to work and there is a time to be still and listen.

What time is it for you today?

Be open to how Jesus comes to you today.

Pay attention.

Luke 10:25-37

The parable of the Good Samaritan is well known throughout the world of faith and even in the secular world, with the “Good Samaritan Law”. As we read the parable today, we do so in light of the number of times Jesus went into a Samaritan town or was approached by a Samaritan who needed healing. A Person grounded in Judaism would know to not mingle with a Samaritan because of their difficult history and the hatred that had grown between the two sets of people over time.

Jesus wanted to make it clear that there should be NO hatred between the two groups of people. That is why this parable – told to a specifically Jewish audience raises up a Samaritan as the one who shared his time, resources and caring.

It was the Samaritan who was the good neighbor, and if we want to enter into eternal life, we need to be the kind of neighbor this Samaritan was.

It is not easy for us to think of our fierce opponents as heroes!

It is impossible to place someone we would normally look down upon, as someone we should look up to!!

But that is the upside down kingdom Jesus is preaching, teaching about, and living into. We are called to do the same!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as you loved and accepted everyone, forgive us of our judgements towards those who are different. Help us to celebrate our differences and live and work together. Amen

Luke 9:46-62

The last segment of chapter 9 starts with the disciples arguing over which one of them would be the greatest and ends with Jesus explaining the cost of discipleship.

Right in the middle of this Luke points out that Jesus has set his focus on traveling to Jerusalem where he would be crucified. I think the contrast between the disciples wanting to be great and Jesus setting forth to give up his life is no accident!

Often in life we are trying to get ourselves set up to succeed, or make ourselves look good, while missing how Jesus is constantly giving himself away for our good.

If someone were to ask you what your accomplishments in life are … you would be tempted to talk about your degrees, your career accomplishments, your successes, etc. People are impressed by this! But the question Jesus would ask is, who have you touched with kindness, how have you lended a hand to someone in need, where in life have you given yourself away?

As you move though the day, pay attention to what is lifted up in the world around you as “good” and the effort you make to fit into these expectations. Compare these expectations to the ones Jesus requests of his disciples … and of you.

Prayer: Lord, humble my heart. Show me how and where to share your love. Lead me in your paths of giving and loving.

Luke 9:18-27

Jesus asks his disciples a simple question: Wo do the crowds of people that have been gathering around us for the past days, weeks, months, etc. say that I am?

Once the disciples answer, Jesus looks intently into each one of their eyes and pierces their heart as he then asks a very serious question: Who do you say that I am?

As we look at society around us and hear what people say about God. What people say about Jesus. How people respond to religion and the role faith plays into their lives, the piercing question comes to us. Who do we say Jesus is? And then to go even deeper, knowing who Jesus is, how does that lead us through life?

Do our actions shape our faith or does our faith shape our actions?

Jesus tells the disciples that there will be challenges in life; hardship to deal with. Will their belief that he is the Christ help them through?

And when people laugh at them or persecute them, will they move forward in faith or shrink back in shame.

These are powerful questions for us to consider today.

May your prayer today be one where we ask God to know our heart and lead us in the path of faith – wherever it leads us.

Luke 9:10-17

Jesus had just heard that his cousin, John the Baptist, was killed, and he went off to be by himself. Crowds of people came and found him, needing his attention and love. Rather than turn them away, Jesus welcomed them. He healed them and talked with them about the kingdom of heaven.  When evening came, the very practical disciples suggested that Jesus tell them to all go home.

Often our attention turns to the amazing miracle of feeding over 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and two fish. And that IS miraculous! But let’s take a moment to look into Jesus’ heart. One he loved was killed.  He knew that he would soon be next. On this day, as people were clamoring for his attention and his work, his heart went out to them. He welcomed them. Even after a long and difficult day he did not want to send them away. He asked them to sit and continue to connect with him and each other. The bread that he broke and shared was an extension of his love for these people. 

This miracle happened because of the love in Jesus’ heart for the common person who needed him. And the love that was shared through that meal changed many hearts on that evening out in the countryside. I want to place myself in that crowd and hear the stories that were shared, the dashed hopes that were restored, the glimpse of a new future that was given.  All because Jesus welcomed the clamoring crowd and gave them what they needed.

What do you need today?

It is OK to turn to Jesus and tell him.

Receive the gift that he has for you today.

And maybe you can find someone to sit and share that gift with today.

Luke 8:40 – 56 Jairus’ daughter and a sick woman

As Jesus was walking, a ruler of the Synagogue came to implore him to come with him and heal his 12-year-old daughter. Jesus was on his way to Jairus’ home when someone in the crowd touched the hem of his garment.

Who of us would notice a slight touch of our garment while making our way through a crowd? Not many of us. That is why pick pockets are so successful!

But Jesus was always tuned in to people around him who might need him.

He stopped everything and asked who touched him.

The sick woman was embarrassed. She did not want to be signaled out. By Jewish law she was not supposed to mingle with well (clean) people because she was “unclean.” And had been for 12 years!!!

Jesus spoke to her and touched her. She was instantly healed, and Jesus sent her on her way with a blessing.

In the meantime, Jairus got word that his 12-year-old daughter died. Someone from his house said, “Do not bother the rabbi anymore.”

This is the line I would like to elaborate on.

How often do you not turn to God with your troubles or questions or concerns because you feel you should not bother God with them? Fairly often I hear people say, “I won’t trouble God with my small problems. Others have it far worse.”

If we have been paying attention to how Jesus reaches out to the lost and outcast and even the criminals through the gospel, we know that Jesus is never above hearing us, touching us, walking with us, and guiding us to a better day.

Jesus touched this woman … a woman no one had touched in 12 years!

After Jairus was told to not bother him any longer, Jesus turned to him and said, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.” He walked with Jairus to his home and went in to take his daughter by the hand and said, “Get up.”

We do not know what miracle Jesus might share with us in life, but we can be assured that no trouble of ours is beneath his attention. Jesus loves us without condition and is never “too busy” and never considers us “unworthy”.

What do you want to take to God in prayer today?

God wants to be with you and hear what you want to share.

Luke 8:26-39

The text is verse 39: “‘Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.” 

The scene: Jesus has just got off the boat in Gentile territory after a harrowing boat ride across the Sea of Galilee. The disciples feared for their lives, but Jesus calmed the storm. Now, they had no sooner landed than a crazy man who lived in the tombs came screaming at them. He routinely broke his shackles when the townspeople tried to confine him. He must have been wide-eyed, dirty, longhaired and bloody. 

But, long story short, Jesus sends the demons into a herd of pigs, and now the man, clear-headed and clothed, wants to join Jesus’ team. 

Jesus says, “Go home.” 

He tells the man to be a witness to the power of God to his own people. 

The madman becomes a missionary, the first missionary to the Gentiles. 

What are we to make of this wild story?

The theme of Luke’s gospel is to notice how Jesus reaches out to people we would naturally stay away from for various reasons. It seems Jesus has no fear!

His compassion for God’s children overcomes any stigma that would normally stop us from moving ahead.  

      I pray for that compassion to grow in my heart. 

      I pray that compassion would outgrow my fear to step out of the storm swirling around in my life.

      I pray that compassion would outgrow my fear of stepping into someone else’s storm if that is where God is leading.

Sometimes God sends us “out” with compassion. We are to go into the prisons or travel on a mission trip to a faraway place. Often our sights are set on missionaries and their work in another country. But in this passage, the man is asked to stay right at home with his testimony. Whether your compassion leads you out or brings you home, allow it to grow strong and courageous so you see the need and are willing and able to meet it.

Luke 8:1-15  The Parable of the Sower

As Jesus traveled around, people from many walks of life came to hear him teach and preach. Some traveled a great distance and went to great cost to hear him. Some listened once then returned to their home, while others stuck around for a while. Some believed in what Jesus was saying and came to know him as the Son of God. Some experienced a significant life change, while others were completely unfazed. In the light of the many reactions of the people Jesus encountered, he told this parable of a farmer going out and sowing seed. 

The parable makes an obvious parallel between the people who came to see and hear Jesus and the seed that was sown. If the soil is good, the seed will grow. If it continues to be nourished and cared for, it will produce a harvest. We are the soil into which God’s word is sown. 

Have we prepared ourselves to hear it and take it in? 

Do we let the cares of the world chock it out? 

Have we let our heart become hard so the love of Jesus cannot penetrate it?

We are the soil.

As spring rolls around I begin to think about what I need to do to prepare the soil in my garden. If it is not prepared and nourished, the seeds I plant will not grow.

We are the soil.

God wants life to come into our life and spring forth in beautiful and abundant ways. How can we prepare ourselves to let that life come and take root and grow in abundance?

Prayer: Dear Jesus, draw me to your word and open my heart to receive everything you want to give to me. Help me do the work necessary to grow and mature in your Word. Thank you for investing in me and for living in me. Amen

Luke 7:18-35

We read early in Luke’s gospel how John the Baptist came to prepare the way. 

(ch. 3). People came to him from around the region to be baptized and receive God’s forgiveness. In chapter 7 it is time for people to see that Jesus is the One for whom John has been preparing. John released his disciples so they could start to follow Jesus. The transition was difficult but essential if the followers were to receive the full blessing of God’s presence and spirit in their lives.

A lot can be said about this passage, but the one thing I’d like to lift up is how sidetracked we can get if we follow someone other than Jesus. We all like certain authors or news personalities over others. We have the favorite news station that we watch. We have people who are mentors. Etc. We must keep in mind that people we might call our “hero” are only people. Folks we look up to can be a guide, but never Lord.

When John went out to the Jordan, he challenged everything and called people to go in a very different direction when they accepted his baptism.

When Jesus came into the region of Galilee, he continued to challenge traditions that cast certain people aside and lifted unworthy people up. The rules that we have set up for ourselves often have blind spots and bias.  Jesus has a bias, too. 

It is for all people to come to him and find grace and love.

Prayer: Lord, as I go through my day, help me to see how I have elevated myself over another, and give me humility. Show me how human heroes have limits, but there is no limit to your embrace for me and for others around me. Turn my heart to you, over and over again. Amen

Luke 7:11-17

After Jesus healed the Centurion’s servant from a distance, he and a large group of followers came upon a funeral procession in Nain. A widow’s only son had died. Jesus approached the widow and touched the coffin and told the dead son to get up. This is a rare and shocking miracle offered to one of the most lonely and forgotten people in society at that time. The woman had already lost her husband, which could have put her into immediate poverty. Now she lost her only son, and her only hope of being able to survive as a widow.

Our text says that when Jesus saw her, “his heart went out to her.” In a gesture of compassion, he put his hand on the coffin. This would have immediately made Jesus “unclean” leaving all his followers with a dilemma … should they continue to follow someone who is unclean?  But Jesus is not sidetracked by rules that would keep him away from people who need him.

By raising the son, Jesus also gives the widow her future back. There are several reactions of the crowd, but the one that stands out to me is when they say:

“God has come to help his people.”

That is what this miracle is truly about.

That is what Jesus’ life was about …. And is still about.

Giving life back to God’s people. ALL of God’s people.

If you are feeling hopeless or lost, Jesus is reaching out his hand to you.

Jesus is also reaching out to others who are feeling lost or hopeless … or who society has forgotten about; ignored; turned their back on; given up on.

Jesus will never give up on one of God’s children.

Prayer: Dear God, as you reach out and give me life, open my eyes to see how you are also reaching out to others around me. As I follow you, help me to see the needs of others as you see their need. I pray that the love and hope you give to me would also be received by those around me. Amen

Luke 7:1-10

After teaching the crowd about how to love each other through chapter 6, Luke turns to the actions of Jesus as he interacts with people he meets along the way. These are people most Rabbis would avoid interacting with. 

The first one is a Centurion who sends some of his Jewish friends to plead with Jesus to come and heal one of his servants. As Jesus is on the way to meet the servant, other friends of the Centurion came and told Jesus he need not come to one so unworthy, all he needed to do was speak the word and the servant would be healed. 

Jesus turned to the crowd and said he had never found such faith in anyone, even in Israel. The two men never met in person. The servant was healed at a distance. 

Jesus was astounded by the faith of a man who was completely outside his religious circle. But let’s take a close look at this Centurion. His work was centered around building the Synagogue in Capernaum, where he watched the worshippers every day. He listened to their teaching and saw how they loved one another. This was how he came to faith.

People are watching us. They are listening. They see how we love one another.

Take a look today at the people around you, and ask yourself what they see?

Can they come to believe in Jesus because of what they see in you?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as you live in my life, so may you live in the lives of others around me. Use my words today for others to hear. Shape my actions today for others to see. Extend my love for you to those I encounter through the day. Amen.

Everything about Luke’s gospel directs us to love. Chapter 6 especially focuses on how love must be ingrained in the foundation of who we are. It talks about the tree and its’ fruit (6:43-45) and the builder who builds a house on sand rather than a firm foundation (6:46-49). This true story shows how our ingrained love for all of God’s children is shared in the ways we live together, side by side, in a very divided world…and what that love can do…

Suprapto and his wife, Kartini, were Javanese Christians who moved into a neighborhood in Jakarta where all the other residents were followers of Indonesia’s majority religion. Wanting to become friends with her neighbors, Kartini baked cakes and took them to the families on either side of their tiny house. But their gifts were thrown onto garbage heaps at the edge of the dirt path, accompanied by ugly words of rejection and dismissal.

The witness of this soft-spoken, unassuming man as he told his story and his wife’s story to fellow Baptists in their small church was hesitant, even shy.

He related that each Sunday morning, as he and his wife and their children walked out of the neighborhood, carrying their Bibles on the way to worship, men followed them with threatening insults and shouts of disdain, sometimes standing together, threateningly, to block the narrow passage. Over time, the taunts and tension faded away, yet friendship seemed illusive.

But, as Suprapto and Kartini continued to act neighborly, something remarkable happened. After four years, they not only had established several friendships, but often — sometimes each week — neighbors would come to their house to ask for advice about their marriages or to seek help with their children. In the words of this Javanese miracle worker: “They join with us to patch our leaky roof during rainy season. They deliver greeting cards whenever we celebrate our sacred holidays. They invite our Christian children into their Muslim homes. They bring us cakes.”

—Robert P. Sellers, “A real-life story of the power of kindness to overcome differences,” Baptist News Global, February 1, 2021.

Luke 6:37-42

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you …”

We all know this statement is not true! At least not on a human level. We are judged by people we do not even know! We are condemned by people who think they know us, but do not know us at all! And we have given without anything being returned.

What is Jesus talking about here?

Jesus is asking those who follow him to consider what God gives to us as more important than what other people may or may not give to us.

We have all allowed ourselves to fall under the pressure of other’s judgement. It can bring hurt on many levels. Not being able to “measure up” to someone else’s standards keeps people from soaring where God would want us to soar! Jesus wants us to know that God does not judge us in this way. God considers us loved children.

The same is true for condemnation and forgiveness. While we are called to not condemn another person and called to offer forgiveness to those who have hurt us or betrayed us, we know that these practices are not always reciprocal. So please know, says Jesus, that you do not stand condemned in front of God. God offers forgiveness and freedom.  

God loves you and is working for what is best for you.

Prayer: God, I give you my hurt and ask you to carry it for me. I give you those areas of my life that have been pushed down by others around me or by society in general and ask that you would lift me up. Help me keep my eyes on you and open my heart to your love and your grace. Amen

Luke 6:27-36

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you …”

This text is at the heart of Luke’s gospel. And when we are honest, it is the most difficult call of discipleship we have. It is easy to love our friends. It takes a bit of work and intention to reach out and help those we do not know, or those who are less fortunate than us. But to intentionally love those who are on the opposite side of politics, or the vaccine issue. To love those whose opinions are so different than our own, or whose actions hurt us … that is hard!

I have served in churches over the last four decades where people are so hurt or angry with one another that they will not serve on the same committee together, they will not attend a church function together, and insist on sitting on opposite sides of the sanctuary if they must worship together but would prefer two separate worship services!

This is a long way from the command which is at the heart of Jesus’ ministry. Let’s take this command of Jesus to heart today. Bring to your mind a person you are avoiding and pray for them. Ask God to change your heart and bring blessings into their lives. This does not mean you should put yourself in harms way if someone has physically assaulted you. To forgive does not always mean to forget! But forgiveness brings healing to emotional pain and scarring. Forgiveness moves you forward and allows you to love in fresh ways.

Prayer: O God, look into my heart and find the hurt. I lift myself to you for healing. Help me to pray for those, especially _________ with whom I disagree. Help me reach out a hand to those, especially ___________ with whom I have put at a distance. Change my heart, O God. Start with me. Amen

Luke 6:17-19

Yesterday we saw Jesus in the Synagogue where he opened Scripture for those who were able to come inside. In this text Jesus goes outside where people come to him. “People from all over the region came to hear him and be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them.”

Most of us are able to go to church and not have anyone stop us from entering. In fact, most of us can go anywhere we like, and not be stopped or questioned because of our social standing or physical ailments. But in Jesus’ day, there were very strict requirements and limitations upon who could enter public places … even the house of worship!

So, Jesus went out to the seaside and the countryside where anyone could come. And they did! If a door was shut, Jesus opened it and went out to those who were shut out. No one was prohibited from coming to Jesus. 

Today, you might feel “not good enough” to be included in something, and Jesus wants you to know it is not a matter of being “good enough”. 

Jesus has open arms for you to come.

Today, you might feel like you are “better” than someone else. You might feel smarter or more blessed or superior in some way through your own efforts. Take a look around and notice that Jesus has chosen to be with those you consider “beneath you” and there is healing happening.

Hear these words from Luke 6:20-23

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.

Rejoice in that day and leap for you, because great is your reward in heaven.

Luke 6:9

“Then Jesus asked, Which is it lawful to do on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or destroy it?”

Up to this point in his ministry, Jesus has often been confronted about his actions on the Sabbath day, or in the synagogue. He interpreted Scripture and taught people differently than they were used to.  And because of his Sabbath teaching, while he was on the road, his actions reflected a message much different than what they were used to.

What were they used to?

People with certain problems were not invited or welcome.

People living under certain social constraints were not equal to others, and therefore not invited or welcome to be part of normal life.

Certain people were to be left alone. Cast aside. Forgotten about. Avoided.

Jesus came and touched those who were not to be touched.

He ate with those you were not to eat with.

He healed those were not worthy of being healed.

And then he asked the questions … Is the Sabbath meant to save life or destroy life?

When I consider what “the Sabbath” means to me, it is much more than Sunday morning while in church. It is every moment an opportunity comes to me where I can reflect the goodness of God with someone.

Every time I have the opportunity to invite or welcome someone into a safe place. Anytime I can do good in God’s name.

When you hear the word Sabbath, what do you think of?

What does it call you to do?

Prayer: Lord, today, as I look around me, help me to see the people and the needs you want me to see and show me how to share your love.

amen

Luke 6

Last Friday we read of people confronting Jesus about how he was bending rules or parting from tradition, and Jesus pointed out that he was interpreting Scripture differently than tradition had allowed. The reason for Jesus having a different viewpoint was because he held people much of society looked down upon with worth. He viewed all of God’s children as worthy of God’s attention and love.

This is the challenge of Luke’s entire Gospel.

As we continue to read in chapter 6, we see the disciples rubbing wheat together so they could have something to eat. Can you imagine a time it would have been unlawful to rub heads of grain together as you are walking through the fields, and munching on the kernels?

This law had a time and a place – and this was neither.

The question Jesus lifted up for his followers and his antagonists was the same. What and who is the foundation for the laws/rules you follow?

Is it God and God’s love for each one of us –

Or is it something else? like our ego at knowing things others do not know. Or our sense of being superior to others. Or even our fear of traveling into uncertainty or the unknown?

Today, as you look around and see the people of our world, rather than casting judgement, open your heart to see the needs. See people as you think God sees them and allow your heart to be touched in such a way that your actions might be affected.

Prayer: O God, where I see rules, help me to see people. Where I see only right and wrong, help me to feel compassion. Amen

Luke 5:33-39

Jesus was often asked questions about his behavior or that of his disciples. Sometimes the questions were asked of curiosity, and other times they were asked to trick him into revealing something that was unacceptable by deeply held tradition, or even unlawful.

In any case, Jesus used the question as an opportunity to teach. 

Often, he taught with a parable.

Today’s text is an example of a question asked of Jesus, meant to trick him into admitting he went against Jewish tradition, perhaps even breaking their laws. Rather than trying to get out of the trap, Jesus walked right into it and said that what he and his disciples did pushed against their understanding of tradition, and their understanding of the law.

Not fasting, while most people were fasting. Why? Because his disciples recognized that having Jesus present was a time for rejoicing and doing ministry, not weeping.

And then Jesus continues to say, who would put an old patch from a used wine skin on a new skin filled with new wine?  This is pretty easy to interpret.  As Ecclesiastes says, there is a time for everything: a time to cry, a time to morn, a time to sleep … etc. And a time to put those things away and live into your faith! Now was a time for the disciples to live into their brand new faith.

When Jesus comes into your life, things change. Your heart, your mind, your actions. People might question why you are doing what you are doing, or not doing what you once did. How will you respond?

And on a different level, Jesus might ask YOU to do something you never did before or stop doing something you have done for a long time. How will you respond?

The journey of faith that you say “yes” to when you decide to walk with Jesus will challenge and often times change things. 

Are you ready? 

Are you ready to accept the challenges?

Are you ready to make the changes?

Are you able to accept the changes in others that Jesus creates?

Prayer: Lord, Jesus, help me to see my actions the way you see them, and help me to feel in my heart as you desire for me to feel. May the challenges that come inspire me to see differently. Help me put away the old when that is necessary, so I can live into the new you are calling me to. Amen.

Luke 5~

Luke 5 continues with two healing stories. One is a man with leprosy and the other is a man who is paralyzed. Both of these healings took words of faith and action. In the first, Jesus asked the man with leprosy if he was willing to let Jesus heal him. He said he was. He was healed. 

This might seem obvious. Who of us would not want to be healed!

But this man had been ill for some time and had most likely given up on ever being better, let alone be completely healed!  I am sure each of us have given up on some area of our life, whether it be our health or a life situation or employment.

Perhaps we have even been praying about it for some time.

If Jesus were to stand before you with the answer and ask if you would like to move forward out of the situation, would you have the courage to say “yes”?

What is it right now that Jesus wants to help you move through?

The second healing required faith from friends. 

This paralyzed man was powerless to get to Jesus … but his friends were not! They went to great lengths and crossed a barrier or two to bring their friend in front of Jesus. This is faith in action. And teamwork!

Is there something going on in your life right now that you need your friends or family to help you with?

Do you see something going on with a friend that you can help with?

What are you waiting for?

What is stopping you?

What barriers do you need to take down or get over?

Are you ready/willing to do so?

Prayer: God you know my doubt … and offer me faith.

You know my weakness … and offer your strength.

You know my stubbornness … and offer your grace and patience.

You offer me everything needed to move ahead in my life.

Help me to say “Yes! Let’s do it!”

Luke 5 has Jesus going to the Sea of Galilee to teach a large crowd of people. While there, he speaks to Simon, who had come in from an entire night of fishing, and tells him to go back out into the deep waters and cast out their nets again.

This was completely contrary to what a fisherman would do!

It would be something like God telling you to go back to work after your shift has ended and you did not have a very good day!

Simon responded to Jesus by saying, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and have caught nothing. But because you say so, I will let down my nets.”

After this experience, Jesus calls Simon to follow him as a disciple.

This is exactly the response Jesus needs to have from us if we are going to be his disciple. We can express our misgivings and even have our doubts – but can we obey?

Prayer: Dear God, I confess to you that there are times I am tired and don’t feel like doing the things you want me to do. I confess that I do not like to fail, and I worry that I cannot do those things you ask of me. Strengthen my faith and encourage me when I doubt. Lead me in your path. Amen

Luke 4

In this chapter we read the familiar passage of Jesus going into the wilderness where he is both tested and called. When “the Devil was finished with him, Jesus returned to his home in Nazareth and the people in his hometown rejected him.

I cannot imagine being rejected by the people I grew up with!

Jesus experienced a lot of rejection in his lifetime.

And he did not turn bitter. Quite the opposite! His heart opened more and more to others who knew rejection. 

His first miracle was offered to a man possessed by an evil spirit… 

Can you imagine anyone in our society who is more misunderstood, feared, and cast aside than those who seem to be possessed with evil, or have an illness that causes behavior we do not see as normal?

We have a double-sided challenge/opportunity to see in this first miracle. 

First, we can trust that Jesus will embrace us with love when we are open with him about what we see as “flaws” or “abnormalities” in our life whether they be emotional, spiritual, physical or intellectual. Jesus will never turn away from us or be embarrassed by us.

Second, we should look at how we see others who are different from ourselves. Do we “shun”, “Look away from” or even “look down upon” people who are different physically, emotionally, spiritually or intellectually? 

If we do, we are not unlike the people in the text who rejected Jesus.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, help me to be honest with you about what I see as failures or shortcomings. As you love me, help me to love myself. And dear Jesus, give me eyes to see, a heart to feel, and a mind that understand my brothers and sisters as you would have me understand. Amen

Luke 2:21-40

Before we move forward into the life and teachings of Jesus as an adult, this passage brings a very old man and a very old woman onto the scene to affirm to Mary and Joseph that their baby son was indeed the “Son of God”. Have you ever ventured into something new, wondering if it is the right path for you; wondering if you are capable of doing it; wondering if you might mess everything up?

Sure you have! So have I!

It is times like this when we are tempted to quit or talk ourselves out of moving ahead.

But then someone comes along and gives us affirmation and encouragement. 

Often, it is because of the support of others that we are able to keep going.

God knows we need one another for strength and courage to keep moving forward. Sometimes YOU are the one being sent to offer this, and sometimes you are the one who needs it!!

The age of Simeon and Anna reminds those of us who are “older” that the encouragement we offer one another is a gift!!!

Is there someone you can offer encouragement to today?

Today we have the very familiar Birth story from Luke 2:1-20.

Another story that is so familiar that some of the shock has worn off. 

To have the parents of God’s son travel by foot and donkey to a strange place and end up in an animal’s stable is NOT what one would expect of divinity!! And then to have shepherds and animals as the only visitors in the stable, is also unexpected and extremely important. 

Luke is paving the way to show who God is intentional to reveal God’s self to. The lowly. The outcast, outsiders and even outlaws.

And who God is intention to invite to come!

As we come to the manger to meet Jesus- a vulnerable baby with humble beginnings – perhaps we must examine who we are and how we come!

As you approach God today, is there something going on in your life that you would rather God not know about? 

Something that seems “not good enough”?

Perhaps even something that is embarrassing? 

The path has been cleared and set by Jesus himself, for everyone and anyone to come to God “just as we are”.

So, let’s come …

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to see you in my vulnerabilities. Help me to see you in the vulnerability of others. And in seeing you, help me to come in humbleness of heart. Amen.

Continuing in Luke 1:57-80 the son that God promised to Zechariah and Elizabeth is born, and he is given a name. The entire community balked at the chosen name. It was not a family name! People who lived in these Biblical days enjoyed and followed tradition as much as any other time in history. There was a right way and a wrong way of doing things.

HHHmmmm. That sounds familiar! A right way and a wrong way!

I definitely grew up with a right way and a wrong way to do things.

How about you?

But sometimes following God leads us to step over the line!

Once Zechariah confirmed to the grumbling crowd that the baby’s name would be John, as God directed, his tongue was loosed and he could talk! For the first time in 9 months, Zechariah could talk!!!

Is there something God is asking you to do … to speak … to stand up for … that you are hesitating to do?

Perhaps God is asking you to do something you have never done before, but once you say “yes” and move forward with it, you will find a freedom you have not experienced before!!

Ask God today for clarity to hear the message and courage to follow.

Prayer: Dear God, help me to trust that you ARE speaking to me, you ARE leading me, and you DO love me even more than I am able to love myself. And in that trust, may I learn to say YES. Amen

As we continue reading in Luke 1:26-56 the narrative changes from an elderly couple to a very young woman (probably a teenager) being told that she would conceive and bear a child. Not only is this woman (teenager) young, she is also unmarried. This is more of a scandal than the story we read yesterday! 

This narrative about Mary, coupled with yesterday’s sets the stage early and firmly that God works, not just in mysterious ways, but in ways that will include both the young and the old. 

Sometimes we get so familiar with certain Bible narratives that we are no longer surprised by them. Looking at this passage we see that Mary was surprised! She was not expecting to hear from God or expecting to be used as a vessel for God’s gift to the world. But once God spoke, she listened. She rejoiced in God’s gift.

Her response to God was “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be to me as you have said.”

What unexpected gift might God want to give to you today?

What opportunity might God want you to accept (even though you are unprepared for).

Can you respond as Mary responded?

Pause for more than a moment – perhaps as you receive communion or as you receive the imposition of ashes – and listen for God’s gift.

God’s opportunity.

Prayer: I am your servant, Lord. Help me to accept my role in your larger plan. Use me; send me; as you will. Amen

Luke 1:5-25

Luke begins his gospel narrative with the story of a priest named Zechariah, being told while in the Holy of Holies that he and his wife would bear a son and call him John. There are many fascinating aspects of this encounter, not the least of which is the fact that up to this point Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth were desperate for children, but could not conceive. They were also well past the physical time of being able to have a child. The stage is set for the entire gospel of Luke in this opening miracle story of an elderly barren couple having a baby.

God brings life where there is no life.

God brings hope where all hope has vanished.

God brings a future to people who feel most of their life has already been lived.

Let’s reflect on this message for our personal lives today.

Where is God offering hope, life, a future to you?

How will you receive it?

Prayer: Loving God, open my heart today to the gift you have for me to explore and possibly delight in. Show me that you want to provide for me what I cannot acquire on my own. I give my heart to you. Amen

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