It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!

 

 Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!  It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.  Take heed to yourselves.  If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."  So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.  And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?  But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'?  Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him?  I think not.  So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.'"

 

- Luke 17:1–10 

 

On Saturday, Jesus taught the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus:  "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.  But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.  Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.  So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.  The rich man also died and was buried.  And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'  But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.  And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'  Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'  And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'  But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'" 

Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!  It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."  My study Bible says that little ones refers primarily to children, and by extension to anyone whose heart is humble and dependent upon God.  In the structure of Luke's Gospel, Jesus has just told the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.  This parable is, among other things, a powerful teaching on repentance and the lack of it.  We also should keep in mind that Jesus speaks to His disciples, who will become the pillars of the Church, and teach others under them.  In this context, this is a reminder that they too will wield their own power within the structure of the Church, and have "little ones" in their care.  It is also a teaching to all those who would follow them in this role, and each one of us who would be His disciples.

"Take heed to yourselves.  If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."  We can refer to a similar passage in Matthew 18:15-35.  In that passage, Jesus first outlines a structure for mutual correction and forgiveness within the Church.  He also teaches St. Peter that forgiveness upon repentance should be done "up to seventy times seven."  In other words, symbolically, an unlimited amount.  He also tells the parable of the Unforgiving Servant in that passage, teaching us that because God forgives us, we are in turn required to grant the gift of forgiveness to others.

And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."  So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."  My study Bible explains that the mulberry tree is symbolic of the works of the devil.  It is on the leaf of this tree that silkworms feed, and worms are an image of hell (Mark 9:42-48).  My study Bible adds that this patristic interpretation is confirmed by many scriptural images of evil being destroyed in the sea (Luke 8:33; Exodus 14:27; Matthew 21:21; Revelation 20:10).  

"And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?  But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'?  Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him?  I think not."  The servant plowing is mentioned first and the one tending sheep second, which shows that one must first work out one's own salvation (Philippians 2:12) before one can become a shepherd of others.  This understanding given in my study Bible confirms the understanding that Jesus is speaking of life within the Church and its eventual hierarchy, for He is speaking to the disciples, His servants.  This is a similar message to the teaching in the Sermon on the Mount given to His disciples:  "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:3-5).

 

 "So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.'"  This word unprofitable is translated from the Greek word ἀχρεῖος/axreios, which might literally be understood as "without merit" or "without usefulness."  This does not mean lacking in intrinsic value.  Instead, my study Bible explains, it means that everything we have comes from God and is owed back to God.  There is nothing can offer God that is not already God's.

The teachings in today's reading parallel similar structures in Matthew's Gospel which refer to disciplines and behaviors within the Church among believers.  If we look at them in this light, then we see clearly how Jesus is addressing this issue of the "little ones" within the context of the disciples' own behaviors.  Here in Luke's Gospel, today's text comes after the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (see Saturday's reading, above), and frames that parable within a setting of power and social hierarchy, and also a teaching about compassion.  The parable is also a warning to all of us about the failure to repent, and the consequences of such a failure.  So often, we fail to understand forgiveness and reconciliation within the context of what is asked of us in repentance.  Our connection to our brothers and sisters -- even to neighbor, if you will -- is predicated upon repentance and forgiveness.  Here, reconciliation is possible through both forgiveness and repentance on the part of the offended and the offender.  It is a framework that is defined by the concept Christ gives of the two greatest commandments in the Law:  that we love God with all our heart and soul and strength and mind, and neighbor as ourselves (see again the reading in Luke in which Jesus taught the parable of the Good Samaritan).  Through both forgiveness and repentance, conflict is stopped at its earliest level, without rising to greater strife and yet more problematic grievance and controversy that can roil entire communities.  Again, this seems here to be connected to a plan for Christ's eventual Church itself, the community of believers, of disciples, in which the men to whom He speaks here will play the role of foundational pillars and images for the rest to follow.  In any hierarchy, there are those who wield power, and those who rank under them and hold different responsibilities.  Within the framework of the Church and our believing communities, the "little ones" are those who come to be taught, who look up to leadership for an image of conduct and care.  Most absolutely, Christ is preaching compassion as the rule in His Church.  And He is also pragmatic here in His teachings, for He is acknowledging that the Church will be an institution based within flawed human beings, of whom He says here that "it is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!  It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."  He emphasizes the care of the least, the ones who lack social currency, or power and influence of some kind, the ones who are humble and dependent, because this is truly where compassion is expressed, in how we treat the "little ones."  As followers of Christ, we must all take these words to heart, because, as He clearly acknowledges here, there will always be "little ones" and there will inevitably "offenses" that come.  In His teaching, we have been given a highly pragmatic awareness of what social structures will entail, and yet how He wants His Church to function in the midst of an imperfect and unjust world.  If we but start there, with His teaching about awareness of the little ones, His teaching about knowing and correcting our own flaws first as a mandatory beginning for being good servants to Him, our consciousness of the need for repentance and forgiveness, then we will stand in good stead in terms of understanding the workings of salvation and of our faith.  For without these teachings, what do we have?  They distinguish what Christianity is and must be, what faithful Christians must be and how we walk through life.  For we are those through whom God must be glorified in this way.