Can the blind lead the blind?

And He spoke a parable to them:  "Can the blind lead the blind?  Will they not both fall into the ditch?  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.

For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.  But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?  Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.  But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.  And the ruin of that house was great."

- Luke 6:39-49

 On Saturday, we read Jesus' continuing Sermon on the Plain.  (This Sermon began in the reading for Friday, after Jesus chose His Twelve Apostles from among His disciples.  See Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.)  In Saturday's reading, Jesus taught His disciples, "Love your enemies, do good for those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you."  He said, "Just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."  He offered us an image of an exchange of a "worldly" kingdom for this kingdom of God:  "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."  He also taught about judgment:  "Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  for with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

And He spoke a parable to them:  "Can the blind lead the blind?  Will they not both fall into the ditch?  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher."  Here Jesus is teaching those who would be His disciples that they must be like their teacher.  It's not enough just to have Him as our teacher, we must become like Him.  Remember, a disciple is a learner, one who will also in turn teach others.  My study bible puts it this way:  "Spoken to the disciples, these words are an exhortation to discernment and imitation of Christ in their training for the apostolic ministry."

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye."  Here we have the call to self-awareness.  How can we help others unless we ourselves understand what it is to "remove our specks" - or even the plank that is in our own eye?  Jesus' greatest criticism is constantly in this word, "Hypocrite."  In the Greek, its literal meaning is "actor."  In the ancient world, one who puts on a false face or mask to play a character.

"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." These words are a call to purity of heart.  That is, a true depth of honesty and truth within ourselves.  This kind of honesty is the opposite of hypocrisy:  it is someone who can cherish and nurture the good within the depth of the heart, guarding against that which needs to go ("pruning" the plank in our own eye), so that then this rich treasure may be directly shared with others.  It all begins with what we choose to treasure.

"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?  Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.  But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.  And the ruin of that house was great."  My study bible says, "Hearing the gospel is not enough, according to Jesus.  We must do what He says.  Jesus did not preach that faith alone is all God requires for salvation.  Spiritual foundations are made secure with both faithful hearing and faithful doing of the words of Christ."  Let us remember that discarding and paying attention to that "plank in our own eye" is also faithful doing.  Thus we are prepared for the work of discipleship, helping, guiding and teaching others - and sharing the good treasure of the heart.

Jesus' emphasis in today's reading is on what is inside of us, how we care for the heart.  He exhorts us all against hypocrisy, but rather making ourselves good trees which give off good fruits, speaking about the abundance of the heart in a truly-nurtured disciple who has followed His words.  In this way we are best prepared to meet our brothers and sisters.  In a modern context, I can imagine this application in a number of ways.  How do we meet others?  What do we cultivate and nurture in our own hearts?  Remember, He is speaking to disciples, to those who will in turn teach others.  In some sense, each of us who choose to be His disciples, as faithful, bear a responsibility to live as "light-bearers" in the world, to glorify God by our own discipline.  Jesus speaks most strongly against hypocrisy, about the good treasure of the heart, and guarding against the failure to perceive the plank in our own eye.  So how can we teach love, if we don't learn what love is from a relationship to God that leads us away from that which is not God-like?  Many people feel they have no sin.  But I believe that "missing the mark" (the literal translation of the Greek word for sin) can come in many forms.  There may be things which keep us from being the person we can fully be which we hold on to.  There may be secret ambitions, a kind of fruitless competitiveness or rivalry, or a desire for authority that seem perfectly "normal" on the one hand, but perhaps get in the way of good and true discipleship.  So we trim the tree, we withdraw the plank that keeps us from seeing straight, and having this spiritual discipline ourselves, we then become prepared to help our brothers and sisters -- without being hypocrites.  How do you learn from God's love for you today?  We remember that to do this job of discipleship is never ours alone and under our own power, but we have and need God's living strength at work with us to help us in all things.  In this way, we will be like the Teacher.

Love your enemies

"But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.  And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.  Give to everyone who asks of you.  And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.  And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

"But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same.  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.  But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  for with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

- Luke 6:27-38

In yesterday's reading, we first read that Jesus prayed all night on the mountain.  When it was day, He called His disciples to Himself, and chose the Twelve who will be His apostles.  He came down from the mountain and stood on a level place in the midst of His disciples and the crowds who came for healing from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.  All were healed of every ailment including torment from unclean spirits, and all sought to touch Him for power came out from Him and healed them all.  Then He "lifted up His eyes to His disciples, and began to preach:  "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.  Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!  For indeed your reward is great in heaven,  For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.  Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets."

 "But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.  And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.  Give to everyone who asks of you.  And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.  And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."  My study bible sums up Jesus' teachings as follows:  "The Kingdom of God calls us to a way of life in which mercy abounds."  Clearly, Christ calls us to a life of pro-active love.  This is love that is not dependent upon what others do first.  It is a life dependent on the call of God, and the will of God, and the love of God.  We are to be, in this sense, God-like, as adopted children.  When we refrain from sin and temptation, it is a kind of negative God-likeness (negative in the sense that it refers to things we are not to do).  But here, Jesus' preaching dwells on the positive side of the same coin of discipleship, on what we are to do, what love we share as members of that Kingdom.

"But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same.  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.  But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."  Here the emphasis is on mercy.   In this pro-active love, Christ takes us beyond the justice of an eye for an eye, and into something new, into a kind of love that is like Him.  We also enter into an exchange here, not with others, but the reciprocity and reciprocal reward is from God.   It is a refocusing of our energies into relatedness with God, and thereby an awareness of our status as children by adoption and bearers of this kingdom.  I do not believe these teachings are given as a literal recipe for bankruptcy or giving all to people who will steal from us so that we have nothing in life, a kind of pure social masochism demanded of us all.  (Although there are saints who have practiced such a life in pure love of God, so the teaching as with all things depends upon the individual.  However, Christ will also teach us discernment, to not cast our pearls before swine.)  Rather, they shift our relationship and our understanding of how we are to relate to the world, and whose love we bear into the world.  This radical shift is also what enables the practice of forgiveness, and prayer for others who've harmed us -- another practice of love.

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."  And so, we are led to the practice of mercy and what that means in our lives.  We can't judge of ourselves, but we can seek God's judgment in all things.  It's not up to us to condemn, but it is up to us to forgive, to give all things up to God for God's perspective and will for our own conduct in response.  This reciprocity -- again a focus away from the law of an eye for an eye -- gives us a shift into focus in relationship to God first, so our conduct in the world is guided by that.  Our reward comes from God as well.

Jesus' perspective shifts us into a radical point of view.  What are we when we begin our lives in the world through the lens of discipleship, of being "sons of the Most of High?"  It puts things in an entirely different perspective than a purely worldly one.  In that sense, we are provided with an abundance of love from this relationship to God, which we share with others.  We are cast into a place where normal means of relationship are shifted, where an abundance of mercy may fill us and our lives in ways that are beyond worldly perspective.  To forgive, in my opinion, is to give all to God for God's discernment and guidance for our conduct.  We start from that place in discipleship.  Therefore a positive pro-active love doesn't mean we are dependent first upon others.  I do not believe that reconciliation automatically follows for all things except in our relationship to God; that is, we accept the circumstances in which we find ourselves and give them to God.  We don't condone bad or cruel behavior, we don't forgo justice, but we do remain in relationship to God for how we handle these things.  We let them go to God.  In this way, we practice a kind of positive detachment from hurtful things, in the interest of God's judgment and in relationship to God's love.  From there, we can seek wholeness, restoration, healing; and we remember Jesus' question, Is it lawful to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?  My study bible notes that "by definition, human judgment precludes mercy."  So, Jesus' teachings here bear out His teaching on the greatest commandments:  First, that one shall love God with all one's heart and mind and soul; and second, to love neighbor as oneself.  In what ways do you give things up to God today, and ask for God's guidance in relationship to others?  Love means correction, discipline, growth - not simply indulgence.  How do we grow in God's love and mercy, as disciples and as adopted children?

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

Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, He called his disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom he also named apostles:  Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.  And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

"Blessed are you poor,
  For yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
  For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
  For you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you,
  And when they exclude you,
  And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
  For the Son of Man's sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
  For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
  For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

But woe to you who are rich,
  For you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full,
  For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
  For you shall mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
  For so did their fathers to the false prophets."

- Luke 6:12-26

In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus and His disciples went through the grainfields.  His disciples plucked heads of grain to eat, rubbing them in their hands.  Some of the Pharisees asked why they were doing what it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.  Jesus reminded them of the story of King David and his men eating the showbread when they were famished.  Jesus said, "The Son of Man is also lord of the Sabbath."  On another Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue.  A man with a withered hand was present, and the scribes and Pharisees watched closely to see whether Jesus would heal him, and thereby they could make an accusation of a violation of the Sabbath-rest.  Jesus knew their thoughts.  He told the man with the withered hand:  "Arise and stand here.".   Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing:  Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"  And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, He called his disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom he also named apostles:  Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.  My study bible points out for us that Jesus prayed all night before this great task of choosing the Apostles, "the Twelve whom He will train to continue His mission in the world."  The Greek word from which we derive "Apostle" means "sent out (on a mission), commissioned".  They will bear His message, His kingdom out into the world.  From the beginning, Luke's Gospel tells us of the one who will become a traitor, as well as the transformation implied in Peter's change of name.

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.  And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.  After Jesus chooses those Twelve on the mountaintop, He goes back down to a "level" or flat place, with the people who have come from everywhere -- all regions of Israel.  He's surrounded by multitudes of people and crowds of His disciples:  Luke gives us a feel for the great multitude, seemingly a whole world in microcosm, who surround Jesus.  Either they are disciples or recipients of His healing power.  Healing of diseases and the outcasting of unclean spirits that torment people go hand in hand in the use of this power to heal.  The whole multitude sought simply to touch Him -- and power goes out from Him in that connection to "heal them all."  This is Christ who calls us into depth of relationship, who is there for us awaiting our desire for Him, whom later Church Fathers will write about as closer than our own hearts. 

Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:  "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."  Jesus begins His sermon to the disciples.  My study bible notes:  "This teaching is similar in content to the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) but not as extensive.  This has been called the Sermon on the Plain because Jesus 'stood on a level place' when He delivered it.  Jesus taught many of the same things over a period of three years in a setting of hills, plains, the lakeshore and the cities, and we have His teachings in various versions."  From the beginning of His preaching, we note the similarity as well to the Magnificat,  the song of Mary, also found in Luke's Gospel.  Mary says, "He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.   He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty."  It is the Good News of the Kingdom in that its power turns the world "upside-down" in the ways that it establishes justice.  These words resemble those of Isaiah quoted by John the Baptist, about making the Lord's paths straight.  Here we are on a level place, for all people.  John quoted Isaiah:  "Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' "    And so, from the beginning of Jesus' sermon, we have Him teaching directly:  Blessed are you poor -- that is, those who have given up all for the sake of the kingdom and its labor, for theirs is the kingdom of God.  We must note that there are all kinds of ways in which one may be this kind of poor.  This is voluntary, and has much more to do with what is treasured above all in the heart, with our will, in real humility - than appearance or outward circumstance. Of course, many disciples in the centuries to come will take a vow of literal poverty for His Kingdom's sake -- but the emphasis here is on the heart, the spiritual choice and purpose a disciple makes. 

"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled."  The disciples are hungry for the Kingdom, and the bread of the Kingdom and its food.

"Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.  Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you,  And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!  For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets."  The choice for this kingdom is not a way of great popularity, and pleasing the world.  Over and over again in the Gospels there is the distinction between the praise or glory of men, and that of God.  It's a choice we make; what do we put first?  These disciples will suffer and many will give their lives in this labor.  But these words are no less true for those who in all kinds of ways would give up worldly attachments to put this Kingdom first in their hearts and lives, going where its work will call them.  Suffering and ostracism for the sake of this Kingdom haven't left us; His Cross will always be a part of this story in this age.  Simply the forms in which this comes may be those of specific time and place.

"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.  Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets."  My study bible says, "Luke also reports four 'woes' in addition to his four Beatitudes."  These woes also tell us a story -- most of all a story about what we put first.  It's about those who would forgo the exigencies of this Kingdom for those of the world.  In that case, their material abundance becomes the sole consolation:  material wealth, popularity in a purely worldly sense, worldly praise or glory. The life in abundance offered by Christ belongs to those who truly love it. 

In my life, it seems that I know a lot of people who would settle for the things mentioned in the four "woes."  I know a lot of people who really don't care for the things of God.  It's an option for them that they don't care to take or to consider, for all kinds of reasons.  Perhaps some respond to bad feelings about the Church, or actions on the part of religious people with which they disagree. Perhaps for some it may be a case of a lack of exposure through those who could teach.  But in all the cases that I can think of for myself in my personal experience, these choices come with a great deal of ignorance, and a lack of depth of understanding about the spiritual life.  They are choices that skim the surface and live from appearances, without the depth of heart that comes from serious spiritual consideration.  (Of course, as will Jesus, we might also include many who are outwardly religious in this context as well.)  In the spiritual life, in the Christian gospels and letters of the apostles, we will find a great emphasis on the heart, and on love.  And that is where we need to go if we are going to understand Christian faith.  It is there within ourselves that we really need to visit the things we most treasure, that make life sweet and abundant, and give us joy.  The virtues of the spiritual life are those that call us into relationship of a particular kind:  first with God, and thereby in that love out to the world.  It changes our relatedness, and deepens our perspective.  So the ancient Hebrews in the salvation of Israel were called to depth of love for God, and God's abundant, steadfast mercy.  So we are continually called.  The Church Fathers use an analogy to the world and to God in the spokes of a wheel.  Each of us starts out at the rim, and as we travel closer to that center, in relationship to God, we draw closer.  Consider what it is to love, and what is truly worth that love.  It's there we find the virtues and blessings Christ promises, the true healing of our way of life, and how we see.

Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?

Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields.  And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.  And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"  But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?"  And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also lord of the Sabbath."

Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.  And a man was there whose right hand was withered.  So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.  But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here."  And he arose and stood.  Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing:  Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"  And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

- Luke 6:1-11

In yesterday's reading, Jesus first saw a tax collector named Levi (who is known to us as Matthew the Evangelist).  With the simple words from Christ, "Follow Me," Matthew left all, rose up, and followed Him, Luke tells us.  Levi (Matthew) then gave a great feast at his house, for Jesus and other followers, including many tax collectors and others.  Pharisees and their scribes complained against Jesus, asking Him, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Then they asked Jesus why the disciples of John the Baptist fast often and make prayers, like those of the Pharisees -- and those of Jesus eat and drink?  Jesus said, "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one, otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.  And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"

Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields.  And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.  And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"  But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?"  And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also lord of the Sabbath."  My study bible points out that the correct observance of the Sabbath-rest is a major point of controversy between the Pharisees and Jesus.  To call Himself the Son of Man becomes a more illumined name for us here:  it's again a sort of "hiding in plain sight" of His identity.  Here, Jesus makes a closer claim for His divine identity, both God and man.  He refers the Pharisees to an episode in the history of the life of King David, in which he and his men were famished, and the priest allowed them to eat the showbread (see 1 Samuel 21:6).

Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.  And a man was there whose right hand was withered.  So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.  But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here."  And he arose and stood.   I think it's important that we note the Gospel tells us this is a deliberate act by Jesus, a response to the thoughts of those who wish to find an accusation against Him.

Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing:  Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"  And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.  My study bible explains:  "According to the scribes and Pharisees, healing was considered work and was not permissible on the Sabbath.  They believed they served God by being zealous for traditions they had built up around the Law, and they saw Jesus as a lawbreaker.  Their dedication to rigid legalism made them insensitive to God's priorities."  Jesus' priorities are clear in His pointed question here:  "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"  It's once again playing on the emphasis introduced in yesterday's reading, on healing and restoration as part of God's salvation, and an essential understanding of the purposes of God's reaching out to humanity to save in mercy and everlasting love.

What's also clear from this reading is how our own priorities can get in the way of God's grace, God's reaching out toward us with God's message of intention and of love.  We can set up all kinds of rules and traditions - even those based on what we consider truly good, revelations of God's mercy - but when their observance gets in the way of God's true intention and love, then we must think again, reconsider, the real meaning behind "repent" (in the Greek, the word for repent literally means "change of mind").  But again, we look to the Hebrew Scriptures, especially the Psalms, and find over and over again reminders of God's steadfast love, God's pull to mercy.  Always, the option is to draw us into relationship, to call us back.  In the Gospels, we read of many acts of love that trump all other considerations, all other "good" rules, such as this one.  In the Greek, the word "economia" sets out the "rule" for the areas where we don't really know how to apply a principle or tradition.  It refers back to God's great "economia" - the plan for salvation, and the "rule" is to err on the side of mercy in applying any sort of understanding where things are fuzzy.  So if we look at today's readings in the light of our daily lives, we may think about ways in which they apply to ourselves.  Is there a rule one follows -- all in good intention, and made in the best of faith -- which can become a kind of slavish obligation in and of itself?  Let us remember that God is love, and it really doesn't matter on what personal level this may apply to us.  God's mercy and love trump everything; all must work together for the good, and thereby we can read again Jesus' question asking about doing good on the Sabbath.  In all circumstances, we can remember the question Jesus poses:  Is it lawful to do good or do evil, to save life (or soul) or destroy?  It's the "letter of the law" that can get in the way of our acceptance of its true spirit.  In what way does God's love call you forward into healing? into restoration?  into God's good? into God's rest?

No one puts new wine into old wineskins

After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

Then Levi gave him a great feast in his own house.  And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.  And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"  And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."  Then He spoke a parable to them:  "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one, otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.  And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"

- Luke 5:27-39

 In yesterday's reading, Jesus first healed a leper.  The man had come to Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  He told the man to say nothing but to go to the priest for the lawful certificate to rejoin the synagogue and the community.  But word spread anyway, despite Jesus' words.  Many came to Him to heal them after that.  So Jesus withdrew often to the wilderness and prayed.  Another day there were Pharisees and teachers of the law from everywhere in Israel:  from all over Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem.  So full was the house with people that a paralytic was hoisted down through the roof by his friends.  Jesus saw their faith and said, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  The scribes and Pharisees reasoned, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But when Jesus received their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"

  After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.  Levi is also Matthew, who will become an Evangelist.  My study bible points out that he leaves his occupation to become a disciple.  It notes, "From the beginning of His ministry Christ has been a friend of tax collectors and sinners, which is one of the Pharisees' complaints against Him.  Levi may also have been one of those tax collectors prepared for Christ by John the Baptist."  This begins to open up a new kind of phase in the telling of Jesus' ministry, an extension of what we understand as "healing."

Then Levi gave him a great feast in his own house.  And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.  And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Levi celebrates, appropriate to the good news he's found, the Bridegroom who is with him.  My study bible says, "The guest register is a stirring demonstration of Jesus' love and forgiveness."  But this is something new and startling:  the Teacher is eating with tax collectors and sinners.  It should be noted here that one presumes these are people, like Matthew (Levi) who are on a new road in their lives.  Jesus teaches appropriately:  Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  My study bible says:  "Christ has come to call only those who know they need Him.  Sinners know it, but the scribes and Pharisees do not."  To be called to repentance, to "change of mind" here in Jesus' words, is to be saved, to be healed.

Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"  And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."   The central saving figure in this Gospel is clear:  it is Christ.  He is the Bridegroom.  The One around whom all else celebrate.  He's the Good come into their midst, and more importantly for today's reading, He is the Healer who can heal what ails them.  Later, fasting will of course become part of the Church and its practices of remembrance.  For now, for this moment in the setting of the Gospel, Christ is with them, in person, sitting at table -- a time for joy and celebration.  My study bible puts it, "Jesus' earthly life is a time of joyous blessings."

Then He spoke a parable to them:  "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one, otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old."  This saying seems to indicate that Jesus' "new" ministry among those who need His healing is an avoidance of a greater disruption.  He's not preaching to those who don't feel they need Him, and don't want to listen, but goes where He's needed, wanted, desired -- among those who respond to His saving and healing call.

 "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved."  Continuing the metaphor to His ministry, Jesus isn't going immediately to Jerusalem and the centers of religious authority with His preaching, but in the places where the new wine can begin to ferment and develop.  In this parable, it's as if He's developing a theme of parallel ministries:  the new and the old.  In this way, both can be preserved; these are the words of a Peacemaker, one who has come to heal and to save, not to condemn.

"And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"  My study bible notes that this is a difficult verse, appearing only in Luke.  It says, "Either it means that Jewish traditionalists are not ready to receive the new wine of Jesus' teaching, or this is a warning not to reject the Jewish heritage altogether."  It seems to imply both.  That there are those not ready to receive His teachings, who will automatically desire the old; this is human nature.  But there are those who have been left out of the banquet; they are those who drink the new with Him.

Jesus' ministry enters into themes of healing, saving, opening up for the "new" vintage that will be its fruit.  What does it mean to save?  To heal?  Let us think of Christ as the ultimate Good.  Working through the salvation history of the Old Testament Scripture, Christ's presence tells us about His work in the various "types" of the Old Testament works of God.  As Son of Man, He is here to inaugurate a "new" phase, one in which His direct saving and healing action involves all those called to repentance and to relationship.  He's healed many in His ministry already, but here a new note of healing is involved.  It's bringing those left out in the "old wine" or the mold of the "old wineskins" or "old garment" so that they, too, are included.  Being touched by Him has its saving and healing effect, an encounter with grace, in which we are invited in to say "yes" to this banquet, to turn around and be healed, to change our minds.  Healing and mercy are intertwined, and so, the old and the new live side by side, each bringing in those who would be His in the grand, overarching scheme of salvation history.  He begins His work among the "new" who may accept.  "Mercy" in the Greek is eleos, a word that sounds alike to "olive oil" -- the base for every healing balm in the ancient world.  To be anointed with this oil is to be touched with grace, healed.  But we must also turn around, and accept, on our part.  Christ is continually making new wine, and discarding none of the old.  We can all come to the table.  We can all say, "Yes"  to His invitation.

But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins -- I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house

And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately the leprosy left him.  And He charged Him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they were up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the filing into the midst before Jesus.  When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But when Jesus received their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"

- Luke 5:12-26

 In yesterday's reading, Jesus was teaching the multitude, who pressed round Him.  He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret (otherwise called the Sea of Galilee).  He saw some empty fishing boats, as the fishermen were washing their nets.  One of the boats was owned by Simon Peter, and Jesus got in and asked him to put out a little from the land.  Jesus sat in the boat and taught the crowds.  Then He said to Peter, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  When Peter put the net down into the water, so many fish entered that it was breaking.  He called his partners, John and James Zebedee, to help.  They came and filled the boats so full of fish that both began to sink.  When Peter saw this, He knelt and said to Jesus, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."   My study bible points out that "leprosy was one of the most dreaded diseases of this time.  It brought great physical suffering, and total banishment from society."  Here, we note His gracious answer to the man's question.  We also note the way the request was framed, with clear understanding of Jesus' authority, and the humility in the man, in his "if You are willing."  My study bible also notes, "Jesus touched this man, both sick and an outcast.  In the healing of this leper, the Lord also demonstrates there i no one in society who is to be left untouched by His gospel."  All may be a part of this community.

Immediately the leprosy left him.  And He charged Him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.  The man must go to the priest in order to be a part of the community once again, as the law required a certificate from a priest that the leper was cleansed.  It's not yet Jesus' time to reveal His full identity.  But nothing can stop this good news from making its rounds.  More and more people come to hear Him, and His ministry multiplies.  My study bible notes, "There are always more people to teach, to heal, to be freed from demons.  But Jesus still takes time for prayer."

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.   Here we see the involvement of the authorities, those who represent the religious establishment, experts in Scriptures and the law.  They are aware of Jesus' ministry -- His fame has gone to all parts of Galilee, and even through Judea and Jerusalem - the center of the religious authority.  Luke tells us, "And the power of the Lord was present to heal them."

Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they were up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the filing into the midst before Jesus.   We think of yesterday's reading, and the abundance of fish caught by listening to Jesus.  In this vast Source of creativity, that finds its way contrary to human expectations, we see this reading.  These men seek Christ so deeply for their friend that they find a way to lower him down to Jesus.  Nothing is going to stop them from getting to Christ.

When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"   Again, the example of faith makes the impression on Jesus, just as did the request of the leper, above. The question, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" is an ironic one, and one that touches on the truth about Jesus.  They know to seek and question; can they accept the answers?

But when Jesus received their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"  Just as Peter was filled with a kind of fear when he saw the great catch of fish from Jesus' directions, so these men are filled with fear and awe.  Jesus clearly demonstrates His divine qualities in three ways here:  He knows their thoughts and reveals them, He forgives sins, and He demonstrates His power to heal the paralysis.  While He has not called Himself the Christ, He uses rather the title Son of Man (see Daniel 7:13).  His Messianic identity remains hidden in plain sight, so to speak.

Paralysis is often seen in tradition as paralysis of the soul, a metaphor for sin.  Church fathers have taught that when we're stuck in sin, we're in a kind of paralysis.   We can't go forward.  If faith is a lifelong journey to Christ, bit by bit a realization of deepening relationship, that sin -- whatever is the matter -- may keep us from realizing the fullness and growth in that relationship.  In the Greek sense of the word, "sin" can be anything that keeps us from Christ.  The word for sin means "missing the mark."  So, in effect, we may carry a burden of sin for something that isn't necessarily caused by ourselves.  A very low sense of self-respect, for instance, can keep us from feeling worthy of the call to Christ, unable to recognize His love and healing in relationship.  A morbid sense of guilt may be a kind of self-centeredness that keeps us from His call to relationship.  Whatever it is that stands in the way of this call, it is "missing the mark."  It keeps us from a closer relationship to God.  It is the thing that must go.  Just as the paralyzed man gets there through help from his friends, not realizing any obstacle that stands in the way, so we should call on all our capabilities to get there.  Often the friends of the paralyzed man are metaphors for asking for prayers from others to help us.  They don't let even those roof tiles stand in the way!  The leper realizes that what God pronounces clean is clean.  All of these are metaphors for the Christian journey through life.  It's a call for closer encounter and relationship to God.  Every day, it seems that I am called upon to let go of something I've held dear, to change a way of thinking or perception, in order to walk the closer walk with Christ.  Whatever we need to let go of, whatever it is that limits our heeding His good news, it's worth the exchange.  It's worth all of our lives to do so.

Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.  Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

 -  Luke 5:1-11

 On Saturday, we read that Jesus went into Simon Peter's house at Capernaum, where Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a fever.  Jesus rebuked the fever and she immediately rose and served them.  Late in the day as the sun was setting, all manner of people were brought to Jesus with various illnesses; He laid hands on them and healed them.  Demons also came out of many, saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.  The next day, Jesus went to a deserted place, but was followed by the people.  They sought to keep Him with them, but He said, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.   The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee.  It's a large lake, about 7 miles wide and 13 miles long.

Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  Several times in the Gospels there is an indication that the crowds were so large, Jesus had to speak from a boat.  It's an indication of His practicality and pragmatism:  whatever it takes to get the job done, He will do it!

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.   There's a subtle sense to this story.  Jesus begins teaching the crowds from the boat, a creative answer to the problem of addressing the multitudes who've grown so large.  Here, Jesus' word expands, in a sense, the ways in which He opens up opportunities, an indication of an unceasingly creative Spirit at work.  Listening to Him, despite the rotten luck of no catch at all for the day (despite toiling all night), leads to a tremendous catch -- so great, in fact, their net was breaking.  It's a memorable scene, one they are sure never to forget. This catch is so great, they need to ask help from their friends.

And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  The catch is so great the boats are going to sink!  This is too much for Peter.  He's already called Jesus "Master," but here the strength of the full response of nature to Jesus' commands and directions is just too much.  Peter cannot take it in, literally and metaphorically, and kneels before Jesus, confessing his sinfulness.  It is a strong and instinctive response both to Jesus' authority, and an act of awe in an encounter with the divine.  It seems to me that Peter instinctively knows that in such an encounter, one cannot know what may result -- especially as he feels he is "sinful."   The fullness of the catch draws also the other two great disciples who will form, with Peter, Jesus' inner circle:  John and James Zebedee, Peter's fishing partners.

And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.  We can remark upon this willingness to automatically "forsake all" and follow Jesus, but I think we can't discount the impact of this scene, the results at following Jesus' directions.  It's a true sign of a holy man, one whom the multitudes already gather to hear.

It's a strong call to ministry that Peter and his friends James and John Zebedee witness in today's reading.  Not only had they toiled all night and caught nothing, but the overflow of the catch is astonishing.  Following Jesus' commands, not only is their labor astoundingly fruitful, He also brings in John and James Zebedee, more fisherman for the task of "catching men."  The multitudes gather for Jesus, and the multitudes of fish come into their nets, so great that it will sink the boats!  We get a picture of the abundance of life that is present in Jesus.  But there's more; in an encounter with this divine presence, whatever authority it is at work in Jesus, there is also humbling knowledge of ourselves.  Are we worthy of such great blessings?  How does the holy work in our lives?  Where is the awe that we feel when we understand truly what we encounter in Christ's presence?  This is the key, this knowledge of ourselves that Peter displays.  Our worldly toil means one thing, but with God's help, as Christ has said, all things are possible.  We just don't know where His abundance for the Way will lead us.  But we know enough to hear, and follow.