The sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light

He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that the man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."

- Luke 16:1-9

In yesterday's reading, we read the parable of the Prodigal Son.   First we read again that Jesus was criticized for dining with tax collectors and sinners.  In the previous reading, Jesus responded by telling the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin.  He said, "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."  In yesterday's reading, He added the parable of the Prodigal Son:  "A certain man had two sons.  And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.'  So he divided to them his livelihood.  And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.  But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger.  I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants." '   And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinner against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'  And they began to be merry.  Now his older son was in the field.  And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.  And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'  But he was angry and would not go in.  Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.  So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you;  I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.  But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'  And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "

 He also said to His disciples:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that the man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' "  My study bible notes that a steward here is "a manager of a wealthy man's household and property.  He is called to give an account because he is being dismissed, as his master no longer trusts him."  Here the focus or facet of perspective shifts in the parables; here He's speaking directly to His disciples, those who will become stewards of the Church.  On another level, we can see this steward as an image of someone wasting and scattering the talents and capacities entrusted to them by God.  In this, there's a parallel with the prodigal.

"Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'  So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'"  These measures are Greek and Hebrew units that my study bible says were about eight or nine gallons each.  In the word "debt" we have a symbolic parallel for sin; in the exchange for less we have forgiveness.  It is a practice of mercy.

Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' "  This measure is the equivalent of ten or twelve bushels each.  Whether or not we understand the sums, we know we are dealing with significant amounts of property.  Again the forgiveness of debt and the practice of mercy; the bill for what is owed is reduced.

"So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light."  My study bible says here:  "The steward is unjust in his actions, which are not condoned, but his shrewdness is praised.  This is meant as a lesson for the sons of light, the Christian believers, who ought to be as shrewd about their pursuit of godliness as unbelievers are about their businesses."  In fact, in the practice of mercy rather than exacting and painstaking justice, the steward may return more to his master than otherwise.  But there is more to this than "return" -- in keeping with the stories of what was lost having been found, and the return of sinners, the forgiveness assures a continued relationship and not a severance.

"And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."  My study bible says, "The reference to unrighteous mammon is a warning about the dangers of money, which can corrupt.  The right use of wealth is to make friends among the poor and needy by sharing it with them.  At death, these poor friends will be the first to welcome their benefactor into the eternal Kingdom."   I'd like to add, also, that in the Greek one gets the sense that what actually fails is not "you" (the unjust steward) but rather Jesus is saying that at the end of the age, when "mammon" fails, one may be received into an everlasting home.  The exchange which really seems to be at work here is one sense of exacting debt for one in which mercy may be practiced, and that is in keeping with the original criticism which Jesus is answering:  that He dines with tax collectors and sinners.

Many times in the Gospels we look to the readings that teach us that love and mercy trump over everything else.  A kind of penurious or stingy watching over every penny is not something that Jesus or the Gospels ever seem to support.  Most notably and powerfully perhaps this becomes clear in the story of the woman who anointed Christ with expensive oil, and Judas who criticized her.  In the context of the stories responding to criticism of Jesus dining with sinners, we see exemplified the practice of mercy in the context of the tremendous love of God for all the flock; the effort for a single lost sheep, for a single lost coin, and the joy of the father in the return of his recklessly extravagant, foolish, prodigal younger son.  Here the unjust steward may be operating according to rules that apply to the time when mammon has failed, where it may be our relatedness that is cause for more rejoicing then merely exacting standards such as are "on the books."  Luke's gospel powerfully gives us a recipe for more than exacting justice and rules, one that throws in the importance of love and mercy in all our reckonings.  Without it, where would we be?  How better could we know God's justice and God's love for ourselves?  As stewards of the Church, the disciples will need to keep this in mind; the question here really is one of priorities.  What becomes most important?  In the context of looking to the future, beyond mammon and "this generation," we always hope for the restoration of all -- of each one -- but we take all action in that hope, regardless of what is owed right now.  We note that justice is not thrown out here in the story, but God's justice is leavened with mercy.

The Prodigal Son

 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." 

*  *  *

Then He said:  "A certain man had two sons.  And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.'  So he divided to them his livelihood.  And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger.  I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants." '   And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinner against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'  And they began to be merry.

Now his older son was in the field.  And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.  And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'  But he was angry and would not go in.  Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.  So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you;  I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.  But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'  And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "

- Luke 15:1-2; Luke 15:11-32

In yesterday's reading, we read that all the tax collectors drew near to Jesus to hear Him.  (In the previous readings, we were told that great multitudes went with Him, to whom He preached about discipleship; before that, He preached to the Pharisees about humility, here and here).   Upon seeing Jesus with tax collectors, the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."  So He spoke this parable to them, saying:  "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'  I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.  Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'  Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."  We begin today's reading with the earliest verses in yesterday's; it prefaces what we are about to hear, and Jesus continues His preaching in reply to the criticism of the Pharisees and scribes.  I'll repeat what my study bible says here:  "Mealtime fellowship with tax collectors and sinners was considered to be defiling for pious Jews."  In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave two parables about things that we've lost in response.  In today's He gives the parable of the Prodigal Son.  My study bible says, "This parable, perhaps the most magnificent of all parables, occurs only in Luke and illustrates God's unconditional love and forgiveness for the repentant sinner."

Then He said:  "A certain man had two sons.  And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.'  So he divided to them his livelihood."  My study bible notes here:  "The father fulfills the request of the son out of profound respect for his freedom, and he lets him go for the same reason.  God neither holds nor pulls anyone by force."  Clearly, we are in the territory of a spiritual allegory:  the father is the Father, God who loves us, of whom we are each a child.

"And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything."  My study bible notes, "Consenting to feed swine, unclean and despised animals to Jews, is an act of utter desperation."  The son really doesn't know how to live on his own; he has no idea what to do with his money and how to spend his time, what to do with his life.  To be "prodigal" is to be recklessly or wastefully extravagant.  Apart from his father's home, he finds life out in the world none too kind.  It's not only his resources but also his capacities and talents that are wasted here.

"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger.  I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.  Make me like one of your hired servants." ' "  A note reads, "Extreme need brings the prodigal son to his senses, but what draws him homeward is probably his father's love."  He remembers his father's care even of his servants, comparing what he found in "the world" to the ways in which his father lives his life and controls his own estate.

"And he arose and came to his father.  But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him."  A note here reads, "The father's tender actions show he never ceased looking for the return of his son, just as God always longs for the return of every sinner to His forgiving embrace.  In Jewish culture, it was considered undignified for an older man to run, but that did not stop this father."

"And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinner against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'  And they began to be merry."  My study bible says, "The father does not censure the contrite son, but celebrates his homecoming as of one who came alive from the dead.  The symbolic significance of the robe is righteousness (Isaiah 61:10), the ring (a signet ring) is family identity (Haggai 2:23), and sandals refer to walking according to the gospel (Eph. 6:15)."  The father here clothes the son completely.  A signet ring is one set with a seal; it is the seal of the family name.  So the son becomes one who is living "in the name of the Father."

"Now his older son was in the field.  And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.  And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'  But he was angry and would not go in.  Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.  So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you;  I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.  But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'  And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "  My study bible notes, "The father also has to deal with the resentful older son and does so with the same gentle kindness shown to the younger.  By contrast, this son shows a pharisaic attitude of self-righteousness and contempt for his brother, much like a Church member who does not wish to be bothered with visitors or new converts."

In today's parable of the Prodigal Son, we find many elements that strike us as true.  There's first of all the repeated theme (from yesterday's reading, about the lost sheep and the lost coin) of what we desire that we have lost.  Just as with our own worldly goods or even the blessings of children or others who are close to us, we long for what we think we have lost with an especially keen awareness that they are gone from our lives.  I think this is important for us to think about, because Jesus here gives us allegories of what not only God the Father but also all of heaven will rejoice over:  the return of one sinner, of one who's strayed from God.  This is an appeal of love and can be explained no other way.  It's not juridical, it's not merely for one's own good, and causes great pain to the Father, but it is out of love and love alone that this great pain is felt, this desire and longing for return and restoration of the place of the son, what is or has been lost to oneself.  A dignified older man, with many worldly goods, widely respected, runs out from far away to meet his prodigal son who has disgraced himself, falls on his neck and kissed him, and embraced him with his name and all the best things that belong to the father.  That's the kind of love we get from God, Our Father.  In this parable, there is no shame left to heap upon the son; he's done that enough to himself already.  And God's great love and mercy is fair; the older son already has all the goods in the estate of his father.  So let us consider how much this really means for each of us.  Guilt and shame may be strewn throughout our lives for all kinds of reasons, but to turn back again to God is to turn to God's great love.  We may find for ourselves that "the world" separate from God is a place that will use us as a commodity, without mercy to ease its harshness.  We may carry guilt and shame for all kinds of reasons, for having debased ourselves, for having been ignorant or arrogant or naive, for having strayed from the mark in all kinds of ways ("missing the mark" is the literal definition of the Greek word for sin).  But God loves us and wants us back.  Shame can keep us from this place of healing, but Christ invites us to count on God's love.  What's most important is His experienced return of the one He loves, and love trumps over everything in the Gospels, for God, we know, is love.  There is no mistaking it.  Let us always remember this parable of the Prodigal, the one who leaves and returns, and let us remember what real love is and what it does.  God is always wanting us back, ready to keep us "in His name" as His adopted children.  He will teach us to make the most of our resources and blessings and gifts, and find the place "in His name" for each of us, a place we can't find or know on our own far away from God.  But most of all, we will know that we are loved, and learn what that is for ourselves so that we, too, may grow in God's likeness.  Let us remember the feast God plans for us with Him, the joy in the kingdom at our return.

I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance

 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."  So He spoke this parable to them, saying:  "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'  I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'  Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

- Luke 15:1-10

In yesterday's reading, Luke tells us that great multitudes now go with Jesus.  He is on His way to Jerusalem.  He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it -- lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'  Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to met him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.  So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.  Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.  And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them."   My study bible says:  "Mealtime fellowship with tax collectors and sinners was considered to be defiling for pious Jews."  In yesterday's reading, we've already been told that great multitudes now go with Jesus.  While He preached that disciples must be prepared to give all, even themselves, over to the cross, here we read that tax collectors and sinners also draw near.  To take up one's cross is for everyone.

So He spoke this parable to them, saying:  "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'  I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."  My study bible says that "joy in heaven for the repentance of each sinner is the main theme of this chapter.  Jesus connects repentance with joy, not sadness."  In some way, Jesus' words here recall His teaching on healing on the Sabbath to the leadership.  There He asked, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"  (And it's not the first time He's given them that teaching.)  His example here recalls also things that are valuable to us.  Sheep are important commodities, things precious to people.  Jesus gives us an allegory of Himself as Shepherd, but much more; what's precious to us can stand in for ways in which we are precious to God.  It's almost as if God is as dependent upon us as these people would have been to sheep or other properties vital to their lives.  But the example here is of God's great love and desire to lose none of us.

"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'  Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."  We can all think about things we think we've lost, and how imperative it becomes to us that we find it back for ourselves.  So God wishes for our repentance, that we come back to God;  Jesus' urgency for those who are straying away from God is reflective of the urgency of love for those whom we think we might have lost in our lives. 

Repentance is the act of turning back toward God.  The word in Greek means literally to "change one's mind."  In turning back, we reconsider, we think about the way we do things, the ways we think about things, and turn that to God.  In effect, we ask for God's way, and the taking up of the cross means that we give up what we think is best for God's way, for growth in this walking the road of the Kingdom with Christ.  This is how we "change our minds."  To do so, to participate in God's love this way, is to come back to God.  So let us consider what it is to lose something or someone precious to us, and how urgently we long to recover what is lost.  In this parable, Jesus seems to suggest that God's love is one of great dependency upon us; we are vital somehow to our Creator.  Not replaceable!  Each of us uniquely considered to be made in God's image is vital to the One who loves us best.  Can we consider what this means?  How do we understand our great uniqueness and how precious we are to God?  Let us think of what it means to turn back, how much faith God places in our capacity to do so, even as God has endowed us with free will to turn or not to turn back to God.  We throw away value we can't even understand when we fail to do so.

Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?

 Now great multitudes went with Him.  And He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it -- lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'  Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to met him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.  So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

"Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

- Luke 14:25-35

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was sitting at table in the home of a leader of the Pharisees.  It was a Sabbath, and the reading began, really, on Saturday, where we read that they all watched Him very closely.  He healed a man with dropsy, and then taught those present about humility and graciousness, saying, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  In yesterday's reading,  He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.  But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just." with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"  Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'   But they all with one accord began to make excuses.  The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.  I ask you to have me excused.'  And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them.  I ask you have me excused.'  Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'  So that servant came and reported these things to his master.  Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'  And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.'  Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.' "

 Now great multitudes went with Him.  And He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."  My study bible says, "God has commanded man to love and honor, not to hate his father and mother.  The word 'hate' here represents a Semitic expression used in reference to ultimate commitments.  A follower of Christ works for loving relationships toward all but his commitment to God carries absolute priority over family ties."  I think it's important that we see here that Jesus doesn't just name other people, but puts His saying in an entirely different category when He says that a disciple is also to hate "his own life."  We're in a territory of priorities, as my study bible says, and discipleship to Christ comes first.  If you think about it, He's the great leveler and reconciler, and relationships -- even with ourselves -- are healed in Him, made right and just.  He calls us always to be discerning; thereby false, deceitful and harmful relationships are also subject to His mediation in all things.  Discipleship becomes something that "leavens" our whole lives, even our relationship to ourselves.

"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."  To bear one's cross is to allow this process of discipleship to unfold and to continually do so in our lives, to allow His cross to help us make the choices we come up against in life. For some of us, it may mean difficult separation from people we love, or perhaps from things we personally are fond of in our lives, things we've always believed or wanted.

 "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it -- lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'  Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to met him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.  So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."  My study bible notes, "Jesus gives several examples of what it means to carry one's cross, the cost of discipleship.  To be a disciple means to count the cost, and pay it." He compares discipleship here to great endeavors; we are building something, embarking on something tremendous.  We have to be prepared to follow through, and as my study bible frames it, to make the commitment.

"Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  A note tells us, "To recover lost flavor, the true quality of discipleship, is not easy.  Without it a disciple becomes as useless as salt without seasoning power."

Luke goes from Jesus' teachings on humility to the Pharisees to teachings on true discipleship to the great multitudes who go with Him.  We have to remember, in this reading, that Jesus is on His way toward Jerusalem, toward the Passion, and His death on the cross.  In His Resurrection, He will be the first fruit; in His Passion and death, He will be the first example of discipleship to the rest of us, to the cost even of His own life.  So what can we say about the Kingdom then?  What can we say about discipleship?  It may take from us, and ask of us, a whole new way of life or at least a way of thinking, that separates us from the past.  It may ask us to re-evaluate all that we hold dear or precious, and give it new meanings and make new choices.  Often, I find, relationships in which we surrender or compromise a certain good value, a way of respecting ourselves or others, will undergo a change in Christ's light.  Down to the simplest of things, seemingly, we make great choices and none of them are easy.  But Christ's discipleship is the way of the Cross, although that may take different forms depending on our lives and situations.  What we give up, however, is less valuable and meaningful than what we gain.  As we explored in yesterday's reading, life in this shape of discipleship is one of exchange -- we give up one thing (even ourselves) for another, for the currency of the Kingdom.  Count the cost and pay it.  The victory is worth it; the salt of the kingdom gives true flavor to who we are.

When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just

 Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.  But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just." 

Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"  Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'   But they all with one accord began to make excuses.  The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.  I ask you to have me excused.'  And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them.  I ask you have me excused.'  Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'  So that servant came and reported these things to his master.  Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'  And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.'  Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.' "

- Luke 14:12-24

On Saturday, we read that Jesus had been invited to dine on the Sabbath in the house of a ruler of the Pharisees.   All there watched Him very closely.  There was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.  And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"  But they kept silent.  And He took him and healed him, and let him go.  Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"  And they could not answer Him regarding these things.  o He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:  "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.  But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.'  Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

  Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.  But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."  My study bible says, "This story of God's compassion toward the poor appears only in Luke.  To share hospitality with the needy is to imitate God's love which welcomes the lowly into the banquet of His Kingdom."  I find often that Jesus presents this kind of equation to us, that what we are willing to forgo in daily or worldly life in service to Him, the Father who sees in secret will repay us.  Here, we are speaking of the justice in including those who cannot repay us in life at our table, our feast, and of course this can be a metaphor for so many things.

Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"  My study bible says, "This is an inspirational, although little-known, beatitude.  The purpose of life is to join in the sharing of bread in the kingdom of God, a partaking of the eternal love of God."  And we note here that we are in the territory of blessings, of beatitudes:  Jesus' first statement is that those who invite the outsiders to the banquet, those who cannot repay, are blessed for doing so.  Here, the blessing is to eat bread in the kingdom!  Of course, the resurrection of the just in the earlier verse alludes to the same blessing.

Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'   But they all with one accord began to make excuses.  The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.  I ask you to have me excused.'  And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them.  I ask you have me excused.'  Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' "  We see illustrated here the business of the world, all the affairs with which we are constantly busy in living our lives, building up what we value, and need, and what we think is necessary.  But Jesus calls us into that question of just exactly what is truly necessary.  There are all kinds of reasons to be excused; excuses for which to put off this work of the banquet.

So that servant came and reported these things to his master.  Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'  And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.'  Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.' "  My study bible notes, "This parable exemplifies God's Kingdom, imaged in the ministry of Christ and later in the Church.  The Kingdom is filled with outcasts and Gentiles, while the unresponsive privileged guests shut themselves out with their excuses."  As we note, there is a kind of exchange here; not only are those who make time and effort for those who cannot repay blessed by God in the Kingdom, but those invited to this banquet who fail to make time for the Kingdom in order to pursue blessings in another way will not be blessed in that Kingdom.

We deal with equations often in the Gospels, the kinds of equations Jesus uses.  Often they have to do with a sort of exchange, like, for instance, the exchange of forgiveness -- we give up the "debts" of others to God, so that our justice and reward is in the hands of God.  So, here, Jesus illustrates through parables another kind of exchange or equation of something worldly for something eternal and heavenly.  Perhaps there is none (in terms of equations or exchanges) so vividly and specifically illustrated as the parables in which Jesus focuses on a kind of justice that acknowledges more than meets the eye, that intangible and unseen thing we sacrifice in order to be blessed by God:  forgoing payback by someone who can reward us in this life, the social status we might have attained, the profit we hoped to gain.  Jesus offers us in exchange the Kingdom, a working out of God's law in our lives.  It's similar to the parables He's told about those who give a mere cup of water to one of His children, and it's the same effect as giving one to Him.  In this cosmic/worldly exchange system we acknowledge one thing very powerfully, and that is God's economy.  It's the one where the exchange is something more than currency on worldly terms; it's a currency that crosses boundaries and dimensions, classes, social circles, and even the laws of physics.  It's the currency of the Kingdom that is distributed through the Holy Spirit, through Christ and the Father, and in ways we can't know or determine but we are quite tangibly promised!  So how do you go about making this exchange in your life?  Do you recognize its currency?

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted

 Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.  And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.  And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"  But they kept silent.  And He took him and healed him, and let him go.  Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"  And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:  "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.  But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.'  Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

- Luke 14:1-11

In yesterday's reading, we were told that some Pharisees warned Jesus: "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' "

 Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.  And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.   It's interesting that Luke gives us Jesus' interactions with Pharisees.  Apparently these occasions were a part of His life, and so we take from this and other Gospels the idea that some were interested in Him, we know that others were followers (perhaps secretly), and as today's text tells us there were those who watched Him closely in order to catch Him and accuse Him.  My study bible puts it this way:  "The Pharisees again exemplify a paradoxical, cunning combination of interest and suspicion.  They receive Jesus for a meal and yet watch to catch Him as a lawbreaker."  Dropsy is a condition characterized by a swelling of the tissues due to fluid accumulation below the surface of the skin (such as legs or ankles, for example) or any cavity of the body -- today we more commonly call it edema. We don't know how this man's condition manifested, but clearly it must have been visible to all present.

And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"  But they kept silent.  And He took him and healed him, and let him go.  Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"  And they could not answer Him regarding these things.  Luke gives us a healing of this man, and a repetition of Jesus' question in another recent encounter in the synagogue, when He healed the woman who had been bent over eighteen years.  Jesus must be aware they are looking to catch Him, and yet His response is to boldly repeat what He's done that they objected to previously, building on His earlier words.

So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:  "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.  But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.'  Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  I find it interesting that the point Jesus makes to this crowd is one about self-exaltation.  It must be relevant to the ways in which they seek to catch Him. Jesus has often preached about the hypocrisy of the leadership, and how they love the best places and the formal greetings in the marketplaces -- all signs of one's place.   The parable takes place at a wedding feast, and we understand the allusions to what this means in terms of the Kingdom, and Jesus' title of Bridegroom.  Frequently Jesus will give us parables of the Kingdom as a great wedding banquet.  Here, He emphasizes humility, its necessity and our prudence in practicing it.  My study bible says, "This parable of good manners, found only in Luke, contrasts the virtue of humility with the vice of self-exaltation.  Compare James 4:6:  'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' "  Perhaps because it is because they seek to judge Him that He tells the parable.  Of course, in the allusions to the Kingdom and its great wedding feast, the surprise here is that the guest they watch to trip up is the Bridegroom Himself.  Speaking to lawyers and Pharisees, it is He who "turns the tables" and is the lawgiver.

We can just imagine Jesus at such a dinner, filled with guests who are at the same time His hosts in some sense, and also those who seek to catch Him, to find something with which to accuse Him.  He's the outsider and yet respected because of the people who follow and love Him; He's known as a teacher.  But Jesus' parable teaches us something very profound about our human relationships.  The Kingdom will work within us and among us, and often in secret.  Jesus has taught about "your Father who is in the secret place" and the kingdom that is like the "leaven hid in three measures of flour."  Our humility and its regular practice will give us a more sure chance of not missing what is there for us in this kingdom!  When we assume that we have the highest place there is nowhere to go but down, often with a painful bump.  Putting ourselves in God's hands, assuming we don't know all there is to know and can't be a supreme judge of everything is our best prescription for finding wisdom in life, for not missing what may be sitting right in front of us.  Our humility will be rewarded by God's own exaltation of those who love Him, who share a true passion for God's wisdom, and seek it for themselves.  Thus we are moved to a higher place at that table, at the wedding banquet which we await.  How do we practice humility?  We first look to Christ, and we hold ourselves malleable, ready to be transformed, to change our minds, to find new things that turn our hearts back toward God in a renewal of baptism each day.  Let us remember Jesus' story of good manners, and understand that it applies in all situations, no matter how seemingly banal in daily life or in our deepest moments in prayer.  We never know who is truly sitting among us.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

 

  On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' "

- Luke 13:31-35

Yesterday we read several of Jesus' teachings:  He said, "What is the kingdom of God like?  And to what shall I compare it?  It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."  And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."  And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.  Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?"  And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'  But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from.  Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.  They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.  And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."

On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."   My study bible has a helpful note:  "This warning of some Pharisees may well be sincere, or it could be a cunning way to get Jesus to Judea so they could enforce their authority against Him.  Herod Antipas imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist."  Although journeying toward Jerusalem, He is still in the territory governed by Herod.

And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.' "  Again, my study bible has a helpful understanding for us:  "Jesus does not mince words in calling Herod fox for his sly craftiness.  Perfected refers to the completion of Jesus' mission through His Passion and Resurrection in Jerusalem.  He has nothing to fear from Herod."  Later in Luke's gospel, we will read of the friendship of Herod and Pilate effected during Jesus' trial.

"Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem."  My study bible says, "Jerusalem, the center of religious authority, often was the site of the judgment and persecution of God's prophets.  Jesus speaks with prophetic irony here."  Jerusalem is the great city, the center of religious activity, the site of the Temple and therefore so much of Jewish history -- including the persecution of the prophets.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' "  Again, my study bible has a helpful note for us:  "Jesus' tender lament and judgment over unrepentant Jerusalem show He loves His adversaries as we are to love ours."

I always remark upon the loving nature of Christ's interior relationship to Jerusalem, and it's illustrative of events in our own lives, when people whom we love may disappoint or turn asunder relationships as we would have them.  Jesus' image He uses here is very affectionate, and maternal:  "as a hen gathers her brood under her wings."  Often, I've been told, the mystical saints of history (those who are male) have a feminine quality to them.  I think this is very important and essential that we understand something about our faith:  tenderness and love are qualities that belong to all human beings.  Jesus has just spoken of His perfection, and so we should view this kind of love, the one that is tender, protective, and careful even of those children who will do what they will -- until rejection is clear.  Jesus sets for us an example of what it is to be truly loving and at the same time discerning; He teaches us the paradox of God's eternal love which is also truth and true judgment.  Those who reject Him He cannot force into relationship, into the relationship He truly desires and will never cease desiring.  So it often is with us, when those whom we love are destructive or harmful or rejecting.  Our love may never cease, even when relationship as we would desire it is impossible.  In our prayers, let us remember Jesus' love even for those who would harm Him; as my study bible puts it, even for His enemies.  So, by His example, we can continue to love even those whom we can no longer trust nor engage in relationship as would be our fondest desire.