Luke 12, 13, 14
Overview: Mostly teaching by Jesus either directly or by way of parables. Jesus offering instruction on the kingdom of God.
Some interesting interactions with Pharisees. "At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, 'Get away from here for Herod wants to kill you.'"(13:31) Worth noting that there are some Pharisees who seem to be concerned for Jesus well being. The Pharisees often come across as opponents of Jesus, sometime almost to the point of caricature; this helps with some sense of balance. Jesus eats at the home of Pharisees and, again, here they seem to have his best interest at heart.
Jesus offers a number of ways to approach thinking on the kingdom of God throughout this reading. Luke 12 in particular offers strong distinctions between the things that are important in the world and the things that are important in the kingdom of God. Too often, Jesus teaches, we are consumed with worry over things that are not worth the time, effort or stress. God has a plan and has our best interest in mind, but something within us either does not trust this or just cannot help worrying. "'And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life.'"(12:25) The question is as relevant for us today as it was when Jesus first said it.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Luke 10, 11
Luke 10, 11
Overview: Jesus sends out 70 on a mission in pairs. They come back excited about what they are able to accomplish in their time in the field. Jesus responds to a question with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus teaches the disciples the Lord's prayer and has some back and forth with the Phrarisees.
Jesus sends out seventy folks on a mission project. The text says a couple of interesting things. First, he sends them as advance prep teams to places he intends to go. Jesus is not randomly walking around and showing up places. This points to a strategic approach - the advance team goes in and gets the lay of the land and prepares the town or village for the time when Jesus will arrive. Second, he sends them in pairs. He doesn't send them out alone - he sends them with a companion. Stan Ott, the person behind the Acts 16:5 Intiative for church vitality, has something he calls the "with me" principle. Stan says we are far more effective when we do things with someone else then when we set out on our own. He points to texts like this one to demonstrate that Jesus saw the value of mutual support and encouragement.
Luke 10 ends with the wonderful story of Mary and Martha. Martha, who is sure that Jesus will back here in taking her sister Mary to task, and instead is gently told that she is the one who is distracted and that there is "need of only one thing" - the thing Mary has chosen to place herself in the presence of the Lord. I can read this story again and again, because I need to hear it and internalize it again and again. There is one thing that is needful. And it's not the busyness of all the tasks that need to be done and all the tasks clamoring for attention. The needful thing is to place ourselves in the presence of the Lord.
Overview: Jesus sends out 70 on a mission in pairs. They come back excited about what they are able to accomplish in their time in the field. Jesus responds to a question with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus teaches the disciples the Lord's prayer and has some back and forth with the Phrarisees.
Jesus sends out seventy folks on a mission project. The text says a couple of interesting things. First, he sends them as advance prep teams to places he intends to go. Jesus is not randomly walking around and showing up places. This points to a strategic approach - the advance team goes in and gets the lay of the land and prepares the town or village for the time when Jesus will arrive. Second, he sends them in pairs. He doesn't send them out alone - he sends them with a companion. Stan Ott, the person behind the Acts 16:5 Intiative for church vitality, has something he calls the "with me" principle. Stan says we are far more effective when we do things with someone else then when we set out on our own. He points to texts like this one to demonstrate that Jesus saw the value of mutual support and encouragement.
Luke 10 ends with the wonderful story of Mary and Martha. Martha, who is sure that Jesus will back here in taking her sister Mary to task, and instead is gently told that she is the one who is distracted and that there is "need of only one thing" - the thing Mary has chosen to place herself in the presence of the Lord. I can read this story again and again, because I need to hear it and internalize it again and again. There is one thing that is needful. And it's not the busyness of all the tasks that need to be done and all the tasks clamoring for attention. The needful thing is to place ourselves in the presence of the Lord.
Luke 8, 9
Luke 8, 9
Overview: We get a report on the women who support Jesus ministry. Jesus tells a parable about a sower. Jesus calms a storm, casts out a demon and brings a girl back from the dead. The disciples get sent on a mission and Jesus is transfigured on a mountain while in the company of Moses and Elijah.
Peter and James and John accompany Jesus on to the mountain that will become the Mount of Transfiguration. This little nugget in the midst of that story that caught my attention on this read through is "Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but since they stayed awake, they saw his glory...."(9:32). This is something of the flip side of what will transpire at the Garden of Gethsemane. In the garden, Jesus will ask them to stay awake with him and they will fall asleep while he prays more than once. Here while Jesus goes off, they are apparently exhausted, but they stay awake and as a result they witness this amazing event. There is encouragement here for us when we are weary ourselves, physically, emotionally or spiritually that if we persevere we may experience something beyond our imagining.
Also in this reading is one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture, Luke 9:51. "When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem." This is the point from which there is no turning back. He didn't decide to go back to the Galilee for another year. He set his face to go to Jerusalem. The power of these words goes well beyond a decision to go and celebrate the Passover. This is Jesus making the decision to embrace the most demanding and painful portion of his mission. We move now into Luke's traveling Gospel as Jesus and his followers make their way to the Holy City and the events that will unfold there.
Overview: We get a report on the women who support Jesus ministry. Jesus tells a parable about a sower. Jesus calms a storm, casts out a demon and brings a girl back from the dead. The disciples get sent on a mission and Jesus is transfigured on a mountain while in the company of Moses and Elijah.
Peter and James and John accompany Jesus on to the mountain that will become the Mount of Transfiguration. This little nugget in the midst of that story that caught my attention on this read through is "Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but since they stayed awake, they saw his glory...."(9:32). This is something of the flip side of what will transpire at the Garden of Gethsemane. In the garden, Jesus will ask them to stay awake with him and they will fall asleep while he prays more than once. Here while Jesus goes off, they are apparently exhausted, but they stay awake and as a result they witness this amazing event. There is encouragement here for us when we are weary ourselves, physically, emotionally or spiritually that if we persevere we may experience something beyond our imagining.
Also in this reading is one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture, Luke 9:51. "When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem." This is the point from which there is no turning back. He didn't decide to go back to the Galilee for another year. He set his face to go to Jerusalem. The power of these words goes well beyond a decision to go and celebrate the Passover. This is Jesus making the decision to embrace the most demanding and painful portion of his mission. We move now into Luke's traveling Gospel as Jesus and his followers make their way to the Holy City and the events that will unfold there.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Luke 6, 7
Luke 6, 7
Overview: Jesus teaches, offering blessings and woes. He goes to Capernaum where he heals the slave of a centurion who helped to build the Synagogue there. He heals the hand of a man on the Sabbath and he goes to dinner at the home of a Pharisee.
Two verses, on in Luke 6 and one in Luke 7, that catch my attention as I read through them today. First, Luke 6:19, "And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them." And in Luke 7:39, "Now when the Phrarisee who had invited him saw it he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet; he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him - that she is a sinner.'" I am drawn to language in both of these verses that again points unblinkingly to Christ's physical presence. To his ability to touch and be touched. God came as Christ with a message, but the message was delivered by a real live human messenger. One who could touch and speak and see and be touched and seen and heard. Jesus is a not an intellectual experience, Jesus engages all the senses. There is an echo here of the woman who touches Jesus hoping to be healed and whose presence he detects when she touches him. The power flows out of him to those around him in need of healing. The Pharisee expects that Jesus should know this woman anointing his feet by the virtue of her touch alone - that is he should know she is a shady person of questionable background. Jesus in fact does know her by her touch, not in some mysterious reading of her character, but in a more fundamental way - her touch conveys her compassion as she ministers to him in a way that his host had not.
All of this touching and pointing to the engagement of the senses reminds us that we are folks who see, feel, touch and so on, walking around amongst other folks who do likewise. However we bear witness to Jesus, if it is to be believable must be consistent with what folks can see and feel and experience of us. Our aim must be to emulate less the Pharisee host and more the compassionate woman as we live our faith from day to day.
Overview: Jesus teaches, offering blessings and woes. He goes to Capernaum where he heals the slave of a centurion who helped to build the Synagogue there. He heals the hand of a man on the Sabbath and he goes to dinner at the home of a Pharisee.
Two verses, on in Luke 6 and one in Luke 7, that catch my attention as I read through them today. First, Luke 6:19, "And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them." And in Luke 7:39, "Now when the Phrarisee who had invited him saw it he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet; he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him - that she is a sinner.'" I am drawn to language in both of these verses that again points unblinkingly to Christ's physical presence. To his ability to touch and be touched. God came as Christ with a message, but the message was delivered by a real live human messenger. One who could touch and speak and see and be touched and seen and heard. Jesus is a not an intellectual experience, Jesus engages all the senses. There is an echo here of the woman who touches Jesus hoping to be healed and whose presence he detects when she touches him. The power flows out of him to those around him in need of healing. The Pharisee expects that Jesus should know this woman anointing his feet by the virtue of her touch alone - that is he should know she is a shady person of questionable background. Jesus in fact does know her by her touch, not in some mysterious reading of her character, but in a more fundamental way - her touch conveys her compassion as she ministers to him in a way that his host had not.
All of this touching and pointing to the engagement of the senses reminds us that we are folks who see, feel, touch and so on, walking around amongst other folks who do likewise. However we bear witness to Jesus, if it is to be believable must be consistent with what folks can see and feel and experience of us. Our aim must be to emulate less the Pharisee host and more the compassionate woman as we live our faith from day to day.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Luke 4, 5
After dipping liberally into my 24 days of grace for the trip and to complete the blogging about it, back to reading through the New Testament today.
Luke 4, 5
Overview: Luke's account of the temptation of Christ. Jesus teaches in Nazareth to a poor reception and then moves down to Capernaum. Jesus helps his will be followers fish for fish and then calls them for other purposes.
I want to hold the verse that ends the temptation story up against the verse that follows it that begins the next phase in Jesus' ministry.
"When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to the Galilee...."
The way I read these verses the temptation experience was not draining for Jesus, but rather was energizing. It was not that he was left in need of further renewal after encountering the devil and the devil's temptations it was that he was "filled with the power of the Spirit". When we meet temptation head on and respond, as Jesus did, with faithful Scriptural responses, the outcome can clearly be more than survival. It can be growth. It can be the strength and stamina - the power of the Spirit - to do new things.
I'm also captivated again by Jesus fishing lesson for the disciples. Here was something they did not need help from Jesus to do. They were fishermen. They could use his help on lots of things, but this they could handle on their own. Or maybe not. Having caught nothing, Jesus chips in with his instruction and, suddenly, fish. Of they myriad lessons in this passage one may well be the reminder that we need Jesus in every way in all that we do. Not just in the areas we struggle. Not just in our growing edges. Even in the things we think we do well. The things that we've got covered. Whatever we are capable of, it can be better with Jesus direction.
Luke 4, 5
Overview: Luke's account of the temptation of Christ. Jesus teaches in Nazareth to a poor reception and then moves down to Capernaum. Jesus helps his will be followers fish for fish and then calls them for other purposes.
I want to hold the verse that ends the temptation story up against the verse that follows it that begins the next phase in Jesus' ministry.
"When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to the Galilee...."
The way I read these verses the temptation experience was not draining for Jesus, but rather was energizing. It was not that he was left in need of further renewal after encountering the devil and the devil's temptations it was that he was "filled with the power of the Spirit". When we meet temptation head on and respond, as Jesus did, with faithful Scriptural responses, the outcome can clearly be more than survival. It can be growth. It can be the strength and stamina - the power of the Spirit - to do new things.
I'm also captivated again by Jesus fishing lesson for the disciples. Here was something they did not need help from Jesus to do. They were fishermen. They could use his help on lots of things, but this they could handle on their own. Or maybe not. Having caught nothing, Jesus chips in with his instruction and, suddenly, fish. Of they myriad lessons in this passage one may well be the reminder that we need Jesus in every way in all that we do. Not just in the areas we struggle. Not just in our growing edges. Even in the things we think we do well. The things that we've got covered. Whatever we are capable of, it can be better with Jesus direction.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Shalom Holy Land
The final day. All of the conflicting emotions of a great adventure coming to a close. Certainly looking forward to being home and seeing Cameron and Eliza, but reluctant to say goodbye to Jerusalem. Don't know why, but there is something of home in this place, there is that sense in my mind that I will be back. I hope so.
Up early for morning prayer in the Old City. Made a quick walk up to see the Western Wall again, and got a look at the old Jewish Cardo in the Jewish quarter. There is so much here to call for your attention that you have to be careful not to lose track of time. Got to the Holy Sepulcher about 6:30 a.m. - back to the hotel by 7:15 a.m. to get bags together.
Our group, all six busses, are to gather at the Garden Tomb at 9:30 a.m. for a worship service and communion. I have mixed feelings about the Garden Tomb. It is a beautiful place and it does give you a look at what it might have looked like, but my affinity is strong (clearly) for the Holy Sepulcher. Some folks imagine that the Garden Tomb must be the site of the crucifixion/resurrection as the Holy Sepulcher is so ornate and filled with things that we don't find as much in western churches - in particular western protestant churches. It has the feel of authenticity to me if for no other reason than the weight of the veneration of pilgirims for some 1600 years.
(I like this picture a lot. At the Garden Tomb they have excavated a wine press. This is our communion elements, with the excavated wine press in the background. The gifts of God for the people of God.)
After the Garden Tomb we had a couple of hours of free time - some went to a store, some went back to the Old City one last time. Guess where I went? Uh, yes, back to the Old City and back to the Holy Sepulcher.
(inside - The Dome of the Holy Sepulcher)
(exterior of the Holy Sepulcher)
(courtyard of the Holy Sepulcher)
(crosses carved into the wall of the Holy Sepulcher by early Christian pilgirms)
(place where this present day pilgrim accepted the invitation to leave my own mark at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - GCL and cross)
From there, on to lunch at a place near the hotel and then to Yad Vashem - the Holocaust Museum. We were alotted a couple of hours at Yad Vashem. What a tremendous memorial to those who died and to those who lived and a stirring call to never forget what we humans are capable of, both at our worst and at our best. The exhibits themselves are deeply moving, the architecture of the place is stunning and is not only viscerally engaging, but also participates in the total experience of the museum. One walks out the doors at the end of the journey to a stunning vista of the land of Israel. No words for this.
(view from the exit of Yad Vashem)
Dinner at the Olive Tree (our hotel) is followed by a bus ride to Ben Gurion Airport and after a bit of uncertainty at the airport (due to bad weather in the United States) our plane is on time and on schedule - we are headed home.
Shalom Rula (our guide), Charlie (our bus driver), and the wonderful people of the Holy Land. It was every bit of what I had hoped for and beyond.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Heading Into the Judean Wilderness Towards The Dead Sea
Holy Land Trip, Day 6, January 26, 2011
The optional trip to Masada day. I was torn on this one. Having been to Masada twice, it is amazing and awesome, but having the day to just be in the Old City of Jerusalem also held some allure. Having the time to do the ramparts walk on the Old City walls yesterday made the decision a lot easier - I'm in for the trip.
Started the day by getting up and going to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for morning prayer at 6:00 a.m. Again enjoyed great singing by priests who were conducting a worship service near the Tomb.
We left about 8:00 a.m. for the Dead Sea. Great drive through the Judean wilderness. It can look in places like the lunar landscape. Passed several encampments of Bedouin shepherds. The trip takes about an hour from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea and the drop from one to the other is significant as the Dead Sea is 1300 feet below sea level - the lowest place on earth. At it's deepest spot the Dead Sea is 1200 feet deep. As the name suggests it's chock full of salt and other minerals and is dead, dead, dead. We drove along the Dead Sea to get to Masada, a giant rock - really giant - on top of which Herod built a spectacular palace - because he could, and on top of which Jewish zealots made a final stand against Roman soldiers - because they had to. The Roman siege lasted three years at the end of which the Zealots (with the exception of just two or three) committed suicide. You can still see remains of Herod's rockin' palace and of the Roman encampments down on the ground along with the ramp they built to try and storm the place. There is also a Synagogue up here that the Jewish zealots used and a Byzantine church. Awesome stuff.
After lunch we went to Jericho, home of Zacchaeus, and place which Jesus passed through. Additionally it was near to Jericho where Jesus spent the time in the wilderness and where he faced the temptations. With that in mind we ate at the Temptation Restaurant.
After lunch we went back towards the Dead Sea to the site of the Qumran Community. Qumran was the place where a splinter Jewish group called the Essenes lived in a communal environment, removed from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. They saw themselves as Children of Light and outsiders as Children of Darkness. They spent a good bit of their time making copies of scrolls of Scripture which when they saw that they were going to be attacked by Roman soldiers they hid. A Palestinian shepherd boy found a scroll of theirs in a cave where they hid it which led to the discoveries of many more scrolls which we know as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These are in many instances some of our best, earliest manuscripts of Scripture.
The countryside and the amazing views from Masada were superb - making the trip was the right choice.
(The streets of the Old City are locked up and quiet at 6:00 a.m.)
The optional trip to Masada day. I was torn on this one. Having been to Masada twice, it is amazing and awesome, but having the day to just be in the Old City of Jerusalem also held some allure. Having the time to do the ramparts walk on the Old City walls yesterday made the decision a lot easier - I'm in for the trip.
Started the day by getting up and going to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for morning prayer at 6:00 a.m. Again enjoyed great singing by priests who were conducting a worship service near the Tomb.
(Church of the Holy Sepulcher is majestic in the morning.)
We left about 8:00 a.m. for the Dead Sea. Great drive through the Judean wilderness. It can look in places like the lunar landscape. Passed several encampments of Bedouin shepherds. The trip takes about an hour from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea and the drop from one to the other is significant as the Dead Sea is 1300 feet below sea level - the lowest place on earth. At it's deepest spot the Dead Sea is 1200 feet deep. As the name suggests it's chock full of salt and other minerals and is dead, dead, dead. We drove along the Dead Sea to get to Masada, a giant rock - really giant - on top of which Herod built a spectacular palace - because he could, and on top of which Jewish zealots made a final stand against Roman soldiers - because they had to. The Roman siege lasted three years at the end of which the Zealots (with the exception of just two or three) committed suicide. You can still see remains of Herod's rockin' palace and of the Roman encampments down on the ground along with the ramp they built to try and storm the place. There is also a Synagogue up here that the Jewish zealots used and a Byzantine church. Awesome stuff.
(view from Masada where the cable car let's you out)
(remains of front portion of Herod's multi-tiered Palace - below is where the Roman's who were laying siege to Masada would have been and in the distance the blue is the Dead Sea)
(Me at Masada. Go Reds!)
(Temptation Restaurant. Really. See Zacchaeus tree in the middle.)
(Market outside of the Temptation Restaurant in Jericho.)
After lunch we went back towards the Dead Sea to the site of the Qumran Community. Qumran was the place where a splinter Jewish group called the Essenes lived in a communal environment, removed from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. They saw themselves as Children of Light and outsiders as Children of Darkness. They spent a good bit of their time making copies of scrolls of Scripture which when they saw that they were going to be attacked by Roman soldiers they hid. A Palestinian shepherd boy found a scroll of theirs in a cave where they hid it which led to the discoveries of many more scrolls which we know as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These are in many instances some of our best, earliest manuscripts of Scripture.
(One of the caves where the Essenes hid their scrolls - what we know as the Dead Sea Scrolls. In this same area, in caves like this David hid with his men in the days when Saul was searching for him to kill him. When you see the terrain you can imagine how hard it would be to find someone who knew the area and didn't want to be found.)
The day wound up with folks who wanted to floating in the Dead Sea, which I've never seen the charm in, so I watched and also found a coffee bar that had passable latte from a machine.
(folks checking out the Dead Sea - our guide, Rula, told us that it would make us ten years younger - so the tips of my fingers on my right hand should be feeling very youthful)
The countryside and the amazing views from Masada were superb - making the trip was the right choice.
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