Book of Faith - Luke 14:15-24 - The Great Banquet

This parable is similar to the one told in Matthew 22:2-10.  However, in Matthew, the story is much more an allegory with the "king" being  God, who gives the feast, and the "servants" being the prophets and apostles, who are mistreated.  Luke's telling of the parable is more open ended, but Luke also expands the parable.  After those who are invited refuse the invitation, the servant goes out to the streets and lanes of the city (the sinners and outcasts), and then goes even further, out to the highways and hedges.  In other words, the servant goes out into the larger world, the gentile world.  For the religious authorities, who had invited Jesus to dinner, his parable would have been offensive on a number of levels.  As people, who saw themselves being invited to the banquet because of their piety, the idea that they would be standing outside, because of their refusal, and that sinners, outcasts, and gentiles would be invited into the feast was unimaginable.  Of course, the Kingdom of God has a way of turning the world upside down.  That is true even today.  We have been claimed by the grace of God and we have a way of turning that gift into a sense of entitlement rather than responsibility.  Church becomes a place where the good people of this world go on Sunday rather than people who realize they are in need of the grace of God.  Having God claim us does not make us better than others.  We are all sinners, who are surprised when the invitation is given to come to the banquet, and go with a sense of deep gratitude and willingness to serve.  

On Wednesday, the deeper conversation surrounded the question of whether God knew we would fall short when he gave the law or was God surprised when the law didn't work.  Has God changed through time in response to what we have done or failed to do?  The scripture seems to support that God does change.  Certainly, there is evidence in the Old Testament of God changing his mind.  The Flood, Abraham speaking on behalf of those in Sodom, and Jonah are three examples.  If God does not change, what is the meaning of God's suffering, God's listening to the cry of his people, and God's answering prayers.  The group realized that the scripture reflects the understanding of God's people through time and therefore the view of God changes as the people of God's own understanding of God changes.  God is made known through time.  God remains constant, but our perception changes.  Jesus challenged the religious authorities about their understanding of God, not because God had changed, but because their understanding had gone down the wrong road.  They had shaped a theology and given God credit, but God did not conform to their theology.  Jesus wanted to challenge their view.  

The group didn't stop there.  There are elements of change in God through the witness of scripture.  God is dynamic, rather than static.  The unchanging part of God is God's faithfulness, mercy, and grace.  However, the future is not etched in stone.  We are not following a path that has already been assigned.  We are not going through the motions of living our lives.  We make choices and often bad choices.  The good news is that God again and again meets us where we are in faithfulness, mercy, and grace.  God always has a counter to our actions so that our future is secure.  God ultimately prevails because God always has the last word and that word is always grace.  We can take great comfort in that knowledge.  

I hope people continue to follow this blog.  The Wednesday Book of Faith group wants to share with others their conversation and hope that the discussion is as meaningful to those who read the blog as it is for those who come on Wednesday.

Peace,

Pastor Summer

Book of Faith - Luke 14:1-11 - Healing on the Sabbath

Chapter 14 begins with Jesus having dinner with a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees on a Sabbath.  While they were eating, a man appeared who had dropsy (edema).  Jesus asks the question whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath.  Everyone was silent.  Jesus heals the man and asks those gathered wouldn't they rescue a child or ox that fell into a well on a Sabbath.  Again, no one replied.  

The group found the story very similar to other healings in the gospel.  When Jesus heals, it always seems to be on a Sabbath or, at least, those are the healings that are recorded.  The conversation focused on how the law can get in the way of doing what God would have us do.  The law was intended to help us in life, but, as Jesus points out, can become a burden and a way to justify ourselves.  When Jesus talked about divorce, his concern was that men (only men could divorce in those times) were looking for an easy way out that was lawful and, therefore, allowed them to remain righteous.  Jesus challenges this kind of understanding.  There was also discussion about the letter of the law as opposed to the spirit of the law.  It was noted, that in the end, in the eyes of the law we always come up short.  The law brings us to the cross in our need for confession and forgiveness.

The question was asked about whether rescuing a child from a well was unlawful.  Would God demand that kind of obedience.  It was pointed out that the law would allow you to rescue your child.  You could even heal on the Sabbath if the condition was life threatening.  This led to a discussion about the sacrifice of Isaac.  It was pointed out that the sacrifice of Isaac was really an ancient story aimed at prohibiting human sacrifice in a time when human sacrifice was done.  The good news was that the God of Israel did not demand such a sacrifice.  In contemporary times, it's hard for us to get past God asking for the sacrifice in the first place.  We need to hear the story in a different way.  We need to hear the story in its historical context.  This is often true in scripture.    

This led to a discussion about choosing God over family.  For some, this was a choice they could not make.  Is the answer really God or family?  Jesus certainly seems to present the choice that way.  Certainly, Jesus is challenging us to take at look at our lives.  What is the role of the family in our lives?  The conversation raised the issue of idolatry.  What is at the center of our lives?  Sometimes, a child or a spouse can take too much of the center.  A person's whole world revolves around that individual in an unhealthy way.  God is the only true center that, not only holds, but allows for other things in our lives.  God sees family as a gift.  God wants us to be good parents, good spouse, and good sons and daughters.  Our family commitments are a part of God's purpose in the world.  

We talked about living out our faith.  Certainly, we can live out our faith within our families.  However, they are many other ways.  Going to church on Sunday is one way of living out our faith, but not the only way.  We talked about how, in a much broader sense, we our "church" in the world and we need to recognize and celebrate those moments and times.

Finally, we talked about the silence of the dinner guests.  Were they silent because they agreed with Jesus?  Were they silent because they were so angry?  Were they silent because they didn't know what to say?  We agreed that all of those answers are possible.  The beauty of the silence is the story is that it invites our response.  What would we say?  This is a great way to engage people while telling a story.

Once again, our time together was meaningful.  Keep following the discussion on the blog.  Ask questions when you have them.

Peace,

Pastor Summer

Book of Faith - 13:31-35 - Tell that fox

The conversation started with the question left over from last week.  If people are living in Good Friday (the brokenness of their lives and the world), how do they know that Easter is coming?   How does Jesus meet us in those dark times and places.  The group talked about their own experiences of Good Friday (illness, failures, sorrow) and how Jesus was there for them.  When pressed, it became more difficult to articulate how Jesus had been there.  The consensus was that we can only give witness to our experience of God's grace in our lives to others who are struggling to see the hand of God.  Explanations may fall short.  Our faith and hope are a gift from God that may seem to defy logic, but they are real.  Our witness to that truth can become crucial for others in their struggles and can become an occasion for the Holy Spirit to work.   In college, I had a friend who pressed me again and again about my faith.  How could I believe in a world full of suffering?  How could I be hopeful?  How could I say God was there for me?  I never gave an explanation that satisfied him, but the truth is, he wanted me to believe.  My witness became very important to him is ways he could not explain.  How God used my witness, I will never know, but I believe my witness served God's purpose.  

In talking about making a witness, the group owned that we are uneven in witnessing.  Sometimes we do.  Sometimes we don't.  We will walk with some people in their struggles, but not with others.  The consensus was that we should celebrate every time our witness takes place rather that focus on the opportunities that were missed.  The con census was also that the more we witness to our faith, the more opportunities we will seek.  Those opportunities don't always have to be in words.  Sometimes the most powerful witness is reflected in the lives we live.  Do we live hopeful, gracious, and joyful lives?  Sometimes we have an impact on others and we don't even realize our impact.

Finally, we talked about the last verses in chapter 13.  Realizing that the use of "fox" in rabbinical literature indicates being unimportant rather than cunning was helpful.  Jesus was going to Jerusalem and Herod was not going to stop him.  Jesus did not fear Herod.  Herod was insignificant.  Jesus lamenting over Jerusalem seems strange when this is Jesus first trip to Jerusalem (second, if you count his going to the temple as a boy) according to the synoptic gospels.  Jesus lamenting makes more sense if you use John's understanding of Jesus making numerous trips to Jerusalem.  Does John have a more accurate timeline?  The image of Jesus gathering the chicks under his wings is a powerful image.  This image appears more often in rabbinic literature rather than scripture.  On the whole, the whole section seems oddly placed and seemingly disconnected.  

This week was another rich conversation.  We're looking forward to moving into chapter 14 in two weeks.  With no Book of Faith next week, there will be no posting, but we will return.  Keep the conversation going.

Peace,

Pastor Summer