Book of Faith - Luke 17:11-37 - The Ten Lepers

The Ten Lepers raised a number of questions.  Was the one who returned to give thanks the only one who had faith?  How was the experience of the one who returned different from the other nine?  Did the leprosy come back for the nine who did not return to give thanks?  The consensus was that all ten were healed and remained healed.  The gift given to one who returned to give thanks is that he was told that the healing was possible through the gift of faith in him.  The others were left to believe that the the healing was to be found only in Jesus.  In the future, when there would be difficulties, the nine would be searching the countryside for Jesus, the one who came back to give thanks could turn to the gift of faith within himself.  

Of course, what is remarkable in the telling of the story, as far as Luke was concerned, is that the one who returned to give thanks was a Samaritan.  This is a pattern all through Luke.  It is the outsider, the foreigner, the sinner who have the greatest faith and the greatest sense of gratitude.  This is part of the human condition.  When we are blessed, we can develop as a sense of entitlement.  We can lose our sense of gratitude.  We can lose our sense of grace being grace.  Jesus saw this within his own people and it broke his heart.  

The last part of chapter 17 was very challenging.  On the one hand, Luke is saying that the kingdom of God is not coming with signs.  On the other hand, Luke seems to be saying that the kingdom of God will come with signs, but we will not notice them.  The group decided that the point being made is not to concern ourselves with signs, whether they are there or not.  The concern in being God's person in the here and now.  The rest, we can simply and gratefully place in the hands of God.  The group believed that this section could have used an editor.  Matthew was much clearer handling the same material.  Luke makes his point, but the point seems to be little confusing.  

The Book of Faith will be going into hiatus during the summer and resume in September.  At least, the weekly meetings will.  The Book of Faith blog will continue and, hopefully, readers will continue reading.  The blog will start with the beginning of chapter 18 next week.  Keep reading.  Keep exploring. And keep discovering the riches and surprises of scripture.

Peace,
Pastor Summer

Book of Faith - Luke 17:1-10 - Tit for Tat

We moved into chapter 17 and were soon confronted by a number of questions.  In verse 3, are we to rebuke our brother when they sin in general or when they sin against us personally?  If we are to rebuke sin in general are we then called to be the moral police?  If so, doesn't that open the door to us to becoming judgmental?  What is the business about faith in verse 6?  Is Jesus saying the disciples have no faith?  How are we to understand a tree walking around by faith?  How are we to understand the parable of the master and the slave?  Is there to be no gratitude?

All of these were good questions and the discussion that followed was helpful.  In the first part of chapter 17, there seems to be a progression in the first verses.  Jesus say that life, with all its temptations, is hard enough without people putting up stumbling blocks (sin).  Let's say you are battling a food addiction.  You don't need someone offering you chocolate cake.  We are called, for the sake of others, to confront one another when we are stumbling blocks. Such a rebuke does not have to be hurtful.  It can simply be the truth without judgment.  The point is not to condemn someone, but to open the door to change.  We do this with children all the time.  If you son or daughter makes fun of another person, we confront them.  The end result is not to make our child feel bad about themselves, but to change their behavior.  This business of confrontation (rebuking) is easier when the sin is directed at us.  We noted that some translations of the Bible include the words "against us" in verse 3 after brother.  Forgiveness is also easier to understand when the sin is against us.  How do I forgive the sin of another that is directed elsewhere and not at you?  This seems to be God business.

Turing to the next verses, having faith like a mustard seed was not seen as an indictment of the disciples' faith, but an affirmation of the power of faith.  We are the ones who put on the limits.  Jesus is saying that, with faith, all things are possible even if that faith is the size of a mustard seed.  A walking tree is a wonderful image of that power.  

The parable of the master and the slave is an image that is foreign to us, however, the image would have been very well known in the time of Jesus.  Jesus often used images and metaphors from his own context.  Slavery was a part of that context.  Jesus is not saying that this is the way it should be, rather, he uses this known image to speak the truth.  The parable is not connected to the first part of chapter 17, but stands separate.  Luke strings together parables and teaching like a strand of pearls.  Each one has a meaning and purpose, but they do not need to interact with each other.  This parable stands alone and is a reaction to the tit for tat theology that had become prevalent.  If you did want God wanted you to do, then you should be rewarded.  It was pointed out that children work this angle all the time.  They do what they are suppose to do and then believe they are entitled to a reward.  A gift given is no longer a gift, but a payment due.  Jesus is challenging that idea.  Doing what God would have us do is our calling.  It is in response to what God has already done for us. We should not expect a reward and we should not feel cheated if their is no payoff.  Being Christian is not the door to great rewards in our life, but our response to a great and gracious God in our lives.

Next week, we move into the story of the ten lepers.  This will be the last Wednesday meeting until September.  However, the blog will continue through the summer.  Keep checking the website for new entries and keep the conversation going.

Peace,

Pastor Summer