On Line Bible Study - For the Week June 21-27, 2010

Lesson 445

Luke 6: ⁴⁶"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. ⁴⁸He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

This is a rabbinic story, but as the rabbis told it, the rock is the law. For Christians, the rock is the authority of Jesus.

The parable may have its roots in a passage from the prophet Ezekiel 13:10-16. In that passage the people are warned about flimsy walls that are covered with whitewash. When the walls come tumbling down the people don't complain about the whitewash, anymore than we would blame the paint on the wall for the crumbling of a house. The problem is deeper, more structural.

The question is: Upon what can we build a solid life? Jesus is telling us two things are necessary. First, he is Lord. It is right to assign him the place of authority. It is right to come to him and proclaim him our teacher and master and put our whole faith in him. The second thing: his authority is not only to be proclaimed; it is also meant to be lived. All three parts of the equation have to be honored - ...come to me; hear my words; put them into practice... Believing and doing are two sides of the same coin.

As the rabbis saw it, the law was like our laws of the road. Who comes to a complete stop at stop signs? Who never exceeds the speed limit? Our tendency is to slow down, but then roll through the intersection. The practice of many is to allow themselves 5 miles over the speed limit. Whether talking about what it meant to be "clean" or how to keep the Sabbath, the question seemed to be: How far can we go?

Jesus does not allow such latitude. But the reason for his insistence has to do with what it means to build a life of integrity - a saved life, if you will. As St. Paul notes, the freedom we have in Christ was never intended to mean we are free to do whatever we want. Rather, we are now free to love our enemies! We don't have to hate anymore. We don't need to worry about protecting our turf, guarding our borders, hoarding our goods, passing judgment on our neighbors. Putting into practice the teachings of Jesus means taking seriously the message contained in Luke 6.

Darrell Bock summarizes this section of Luke's Gospel (6:17-49) as follows:

• God's promises are for those who unite themselves to him (especially the poor, hungry, mourning, and persecuted).
• We are called to a radical love - a love willing to subject itself to repeated abuse from our enemies - a love that is as available to others as God's love is available to us.
• Love for God is demonstrated in our obedience to Christ.
  

Next time we will head into Chapter 7.

On Line Bible Study - For the Week June 14-20, 2010

Lesson 444

Luke 6: ⁴³"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

I have had the opportunity to visit some vineyards in France, and sit with a sommelier whose family has been in the business of making wine for generations. To be invited into the "cave" and spend an hour with someone who talks about a glass of wine as if it were a work of art, and to hear them explain the intricacies of the grape, the barrels, the bottling ... Well, it's like going to the symphony, a fine restaurant, a history lecture and stepping into a time machine all at once!

Perhaps wine is not of interest to you; then think of a peach or plum. I've heard it said time and time again by people how disappointed they were in the flavor or texture of a piece of fruit. We know the difference between a cantelope that is sweet and juicy, and one that is not.

This word from Jesus about fruit explains the previous verses - it tells us why it is so important to be openly and honestly self-reflective. Ultimately, what comes out of us in terms of our speaking and doing is the direct result of our thinking and believing. We can push this analogy hard. Wine is directly dependent upon the grape and how it is treated. But the grape is directly dependent upon the soil and weather - the intricate combination of sand, water, sunshine and cool. Our exterior life is the result of what is going on under the surface, at the very roots of our existence.

Unlike the grapevine that has no choice or control with regard to the soil it grows in, we have much more control of our inner lives. We decide every day whether we are going to nourish our spirit, and what we are going to feed our soul. Recalling Jesus' teaching about teachers, specks, and inept people attempting to lead other, the meaning here is clear. The gospel writer wants us to place Jesus at the core of our lives and the center of our hearts. The next verses in the gospel speak of one who chooses to build their house on a rock-solid foundation. It's our choice - to be deeply rooted in Christ, or to live lives that are superficial and shallow.

We all bear "fruit"; it's just a question of what kind.

On Line Bible Study - For the Week June 7-13, 2010

Lesson 443

Luke 6: ³⁹He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. ⁴¹"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

In his commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Darrel Bock points out three things with regard to the concluding verses of the Sermon on the Plain.

First, make sure the person you are following knows where they are going. One of the things I tell people who are in therapy is this: The counseling should make a difference! Some issues take months, even years to resolve. But if you have been going to a counselor for months and feel as if you are getting nowhere, you probably are! I have had teachers in my life who have pushed me. Their guidance was not always comfortable; but I could tell when it was making a positive difference.

Second, we become like our teachers. This is another reason to choose them carefully. But another point to consider is the fact that we need a teacher. If Jesus is our teacher, we need to be careful not to go outside the boundaries of his teachings. It may also be that Jesus is imparting his authority to the disciples. We don't become greater than him; but we must become like him in our thinking and our acting.

Third, honest self evaluation is a critical ingredient if there is going to be spiritual growth. It is a constant struggle, isn't it, to stop judging other people. It is easy for our talk to become gossip, and our gossip to become judgmental. We all know how uncomfortable it is to have a speck of dust in our eye. We will blink, run, tear up, splash water - anything to relieve the discomfort of having that speck in our eye. The notion that, from a spiritual perspective we have a log in our eye simply heightens the sense of our own spiritually compromised state! How dare we judge another.

The high standards the preceding sermon holds out for us must be accompanied by our willingness to let Jesus be the teacher, no matter how challenging his ways are. And if he is going to teach us, we better get ready for some serious soul-searching. All of this will be in the name of transforming us from doubter to believer, from spectator to full participant in the on-going redemptive work of God.

On Line Bible Study - For the Week May 31-June 6, 2010

Lesson 442

Luke 6: ³²"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. ³³And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. ³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.

It is interesting to ask ourselves about our 'good deeds' - if even sinners do this ... What is it that sets the follower of Jesus apart from the pack? Perhaps one of the most condemning realities is that often 'sinners' are more loving than Christians. But life is not a game of moral oneupmanship, seeing which group can out-love the other. The basis for Christian Ethics is the reality of God's mercy:

Luke 6: ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

God's mercy (love, loving kindness - in Hebrew, חֶסֶד - hesed) has an eternal quality, a timelessness to it. Those who came to believe in Jesus also saw an unconditional quality to divine mercy. Paul refers to it in Romans 5: ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

In other words, God doesn't wait for us to 'get it right'. In Jesus, God is 'making it right'. As we receive this love, so must we manifest it to others. In this way we become not only the beneficiaries of God's love; we become full participants in the divine act of loving.

Darrell Bock points out that it is our loving as God loves that "marks out God's child". It is us behaving in this divine manner that suggests we are the children of God. It is also interesting to note that in the parallel passage in the Gospel of Matthew we are called to Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. The word Matthew uses can also be understood to mean "mature".

Spiritual maturity is measured not by acquired wealth as an indicator that God has blessed us; rather it is determined by the extent to which we are able to love as God loves. As noted in a previous lesson, the standard is high!

On Line Bible Study - For the Week May 24-30, 2010

Lesson 441

Luke 6: ²⁹If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.

Perhaps it seems we are trying to cut this too fine; however, some important issues have to be dealt with regarding this passage and the larger context from which it is taken. The central questions are these: Is Jesus (Luke) overstating the case to highlight essential principles of the Christian life, not intended to be taken literally? Or, is the passage aimed at the wealthy - those who have an abundance of leisure time, tunics and worldly possessions? Or, is Jesus (Luke) describing what Darrell Bock calls "the natural exposure" of what it means to be a follower of Jesus?

Regarding the questions raised, scholars and theologians can be found who will offer support for each of the interpretations. Note that in the passage quoted, one is told to be generous not only with one's possessions in offering them to others; one should also be generous with what is taken from us! That line is specific to Luke, and not to be found in Matthew's rendering of this sermon.

One thing that has to be acknowledged with regard to this teaching - it does not list possessions that could be categorized as extravagant, possessed only by the wealthy.

...turn the other cheek ... This most likely refers to a slap that is less physically painful than it is representative of an insult. "Turn the other cheek" probably means to refrain from defending oneself - let the insult go.

...cloak and tunic ... The cloak is the outer garment; the tunic is worn beneath it. If someone takes your coat, chances are they need your sweater, or your shirt as well. Give it to them. The "taking" in this verse may refer to robbery.

...give to everyone who asks you ... The present tense of the verbs here suggests that generosity should be a way of life. It applies to the panhandler as well as the neighbor.

...if anyone takes what belongs to you ... If you have been wronged do not exact retribution.

The crunch in all of this takes us back to the discussion at the beginning of this lesson. How is this to be applied? As principles not to be taken literally in every situation? Is it only for those of means who have plenty to spare? Does it describe the 'exposure' that every follower of Jesus accepts as part of Christian discipleship?

I know what I think; but as far as your life is concerned - it's your call.

On Line Bible Study - for the Week May 17-23, 2010

Lesson 440

Luke 6: ²⁷"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³²"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. ³³And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. ³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

From blessings and woes we now turn to love. Not to make too much of incidentals or details, note the first seven words - "But I tell you who hear me..." The implication here is that we are truly listening. Today, we might characterize it by the phrase listening actively. Jesus is talking to people whose attention he truly has. It's not enough to hear what Jesus is saying; we have to respond to what he is saying.

For religious Jews, love of neighbor was defined as love of those who were like you. There were some expressions of Judaism where it was not only appropriate to hate one's enemies if their religion was different from yours; it was expected you would hate them. Jesus' teaching takes on an extreme meaning in light of what was the norm for 'love' in his day. This teaching of Christ, as radical as it was, became part of the identity of the early Christian movement.

If loving isn't enough, Jesus goes on to exhort his listeners to do good to those who hate you. In other words, this love he speaks about must be active. As if to emphasize this, Jesus then teaches his disciples to pray for those who curse and mistreat you. Not only are we to look for ways to do good for our enemies; we are called to intercede to God on their behalf - to bless them.

At this point some would say the Gospel becomes impossible. Jesus is the premier (though not the only) example of this in the New Testament. St. Luke records later in his Gospel one of the last things Jesus says before he died: Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. To plead to God for God to forgive another - especially one who has wronged us - that is not an easy prayer to pray and mean it.

These several reflections set the tone for the rest of the passage quoted above. Not just to read it, but to ask one's self: Am I fulfilling this teaching in my life?

We will consider more of this section of Luke's Gospel in our next lesson.

On Line Bible Study - For the Week May 10-16, 2010

Lesson 439

Luke 6: ²⁰Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ²²Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.

²³"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.

²⁴"But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. ²⁵Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. ²⁶Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.

This is a passage of Scripture found also in Matthew, though with much less detail here. And there are some significant differences in terms of the beatitudes themselves between the two gospels. In his commentary on Luke, Darrell Bock acknowledges a level of complexity in terms of the sources for this section. Matthew has eight beatitudes; Luke has four. Matthew says those who mourn will be comforted; Luke says those who weep will laugh. Luke has four "woes" that are not present in Matthew. There are many other textual considerations we could explore (such as: Matthew says 'poor in spirit' whereas Luke simply says 'poor', etc.).

Luke tells us the crowds gathered around Jesus were trying to touch him because of his healing power. Recalling the threat Jesus was deemed to be by the Pharisees in the previous sections, Jesus now begins to acknowledge that there are two kinds of people - those who will know God's blessing, and those who won't. It's not the rich, well-fed, happy and popular who are necessarily on the "in" with God. Rather, it is the poor, the hungry, the sad and the persecuted who will experience the blessing.

A major question this section imposes on us is that of deciding which camp we are in. There are spiritual and ethical/sociological implications in both Matthew and Luke's telling; however, Luke leans more heavily on the ethical. What does it mean in our day to be rich, popular, well-fed, etc.? Are there spiritual implications attached to our standard of living, whether we care to consider them or not?

Another factor to consider has to do with receiving God's blessing apart from the Law. It's not the "Law" that provides blessing, but your station in life ... perhaps we could even say your chosen station in life. It is from who you are ethically that blessing will emerge ... or not. We have said it before - poverty in and of itself has no redeeming quality. But wealth should never be construed as the evidence of God's blessing. Quite the contrary! Wealth is a burden, a responsibility; left untended and improperly used wealth can cause us no end of woe!

For next time we will move past the "blessings and woes" and consider Jesus' teaching on love.

On Line Bible Study - For the week May 3-9, 2010

Lesson 438

Luke 6: ⁶On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. ⁷The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. ⁸But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Get up and stand in front of everyone." So he got up and stood there. ⁹Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?" ¹⁰He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was completely restored. ¹¹ But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

What is lawful regarding the Sabbath? What constitutes "work"? Scholar Darrell Bock reminds us that "rest" is something people were not to be denied. There has to be time in our lives for rejuvenation, for contemplation.

This passage from Luke is the third - and final - situation in this section. If you recall, we have explored the question of actions appropriate for the disciples. Luke gives us three situations that cover two questions: Why don't your disciples pray and fast? and What is lawful on the Sabbath?

The Pharisees were looking for ways to catch Jesus. The "watching" that is going on here is akin to spying, lying in wait for the expressed purpose of catching someone in wrongdoing. In some ways, the exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees in the passage above sounds a bit like quibbling. We know that Sabbath law would give way to work necessary for saving a life. The physical malady this man in the Synagogue demonstrates does not seem to be at all life-threatening. There is a tradition in the Gospel to the Nazareans that suggests the man with the shriveled hand was a stone mason. While not attested to in the canonical gospels, one could say the man's livelihood was in jeopardy; but even if this were the case, the healing could have been every bit as timely in light of that need had Jesus waited another day.

Are the questions Jesus asks in verse 9 rhetorical, or do they have some punch to them? What is lawful? In some ways this is reminiscent of the question we find in Micah 6:8 - What does the Lord require of us? Is it lawful to do good? to save lives?

I think it could be argued that Jesus broke the Sabbath law - but he did it intentionally. The best-intended rules need to be broken when the stand in the way of life, healing and wholeness. No matter ... the minds of the Pharisees were made up long before Jesus brought healing to this man. They were after him. The way the Gospel writer tells it, nothing - not even life itself - would stop them. It's the classic case of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. Jesus would continue to bump up against the immovable "law". As we saw several studies ago, new wine won't work in old wine skins. God, in Christ, was doing something new; perhaps the same is true in our own time.

In our next study we will begin to examine the "Sermon on the Plain".