On Line Bible Study - For the Week August 23-29, 2010

Lesson 454

Luke 8:40-56 (For the full text, click here.) Jesus encounters a ruler of the synagogue named Jairus who begs him to come heal his only daughter who is around 12 years old. As Jesus is on his way, a woman who has been bleeding for 12 years touches his cloak and is healed. Jesus, pressed in by the crowds, senses this touch of healing and inquires: Who touched me? The woman comes forward, and Jesus tells her: Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.

As he continues to Jairus' home, messengers arrive with the news that the girl has died. Jesus says to Jairus: Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.

⁵¹When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's father and mother. ⁵²Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. "Stop wailing," Jesus said. "She is not dead but asleep."

⁵³They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴But he took her by the hand and said, "My child, get up!" ⁵⁵Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. ⁵⁶Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

"If you want proof, you will never be enlightened." This is what Rinpoche Barba Tulku told Eric Weiner when Weiner was traveling in Bhutan.

The passage from Luke's Gospel, also told in Mark 5:21-43 and Matthew 9:18-26, is the only time in the gospel tradition where one miracle is wrapped around another. Darrell Bock suggests this literary device increases the tension of the situation, perhaps because Jesus' delay with the bleeding woman results in his arriving too late (presumably) to heal Jairus' daughter.

Three things are happening in this passage:

1. Jesus' power over illness is once again demonstrated.
2. Jesus' power over death itself is both made manifest and, in an even more spectacular event to come, anticipated.
3. Faith in Jesus is the critical issue.
   

There is another interesting factor to consider - Jairus is just the sort of person Jesus is most critical of - a religious leader. But in this case, Jairus is not antagonistic to the ministry of Christ, but is, at least at some level, a believer. Or, maybe that is pushing it a bit too far. Perhaps Jairus' faith is not so much in Jesus, but in his belief that God worked in a special way through Jesus. Is there a difference?

This is not a matter of splitting hairs; it is a critically important question. Presumably God can use whoever and whatever God chooses; but is Jesus somehow singular? One of the mysteries of Christian theology as it relates to Jesus is this notion of separateness - that is, Jesus is not "God" in the same way as is the God to whom Jesus prays. Yet, there is a unity between Jesus and God such that their individual will is actually one will. In theological terminology - two "persons", one God.

There is an interesting passage in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John where Jesus says: Believe in God; believe also in me... John's gospel hits this issue head on; perhaps the synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) come at it more subliminally. In any event, each gospel in its own way pushes us to consider who we believe this Jesus to be. God doesn't provide proof as the foundation for faith; faith is going to have to be strong enough to stand on its own.

For the woman who was bleeding, and the father of the little girl - Jesus was all the proof they needed. Luke tells us their story - one of pain and worry and mortality. "Just believe!" That may not seem like much to go on, but sometimes it's all we've got.

On Line Bible Study - for the Week August 16-22, 2010

Lesson 453

Luke 8: ²⁶They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. ²⁷When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. ²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" ²⁹For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

³⁰Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

This is the third time we encounter this story. St. Mark gives us the longest version (Mark 5:1-20), while St. Matthew renders the shortest version (Matthew 8:28-34). I am giving you the first part of the story - for the rest of Luke's telling, click here.

In the commentaries we read discussions of the authenticity of a text. Did this really happen in a literal way? Or is the Gospel Writer using a legend or story to make a theological point? Do we live in a less superstitious age and culture than did the writers of the New Testament?

Darrell Bock, whose commentary we are using as a guide in our consideration of Luke's Gospel, says some scholars (specifically the "Jesus Seminar") label the dialogue in the story as the invention of the evangelist. Bock takes exception to this. He says we have to be careful not to let our prejudice against miracles (i.e. superstitious magic) cause us to dismiss important elements of the dialogue.

Regardless of who said what, this is another story of power. Notice how the demon strips the man, isolates him - and recognizes the authority of Jesus. While the geography is uncertain, the assumption is that Jesus was in Gentile territory. So the text poses questions of a timeless nature:

1. What are the demons that isolate you?
2. What is it within you that torments you? (For some, it is lack of control of their appetite; for others it is an addiction of one kind or another. For still others it may be the yearning for money or wealth. It might be the overwhelming temptation to complain or gossip. You get the point.)
3. Part of the torment is knowing that you are diminished by it - less the person you truly want to be because of it.
4. And here's the kicker - you know how to overcome it! You know you must overcome it!
   

Such an interesting tension here. The demon who cries out to Jesus: Don't torture me! is a master at torturing the man he possesses. From a psychological perspective, we might wonder if the possessed man is torturing himself. Does the idea of possession suggest a level of willingness? We are on dangerous ground here, aren't we. We don't want to get in to blaming the victim. At the same time, we have to be honest about the human heart, human vulnerability - our quick willingness to succumb to what tempts us and what drags us down.

Whether we prefer the details provided by Mark and Luke, or the shorter version in Matthew ... whether the dialogue went exactly as Luke suggests, or not, this is a true story we are reading. This is very much about us. If your tendency is to dismiss it as superstition, perhaps you should think again. Maybe its not the story that is your problem; maybe its your demons.

On Line Bible Study - For the Week August 9-15, 2010

Lesson 452

Luke 8: ²²One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. ²³As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. ²⁴The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ²⁵"Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."

In comedy timing is everything. A great joke is spoiled by inept telling, by giving something away too soon in the story.

One of the questions we haven't addressed much in these studies has to do with the placement of stories, parables, miracles. But it is important to ask the question of the relationship to the meaning of a story as a result of its placement in the text.

Darrel Bock points out that this story of "Authority over Nature" is placed quite differently in Luke and Mark than in Matthew. Luke has Jesus tell us the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, use the metaphor of light to teach us about our responsibility, and the question of who Jesus' family is just prior to this calming of the storm.

In a sense, Jesus' authority to teach, and his prerogative to determine the criteria for entrance into the kingdom of God are solidified by this story of his authority over nature.

Without pushing it too hard, this scholarly issue of placement with its requisite meaning in a particular gospel causes me to wonder about our own experience of God. I think we have focused on teaching our children the Christian Faith from an early age. In a sense, our practice has been to answer questions before they were being asked. We know the positive and negative side of this approach.
Here is a question to ponder: Is the story one of Jesus' authority over nature? Or is it one primarily of rescuing his disciples in the midst of danger? Is Jesus showing off? Or is he saving people?
Put another way: What is the point of the story? What is Luke trying to show us by telling us the story? I think the "point of the story" may well depend on whether you need to be convinced, or you need to be saved. Is your life being tossed around just now by forces beyond your control?
The question is more than where is the story in the chronology of the gospel; the more important question is this: what is the story telling you given your current life situation? There is no doubt that we are 'in the boat'. It's just a question of how much control we think we have.
Where are you just now - do you need to be impressed? or rescued?

On Line Bible Study - For the Week August 2 - 8, 2010

Lesson 451

We are considering a passage that is a bit lengthy this week - it contains a parable (Luke 8:4-15;), an image of light (Luke 8:16-18), and the question of family (Luke 8:19-21). You can go directly to the text by clicking on Luke 8:4-21.

Darrell Bock points out that each of these deal in one way or another with faith - "The word as light calls for faith. The word is responded to in many different ways and faces many obstacles in its reception."

The parable of the seed and the soil is very well known. Perhaps we can derive a couple meanings or purposes from it. First, the message (the word) is not received by everyone. There is going to be resistance. From the very first days of his ministry Jesus' message is both embraced and rejected. The second message comes in the form of a question: What kind of soil are you? What is the state of our own receptivity to the message of the kingdom of God? Note the form which the obstacles take - spiritual impediments, persecution, the cares of the world (some of which may be legitimate) and the burden of riches (which are self-imposed).
It is often pointed out that Jesus used imagery and metaphor that had immediate relevance for his audience. Sowing seed was something his First-Century listeners could easily identify with.
Isn't it interesting that Jesus' disciples don't get it. And yet, Jesus acknowledges that the very purpose of the parables is to invite us into a deeper relationship with him - a questioning that ultimately leads to awareness. Absent that relationship with him the parables will continue to baffle us.

The light is meant to shine (Luke 8:16-18). Is Jesus warning his disciples not to hide the light of the kingdom of God out of fear of persecution?

The section concludes with Jesus' mother and brothers looking for him. Luke reinforces the notion that not blood, but faith is what makes us part of Jesus' family.

What is it in your life that prevents Jesus' word from taking deeper root and bearing more fruit? Is it fear? Or worries? Does the stuff of life crowd out the Christ? What is the status of your light - flickering? Glowing? Barely visible? Are you letting yourself be a part of Jesus' family?