Don't you just hate it when...

DON’T YOU JUST HATE IT WHEN…

“Don’t you just hate in when…when Jesus is really clear.

That is my thought for today. We do not have a lot to read, and what we are reading today is really straightforward.

Take a read through it and then I will share a thought.

A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus

⁵¹ When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. ⁵³ But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But he turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ And they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶² Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

If you want to do an interesting exercise then draw a line down a piece of paper and on one side write down the things Jesus does (heal people, feed people, etc.) and on the other side write down what he says. It is amazing. He does wonderful things and he says challenging, even outrageous, things.

Today he says, enough with the excuses!

I am married to a school teacher. If you are one, or know one, then they may have shared some bizarre excuses with you that their students offered them.

Sooner or later we know we either want to follow Jesus, or we don’t. And following him means following his teaching—and some of his teachings are sharp. Jesus did not say follow me and you will be happy…he said, take up your cross.

Today the readings can seem harsh. The bit about burying your father (or not) is Jesus saying the Kingdom of God comes before social obligations, no matter how important. Now you can take this literally or instructionally. I take it as follows. If you are using your social obligations as an excuse, then Jesus is calling you out. If you really are following Jesus, then I expect he will want you to honor your father and mother. In this scene I get the sense that people are yelling out to Jesus, paying him lip service…and lip service…well he will have none of that.

The point, I think, is that it is not easy to follow Jesus...but try…and when you fall down, when you are not perfect (for me that is multiple times a day) don’t try and make excuses…just say to Jesus you are sorry, get up, and start following…did you notice, he is not interested in you looking back…he is not, he is always looking forward.

Let these words sink in

FOCUSED BUT NOT FORMED

LET THESE WORDS SINK IN

***I am asking you to read through to verse 50 today and not 45 as the original plan established. Sorry about that, going to 50 makes more sense. ***

Yesterday, and now today, I am are struck by how in such short space we read of an amazing diversity of topics about and around Jesus. There can be so much to ponder. We have before us today the Transfiguration and the healing of a young boy with a demon. We have also Jesus again predicting his death…he did it earlier in this chapter and we read about it yesterday…and even more.

I want to point out just a little detail about Luke’s Gospel, if you do not have the time to read it, I suggest you skip down to the text of the Scripture and read the closing comment.

We have come to the end of the first major division of Luke’s Gospel, 9:50. Up to the point of 9:1-36 there are six main paragraphs:

·       9:1-6 – the 12 are sent out.

·       9:7-9 – Herod asks who Jesus is

·       9:10-17 – 5,000 people are fed

·       9:18-22 – Jesus is proclaimed as Lord at Caesarea Philippi

·       9:23-27 – the 12 are called to take up their cross and follow

·       9:28-36 – Jesus is transfigured and a heavenly voice declares he is who Peter proclaimed a moment ago.  

In the first, third, and fifth paragraphs we read about the Lord’s people, in the other paragraphs we read about the Lord himself. In many ways we are at the point where the picture of Jesus…just who he is…and what he is doing…is coming into focus.

We read in the early chapters of Luke the supernatural plan of God coming to fruition. We read a few chapters later of Jesus’ ministry and message…and in fact his beginning a new Israel with the calling of the 12 and the giving of his teaching…you might say his law. The miracles in chapter 8 can be seen as especially instructive to the new people he is calling, his church.

By the time we get through the Transfiguration, which you are about to read, things have been made pretty plain…we should be able to see Jesus…and respond.

But commentators note that while the goal is in sight, we will take a detour of sorts when we start the next major division of Luke. Why? It seems as if we are like the people following Moses, who while close to the Promised Land, are not yet ready to enter into it. The balance of chapter 9 highlights the situation.

We need more faith…the story of the boy needing healing points that out. We need more understanding…after Jesus says “let these words sink into your ears,” the text says they still did not understand. We need more humility…as an argument arose among them about who was the greatest. We need more tolerance…towards our brothers and sisters, those who are following God's Word. 

You may have noted I inserted the first person plural “we.” We need more…You might object and say it was the disciples who needed more. True enough. Then change my text to the first person singular. “I” need more. I do.

While the picture of Jesus is coming into sharp focus…I still need more forming…perhaps that is what Lent is partially about.

Take a read through text and I have a short closing thought.

The Transfiguration

²⁸ Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³ And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. ³⁴ As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” ³⁶ And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

³⁷ On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. ³⁸ And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹ And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. ⁴⁰ And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”⁴¹ Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And all were astonished at the majesty of God.

Jesus Again Foretells His Death

But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus^[c]said to his disciples, ⁴⁴ “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵ But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Who Is the Greatest?

⁴⁶ An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.⁴⁷ But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side ⁴⁸ and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is For Us

⁴⁹ John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.”⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”

So here is Jesus before us…announced as Savior of the World…and by all accounts up to this point we read that he is beyond our wildest imaginations. I doubt we could have written a fiction that would come close to what Luke has carefully researched and presented.

Yet I am searching my heart given all I have read to this point…as to how much I have really taken in. Yes he is in focus in my mind’s eye…but he is still not formed in my heart. Not the way He desires. In some way that makes me appreciate him more…his forbearance and love of me…and with you. He gives us repeated opportunities to come to his word and learn…and even more to come to the Word made flesh who is our life and hope.

Here is the plan

HERE IS THE PLAN

Take nothing…meaning put your trust in Jesus…Herod is confused because he thinks he is in control…the disciples are trying to put their trust in food…again Jesus says put your trust in me…I have given you Power and Authority…Peter gets it…then we hear the plan—to die…and finally Jesus says take up your cross…the way is the way of dying…letting go all you think you can use instead of me…and oh by the way, when you are carrying a cross you tend to leave the other stuff behind.

In many ways, what we are reading today, is the plan…to follow him, taking nothing with us, only our cross. He, and those who follow him, disrupt the power brokers of the day…not in a political way…but in an other-worldly behavior…and the Herod’s of every age are confused by it all.

Take a read through this section and then I have a closing thought.

9 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, ² and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. ³ And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.^[a] 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. ⁵ And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” ⁶ And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Herod Is Perplexed by Jesus

⁷ Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, ⁸ by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. ⁹ Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹⁰ On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. ¹¹ When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. ¹² Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” ¹³ But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ And they did so, and had them all sit down. ¹⁶ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. ¹⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

¹⁸ Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” ¹⁹ And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” ²⁰ Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Jesus Foretells His Death

²¹ And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one,²² saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²³ And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ²⁵ For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷ But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Take up your cross—the only way I know how to do this is to get closer to Jesus. If I turn “take up your cross” into me “working harder”…well it does not turn out very well. But if I meditate upon Jesus, think about Jesus, read His Word and more…then He becomes the center of my life…and following Him becomes more natural. If I decide I am going to “do it” (rather than decide to “be with” Him) then I start looking like the disciples in the episode of feeding the 5,000…I start looking to everyone but Jesus for resources…or I get confused like Herod because I look to the world…the Plan is simple…look to & be with…Jesus.

In the midst of unmanageable-ness

IN THE MIDST OF UNMANAGEABLE-NESS

There are times life seems unmanageable. We read of two such instances in the Luke today. One, possibly something that comes out of nowhere. We do not know if Jairus’s daughter had been sick for a long time, or if it was sudden. The immediacy of the situation is clear. His act of imploring Jesus screams desperation, for he is. Then we meet the unnamed woman. Her situation is somewhat clearer…and chronic. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all report this event. Luke and Mark report she has spent her life’s savings, and the normally brief Mark adds a bit about how she has suffered.

People refer to this as a sandwich, where the center adds to, amplifies, the flavor of the outside surrounding story. They are of course stories of faith…and stories of Jesus compassion and healing. In one, the unapproached Jesus, the Jesus who is not even asked for help…this Jesus possesses so much power that merely touching him leads to healing. The meat (or at least part of it) is the Power of the Person of Jesus. And there is power in the story about Jairus’ dautghter…and also compassion.

If you have not read the text, then take a moment to do so, and then I have a one more thought on Jesus’ compassion.

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus's Daughter

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. ⁴¹ And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, ⁴² for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. ⁴³ And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter^[f] said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” ⁴⁷ And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.”⁵⁰ But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” ⁵¹ And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. ⁵² And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” ⁵³ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

In these short blogs I have to skip over quite a bit of detail that is behind the story, but let me offer you a little today. The woman with the flow of blood, because of her blood flow, is pigeon-holed into a terrible place in her society. She is “unclean.” Being “unclean” means that she is to stay away from people…if she touches someone, even just brushing up against them, she makes them unclean. I have read that when she walked down the street, if someone was approaching her, she was to yell out “UNCLEAN” so they could avoid her. I imagine in a small town everyone knew this woman was “unclean.”

So her being in the crowd…what a risk to take…imagine if someone saw her! And then she reaches out…she is going to “touch” Rabbi Jesus…and she does. Jesus stops, wonders aloud, the crowd of people get quiet. All of sudden everyone looks and they recognize her…and she admits to touching him…can you sense the high drama of the moment?

And then you hear the Rabbi speak, “Daughter…” He calls her daughter. The unnamed woman with her unmanageable life, goes from unclean exiled stranger…to being the Rabbi’s daughter.

And so it is for us, for all who, in the midst of our unmanageable lives, reach out to Jesus.