Jesus Gets Real

Gospel of Luke Chapters 10-12

Just like all humans, Jesus is complicated.  While many may think of him as a benevolent friend with an avuncular smile and hands offering a blessing, the Scriptures offer a much more vivid and demanding depiction of our Savior.  As we get into the heart of Luke’s Gospel, we bear witness to the imperative nature of Jesus’ message and ministry – that decisions must be made and there will be a cost.

One of the unique biblical stories in the Gospel of Luke is the sending of the 70 disciples in pairs in Chapter 10.  This is the first glimpse we have of the earliest missionaries sharing Jesus’ message of love, health and salvation without Jesus himself being present. The disciples are instructed to take nothing with them for their material comfort, but simply present themselves and their message to the various towns. If what they say is accepted – on faith – then the hearers will receive the benefits of God’s realm: peace, health and wholeness.  Those who choose to reject the message will be given a terrible punishment – God’s absence (which, to me, is “hell”).

The absolute joy of the 70 when they return from their mission is palpable.  They can hardly believe what they where able to do in the name of Jesus.  I believe the modern Church needs to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest this passage of going into the world with nothing but our faith and trust that the Holy Spirit will meet us where we need to go when we offer ourselves in loving service to another.  Is it scary? Yes!  Does it ask us to step out of our comfort zones (our buildings)? Absolutely!  However, we get to come back, just like the Scripture says.  And I believe we will be blessed beyond our imagining if we risk doing so.

One of the most well-known parables inside or outside of the Church appears in Chapter 10 – the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  What is important to remember about this parable is that it is in response to a lawyer’s question of how to inherit eternal life, and further, who are our neighbors.  The very idea that a Samaritan, who had rejected Jesus from entering their town in Chapter 9, could show loving-kindness and mercy was almost impossible for anyone to accept.  This was a radical teaching, and perhaps dismissed because it was so extreme.

Jesus continues with his dismantling of unjust structures in Chapters 11 & 12 by taking on the established positions of the Pharisees and lawyers, telling them they love their position in society more than the people that make up the society – the very people they are supposed to be leading and supporting. Jesus’s confrontation with the ruling class through conversation and parables angers them to the point of beginning to plot to kill him.

Jesus is fully aware of what his words and actions are doing – they cause people to take a good look at themselves and their behavior and decide what they will do.  Will they continue with the status quo or choose a different way?  And Jesus is upfront about the fact that the “different way,” his way, will cause division and demand sacrifice.  Any system that works, even if the way that it works is harmful or even deadly to some, will defend itself against a force that wants it to change, even if the change is beneficial for the entire system.

Looking at the “Big Picture” can be difficult for us trying to make it through another day and all its demands.  However, as Jesus shows us in these chapters, being “nice” isn’t what God calls us to.  We are called to love one another as we are loved, which is difficult, especially when it means we must look at how we function in a system.

I was reminded of this at the Diocesan Convention this past Saturday.  The speaker at the Episcopal Church Women’s breakfast, Liza Minno Bloom, a sociologist and activist for Indigenous peoples’ rights, reminded me that the land I live on and on which our church sits, was taken from those who lived here before me or anyone from Europe arrived with a very different approach to “claiming” the land.  I don’t know if the Lenape people where ever fairly compensated for this land, and that shames me, because I have benefited from their suffering.

Moving back from the big picture to a very intimate one to close this week’s reflection.  At the end of Chapter 10, we hear the short story of Jesus visiting with Mary and Martha.  This vignette is almost as well know as the Good Samaritan, many asking if they are “Marys” or “Marthas.”  The point, however, is to be like Mary, enraptured by Jesus’ presences and giving him all our devotion and attention, rather than like Martha, distracted by the work we think is so important. 

Take a few minutes this week to offer yourself to be fully in Jesus’ presence.  It can feel a bit intimidating, and yet so rewarding and refreshing.  And when we do, any sacrifice or decision that we are asked to make for the sake of the Gospel seems as easy as breathing. 

With Lenten Blessings,

Rev. Valerie+