Luke 14:25-35 They lied to us. Every parent, pastor, teacher, relative, and friend who told us that all we had to do was show up for church one hour a week or say the Sinner’s Prayer once upon a time or go forward at the Crusade lied to us. This is exactly what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace.” It is, in the words of Bonhoeffer, “grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” And... Read more
Luke 14:15-24 “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the Kingdom of Heaven!” What a nourishing thought! I find it interesting that the anonymous person who made this great statement was sitting at the table and eating with Jesus Himself. I wonder if he knew not only that he would eat bread in the Kingdom of Heaven but also that being with Jesus is eating in the Kingdom of Heaven. I used to sit around and think of ways... Read more
Luke 14:1-14 I can’t tell the difference between love and humility. Most of us have been taught that the opposite of love is hate, and in some ways I suppose that is true. But for the Christian, the true opposite of love (which is to give up self for the good of another) is pride (to give to self regardless of the good of self or others.) And therefore, love and humility are practically the same thing. This is why... Read more
Luke 13:22-35 There will be many other occasions to hear Jesus talk about how we must enter into the narrow gate and about the sin of hypocrisy, two themes that Jesus addresses this morning. What draws me like a magnet this morning instead is how Jesus responds to our choosing to take the broad way, the way of hypocrisy and rebellion against Him. On Judgment Day, there will indeed be weeping and gnashing of teeth, just as Jesus says. And... Read more
Luke 13:10-21 Here is a personal gospel for all of us: the picture Jesus gives us of the woman healed of her infirmity. If you have read the Gospels before or grown up hearing Bible stories as a child, it often becomes more difficult to hear a personal message in the Word of God. My first instinct sometimes goes something like this: “Ah, yes, another miracle of Jesus. What a mighty God we have. I sure like the way Jesus... Read more
Luke 13:1-9 In a dizzying succession, Jesus touches upon some of the most important truths of the cosmos in verses 1-5. Things happen. Bad things. They happen to all of us, but not necessarily with a one to one correspondence to how good or bad we’ve been. His words seem strangely reassuring at first: they seem to say that when natural catastrophes happen it is not necessarily because God is judging us. This is true. But then He discomforts all... Read more
Luke 12:49-59 For being the Prince of Peace, Jesus sure knows how to stir up trouble! The truth is, of course, that we are the ones who have disturbed the peace of the cosmos. We are the ones who have broken the law and are to be hauled into court to pay our debt. We are the ones who are at war with God and therefore at war with one another, at war within ourselves, and at war with nature. ... Read more
Luke 12:35-48 As a teacher, I’ve given my students hundreds, if not thousands, of tests. But some of the most interesting and important tests are not the kind given on paper but are the tests of character that happen from time to time. On occasion, I had to leave my room as a teacher, and this immediately presents the class with a pop test – a test of their character. Will they keep working quietly as I wish and as they’re... Read more
Luke 12:22-34 There is one thing in life you should fear and, likewise, one thing you should worry about. The one thing you should fear is the one who has power to cast into Hell. The one thing you should fear is God (Luke 12:5) and His displeasure. That’s it. Now this doesn’t mean that there won’t be moments of being scared by things that go bump in the night or that there aren’t certain parts of town we’d best... Read more
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Monday of Trinity 8 – Luke 15:1-10
Luke 15:1-10 Who wants to make the angels clap and shout and sing with me? In Luke 15:1-10 Jesus shows us how to do just this. I imagine that every time a sinner repents, all the angels and archangels and heavenly host in heaven hoot and holler. To communicate this joyous celebration, Jesus uses two parables this morning. The joy that God, the angels, and the church triumphant (saints who have gone before us) experience over a repentant sinner is... Read more