Jesus: More Present

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Scripture for this week:  Luke 8:22-25

Additional Scripture:  Matthew 28:18-20

Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41

Illustration by Jago, from The Jesus Storybook Bible.  Original appears here.  Several years ago, I flew from Michigan to a friend's wedding in California by way of Texas.  The Houston airport was under a tornado warning, and our plane was routed to Corpus Christi to wait out the storm.  The plane creaked and pitched through a black sky.  Lightning electrified the clouds; thunder drummed the top of the plane.  I tightened my seatbelt, gripped the armrests, and shut my eyes.  At one point, the rollicking became so pronounced that people on the plane were screaming.  We were terrified. How I wished the captain of the plane would have told us something reassuring.  He didn't.  But he did something better:  He got us down safely. I have never been at sea in a storm.  But when I read this passage about Jesus sleeping during a violent storm at sea,  I remember that plane ride. How could anyone sleep through that? Luke tells us that it's Jesus' idea to go out in the boat. "Let's cross to the other side of the lake," he says.  So the disciples, experienced fishermen among them, set sail.  It doesn't take long before Jesus is asleep. A breeze kicks up into a soaking wind. Waves crest over the stern faster than the disciples can bail.  Fishing nets go floating overboard.  The disciples are terrified on two different levels.  They are terrified that their lives will be lost at sea; and they are terrified because Jesus doesn't seem to be watching out for them.  Their leader snores on. "Master, Master!"  The disciples cry.  "We are about to die!" Subtext: DO something! So Jesus does.  Like a bleary-eyed parent whose squirrelly children are disrupting the peace, he rebukes the wind and the waves.  Be still, Jesus commands the forces of nature.  Go back to bed. And much to the fearful amazement of the disciples, the wind and the waves obey! When all is calm, Jesus asks the disciples, "Where is your faith?" The disciples don't answer Jesus' question.  I wonder how they felt.  Relieved?  Ashamed?   Drawn into greater faith, the kind Jesus wants them to exhibit?  Luke tells us a different kind of fear comes over the disciples as they marvel at the kind of Master they are following. "Who is this--that water and wind obey him?"  they wonder.    This Jesus--who commands water and wind--is also with us.  Lord, increase our faith. Reflect 1.  What "storm" are you facing?  In what ways has the promise of Jesus' presence with you brought peace in the storm?  2.  If Jesus has given you a particular awareness of his presence with you in the storm, thank him.  If the storm is still raging and it feels as if Jesus is sleeping, let his promise never to leave you echo through your mind and heart.  3.  Listen to the song "Don't Be Afraid" by John Bell.  Meditate on the truth that Jesus never leaves you, no matter what.  

Jesus: More Money-Minded

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Scripture for Sunday, February 19:  Luke 6:17-26

Additional Scripture:  Luke 18:18-30, Acts 2:42-47

By world standards, I am fabulously wealthy.  I live in a clean, well-lighted place.  I can get a cup of cold water from a running faucet in my house whenever I want.  I have an embarrassing number of shoes in my closet.  I don't have to make terrible decisions about which child I can feed today.

So when I read Jesus many teachings about wealth, poverty, generosity and the life of faith in Luke, I know his cautions are for me. 

"Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort."  (Luke 6:24)

"Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.  A [person's] life does not consist in the abundance of [their] possessions."  (Luke 12:15)

"Sell your possessions and give to the poor.  Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys."  (Luke 12:33)

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”  (Luke 16:13)

There are many, many more.  In his preparation this week, Rev. Jonker counted at least 20 verses in the book of Luke that relate to money.  Jesus is indeed "more money-minded" than we expect.

Watch out!  Jesus says.

What's the big deal about money?  After all, money can be a great good, right?  God gives it to us to steward on his behalf--to provide for our needs, and to share with others.

I think the problem comes when we mistake the gift of money for the Giver himself.  This is insidious.  Money has the power to shift our hearts and our vision just enough to take our eyes off our Lord and onto other things:  our own ability to earn it; the things we can buy with it; the earthly status we can achieve through it. 

When I always have enough, it can be possible for me to miss out on recognizing God's provision in my life.  Wealth can be to my detriment if it impoverishes me spiritually.  

The family that I married into has given me the great gift of firsthand stories of God's provision.  Money was always tight, and trust became an ingrained habit. 

Late one summer, the family made a list of the kids' needs for school.  Mom sat at the kitchen table and totaled up the costs.  She tried to assess what was a "need" and what would be "nice to have."  She looked for ways to trim the list or cut costs.

And yet....  After all her assessment, there was a clear deficit between the money in the bank and the need.  She calculated the deficit down to the penny.  She began to pray about the need, not sharing the need or the amount beyond her own home.

Some time later, a note came in the mail.  To her surprise, it contained a check from someone who wanted to support and encourage their family.  The note asked the family to excuse the odd amount of the check; it was the amount they had felt led to send. 

The check was made out in the exact, down-to-the-penny amount Mom had determined was necessary for the school supplies. 

The family recognized God's provision in taking care of them.  This was a faith-building gift, for both the giver and the recipient. 



How has God provided for you in surprising ways?  More expected ways (that nevertheless come from him)? 

What stories does your family tell of God's provision?

Disciplined stewardship of financial wealth is a high and holy calling.  Consider how God has shaped your own life as you have used the money he has entrusted to you.  Ask him to speak to you about his presence and faithfulness to you, whether you have a lot or a little. 

What role does your money have in setting the priorities of your heart?

Jesus: More Deep

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Scripture for Sunday, February 12:  Luke 11:33-42
Additional Scripture:  Luke 18:9-14

This week we join Jesus and the crowd listening to him preach using an analogy from nature. 
 
"No one," he says, "lights a lamp and then covers it up."
 
Why not?  Well, covering an open-flame lamp either extinguishes the flame or starts a fire.  Covering an open-flame lamp either leads to darkness or disaster.
 
"Your eyes are the lamp of your body.  When your eyes are healthy, your whole body is full of light.  But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness."
 
When our eyes work well, our brains receive and interpret vast amounts of visual information instantly.  We don't have to think to ourselves, "My eyes see that peanut butter on the second shelf; therefore I know there is peanut butter on the second shelf."  We just SEE the peanut butter and make ourselves toast. 
 
Jesus makes a connection between healthy physical sight and healthy spiritual sight, the "light within us."  
 
When our spiritual sight is illuminated by the wisdom and love of Jesus Christ, we are "full of light."  Our hearts work properly.  The result is that our very lives radiate Christ's light in tangible acts that resemble our Master. 
 
But, if the light in our hearts grows dark....  If our hearts get covered over by sin and disregard to God, we begin living in the very ways Jesus calls to account in his dinner conversation with the Pharisees. 
 
At the after-church dinner following his sermon, Jesus disregards his childhood lessons about being a polite dinner guest and bluntly assesses the Pharisees' situation:
 
"You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness....  Woe to you...because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God."

The Pharisees observed detailed ceremonial washing practices.  They held their hands at a certain angle and poured a prescribed amount of water in just the right way.  So, too, they followed detailed instructions for measuring out their tithes. 
 
But thick into the trees of the details, they missed the forest.  Their righteousness consisted in external observance of the law but lacked internal illumination about what mattered most to God.  In their considerable effort to please God, they missed the one thing he wanted most:  hearts, minds, and lives bathed in and reflecting the light of God's character and love.  

"If your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you."  (Luke 11:36).   

Shine on us, Lord. 
 
Reflect
 
How would you describe external righteousness? 
What makes external righteousness attractive?  What makes it dangerous?

How would you describe internal righteousness? 
What makes internal righteousness attractive?  What makes it difficult?

In what ways does external righteousness motivate you?  What about internal righteousness? 

Jesus: More Generous

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Scripture for Sunday, February 5: 
The Good Samaritan (Lk 10:29b-37) 

Whenever I read the story of the Good Samaritan, I can't help but feel sympathetic toward the expert in the law whose question prompts Jesus' story.

Luke's account tells us that the expert in the law wants to "justify himself," so he asks Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Who am I really responsible to love the way I love myself?

It's a good question.  Other Jews of Jesus time may have been thinking to themselves of the book of Sirach, a collection of Jewish wisdom that advised "Do good to the devout, but do not help the sinner."  (Sir. 12:4).

Who will Jesus say his followers are really responsible to love sacrificially?

Jesus' story explodes all the preconceived categories. 

The man who falls into the hands of robbers is unidentifiable other than the fact that he is human.  We don't know if he is a Jew or a Roman or a Samaritan.  All we know is he is human, and he needs help. 

The priest and the Levite are the characters most likely to help in the minds of Jesus' hearers.  But they don't stop, not that we blame them:  That Jericho road is dangerous, obviously.  Who knows if the thieves are still lurking?  

And the injured man may even be dead.  If the priest and the Levite became unclean by touching a dead body, they would become unclean.  They'd have to take some time off work for a while.  It would be inconvenient--maybe even a tad irresponsible--for them to stop and help. 

So the characters most most likely to help don't. 

But the Samaritan--ah.  Now Jesus' hearers are on the edge of their seats.  Jesus' word order highlights the unusual role the hated Samaritan will play.  The Samaritan! stops when he sees the man.  He carries out six specific acts of compassion:

1)  He gets close enough to touch the man
2) He bandages his wounds, cleans him up; gives him the Neosporin of his time
3) He puts him on his own donkey, risking travel delay and his own safety.  (When was the last time you put an unknown, injured person in the backseat of your car to get them help?!)
4)  He takes him to an inn
5)  He takes care of him
6)  He gives the innkeeper plenty of money to take care of the man until he returns

The hated Samaritan helps.  Extravagantly. 

The hated Samaritan is the model neighbor.

"Who is the neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"  Jesus asks.

The expert in the law can't even bring himself to identify the character by name:  "The one who had mercy on him."

And Jesus tells him, "Go and do likewise."

Reflect:

1)  What character in Jesus' story do you identify with most?  Why?
2)  Either from your own life or from a story you have heard, identify someone who has shown the kind of tangible compassion of the Samaritan to others.  What impact does that compassion have on you?
3)  In what ways is it easy or hard for you to offer tangible compassion to others?  Are there people you find it easier or harder to serve?  Pray about what you discover through reflection.