What is faith?

Scripture link.

What did Jesus just say? He's at it again. In Luke's gospel we have considered some hard stories to hear. Squandering, philandering sons, dishonest managers and beggars getting rewards! And this week, hard working slaves are told to come to the table only after they have finished their work, and rather than to expect to be commended for their work, they are to say "We have only done what we ought to have done!"

As Christopher Burkett says, it is no wonder the disciples said to Jesus, "Increase our faith!" What is the point of these parables? Consider The Rev. Rick Morley's "keeping it simple -  a reflection on Luke 17:5-10"; and Christopher Burkett's "Love bade me welcome." 

What is it to have faith? What does Jesus mean in his response to the disciples plea to oncrease their faith? Read  Debie Thomas' "If You Have Faith."

The Great Chasm

Scripture: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 and Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16  •  Amos 6:1a, 4-7 and Psalm 146  •  1 Timothy 6:6-19  •  Luke 16:19-31

In this Sunday's Scripture, the prophet Amos and Paul's first letter to Timothy warns us of the dangers of the inequitable gap between the lives of the rich and the poor, and that money is the root of all evil. This follows last week's lesson where Jesus tells his disciples that you cannot serve both God and wealth. But in Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and the great chasm between the two in the afterlife, is the parable really just another parable about money or wealth?

Read Debie Thomas' incisive "The Great Chasm" for her thoughts on the matter. Why is there, and who is responsible for "the great chasm?" What can be done about it? How can we see as Jesus sees? What is involved in seeing as Jesus sees?

Wealth and Serving God

Scripture: 

Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 and Psalm 79:1-9  • 

Amos 8:4-7 and Psalm 113  • 

1 Timothy 2:1-7  • 

Luke 16:1-13

This week Jesus gives his disciples the parable of the dishonest manager. Scholars, preachers and teachers have a myriad of difficulties with this text. Why did the master of the dishonest manager commend him? Some say it has to do with being shrewd in times when shrewdness is needed. What if the dishonest manager is otherwise a good husband, father, or mother? Are we to write the person off as a bad person? What about the teaching that one who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest in much? Or, the flip side, one who is faithful in a very little is faithful in much? How do we reconcile these teachings? How are we reconciled in conflicts within ourselves, and with others? Humans are complex, not just simply one thing or another.

What about forgiveness? Can one serve both wealth and God?  

Consider Debie Thomas' honest grappling with this Sunday's gospel in "Notes to the Children of Light."

The Rev. Marshall A. Jolly in "Shrewdness," calls attention to our tendency to label people, saying, " We have labels...: a person who commits a crime ceases to be a person and instead becomes a criminal or an inmate. A person who enters the country illegally is reduced to an illegal immigrant. A person caught in the cycle of addiction disintegrates into the lexicon of addict or user or pill head. The language we use to refer to people whose behavior we find morally or ethically objectionable betrays us. They become something less than a person; something unworthy or unfit for our care and concern." Words matter.  How often do the rich blame the poor for their poverty? How often do we blame the victim? For a comprehensive look at Jesus' parable see Dan Clendenin's "Lovers of Money"

What is it to be Lost... and Found?

Scripture: Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 and Psalm 14  •  Exodus 32:7-14 and Psalm 51:1-10  • 1 Timothy 1:12-17  • Luke 15:1-10

Jesus tells the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin to the tax collectors and sinners who were coming near to hear him, and to the scribes and Pharisees who were grumbling and disdainfully saying that Jesus welcomed and ate with sinners. 

The lesson is about being lost, and then found. Who are the lost in these parables? We have all suffered loss. How do we deal with loss.  How many ways can, or do we, get lost? What is it like to be found, to find someone or something of value? How do these parables help us when we become lost? What do these parables have to say about what we value, how we are valued? About our relationship with God, each other, and our church?

Debie Thomas has an excellent article "On Lostness," which helps put things into perspective.  Kirk Kubicek has some surprising things to say about the God who throws a party for those or that which was lost in his The Wrath of God

The Potter and the Clay

Scripture:  Jeremiah 18:1-11 and Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18  •  Deuteronomy 30:15-20 and Psalm 1  •  Philemon 1:1-1:21  • Luke 14:25-33

This week we have images of artistry and sacrifice, and learn more about the nature of God and ourselves, and our relationship with God and each other. Is God a controlling master, dispassionate, unchanging and without regard to the clay, or the "condition" of the clay?  What is the relationship between this potter and the clay? Between the God who knows our innermost being and us in the poetry of the psalmist? Between master and slave in Paul's letter to Philemon? Are we really supposed to hate our family, give up all our possessions, and carry a cross?  What is going on here?

For thought and discussion consider Dr. Bruce Epperly's "Sacrifice and Artistry: Human and Divine," and Debie Thomas' "What It Will Cost You."

For a reflection on the life of Frederick Buechner and Psalm 139, read Dan Clendenin's Listen to Your Life .

Hospitality and Entertaining Angels

Scripture: Jeremiah 2:4-13 and Psalm 81:1, 10-16  •  Sirach 10:12-18 or Proverbs 25:6-7 and Psalm 112  •  Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16  •  Luke 14:1, 7-14

This week's letter to the Hebrews and gospel account are lessons in humility and hospitality. Jesus was invited to a Sabbath meal at the home of a leading Pharisee, and tells us where to sit - not in the place of honor, but in the lowest seats where we may be exalted and asked to move up, rather than embarrassed and asked to move down. his lesson, and the real heart of the lesson, is to have the heart of a servant. "The next time you throw a party, don’t invite your rich friends and neighbors, so that they might return the favor some day and invite you to one of their nice parties. Rather, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Then you will be blessed, because they can’t repay you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” 

Jesus challenges, and sometimes provokes, the status quo, but always based in compassion and understanding of vulnerability. Ultimately, Jesus is the grace, love and mercy of God. The gracious host who shows us God's kingdom, and appropriate "table manners." There's a whole lot of watching going on. Read Ven. Irene  Egmalis-Maluaman's "Watching."  In our zeal to get ourselves situated, we can begin to look like we are playing a game of musical chairs with a complete emphasis on getting in the right chair on time. Let us not be afraid of where we are seated."

Read Steve Goodier's wonderful story about Booker T. Washington, and lesson in humility and spirit in "A Humble Spirit ."

Finally we have that beautiful passage from the letter to the Hebrews,"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." Who are angels who may have shown us hospitality? What is it to be hospitable?

Seeing as Jesus Sees - Fulfilling the Law

Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-10 and Psalm 71:1-6  •  Isaiah 58:9b-14 and Psalm 103:1-8  •  Hebrews 12:18-29  • Luke 13:10-17  

In this week's gospel account, Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath. He sees her. She doesn't ask to be healed. She is "bent over" - in a weakened state from the Greek word astheneia. For a good discussion of what Jesus, saw, and why he healed on the Sabbath in the presence of the leader of the synagogue, see Peter Woods' "Believing and Seeing."

 What did the leader of the synagogue say? Who did he blame? What was Jesus' reply?

Should one ever "break the law?" If so, for what reason(s)? What should the consequences be for the "law-breaker?"  Consider Ryan Wilson's "When Compassion Trumps the Law," and Jay Taylor's "Making the Crooked Straight."