Luke 14:12-14

“But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” vss. 13-14

Every organization or community is guided by sets of unwritten rules that govern social connections. Often these expectations will be obscure to outsiders but those on the inside know them intimately–we could even say that they are written on our hearts. With every gracious act there is an expectation that there will be a reciprocal response. Jesus had observed the dominant codes in his culture and announces that in the kingdom of God there would be a new operating system. In his world there are no ulterior motives connected to acts of kindness and generosity. Instead of doing good in order to build their social standing, his followers would spend their lives reaching out to the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. How much easier it would be if we actually lived by that principle instead of being guided by the unwritten rules of our social circles. Why should we even care whose turn it is to host our clique’s next party? Good deeds done in the name of Jesus carry no price tag–there will be no expectation of being repaid–we really don’t even need a “thank you.” It is enough to give as God has given to us–freely and without price. The benefits of such giving are out of this world!

Thought for the Day: What expectations accompany my gifts?

Luke 14:1, 7-11

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host;” vs. 8

Jesus had been invited to dinner on the Sabbath at the home of a leader of the Pharisees and people were watching him carefully–and he was watching them. He was particularly amused at how they were jockeying for positions of honor around the table and gives them some practical advice. It would be better, he told them, if they did not plop themselves down at the place of honor at a banquet table. Of course Jesus probably didn’t care much about where he fit in the social structure. It doesn’t seem to have been important to him–but it was in that community–and it continues to have more importance than it deserves. Too many people spend too much time worrying about whether they’re received proper honors–and we all know the horror stories about violence perpetrated by those who feel they’ve been dishonored. Even congregations are not immune. People like to be honored, and if they’re not, all hell can break loose. Now, we’re not going to be able to eliminate honor codes from the social structure–they’re deeply ingrained in our community’s DNA and widely accepted. But honor is always sweeter when it’s received and not claimed. And if we don’t get the honor we think we deserve it’s really not that big of a deal!

Thought for the Day: How have I been dishonored?

Hebrews 13:8,15-16

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” vs. 8

The writer of the book of Hebrews knew the history of his people as far back as the scriptures recorded it. He was familiar with the stories of the matriarchs and patriarchs and believed that the many examples of their faithfulness could both inspire and console. But the most important truth he passed on was his insight regarding the continuous and constant presence of the Christ. The Christ hadn’t just shown up when Jesus was born–the Christ had been in the world from the very beginning, from the moment of the first light, and the Christ would be around until the glorious end, the time of the great completion. That’s a powerful and comforting message, one that we too often forget in the course of our all-too-short lives. From our perspective things are constantly changing and the ever-evolving crises that preoccupy the media can easily erode our hope for any kind of lasting tranquility. Some days we can even begin to doubt that our grandchildren have any prospects for good and fruitful lives–we can’t imagine the challenges they’re going to be facing. It’s in those moments that people of faith have learned to rally around Jesus Christ, the one source of stability and hope that is the same yesterday and today and forever. Our grandchildren will do just fine…Christ dwells in them and will shine through them even if they abandon religion!

Thought for the Day: What will the world be like for our grandchildren?

Hebrews 13:1-7 

“Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” vss. 1-2

It’s a given that followers of Jesus are called to love one another…according to John, it was his final commandment. Early believers learned that this mutual love was one of the most impressive attributes of their faith communities…and it’s been that way ever since. Most of us have had powerful experiences of love in our congregations…and when it’s not present we’re terribly disappointed. But usually we do manage to create some sort of loving community…we’re good at hugs and hot dishes and sharing the peace at worship. Where we miss the boat is in the way we treat strangers. It happens regularly in too many congregations. When strangers show up at worship it’s almost like we don’t know what to do and our cliquish tendencies are laid bare for all to see. We huddle with our favored friends after the closing hymn while the strangers stand alone…we seem scared to death to take the first step and extend a hand of welcome. And it’s not only on Sundays! The current atmosphere of suspicion has stifled what should be a natural response to outsiders. In our places of work, our schools and neighborhoods, and our borders people of faith are called to extend hospitality to all…and not just those who look and act like ourselves. We never know when we’re going to meet an angel sent from God!

Thought for the Day: How do I welcome strangers?

Psalm 81:1, 10-16

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.” vs. 10

From the psalmist’s perspective, the Lord was responsible for Israel’s existence as a people. Once they had been slaves…the fact that they had a land of their own was totally due to the Lord’s intervention. Not only had the Lord given them freedom, the Lord had also promised to sustain them with all they could possibly need. The problem was that Israel insisted on going its own way…the people paid no attention to the counsels of the Lord and instead did their own thing…they even found more interesting gods. Folks in our day seem to have inherited that gene! We too owe all that we have and are to God…God is our originator and our sustainer. And we also insist on following our own desires and chasing after false promises. And we’ve done it over and over again for generations, somehow under the impression that it’s all going to work out for us. And it doesn’t! It just doesn’t work to live apart from God, no matter what our celebrities and politicians say. Many people have discovered exactly that, and as they’ve turned back to God they’ve made an incredible discovery. We’ve not been abandoned! God remains willing to fill our lives with every good thing and restore in us the divine image. And it all continues to be a total gift! Praise be to the Lord!

Thought for the Day: How has following my own desires worked out?

Jeremiah 2:9-13

“for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.” vs. 13

Jeremiah’s descriptive image tells the whole story. In forsaking the Lord Israel had replaced the fountain of living water with cracked cisterns of their own construction that couldn’t even hold water. It’s a familiar tale for the people of God…we see it happen again and again. We are born in the image of God and equipped for lives of service and love in a bountiful and beautiful creation. Sustained and nurtured by the Divine Presence, the fountain of life within us, we can live fruitful and abundant lives and enjoy the blessings of a loving community until the end of our days. We are promised a wonderful life! But the ways of the world have a seductive appeal and many develop an appetite for pleasure, wealth, and power. They spurn the living water and seek other sources for their fleshly satisfaction, ones of their own manufacture…and these become their gods. But it never works! Those substitutes for the Divine Presence haven’t the power to bring satisfying peace and joy. Their cisterns crack…the polluted water drains away. Some return to the Living Water and the Divine Presence is resurrected…joy returns. But others never come back…they live out their lives in a barren search for that which lies within them. But even for them resurrection lurks…and ultimately will have the last word.

Thought for the Day: Where are the cracks in my cistern? 

Jeremiah 2:4-13

“Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.” vs. 4

We find the phrase “Hear the word of the Lord” regularly from Jeremiah as he lived out his life as a prophet in Jerusalem. God had given him words for the people and he could not rest until they were spoken. Often the words were condemning. Israel had failed to live up to the covenant that had been established at Sinai many hundreds of years before. Jeremiah called on them in the name of the Lord to change their ways and be restored as the people of the promise before it was too late. There is no record that anyone paid much attention to his words. No changes were made and the country was destroyed. Jeremiah ended his days in Egypt. Evidently people thought the words he had said were his own and not those of the Lord. We can’t really blame them. We have the same difficulty. We hear the same language as Jeremiah used…in some of our worship services every reading of scripture is followed by “The word of the Lord.” But are those words really the words of God? We say they are…but most of us are hardly listening. Where can we go in our time to find authentic words from the Lord? Do we hear them from preachers? And when we do hear such words, how do we respond? Do we actually change our lives? Oh so many questions…where are the answers?

Thought for the Day: Where do I hear the word of the Lord?

Luke 13:15-17

“When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.” vs. 17

Public opinion was solidly on the side of Jesus in the sabbath healing controversy. Jesus had broken the proscription about healing but he had won the hearts of the crowd. The religious authorities had been humiliated…Jesus had pounced on their hypocrisy, implying that they cared more for their oxen and donkeys than they did a poor crippled woman…and the people loved it. The leader of the synagogue doesn’t get a chance to explain…likely he would have said that of course he cared about the crippled woman, but he had the welfare of the entire community to consider. Didn’t Jesus see that the moment one part of the law was disregarded, all of it would be jeopardized? Ironically, that’s exactly what Jesus saw…the law could be a helpful and necessary tool, but it was no way to govern the coming kingdom. The healing of the woman symbolized what he had in mind. From now on the byword of the community would be restoration and not retribution…words and actions would be guided by a spirit of forgiveness and compassion and not by commandments. Like the crowd, we like the tone of that message…mercy sounds appealing…but can we trust it to provide stability? Somehow it seems safer to hang on to the rules…and so we do!

Thought for the Day: What would happen if mercy were the guiding principle of the justice system?

Luke 13:10-14

“But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’” vs. 14

For the leader of the synagogue and other religious authorities obedience to the Sabbath commandment was at the heart of what it meant to be a Jew. It’s what distinguished them from the Gentiles. The rules for what could be done on the Sabbath had been carefully hammered out by the scribes over hundreds of years…and healing didn’t make the cut. And Jesus didn’t care! He healed the woman knowing full well that he was in violation of the commandment and most of us would have applauded. What we miss is that the rules and red tape are still around…the Jews had 39 categories of sabbath laws…our government agencies have tens of thousands of regulatory laws. There’s nothing wrong with having laws…in fact, most of the time the rule of law is a blessing. But sometimes our enthusiasm for enforcing rules directly affects what can be done for distressed and hurting people. We’ve heard a lot about obedience to the law in the recent debates about citizenship and immigration. Rigid enforcement has had sad and heartbreaking consequences. For a follower of Jesus compassion always has the last word, even if it means precious rules are broken.

Thought for the Day: What might lead me to break a law?

Hebrews 12:22-29

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe…” vs. 28

Jesus came announcing the presence of the kingdom of God and taught his followers to pray for its coming on earth as well as in heaven. Mostly though, the best we’ve been able to do is catch periodic glimpses of that kingdom…for this age, it remains a work in progress. The writer to the Hebrews reminded his readers that this coming kingdom was entirely a gift…it was something that they would receive that could never be taken from them…and they should respond in their worship with regular offerings of thanksgiving. His advice is appropriate for us too. When we do see people interacting and behaving in loving, merciful ways we should respond with thanks to God. Those words and deeds remind us that God is present in our world and that kingdom work is being done. What’s remarkable in our time is that we see these signs being done in all parts of the world by people belonging to a variety of faith expressions. Kingdom building is not just a Christian thing! There is a God movement sweeping the planet that is being manifested in acts of love and a move toward justice for all. The light of Christ is being seen in diverse places, and it’s all a foretaste of the goodness that will ultimately triumph. Thanks be to God!

Thought for the Day: Where do I see signs that goodness will triumph?