A Certain Ruler (Mustard Seeds 10)

A Certain Ruler

Luke 18:18-30. Oct. 27th, 2022

Verbatim fragments

 

This certain ruler must have been

quite excited when Jesus said,

"There is still one thing lacking."

Only one thing! After a life

of disciplined obedience

the ruler might be able

to work himself into eternal life?

 

Just that little bit of faith

is all we need? Really?

We can't manufacture even

that little bit of faith ourselves.

It’s gift, impossible for mortals

but possible for God.

The God of the impossible.

 

Jesus is rejected and killed.

Raised. It is all grace.

It is resurrection all the way through.

God doesn't meet

the little bit we have done

(the mustard seed, the one thing)

and top it up.

It's grace through and through.

Luke 18:9-14 The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

 It is tempting to make the two people in the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector into characters in a kind of 19^th century pantomime. The Pharisee is the bad character and we should boo him when he comes on stage, but have the opposite reaction to the poor, misunderstood, tax collector. But that’s to miss the point. The Pharisee’s explanation of himself before God is literally true. People in the time of Jesus would have recognised this. And that is why this parable would have had such an effect on the listener. Most of the early listeners would have been confused by his parable. How can the Pharisee not come back from his prayer justified? If he was lying, okay, he should be condemned like the tax collector should be condemned. However, if the Pharisee is faithfully following the Mosaic Law absolutely punctiliously, then why wouldn’t he be justified? (That means acquitted, not condemned by God.)

On the lips of Jesus hypocrisy doesn’t always mean what it means today. For us it means someone is a fake; that there is a mismatch between outward display and the heart. We could say that the Pharisee in today’s parable is a hypocrite, but he isn’t a fake. His heart and outward action match. But the Pharisee in this parable has matched his heart and his behaviour to an absolute pinnacle of obedience to outward law, but a heart that is not in love with God. For Jesus it is about outward obedience, but not only outward obedience. It must also be about the heart. The tax collector lacked outward obedience, but he knew what kind of a person he was. He knew he could make no demand of God. So, he humbly and directly prayed for mercy. That is all he had. Nothing but God’s mercy. And that humble petition is enough for God to do something with in our heart, even when our outward behaviour is still way off the mark.

On the other hand, the Pharisee had a consistency between behaviour and heart; but legalism doesn’t make the kind of heart we need before God. Knowing our need for God’s love, and seeking God’s grace in humility and with as much self-insight as we can muster, is what God requires of us. And even though the word ‘faith’ isn’t mentioned in this parable, that sounds like we are definitely in the ball park, if not on the pitch. 

But here is the problem. Try to obey the commands of Jesus and not let your heart be infected with a scrap of pride. It’s not possible. Jesus preaches that our goal is a correspondence between head and heart: a heart full of love and obedience displayed in our lives. We are to pursue (with a heart full of love) the righteousness of the Pharisees! I have not been able to do that. But the pursuit of this inner and outer righteousness of love, and my failure to attain it, has led me to see that God must supply that righteousness – inner and outer – if I am to attain a righteousness acceptable to God.  Jesus is that righteousness. Specifically, his life of obedience and his death on the cross and rising from the dead.

And that is another way of saying what the Old Testament reading today is saying. How do we get the written law, written on stone tablets, into the tablet of the human heart? God must do it. And when God does it, we will know and do what is required by heart. This is the New Covenant. 

But whose heart is the prophet talking about? Yes, our hearts, but first, the heart of Jesus. Jesus is the fulfilment of Jeremiah’s prophecy.  It is Jesus first before us. He is obedient by heart. And we receive his heart as the Holy Spirit is poured into our hearts, writing the law on our hearts. This is part of what we mean by the New Covenant mentioned today in the prophecy from Jeremiah, and the New Covenant remembered at the Eucharist today. (“This is my blood of the New Covenant …) In him the New Covenant is fulfilled, and in him we enter into that New Covenant.

Luke 17:11-19 The Ten Lepers

The Text

There are a few idiosyncrasies in the text that, when explained, help in understanding the story of Jesus healing ten lepers.

1. Jesus tells the lepers to show themselves to the priest. The priest will declare them to be clean/free of leprosy. However, strangely, they are not cleansed at this point! As they were on their way to the priest, they were healed.

2. Why did they set out to go to the priest before they were cleansed? They had faith in Jesus and his word, and they were obedient to that word. All ten showed faith.

3. Only one returns to Jesus to give thanks to him. Moreover, Jesus delivers a mild rebuke to the nine who have not returned. However, why (even mildly) rebuke the other nine when they are obeying his command by going to the priest? Even though the other nine acted in obedient faith, and continued to do so by making their way to the priest and not returning to Jesus, something is missing in their faith and obedience.

4. Whatever it was that was missing, this gap did not result in the reversal of the healing. The nine cleansed former lepers continued on their way to the priest. An inadequate response to God's goodness does not result in rejection. God's kindness is not discriminatory. (See Luke 6:35) And notice that the Samaritan received nothing more than the other nine: they were all equally cleansed.

 So, what is missing from the nine that the Samaritan displays? Eucharistia! (Thanksgiving). We do not know if the other nine were thankful or not, but the Samaritan was thankful and returned to Jesus, prostrating himself before Jesus. This faith, that brings him back in thanksgiving, is more than the original faith that sent him to the priest. (The other none have this faith, but only this faith.) And similarly, Jesus' word to him moves from cleansing (when he was cleansed from his leprosy) to Jesus declaring him to be healed/saved. (Lk 17:19)

Final Thoughts

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1Thessalonians 5:16-18)

We are told to give thanks in all things because nothing can separate us from God’s goodness and presence in Christ. (See Rom 8:31-39) Thanksgiving is evidence (if you like) of a mature and maturing faith. The nurturing of thanksgiving through prayer for our union with Christ and all the benefits that flow from this union is an essential part of our discipleship.

Luke 17:5-10

How is it that ‘faith’ has come to mean believing something unwarranted, as though faith is intellectual acceptance of a proposition with no proof? This kind of view tends toward seeing faith as irrational. But faith is not groundless. Faith might look at the world differently than those without faith, but that doesn’t make faith groundless. I find Christian faith more rational than atheism. Not only does faith allow me to put reality together differently, it also allows me to have a greater, broader, and deeper view of reality. Faith, in the best sense of the word, is entirely rational. In my opinion, those who think otherwise have shortened their reality.

The other strange thing that has happened to faith is its reduction down to intellectual assent. Human intellect is a beautiful thing, and faith includes intellectual assent, but faith is more than intellectual assent. Take today’s reading about faith (the size of a mustard seed). The disciples aren’t asking for an increase in assent of intellectual propositions. Faith includes the mind, but also the heart; and it includes hope, and love, gracefulness, joy, peace, self-restraint, and duty. I think of faith as more like a way of being human: seeking to become the image of Jesus.

Immediately preceding Luke 17:5-10 (verses 1-4) Jesus tells the disciples that there will be interpersonal trouble in their community, so beware.  (vv. 1-3) And, if in this trouble amongst us, another disciple offends us, we can rebuke that person. And if that person repents, we must forgive. Even seven times daily, we must forgive. (vv. 3-4). And it is then, after this teaching from Jesus, that the apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith. Is this a response to the command to forgive rather than an unrelated saying of Jesus on a new topic of teaching? My reaction to the teaching of Jesus about forgiveness is to feel inadequate to the task. So, it is not that far a stretch to think that the disciples are asking for an increase in faith so as to be able to forgive their brothers and sisters in Christ. Faith is more than intellectual assent. It also about having the strength, humility, and grace to forgive consistently.

And what are we to make of Jesus’ response to the request of an increase in faith? “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed …”  Is his response to be read as affirming that, although the disciples’ faith is minute, it is ample to obey his command to forgive? Probably. Or is Jesus agreeing that the disciples don’t have the faith to forgive others as he commands? (They don’t even have faith the size of a mustard seed!) That is, they do indeed need an increase of faith. Possibly. If we read Jesus’ answer this way, it points beyond the disciples’ current lack of faith to a time when they and their faith will transform them and the world around. And that transformation will come via the cross and resurrection of Jesus. 

Either way, the narrative continues in our reading to the teaching about slaves and their master. What should we make of this? It is almost like Jesus is telling his disciples not to be puffed up with pride when their faith is able to do great things. “If you do end up doing extraordinary things through your faith, don’t expect a reward. You are doing what is expected of you.” In other words, faith is not our doing, something we can take credit for and should be rewarded for by God. Faith, even the size of a mustard seed, is a gift, and as a gift we use it as our master directs.

And finally, the narrative continues on with the story of Jesus healing ten lepers. Of the ten, only one returns to give thanks, and he was a Samaritan. There is, perhaps, a thread of meaning appearing in these consecutive chunks in the story of Jesus. It could go something like this:

 

Luke 17:1-3 

Beware of trouble in the community of faith.

 

Luke 17:3-4

 And remember, forgiveness, even excessive forgiveness is the way of discipleship.

 

Luke 17:5-6

The disciples: “We need more faith to do that Jesus!”

 

Luke 17:7-10

 And when our faith does transform and change the world, don’t expect a greater reward as though God owes you something. Faith is a gift, not a possession.

 

Luke 17: 11-19

A better response when we find ourselves with faith, or are the recipients of the transformation of faith, be thankful.

More Than a Prophet (Mustard Seeds 9)

Ann Nadge, a poet I know, has distilled some of the posts from this blog into poetry. She has used my words verbatim, captured the essence of the post, and moulded it into a poet's vision. 

This poem consists of verbatim fragments from an original post on 5 December, 2020.

  

More than a Prophet

Prophets: those they come to save

are on the other side of the dividing line,

those who are condemned

have to make it

to the prophet’s side of the river.

A nice, easy division between

those in, those out, the good and the bad,

the blessed and the damned.

 

More than a prophet, Jesus stands apart-

His willingness to identify

with those he came to save;

Jesus’ death on the cross

to the point of godforsakenness;

His good news of the kingdom

more than dividing sheep and goats

was full of grace and truth.

 

We all have a bit of black and white

condemnation in us.

God is with us in our human failure,

not as a prophet, more than a prophet.

We are not those who have fallen

into despair or cynicism,

we live by hope

because it is God’s kingdom.

 

Grace is alive and well in the world.

Jesus is risen.