God's Love (for you and everyone else) poured Into Your Heart and My Heart

Many have noticed that in the narratives of Jesus' resurrection appearances to his disciples, Jesus never says that, because he is risen, we also will rise. Jesus says this elsewhere (see, for example, John 11:25-26), as does St Paul. (See Romans 8:1; 1Corinthians 15:12-23) But the resurrection appearances in the Gospels are focused on mission. For instance, after appearing to his disciples and offering his peace to them, Jesus says to them, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." (John 20:21) And at the conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus commands his disciples to, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20) 

We read of this mission in the Book of Acts, following a pattern repeated time and again. The Gospel of repentance and forgiveness is spread through face-to-face encounters. Not with an air of superiority, but in humility, requiring the evangelist to open their heart to their neighbour as the good news of God’s love is spread. 

 It is a beautiful culmination of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. God sent the Son into the world to save the world. For no other reason than love. And through the love of God we see in the crucified Jesus, we are invited to fall in love with God. To let God’s love re-fashion our hearts and minds, so that we can know the height and depth of God’s love for us. That is part of what it means for us to have God's love poured into our hearts (through the Holy Spirit). The height, breadth, and depth of God's love for you poured into your heart. And with God's love for each of us in our hearts - refashioning who we are - we also have God's love for every other person poured into our hearts. And whatever else we do as we spread the good news of Jesus, all of it is based on us opening the door of our heart to our neighbour as we share with them (and live with them) God’s love for us all.

Maundy Thursday Love

 He loved his own who were in the world, and he loved them to the end. (John 13:1) 

 Jesus died for one reason, without remainder. He died ‘for us.” For no other reason. He loves God and us, and died out of love. Think of the washing of the feet at the Last Supper. Jesus washes the feet of the disciples – the action of a slave - not for his benefit but as an act of service, indicating in this symbolic action the meaning of his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus receives no personal benefit from the cross. It is a gift for us. But we shouldn’t misunderstand this. Often, when people do something without receiving any personal benefit, they are less committed than they would be if they had. That’s not Jesus. His death on the cross is entirely for our benefit, and he is utterly committed to this path. If, in some fictional world, Jesus were suddenly offered a personal benefit to go to the cross, there would be no unused commitment, love or heart in Jesus to put into carrying the cross to qualify to receive the benefit. Jesus is 100% committed in love for us and love for God when he goes to the cross. Jesus goes to the cross willingly as an expression of his love for God and us. The cross is love in crucified flesh. 

We see this time and again in the Gospels. His ministry is defined by love. Three in particular come to mind: love of God, love of neighbour, and love of enemies. He eats and drinks with outcasts (but anyone really), he forgives sins, heals the sick, raises the dead, brings freedom to the burdened. And at the Last Supper, Jesus says he is giving his blood to bring the New Covenant. (See Jeremiah 31:31-34) The New Covenant is for us. (Matthew 26:26-29) 

 And then on the cross, still giving his all for us, he says, “Father forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) And, finally, when his life is expired in love, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) Jesus gives everything out of love, even to the point of death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-11) And this is the beautiful thing about self-giving love. What is our response? To give our lives to Christ, to him who died for us. As St Paul says,  

And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.” (2Corinthians 5:15) 

 And it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Luke 14:25-35

 

The saying of Jesus to hate is harsh. But in the time of Jesus it didn’t carry the meaning we attach to it. It is more about attitude and action than emotion. It’s akin to choosing one over the other. But it is more than this, for the hyperbole points to the way in which the good in our lives so easily usurps the place of God in our hearts. (See Luke 16:13) Noting that ‘hate’ in this passage doesn’t mean exactly what we mean by it does reduce the shock somewhat. But there is still no escaping Jesus’ radical call to discipleship. His call remains urgent and uncompromising. And that’s classic Jesus. 

Situating this passage in the broader context of Luke 14 (and beyond) will help us understand it a little better. In Luke 9:51 Jesus sets his face to Jerusalem. He has predicted his death in Jerusalem, and he will do so again along the way. He will enter Jerusalem in Luke 19, and on this journey to his death and resurrection, Jesus will teach about discipleship, call people to follow him as disciples, and have this call rejected. This is important. The radical call matches his own self-sacrifice on the approaching cross. This call is so important that it even takes precedence over the (potentially) best parts of our lives. And subordinates to it even those duties that are rightly required of us. (See Lk 9:57-62.) 

So that is point one today: The urgent and resolute call to discipleship matches Jesus’ own determined movement to Jerusalem. He is not asking us to do what he has not himself done. He is the pioneer and perfector of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2) Most of Luke 14 occurs at a dinner party held by a leader of the Pharisees. (14:1) And Jesus teaches those present about the kingdom, humility, disgrace, and cost of discipleship and the cost of rejecting his call to discipleship. One of the parables he tells, and it occurs immediately before our current passage, is the parable of the invitation to a great dinner, and all the invitees decline. They decline because of important things like family and possessions. So, the slave is sent to gather in the poor, crippled, the blind, and lame. But there is still room! So anyone and everyone is then brought into the banquet. And those who rejected the invitation, we are told, will not taste the dinner. (Lk 14:16-24) 

(And as an aside, this three-fold structure of invitee – those who reject the invite, the poor etc, and anyone passing by – matches the flow of the gospel’s movement in Luke/Acts. The invitation that is Jesus is given to some who reject it, then it goes out to the poor, lame, etc, and finally (in Acts) whoever is passing by, including the Gentiles.) 

And now notice what Jesus says in today’s passage we must renounce if we wish to be his disciples. Family and possessions (Lk 14:26, 33), exactly what prevents the original invitees of the parable from accepting the invitation to the banquet. (Lk 14:18-20) So, today’s passage doesn’t come out of the blue. It follows directly the parable before it. This is part of the explanation of why the language in today’s reading appears so harsh. The other part of the reason why Jesus is so harsh today is because he knows the propensity of the human heart to let that which is good in our lives usurp the place of God. This is point two today: If we find Jesus’ resolute, radical call to discipleship and the accompanying admonition to ‘hate’ disturbing or offensive we are living in a bubble. The human heart is made for God but the universal tendency is for us to fill our hearts with that which cannot satisfy us. And we do this at the expense of God and our own good. 

People often say to me that they haven’t fallen into this trap. But if Jesus had made the characters in the parable of the invitees who decline the invitation speak, they would say the same thing! And sometimes people say to me it is a matter of balance. I like that, the problem is that I can’t find in scripture where Jesus says it. And – you’ve heard me say this before – the path for most people is not to give up everything to the point of destitution. 

For most people it is a matter of living in a world of responsibilities that include the use of wealth and family, both of which in scripture are blessings from God. And yet, all is to brought under the rule of the crucified-risen Christ in the lives of people like me whose heart is too easily swayed. Where to from here? (And what I am about to say applies to any of the hard sayings of Jesus and just as equally to any sin that weighs us down.) 

Point three today: let us follow Jesus. Let us learn to love him. Let us learn through Jesus to love God and each other, and our neighbours as ourselves. At this point you and I can be terrible disciples. Nevertheless, accept the call afresh and regularly. In prayer, in repentance, in life choices, through renewal that is often accompanied with a sense of failure. Notice that Jesus, when he calls disciples, never tries to discover if the new disciple is worthy. It is Jesus who makes us worthy while pilgrimaging with him on the way of the cross to the heavenly Jerusalem. We aren't worthy to be disciples because we are already perfect. We are made perfect through following Jesus.

Mary and Martha

 In this story of Jesus with Mary and Martha, what is it that distracts Martha? And from what is she distracted? A common answer is that Martha is distracted by her serving, and that her service distracts her from sitting at the feet of Jesus (like Mary).

At first glance it might look like that. And in the time of Jesus the usual place place for women was not at the feet of the teacher. It is significant that, whatever might be going on for Martha, Jesus affirms the place of Mary at his feet learning as a disciple. And this cannot be taken away from her. In the discipleship of Jesus women and men together are called to serve as Jesus served and to learn at the feet of Jesus.

But a closer look at the story reveals something else as well is going on for Martha other than being distracted by her act of serving Mary and Jesus. She appears resentful of Mary leaving her to do all the work. Maybe it is this resentment that is distracting her from her service as an act of hospitality and discipleship.  Her heart is split by her resentment and her work is losing its character as service.

 

Look at it this way: if Martha was not resentful, but was freely and happily offering her service to Jesus (and her annoying sister), would there be any need for Jesus to say what he said? Would Jesus have called her over to say she should follow Mary’s lead and sit at his feet at that moment? I doubt it. Jesus doesn’t split discipleship and service. And so much discipleship is carried out in the context of hospitality, the kind of hospitality that Martha is displaying. (Luke 10:5-9 comes to mind.)

 

During bible study on Friday, Jesus’ empathy for Martha in her distractedness was noted. Jesus does not scold Martha; he gently says her name, and in this gentleness corrects her. It is a subtle feature of the text, but beautiful nonetheless.

 

It should also be noted that this story follows immediately on from the Parable of the Good Samaritan. That parable is all about loving service. Jesus is in no way suggesting that the Good Samaritan is being distracted! But just in case the reader misses the point, acts of loving service and learning from Jesus go together. Disciples are Good Samaritans and Marys sitting at the feet of Jesus.

For a previous post on this story of Martha and Mary, see here. 

Luke 8:26-39 The Gerasene Demoniac

 This is a strange story to modern ears. Although, there are universal insights within the passage that transcend time.

Three parts of the narrative worth noting.

 

1. The name of the demon is ‘Legion’. Luke tells us that the man is possessed by many demons. But ‘Legion’ also referred to a unit of soldiers in the Roman army, the army that occupied the country. It is difficult not to see a connection. The social situation of the man – under Roman occupation – lives in him.

 

2. The story is a reverse scapegoating story. In a paradigmatic scapegoating story, the crowd throw the (alleged) demon-possessed person over the cliff to exorcise the evil from their midst. (It never works.) In such a case, imagine the crowd looking over the cliff at the dead body of the dead scapegoat far below. But in this story the order is reversed. The formerly-possessed man, now in his right mind, looks on as the demons (in the unclean pigs) rush to their deaths. Those who formerly lived in him have been ejected, and he is free.

 

3. The people of the town beg Jesus to leave them. Strange that they don’t ask Jesus to stay and heal others. It is as though Jesus has disrupted their lives by setting free this man.

 

So, what has been disrupted? Perhaps it is the distorted social relationships that live in the man. We are told in the narrative of the attempts by the people of the town to help the possessed man. At first glance we think it is too bad the man couldn’t be helped. He escapes their attempts to bind him. But what if he is escaping those whose distorted social relationships live in him? The people need someone to ‘help’, but not for his benefit, but for their own benefit. He breaks their bonds and escapes, but only temporarily; it is Jesus who will truly heal the man.

And notice also that the Jesus does not give the man permission to leave the place where he was (formerly) bound. Instead, Jesus sends him back into the jigsaw of social distortion as a missionary of the peace and freedom that Jesus can give. He is a living missionary of the good news. As a disciple of Jesus the formerly possessed man will now be the one who disrupts the social relations of the town. This is integral to being a disciple. To be a living presence of the peace and healing of Christ in a world in need of that peace and healing. The greater the healing, the greater the freedom of Christ, the less we will fit the jigsaw. That is, won’t fit the jigsaw (of distortion) anymore, at least as we might have formerly. But that is why our discipleship as missionaries of this peace can be so powerful, and in ways not easily seen at times.

We live in an age of blaming others. When we neglect our inner healing and look only to heal other people or societal structures, we are on the path to scapegoating.  The surest way to prevent scapegoating is to remember Jesus (who died a scapegoat) and take into the world his healing that lives in us.

Luke 21:5-19(36)

 "Teacher, when will this be ... ?" (21:7)

And the first thing Jesus says is telling us not to be misled. (21:8) In response, Jesus doesn't go into a discussion about the sign of the end. He does that next, but first, he tells his disciples not to be led astray. It is only after warning us not to be misled that Jesus speaks a little about the signs. (21:9-11; 25-28) And notice that when he does speak of the end how very general these signs are. Despite the tendency for some to equate a conflict or natural disaster with the end, Jesus makes it difficult to correlate events in history and the end by speaking in general terms of the end. But then he says,

"But before all this occurs... "

And he mentions two sets of occurrences to occur before the end, that is, they are not signs of the end. The first is persecution. (21:12-19) By the time of Luke, this has/is happening. And the other is the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans. (21:20. Compare Mark 13:14) Again, by the time of Luke this is most likely in the past. So Jesus is explicitly separating out these dateable events (persecution and siege) from the more generalised signs earlier mentioned. That these events have taken place strengthens the prophetic credentials of Jesus. But it also gives us an added warning against too easily correlating earth-shattering events in history, in our society, or in our lives with 'the end'. 

So what does Jesus recommend instead of being led astray? 
Do not be terrified … (21:9)
By your endurance, you will gain your souls… (21:19)
Do not let your hearts be weighed down with the worries of this life … (21:34)
Be alert at all times … (21:36)
Praying … (21:36)

John 12:1-8 Mary, Jesus, and that Perfume

 “As the best thing is love itself, not the benefits which it confers, there must be no censure of its lavishness as disproportionate.” (William Temple, Readings in St John’s Gospel, p. 191.) 

 Imagine your brother has just died and three days later Jesus turns up. Jesus does miracles. “If you had been here he would not have died.” (Jn 11:32) That’s Mary of Bethany. She then goes off to mourn at the tomb. Jesus follows and raises Lazarus from the dead. 

 When Lazarus died, Mary did not fully comprehend the significance of Jesus, and especially, the meaning of his death. She understands that Jesus has the power to perform miracles. She does not yet understand Jesus fully, though. She will witness the miracle of the raising of Lazarus, and then understand the miracle as a sign pointing to the meaning of the death of Jesus.

 Fast-forward to the anointing, and Mary now understands. She has seen Lazarus raised from the dead. Her brother is alive once more. Later, when Jesus is at table in her house she does not come to him to acknowledge the miracle as such. The miracle is a sign of something greater. She now understands the miracle as a sign, and she is the first to come to this understanding of the death of Jesus in the Gospel of John. This is why she anoints Jesus for his death. The miracle brought life where there was only death, and as a sign the raising of Lazarus points to the life-giving death of Jesus. The death of Jesus will bring life, eternal life, and the Spirit welling up in the heart of the believer. (Jn 7:37) Where there is death, now there is life. (Jn 12:23-24) The cross will not have the odour of death, to be imprisoned behind a stone (11:39). Instead, his death will have the aroma of extravagance and life that fills the house and will not be contained. (12:3 and 20:1)

John 12:1-8 is the gateway from the public ministry of Jesus (of signs pointing to the meaning of his death) into the narrative of the Passion, that is, the death and resurrection of Jesus. It can be read profitably with John 11. (See Jn 11:2) This larger chunk (from 11:1 – 12:8) retains a focus on the death of Jesus throughout. It begins with the raising of Lazarus, and continues with the plot to kill Jesus. (11:45-53)  Ironically and unknown to him, the high priest, in justifying the plot to kill Jesus, speaks the truth about the significance of Jesus’ death. (11:50-53) They will kill him to eliminate him, but Jesus will go to his death as the one sent from God to unite all the children of God. And then there is the duplicitous Judas, who will betray Jesus. (12:4-6) 

 Mapped over this focus on the death of Jesus is the movement of Mary from tepid, half-understood faith, to a disciple who comprehends. She anoints Jesus for his burial, having kept the perfume for this day of symbolic burial. (12:7) She has not anointed Jesus as king/messiah (see Mark 14:3-9), but in a similar fashion to the way in which Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet is symbolic of a total cleanse (13:8-10), this anointing speaks of future embalming. (R.H. Lightfoot, St John's Gospel. A Commentary, p. 236)  This anointing is not a symbolic purification of Jesus. Soon, Jesus will symbolically purify his disciples as he washes their feet, but Jesus does not need purification, he will purify others (cf. Hebrews) and is therefore worthy of this great act of extravagance and love.  “She responds to his self-giving love by giving her all, giving herself in a beautiful, foolish and scandalous way.” (Jean Vanier, Drawn into the Mystery of Jesus Through the Gospel of John, p. 206)

The Joseph Story

 The Joseph story is one of my favourites in scripture. It doesn't get much more real (except perhaps the cross!). A husband and his two wives ("And it was Leah!), favoured sons, bitter rivalry and envy, betrayal, forgiveness, conversion, and through and in all this God's presence.

I have posted some material before on Joseph. Check out this post on the conversion that Joseph leads his brothers to, and the way in which God's response to evil is not a moralistic separation of the good and bad, neither is God's response a gnostic ignoring of evil, but joining the story and putting the evil on a broader canvas of God's purposes. ("God intended it for good.") Or this post, a short reflection on how Christ is feels no envy toward us, and that through his Spirit we need not be envious of him, for everything that we can receive has been given to us.

Grace and Discipleship

I have a new post on the grace of discipleship reflecting on Matt 9:35-10:8 here.