Bank

Luke 16:10-14 (The Message)

Jesus went on to make these comments:

If you're honest in small things,
you'll be honest in big things;

If you're a crook in small things,
you'll be a crook in big things.

If you're not honest in small jobs,
who will put you in charge of the store?

No worker can serve two bosses:

He'll either hate the first and love the second
Or adore the first and despise the second.

You can't serve both God and the Bank.

When the Pharisees, a money-obsessed bunch, heard him say these things, they rolled their eyes, dismissing him as hopelessly out of touch.

Folks, I couldn't make this up...this really is the point in Luke at which we find ourselves today..."you can't serve both God and the Bank."

Did Jesus read the headlines this morning? Wow.

I've had a few days away from the blog...away from the Gospel of Luke.

What a few days it has been. I had the wonderful honor of re-connecting with family, and being with my dad during a surgery.

I got to spend time with grandparents. I got to remember.

There are things in life that truly matter.

Money? I know, I know. It does matter, I suppose.

Spoken like someone who has always lived in American abundance, right?

Absolutely. And I'll be the first to acknowledge that. We have all lived in a time of affluence (or at least the appearance of affluence), and perhaps the air is coming out of the bubble and we're going to enter a period of economic sacrifice.

No one knows the future, and I'm not saying there's not reason to take notice and be alarmed by the things that are happening in our economy right now.

But I am saying that I, for one, find a lot of peace in these 2,000 year old words from Jesus that seem just like they were written for us on this day.

They were.

What a beautiful reminder..."you can't serve God and the Bank."

You can only have one master. That one master...God our Father, in Jesus Christ his son...is unchanging.

Jesus is clear..."crookedness" will always come home to roost. So will honestly, but in an entirely different, peace-giving way.

No matter what the stock market does today...or tomorrow...we will have the same master. And he will provide for our needs.

Do you believe that? The "money obsessed" bunch heard Jesus' words and "rolled their eyes."

That's not who we're called to be. Dare to hear him, and believe.

Prayer: When we are fearful, we place our trust in you. Teach us to know what our real needs are...to be sources of peace in turbulent times...and to know that your love is unchanging.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Compassion

Luke 15:11-32 (The Message)

Then he said, "There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, 'Father, I want right now what's coming to me.'

 "So the father divided the property between them. It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. 

After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.

"That brought him to his senses. He said, 'All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.' He got right up and went home to his father.

"When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.'

"But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time.

"All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day's work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, 'Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.'

"The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. The son said, 'Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!'

"His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!'"

So much has been said about the "prodigal son."  

I'm not going to try to say much more about it this morning.  It stands for itself, as all scritpure really does.  

But I will do this:  I'll encourage you to read the parable again...and concentrate on the Father. 

It seems at first as though this story is all about the son...or the older brother...and, of course, it is.  

But it's also really, really about the love of this dad.  

Sometimes, this story is called "The Compassionate Father," and that really is a wonderful name for it.  

This Father is an image of God, running down the road, to meet his starving, embarrassed, arrogant-but-now-humbled son.  

That Father...humble, compassionate, forgiving...this is God.  

"Here is Love," traditional Welsh hymn 

Here is love, vast as the ocean
Lovingkindness as the flood
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom
Shed for us His precious blood

Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten
Throughout Heav'n's eternal days

On the mount of crucifixion
Fountains opened deep and wide
Through the floodgates of God's mercy
Flowed a vast a gracious tide

Grace and love, like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above
And Heav'n's peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love

Prayer:  When we are lost, may we remember the heart of the Compassionate Father.  We know that you sit on the porch, waiting to run down the road at the first glimpse of your beloved children.  

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.  World without end.  Amen.  

search

Luke 15:8-10 (The Message)

"Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. 

Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it?

And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbors: 'Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!' 

Count on it—that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God."

I can remember only a couple of instances in my children's lives when I really couldn't find them, and then only for a couple of moments.  

I guess every parent has that experience at least once.  You turn a corner in a grocery store, sure that they're right beside you.  You look back seconds later, and can't see them anywhere.  

The feeling that comes next is hard to describe.  Seconds seem like hours.  Minutes like days...or years.  

I cannot imagine the experience of parents who have lost children.  The loss, panic, pain...must be too much for words to describe.  

Parents know about the unspeakable kinds of evil that lurk in the dark places of our world.  For the short space of time when our children remain truly innocent, we seek to protect them from all the things that could bring them harm.  

I am sure that the impulse to protect them never really goes away.  

Imagine this feeling in the heart of God.  Jesus is telling us that God will seek and search for his lost children.  

9 out of 10 isn't good enough.  There is a special passion in the heart of God for those who are "lost."  

Luke 15 makes this clear, through a collection of stories about the "lost," the "found," and most of all...the "search."  

The simple truth of this scripture...

God...seeks...us. 

Prayer:  Thank you for never giving up on us, for searching until we are found, for a passion that will not be quenched.  Help us to stay in your loving care.  

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.  World without end.  Amen.    

Doubtful

Luke 15:1-7 (The Message) 

By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently.

The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, "He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends." 

Their grumbling triggered this story:

"Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? 

When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, 'Celebrate with me! I've found my lost sheep!' 

Count on it—there's more joy in heaven over one sinner's rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.

"A lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus..." 

Think about that for a second...really, really think about it.  

"Doubtful reputation."  

Let's make that clear:  drunkards, prostitutes, thieves, criminals and cheaters of most every description.  Lepers, outsiders, physically crippled, diseased.  This tended to be the crowd that Jesus drew to himself. 

And they listened intently.  Coincidence?  

What does your church look like on Sunday morning?  Do you find people in worship who are of "doubtful reputation."  

I remember a wise older pastor, years ago, as I was just entering ministry who said, "Adam, people don't like to show off their problems at church...they like to show off their children."  

I have found that pearl of wisdom to be very true.  

But if we really want to be Jesus followers, and even go so far as to affirm the Biblical truth that he is alive and that his kingdom can grow "within us," then we have to figure out how to become a congregation for the disreputable.  

Fascinating, isn't it?  

Jesus was clear about his mission.  And as a hard-working-first-born-do-it-right-or-lets-not-do-it-at-all-type, I have to admit that maybe he hurts my feelings just a little bit.  

Heaven rejoices more for one who was lost than for 99 who didn't need to be found?  Don't we get any credit for doing it right?  

No.  "Doing it right" is an illusion.  The plain spiritual truth of life is that none of us do it "right" on our own.  We're all in need of God's grace and redemption.  It's just blessedly more easy for some folks to see and admit than it is for others.  

This past weekend, I had to attend another UM event about how to reach the "unchurched" (please don't use that phrase for the normal people out there who don't go to church, it is not endearing).  

We had discussion questions.  The last one was the best:  "Does your church have love for all people?  Do you pray for all of the people in your community?" 

There might be one, even better question:  "Do people of questionable reputation feel drawn to your church like they were drawn to Jesus?"  

Prayer:  Father God, we pray that we could embrace our own "questionable reputations," and come to you for forgiveness and transformation.  Forgive us if we place ourselves above any of your other children.  Give us passion for the disreputable, and may Jesus draw all people through the worship and fellowship of our churches.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.  World without end.  Amen.  

Flavor

Luke 14:28-34 (The Message)

"Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn't first sit down and figure the cost so you'll know if you can complete it?

If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you're going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: 'He started something he couldn't finish.'

"Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other?

And if he decides he can't, won't he send an emissary and work out a truce?

"Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple.

"Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it's useless, good for nothing.

"Are you listening to this? Really listening?"

What foods really, really need salt?

Almost everything, right? If you've ever tried to do without, you know what I mean.

I'm thinking about vine-ripe, summertime tomatoes. I try to eat them every day this time of year. There's just about nothing better than a fresh sliced tomato. But even the best one, at the height of the season, is made better with just a little sprinkle of salt.

Salt brings out all the flavors somehow. I don't want to taste the salt...but I want the salt to bring out everything else. It's a mysterious phenomenon...taste, flavor, nuance.

And Jesus compares those who would follow him to salt.

If I sprinkled some salt, and it had no taste, I would be mighty confused.

I'd probably sprinkle more and try again. I might go see a doctor to figure out what was wrong with my tastebuds.

But Jesus seems to imply that it's possible for people who carry his name to lose his flavor.

What makes the difference?

Well...you wouldn't set out to build a house without knowing whether you could pay for it, right? OK, maybe in the U.S. market right now that's a bad example.

But generally...you want to know whether you can finish a project when you start.

Jesus is asking the same question.

We can't follow him in name only. Can we count the cost of faith?

Are we willing to submit ourselves and live in connection with this messiah? Can we live a life of prayer and spiritual commitment? Can we experience the Holy Spirit and follow it daily in our lives?

Good questions...questions of salt and flavor...taste and nuance...and authenticity.

Prayer: Father God, we pray that you would make our love authentic. May we be salty people, full of the flavors of grace, peace and love.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Love

Today, a pause from our journey through Luke. Please take a moment with the video, and remember, even though it's hard.

Romans 12:20-21 (The Message)
Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

Follow

Luke 14:25-27 (The Message)

One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them,

"Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one's own self!—can't be my disciple.

Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple.

This is one passage of scripture that leaves us wanting to join the disciples in saying, "this teaching is too difficult." And yet, here it is.

Imagine the scene.

Jesus has been teaching. He's been urging people to consider the radical nature of his mission and ministry. He has been healing and changing lives.

Like a magnet being dragged through iron filings, the people are clinging to him in ever-increasing numbers.

He's being followed...by a huge crowd of hangers-on.

In my mind's eye, I imagine him stopping dead in his tracks, spinning on his heals, and with a fire in his eye and mischievous grin on his face...calling them to account.

"Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow me can't be my disciple."

I imagine that may have thinned the ranks.

I recall with fondness the most fun and probably certifiably crazy professor that I ever had in college. His classes were intense. They were not for those who were looking for an easy "A."

On the first day of "History of the English language," he looked violently around the room, and spewing spittle across the front row, wildly proclaimed, "if you're not an English major, this probably isn't the class for you. If you are not willing to work harder than you have in any other class, this isn't for you. If you have any illusions about what this class will be...you'd be much, much, better off to get up and leave right now."

The ranks thinned.

And this may be the best comparison I have in my experience as to what Jesus was trying to say.

"History of the English Language" was not a good elective choice for those seeking easy credits.

It was for folks who had to have the class...and who were serious about language. And he was right, it wasn't easy...and I almost certainly wasn't serious enough.

What about following Jesus?

Maybe it's only fair...he's trying to practice full disclosure.

Jesus following is the way of faith, and the way of grace. Grace is free...but it isn't cheap. "We were bought at a price," scripture tells us, and that price is the cross.

The good news is that for those who decide to follow, there is life at the end of the path. God's help will surround us. Even though the way is narrow, at least it's not deceptive.

There's no easy way around what is coming in this Gospel. But what we will move through leads to the greatest gift we could ever receive. Free, but not cheap.

Prayer: We hear these words of Christ in their seriousness, and we long for hearts that will receive this clear reminder. The path will be full of challenge. There is a cross to shoulder. And it is also the way of learning, of grace, of peace and real joy. May we follow through all things, and see the promised resurrection to new life.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Excuses

Luke 14:15-24 (The Message)

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."

Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.   At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'

"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'

"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'

"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'

"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'

" 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'

"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.   I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "

During my years of ministry in Augusta, GA, I got to witness first-hand what some people call, "the hottest ticket in professional sports."  

The Masters, at Augusta National Golf Club.  

I served on the staff of a large church, and many of the church's members were "badge holders," and had been for many years.  

The Masters had grown wildly in popularity since the 1950's and 60's, and what was once an easy ticket to land has become almost impossible today.  

People enter a lottery to have a chance to buy tickets for the practice rounds.  If you don't have a connection, you're definitley not getting a badge for the real tournament itself, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and least of all, Sunday.  

I saw some awesome things there.  Nick Faldo stood about 8 feet in front of me and nailed an approach shot from nearly 100 yards for an eagle.  I got to see Tiger Woods win, twice.  

Once, after winning at the 18th, he walked just passed me and I got to watch as he signed his winning scorecard.  

I never felt really deserving of being inside that party.  You see, I'm not much of a golf fan.  But I knew an awesome thing when I saw it.  If someone offered me a badge...you can believe that I said yes.  And thanks.

I'll always remember walking out of "The National" one Thursday afternoon of Master's Week.  

A scalper on the street stepped in front of me and said, "I'll give you $10,000 cash for your badge."  

Yes, that's four zeros.  $10,000.  

That means he believed he could sell it for a profit, even at that price.   That's a hot ticket.  Somebody really wanted inside that party.

Believe me, if that badget had belonged to me...

But it didn't.  It was a gift.  I'd been invited to a wonderful event.  And I took the opportunity.  Had I passed it up, there were many outside who would have gladly taken my place.  

What if Jesus' parable means that we better take the offer of grace when it's made?  I don't want to pass up the opportunity for that banquet table.  

It's a gift of grace, and it certainly doesn't matter whether we think we deserve it. 

For goodness sake, don't miss this tee time.  

Prayer:   We pray that you would help us become more responsive to your grace.  Make us grateful, and help us invite others to this party.  

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.  World without end.  Amen.  

Honor

Luke 14:7-14 (The Message)

He went on to tell a story to the guests around the table. 

Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the place of honor, he said, "When someone invites you to dinner, don't take the place of honor. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host. Then he'll come and call out in front of everybody, 'You're in the wrong place. The place of honor belongs to this man.' Red-faced, you'll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.

"When you're invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. 

Then when the host comes he may very well say, 'Friend, come up to the front.' That will give the dinner guests something to talk about! What I'm saying is, If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face. But if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

Then he turned to the host. 

"The next time you put on a dinner, don't just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. 

Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. 

You'll be—and experience—a blessing. They won't be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God's people."

Ego.  

My goodness, what a powerful force.  

Our need for self-justification, and self-protection.  It gets us in so much trouble.  

A few weeks ago, as members of SOTH trained about going out into the community, knocking on doors and making friends and meeting neighbors...we received some wonderful advice.  

"Take your pride, take all your ego...wad it up into a ball, and then throw it over into Paulding County.  We don't need it anymore, and it will only keep us from our goal."

Lord, help me throw my pride into Paulding County.  A great, great prayer.  

If my pride is gone, I don't have to elbow for the best seat anymore.  I don't have to defend myself in an argument.  I can let things be, secure in my identity with God.  

Now, that may sound a lot like "weakness."  

It's really strength.  If you don't believe me, give it a shot.  Try to live, aware of your ego, aware of your pride, and trying to keep it in check.  

Only those with God's strength at work in their lives can let go of their ego.  And guess what?  Jesus says there are some wonderful rewards.  

We won't be embarrassed by thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to.  And, best of all, we'll be freed to be in ministry with "the misfits from the wrong sides of the tracks."  

They won't be able to repay the favor, but God will.  

That sounds a lot like God, after all.  The one who loves us misfits, when there is no chance that we can repay the favor to him.  

Prayer:  May you crucify our egos...may they die so that we can be resurrected into the beautiful life of faith that you seek to give us.  Teach us the beauty of dependence and humility.  

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.  World without end.   Amen.  

Yes

 Luke 14:1-6 (The Message)  

One time when Jesus went for a Sabbath meal with one of the top leaders of the Pharisees, all the guests had their eyes on him, watching his every move. 

Right before him there was a man hugely swollen in his joints. 

So Jesus asked the religion scholars and Pharisees present, "Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath? Yes or no?"

They were silent. So he took the man, healed him, and sent him on his way. 

Then he said, "Is there anyone here who, if a child or animal fell down a well, wouldn't rush to pull him out immediately, not asking whether or not it was the Sabbath?" 

They were stumped. There was nothing they could say to that.

Imagine Jesus sitting at your dinner table on a Sunday afternoon.  OK, got that picture?  

Now try to imagine him asking your permission...to heal someone.  

Not, "pass the salt."  It's, "I'm going to heal this man, would that be alright?"

The Pharisees didn't say yes.  They didn't say no.  They didn't say anything.  Jesus still healed.  

All of this seems to beg a question for me:  If Jesus asked us whether it would be ok if he did some good in the world...what would we say?  

An emphatic yes, right?  Well...hopefully.  

What I'm afraid of, is that when he does put that very question to us, day in and day out, it's too easy to see the obstacles.  

"Well, that sounds good Jesus...but do you know what that will cost?  Do you know the kind of time that's going to take?  Do you know what you're really talking about?  Change in the world?"  

He knows.  And he's not really asking our permission.  He's not even really looking for our help, though we're ceratainly invited.  

It seems to me, that the biggest problem, especially for those who say they're Jesus-followers, is that if we DON'T answer with an emphatic, "Yes!!," what does that say to the world around us?  

I really don't want to be in the Pharisee camp. 

So here's the deal.   If we see some good today...if there's anywhere that healing is taking place...let's celebrate. 

"Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath?"  

The right answer..."Yes, Yes, Yes!!!"  

Prayer:  Purge our inner-pharisees, we pray.  Forgive us when we are stuck in self-importance, while ignoring the needs of the world around us.  Help us to celebrate that which is good.  

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.  World without end.  Amen.  

Mother

Luke 13:31-35 (The Message)

Just then some Pharisees came up and said, "Run for your life! Herod's on the hunt. He's out to kill you!"

 Jesus said, 

"Tell that fox that I've no time for him right now. Today and tomorrow I'm busy clearing out the demons and healing the sick; the third day I'm wrapping things up.

Besides, it's not proper for a prophet to come to a bad end outside Jerusalem. 

   Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killer of prophets, 
      abuser of the messengers of God! 

   How often I've longed to gather your children, 
      gather your children like a hen, 

   Her brood safe under her wings— 
      but you refused and turned away! 

   And now it's too late: You won't see me again 
      until the day you say, 

      'Blessed is he 
      who comes in 
      the name of God.'"

We have lots of images of Jesus that help us understand him, and many of those images are nurturing.  As the Pastor of "Shepherd of the Hills," I can say that "Shepherd" is a favorite for most Christians.  

But look at the image that Jesus gives us of himself:  

Mother Hen.  

He knows that he will die in Jerusalem as the ultimate in a long line of misunderstood and rejected messengers from God.  

But he doesn't harbor anger and hatred for his city...it's love, instead.  

And this is an important image for us all to know and remember.  

The Mother Hen.  Jesus.  

He loves us, and longs to protect us under the shelter of his wing.  

He loved us first...even when we have been "Jerusalem," killing the very ones sent to save us.  It's one more image of who Jesus is, and what a gift it is.  

Prayer:  Father God, we give thanks for your perfect love, made known to us in the Mother Hen love of Christ.  May we allow ourselves to be gathered, redeemed and made perfect in your love.  

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.  World without end.  Amen.