Daily Liturgy and Scripture

The disciples have asked for a tool that brings them into the presence of God, which is what prayer does. Jesus responds by giving them that, and much more. He also shows them the goodness of God, that the God they serve is better than the best of earthly parents.

Jesus is confronting two seemingly good people in the passage from Luke. The expert in the law seems to be fishing for a compliment, and Martha seems to be fishing for justification. He gives neither what they are after. Instead, he helps them step outside themselves, outside their definition of what it means to be "good." In the Kingdom of Jesus, it isn't about being better, but about putting ourselves in God's hands to learn what we need to be taught.

That Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father is more than a trick or a simple event, it is a completion of his work. He ascended to the throne of Heaven because that is who he was: the King of our Kingdom. That Kingdom, with the life of Christ as our template, is the place where we learn to be his Body here on earth.

The disciples offering to call down fire on others is a bit arrogant. They are basically saying, "we know Jesus, not them. This is the only real group of disciples." It's interesting that after they want to rebuke the outsiders, Jesus turns and rebukes them. They are still a little mired in the idea that God is only working with one group of people, but the Kingdom has already grown.

Jesus's Lordship is important, because it is the thing that sets him apart as unique among all founders of religion. He wasn't a man who had a unique perspective on God, he was God. Seeing Jesus is seeing God, and walking with Jesus is walking with God. The life of Jesus is the life of God, and this is why his life is a standard for us to chase after.

Jesus was teaching some difficult lessons to the apostles, but they needed to know this stuff so they could build the church. Instead of sending them out as lords over others, he sent them out to be dependent on others. When it came time to feed the crowds, he told the apostles to take care of it. All of this was with the help of power of another kind-- his power-- and learning to use that power took practice.

Jesus finds people falling at his feet several times in this passage. The healed woman and the demon-possessed man are there after they are healed, in gratitude. Jairus is there before his daughter is healed, begging Jesus' help. This remains a good model for us as well: both before and after God's work appears in our lives, our job is worship. What God does is up to God, but our role doesn't change.

"The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom." That sounds like a pretty big deal. What makes the disciples so special? Some have imagined this as a supernatural imbuing, some kind of special thing that was passed on in Jesus's secret society. I think it may be simpler than that, however. I think it maybe the very fact of living with Jesus, and the advantage that the disciples have in living with him and walking with him. For them, the stories are lived out. For others, only seeing Jesus in passing, parables are more critical.

The story of the woman who broke an extravagant gift for Jesus has been sung and preached of many times. Perhaps because it seems far beyond our capacity? This woman and the widow who gives all she has (which we read in Mark and will read again later in Luke) are examples of those who follow Jesus recklessly and with abandon. It's a high bar.

Tha passage of the prophetic torch between John and Jesus was intentional. John knew that someone was coming after him to bring completion to the work he started, because John knew he was not a savior. This is why Jesus had to be exactly who he was: a mere man could not have done the work of God, of John would have sufficed. What Jesus did was work only for God.