Playing basketball in eighth grade PE there was always that one kid who would stay down on the offensive end of the court positioned under his own goal just waiting for the ball so he could easily score. We had a name for that guy. He was a cherry picker. He wouldn’t do the hard work of hustling back on defense, yet he’d get all the fun of scoring baskets. 

Cherry picking is choosing and taking only that which is most beneficial or profitable. It’s usually done for personal gain. You might take the biggest slice of pizza, the one with the most pepperoni and cheese. Or, you might cherry pick facts to bolster your argument, ignoring opposing data. 

As we continue reading in our salvation story, Jesus calls out the Pharisees for cherry picking God’s word. They chose to obey certain parts of the Law, especially the parts that made themselves look good before others, while ignoring other, more important parts. In the issue of divorce, they even perverted God’s word for their own convenience. However, all of God’s word, every single part, matters. Don’t cherry pick God’s word. Allow all of it to challenge and change you.

In 1985, Steve Jobs was ousted from the company he had cofounded, Apple Computer. 11 years later he was invited back to rescue the struggling business. If you had invested $1,000 in Apple stock on Feb. 4, 1997, the day that Jobs returned as CEO, today, you would have over $1.3 million. Just for perspective, a similar $1,000 investment in an index fund that replicates the S&P 500 would be worth around $6,000.

Steve Jobs was a genius. But by all accounts, he was also a jerk. Sure, he built the most valuable company on the planet. But as they say, isn't money the root of all evil? 

As we continue on in Luke, Jesus tells a controversial story commonly referred to as the parable of the dishonest manager. We read that by carefully taking advantage of his present situation, the dishonest manager secured a better future for himself. Surprisingly, Jesus complimented the manager. However, he didn’t compliment him for his dishonesty but rather his shrewdness. Jesus taught his disciples that they too were to be shrewd managers of temporal wealth in order to obtain for themselves eternal riches. According to Jesus, it matters how we manage our money now so that we may be truly rich later.

A scandal is a circumstance or action that offends propriety or established moral norms.

In 1919, members of the Chicago White Sox accepted money from professional gamblers to effectively throw the World Series. This was the infamous Black Sox scandal. In 1995, President Bill Clinton, began an illicit sexual relationship with a 22 year old intern inside the oval office. It was all so scandalous. One of the most well known financial scandals in history came to light during the financial crisis of 2008. Bernie Madoff duped thousands of wealthy, knowledgeable investors out of billions of dollars. It ended with associates committing suicide and Bernie Madoff being sentenced to 150 years in federal prison.

When we hear about these scandals, we’re outraged. They offend our sensibilities.

As we continue reading in our salvation story, Jesus responds to the complaints of the scribes and Pharisees by telling them one his most famous parables. His listeners would have found the entire situation scandalous. Of course they would have been outraged at the behavior of the younger son who is appropriately referred to as a prodigal. But when the rebellious son repents and returns home, the reception he receives from his father was entirely unexpected. The younger son did not have to crawl back one day at a time into his father’s good graces. Rather, he was instantly forgiven. The lavish, unmerited love of the father would have been scandalous to Jesus’ pious listeners. It was them who he had in mind as the parable ends with the older brother, standing outside the feast, refusing to enter despite the affectionate pleas of his father. Jesus masterfully invited his listeners and each one of us to forsake the biggest scandal of all, self-righteousness.

What makes you happy? Perhaps you enjoy a quiet evening sitting in front of a fire, reading a book, while sipping hot cocoa. Or maybe the idea of going out with friends, talking and laughing sounds like a real party. If you’re married, what makes your spouse happy? What makes your kids happy? 

As we continue on in our salvation story we read what makes God happy. All of heaven rejoices when even one sinner is saved. God loves to seek and to save sinners. 

To illustrate this point and to challenge the disgruntled Pharisees (they weren’t very happy), Jesus tells a series of 3 parables, the first two of which we read in this week's episode. Like a lost sheep or a lost coin, we see that God passionately and purposefully pursues people. This is cause to celebrate.

In this year’s Super Bowl the Kansas City Chiefs will attempt to make history by winning their 3rd straight NFL title. Under head coach Coach Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes the Chiefs have amassed a considerable following. Chiefs kingdom is huge. Of course another reason for their popularity doesn’t have anything to do with exploits on the football field. It’s because TE Travis Kelce is dating the most famous pop star in a generation. It was recently reported that Kansas City Chiefs followership has increased 40% since the Travis and Taylor romance first began; a massive increase in TV viewership, jersey sales, and social media reach. But what happens when the famous couple breaks up? Or when the team is no longer winning? Are these just fair-weather fans?

Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a great banquet. Everyone was invited but only those who turned to him in repentance and faith would be let in. As we continue on in our salvation story we read that large crowds were accompanying Jesus. It seems that many people wished to accept the invitation to the banquet. However, following Jesus isn’t for fair-weather fans. Being a disciple requires complete commitment, a life-long loyalty to Jesus. Therefore it’s important to count the cost. 

Our son and his fiancé recently sent out invitations to their wedding, which is set to take place this coming June. As parents of the groom, we helped create the guest list. The wedding party was at the top of the list followed by our immediate family, then grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and life-long family friends. Of course we had to make some difficult choices. There’s limited space at the venue. There’s a limited budget. So, we sent the invitations out with utmost care and consideration. 

But what if those most valued guests refused to come?

As we continue on in our salvation story we read about a similar scenario. Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a great banquet. The scribes and the Pharisees, who represented official Judaism, expected to participate. Indeed, they had been invited. However, when the time came they excused themselves. Because they rejected Jesus, God would then fill his banquet hall with those who had formerly been left out. Invitations are still being sent today. God now calls all people everywhere to turn and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. The universal gospel call is a sincere invite to the great banquet and it has been entrusted to you and I for delivery.

At 8:33 am on April 24, 1990, the three main engines of Space Shuttle Discovery roared to life. Almost immediately, the massive 17-story tall twin solid rocket boosters ignited, each capable of burning 12,000 pounds of propellant per second. 6 seconds later, STS-31 left the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center. In her cargo bay was an incredible feat of human engineering, the joint product of NASA and the European Space Agency.

One day later, the crew of Discovery deployed that payload from her cargo bay and the Hubble Space Telescope was in orbit. STS-31 was a success, with Discovery and her crew safely touching down at Edwards Air Force Base a few days later. However, back in orbit, it didn’t take long for things to unravel for Hubble. The reflective telescope is equipped with two precision ground mirrors that gather and focus light into its imaging cameras. But the images Hubble began reflecting were distorted, fuzzy, blurry, out of focus.

Two months after launch, NASA announced the problem with the multibillion spacecraft: Hubble’s primary mirror had a defect called spherical aberration, which affected the image clarity. The curvature of the nearly 8-foot diameter primary mirror was off by just 2 microns, or 1/50th the width of a human hair. A rescue mission was needed to save Hubble.

On December 2, 1993, STS-61 launched to rendezvous with the telescope. The crew of Shuttle Endeavour successfully repaired Hubble’s imaging problem using what amounted to a refrigerator-sized pair of eyeglasses. Over thirty years later, Hubble is still astounding the world with incredible images of our universe, including the famed Pillars of Creation (picture).

The story of Hubble is much like that of ours: an amazing creation that’s reflecting a distorted image in need of a daring rescue mission.

In his classic apologetic work, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis describes the core beliefs of historic Christian faith. In chapter 8, entitled “The Great Sin,” Lewis writes,  “I now come to the part of Christian morals where they differ most sharply from all other morals. There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else and of which hardly any people…ever imagine that they are guilty themselves.” 

The vice to which Lewis refers is pride. Pride can be a difficult to define. The dictionary defines pride as both “reasonable self-esteem” and “exaggerated self-esteem.” Taking pride in your work is certainly virtuous. But, you’ve probably worked with an arrogant coworker who thought he was better than everyone else. It’s one thing to be proud of your child’s accomplishments. But, no one wants to be around a braggadocios parent.

While we may use the word in a variety of ways, the Bible defines pride as sin. Pride in the Bible is conceived of as arrogance or conceit. And everyone, whether a Christian or not, would agree with C.S. Lewis, when we see it in other people, it’s ugly.

As we continue reading in our salvation story Jesus points out the problem with pride. The scribes and the Pharisees were scrambling to grab prominent places around the dinner table, exchanging privileges amongst themselves. These weren’t just bad manners. Their pride would keep them from entering into the kingdom of God. We too should test ourselves for the presence of pride.

If you’re like most Americans you’ve already abandoned your New Year’s resolutions. This year, Friday, January 10th was officially Quitter’s Day. The term originated from research done in 2019, which found that 80% of people who make resolutions have already given up by the second Friday in January.

Maybe you purposed to save more money, eat healthier, exercise more, lose weight, or spend more time with family. Perhaps you set out to be more consistent in reading your Bible or prayer. But then life gets in the way.

As we continue reading in our salvation story, Jesus is warned that the territorial governor wished to kill him. Jesus faced constant opposition and threats to his life, yet he would not be deterred. He would indeed die, but it would be on his own terms, according to the predetermined plan of God. Jesus would not be deterred from suffering and dying for the sins of the world, nor will he be deterred from one day ruling and reigning in fulfillment of God’s covenantal promises. 

If you find yourself overwhelmed by life’s difficulties, if you feel like quitting or giving in, nurture your relationship with Jesus. He will sustain you until the end. He will never be deterred.

Perhaps you’re familiar with the 2019 college admissions scandal. William Singer was an independent college admissions counselor in California who worked with wealthy families hoping to get their kids into top schools. In addition to his college counseling business, Singer operated The Key Foundation, a charitable organization, which Singer established to “unlock the door to academic, social, personal, and career success” for underprivileged youth. In reality, under the auspices of this organization, families nationwide paid Singer a total of $25 million to guarantee their children admission to top-tier schools such as Stanford, Yale, USC, and Georgetown. 

Here’s how it worked. A parent would donate a large sum — normally between $250,000 and $400,000 — to Singer’s foundation. Singer would then funnel money to college coaches and athletic administrators, bribing them to designate these students as recruited athletes, thereby exponentially increasing their chances of gaining admission. If the students didn’t have adequate ACT or SAT scores, Singer bribed test proctors, who, for $10,000, would alter students’ answers.

Wealthy and well connected parents all wanted the same thing for their children: guaranteed admission to an elite school. Singer opened for them what he called the “side door” of college admissions.

As we continue on in our salvation story we read that Jesus is asked how many people will actually be admitted into the kingdom of God. The assumption was that with the coming of the promised Messiah, all of Israel would be saved. However, Jesus alerts his listeners that salvation is harder, the opportunity more limited, consequences more dire and those actually saved more surprising than many people thought.

The kingdom of God has no “side door” access. Don’t let you or your friends be fooled by a false gospel.