Originally aired on November 2, 2014.

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Gospel

Matthew 5:1-12a

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,

and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.

He began to teach them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you

and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.

Rejoice and be glad,

for your reward will be great in heaven."

Reflection

Jesus giving his disciples a list of what he would call blessings, things that come from the love of God for us. And it's interesting because they are not always things that we would want, but they are the things that we need. And so what Jesus is trying to describe is living in the kingdom of God is not living in a place of judgment and condemnation of what's going on in ourselves or the world, as much as it is searching for what is valuable in everything. The good things, the difficult things, the bad things, we are blessed because God is with us.

The Holy Spirit inspires us for both enjoying all that we are given and accepting all the pain that is part of that process.

Closing Prayer

Father, awaken us to a disposition of acceptance, even curiosity, and wonder about all the things happening around us, both positive and negative. Help us to have a conviction that you are in charge and that nothing, nothing will keep us from your kingdom. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel

Luke 14:1-6

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine

at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,

and the people there were observing him carefully.

In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy.

Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking,

"Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?"

But they kept silent; so he took the man and,

after he had healed him, dismissed him.

Then he said to them

"Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern,

would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?"

But they were unable to answer his question.

Reflection

Father, there's a way in which when we're following regulations and rules, we feel confident, confident that we're doing everything that you've asked us to do. But in fact, it is not the heart of the gospel. It is not the heart of the good news. The heart of the good news is a way that we are touched so deeply by an awareness of where we haven't been that we’re shown so clearly where we need to be.

And it's the transition that's so important.

Closing Prayer

Father, bless us with an openness to seeing our own faults, our own weaknesses. Help us not to fall into shame, or disappointment, or self condemnation, but rather simply to long for the gift that enables us to do the work. It's not our work, it's yours and ours. Help us to remember this. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel

Luke 13:31-35

Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,

"Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you."

He replied, "Go and tell that fox,

'Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,

and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.

Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,

for it is impossible that a prophet should die

outside of Jerusalem.'

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem,

you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,

how many times I yearned to gather your children together

as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,

but you were unwilling!

Behold, your house will be abandoned.

But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Reflection

The most likely reason that Jesus says he must be killed in Jerusalem is the fact that Jerusalem was the place of most of the resistance to any of the messages of the prophets. So it was there between the temple and a prophetic voice, that this story unfolds in a very unfortunate way. They continue to resist the truth. And what is so touching about this passage is the way in which the truth is that God, through Jesus, has always longed to gather the children of Israel into a family, into a place of intimacy with him.

And they've always refused. And today they still refuse.

Closing Prayer

Father, you ask us through the Holy Spirit's power to face so many things within us that we really don't want to look at. We don't want to face. Bless us with openness to your prophetic word, to your truth, so that we can feel the fruits of what it means to be cared for by you, loved by you, forgiven by you. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel

Luke 13:22-30

Jesus passed through towns and villages,

teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.

Someone asked him,

“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”

He answered them, 

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate,

for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter

but will not be strong enough.

After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,

then will you stand outside knocking and saying,

‘Lord, open the door for us.’

He will say to you in reply,

‘I do not know where you are from.’

And you will say,

‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’

Then he will say to you,

‘I do not know where you are from.

Depart from me, all you evildoers!’

And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth

when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God

and you yourselves cast out.

And people will come from the east and the west

and from the north and the south

and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God.

For behold, some are last who will be first,

and some are first who will be last.”

Reflection

There's something clear in this passage that Jesus is very intently on trying to get people to understand. He talks about it in the norm of how you receive the gifts of life with God after death, and the image is clear. Many people think it's one way, when in truth, it's really a very different way and a more difficult way.

The narrow gate, and what is the narrow gate? Understanding that the work of God in the world, in the person of Jesus, is all about conversion, transformation, a change of heart.

Many of the scribes and Pharisees would not consider that to be something important, but only that they belong to the right group. That they belong to the temple, and therefore they are sure that they will have a place with God. It's not about what religion we belong to. It's about how intimate we have become with the transforming spirit.

It is our inheritance.

Closing Prayer

Father, awaken us always to the real task that you have given to us. One that is not given without our need to be a part of the process, we need to go through a death and resurrection. We need to do what you taught us how to do, so that we can become the people you call us to be. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel 

Luke 6:12-16

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,

and he spent the night in prayer to God.

When day came, he called his disciples to himself,

and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:

Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,

James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,

Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,

Simon who was called a Zealot,

and Judas the son of James,

and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Reflection

There's an interesting way in which we need to understand the distinction between a disciple and an apostle. Disciple is a word that means a learner, someone who's constantly growing and changing. And an apostle is one who has been especially empowered and then sent forth to do a task.

What is interesting about the two is that they really are one. We are always learners. We are always open to new insights and new ways of seeing the mystery of who you are in us. And then we also know that you empower us. You send us forth to do things. Nothing is more important than we embrace both these roles as we continue to grow and establish your Kingdom.

Closing Prayer

Father, bless us with the awareness of we never, ever are finished in our work with you. We are always open to new insights, changes. And then we're also so blessed to have your power, strength flowing through us as the Holy Spirit engages us in ways to establish the Kingdom. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel

Luke 13:10-17

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.

And a woman was there who for eighteen years

had been crippled by a spirit;

she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.

When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,

"Woman, you are set free of your infirmity."

He laid his hands on her,

and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.

But the leader of the synagogue,

indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath,

said to the crowd in reply,

"There are six days when work should be done.

Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day."

The Lord said to him in reply, "Hypocrites!

Does not each one of you on the sabbath

untie his ox or his ass from the manger

and lead it out for watering?

This daughter of Abraham,

whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now,

ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day

from this bondage?"

When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated;

and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.

Reflection

What really strikes me about this particular passage is the way in which the woman, who is burdened by the power of sin, was bent over, unable to stand erect. It's a beautiful image of the way in which Jesus is trying to describe to all of us that there was a burden on people before Jesus died and rose, a burden of evil that had stronger power over them.

And once Jesus died on the cross that power was limited. Cut way back. And so Jesus is so anxious for people to understand what he's about to give to them. And so frustrated by those who resisted, who claimed it can't happen.

Closing Prayer

Father, awaken us to the gifts that you have won for us, especially the power we have over those things that would rob us of life. You died for us. You gave up your life so we might have a fuller life here with you. Bless us with that awareness. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Originally aired on October 23, 2016,

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Gospel

Luke 13:1-9

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans

And he told them this parable: 

Reflection

Jesus makes clear that there is a work that we have to do.

He's not saying that we can judge the world and how God is working in the world, and why some things happen, and some people have different kind of the lives that we do. But he wants us to get back to something so basic. You are on this planet to grow and to evolve and to change. To be transformed by his grace.

And he says, if you don't do that, you will be destroyed by pride, greed, power over people. He doesn't want that to happen, but in telling people unless they change, they will be destroyed. He adds this wonderful disposition that he will never give up on us and he will continue to dig around us. Soil, fertilize us, water us, and pray and continue to work for our transformation.

He is a loving God. When he warns us that we might be destroyed, he is there to do everything he can to make sure that doesn't happen.

Closing Prayer

Father, as we examine ourselves as we looked at our life and our choices, it's so important for us to see where we're off, where we're not functioning as God wants us to. Make us aware of our sinfulness. At the same time, bless us with his patience. His love, his continual forgiveness, and his nurturing Holy Spirit. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel

Luke 12:54-59

Jesus said to the crowds,

"When you see a cloud rising in the west

you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;

and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south

you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.

You hypocrites!

You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;

why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

"Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?

If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,

make an effort to settle the matter on the way;

otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,

and the judge hand you over to the constable,

and the constable throw you into prison.

I say to you, you will not be released

until you have paid the last penny.”

Reflection

When Jesus is talking to the crowds, he's warning them simply to recognize something that they do naturally. They look at what's happening in the sky and figure out what the weather's going to be. But they don't really yet know what the kingdom of God is like, and how different it is from what they've been used to. They've lived under the law.

And the law when one is guilty does nothing other than punish. But Jesus giving a new law and he's saying, what I want you to understand is that there's a way to settle things without using the law and punishment, but simply using a new law. The law of love, the law of understanding, the law of forgiveness. That's the challenge.

Closing Prayer

Father, in all of our relationships we fall into the trap of sometimes demanding or seeking, did someone pay for what they've done to us? In a way that hasn't anything to do with money, but just they owe us something. Give us a heart that is forgiving, the heart of Christ. Where we’re not interested in punishment, but in transformation. And we ask this in Jesus;’ name, Amen.

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