Seasons. An Advent and Lent Podcast By Willow Park Church

Our reading today is about Jesus’ greatest miracle. The raising of Lazarus.

This is the climactic 7th sign in the exquisitely crafted Gospel of John.

John introduced us to the ministry of Jesus with the sign of turning water into wine. There we learn that Jesus is the one who brings the feast of the Kingdom of God.

This last sign points us to Jesus as the one that saves us from all that would destroy us, including the ultimate enemy, death itself.

In his novel Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky writes about a central character who is an intelligent yet impoverished student in St. Petersburg named Raskolnikov.

Trampling down death by death

And upon those in the tombs

Music: Salt of The Sound, In Prayer  (used with Permission)

Today, in our Gospel reading, we see Jesus as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep and brings abundant life.

But who are these false shepherds? The ones that come only to steal, kill and destroy?

To understand this we need to understand that the shepherd motif is messianic.

The most common title for the Messiah was the Son of David, thus indicating that the Messiah would not only come from the line of David but in some way be like David, who was a shepherd who became the King of Israel.

The Prophet Micah predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, as David was, and that he would lead, feed and protect the Lord's Flock.

By the time Jesus came around, the Good Shepherd was an established metaphor for the Messiah.

Therefore in this teaching, when Jesus speaks of the bad shepherds, he is speaking about the self-appointed false messiahs who were common throughout the first century.

We actually know quite a bit about these false messiahs who rose and fell in and around the time of Jesus.

There was Judas Bar Hezekiah, a messiah who supported his movement through a band of highway robbers.

Jesus was describing these three and other bad shepherds, who only came to Steal, Kill and destroy.

Jesus contrasted his mission with the bad shepherds and false messiahs.

He didn't come to steal, and he came to serve

He didn't come to kill, and he came to lay down his life

He didn't come to destroy but to bring abundant life.

Today let us listen to the peaceable voice of our good shepherd.

Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd who leads us in the way of peace; help us to know your voice so well that we will never be taken in by the false shepherds.

John constructs his Gospel around 7 signs: The water turned to wine in Cana, the healing of the royal official's son in Capernaum, the healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda, the feeding of the 5000 at the sea of Galilee, Jesus walking on water, The healing of this man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

The story opens with the disciples observing the man born blind and raising the theological question of who is to blame for it.

Jesus is instructing his disciples, and is ultimately instructing us when we observe suffering,. We are not to take the opportunity to assign blame, but to take the opportunity to do the works of God by helping to heal, restore and alleviate the suffering as best we can.

As Hans Urs Von Balthasar said “Love alone is credible; nothing else can be believed”

As we look at the end of the chapter we see the last verse:

There is an innocence in admitting that we are too blind to pass judgement on others.

3 Let us bless God, the father of our Lord, King Jesus; he is the father of mercies and the God of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our trouble so that we can then comfort people in every kind of trouble, through the comfort with which God comforts us.

Lord Jesus, We confess that we are too blind to pass judgment on others, so we turn away from seeking to blame and turn to share your love and comfort.

Amen.

8 1 and Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 In the morning he went back to the Temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.

3 The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught out in adultery. They stood her out in the middle.

4 ‘Teacher,’ they said to him. ‘This woman was caught in the very act of adultery. 5 In the law, Moses commanded us to stone people like this. What do you say?’

6 They said this to test him, so that they could frame a charge against him.

Jesus squatted down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 When they went on pressing the question, he got up and said to them, ‘Whichever of you is without sin should throw the first stone at her.’

8 And once again he squatted down and wrote on the ground.

9 When they heard that, they went off one by one, beginning with the oldest. Jesus was left alone, with the woman still standing there.

10 Jesus looked up.

‘Where are they, woman?’ he asked. ‘Hasn’t anybody condemned you?’

11 ‘Nobody, sir,’ she replied.

‘Well, then,’ said Jesus, ‘I don’t condemn you either! Off you go – and from now on don’t sin again!’

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

5 You prepare a table before me

Let us take some time to reflect on David’s most well-known Psalm.

As we live near the mountains, many of us will have come across wildlife in our time.

Bears snakes, perhaps even Cougars.

At one time or another, most of us have probably been told what to do if we ever happen upon such creatures. But in all honesty, we would probably all rather just avoid them altogether.

A shepherd would know that these creatures exist and be very well equipped to deal with them and protect the sheep in his care.

When we allow God our Shepherd to guide us, we can be assured that he has our best interest in mind. Knowing that if we follow close to him, the animals mentioned earlier may come near, but there is no safer place to be than near the Shepherd.

When we choose to go our own way, however, we cannot blame the Shepherd for the environment we create for ourselves. When we choose independence from the Shepherd, we decide to fight our battles without the protection of the Good Shepherd, who wants to guide us through the wilderness that we call this life.

Our Good Shepherd knows the green meadows and peaceful streams that will renew us in our darkest moments, and he knows the path that will give us the best chance against the predatory beasts.

Even though we are bound to find dark valleys, we can choose to trust in Jesus, who has walked the darkest valley and will always be close beside us.

Jesus tells the Parable of the persistent widow.

18 Jesus told them a parable, about how they should always pray and not give up.

2 ‘There was once a judge in a certain town,’ he said, ‘who didn’t fear God, and didn’t have any respect for people. 3 There was a widow in that town, and she came to him and said, “Judge my case! Vindicate me against my enemy!”

4 ‘For a long time he refused. But, in the end, he said to himself, “It’s true that I don’t fear God, and don’t have any respect for people. 5 But because this widow is causing me a lot of trouble, I will put her case right and vindicate her, so that she doesn’t end up coming and giving me a black eye.”

6 ‘Well,’ said the master, ‘did you hear what this unjust judge says? 7 And don’t you think that God will see justice done for his chosen ones, who shout out to him day and night? Do you suppose he is deliberately delaying? 8 Let me tell you, he will vindicate them very quickly. But – when the son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’

Today's reading may catch us off guard.

What is going on here? Why is this Judge, who clearly doesn't fear God, saying that he should grant her requests before she punches him in the face?

Perhaps we should talk about this before we read this passage again.

Suppose you have just sat down to watch a show like Judge Judy. Usually, when you are watching one of these shows you will come to your own conclusion of which way you think the Judge should give their verdict, and hopefully, the Judge will be someone of high character and make the right choice. In these shows, we see civil cases, where one person brings charges against another seeking justice for their small claim cases. The Judge makes the decision and gives her verdict, and its case is closed.

In the ancient Jewish Law court. Every case was like this. If someone had stolen from you, it was your job to bring the charges to the court and plead with the Judge. If someone had murdered a relative of yours, the same would be true.

Every case in Jesus' day was a matter of a judge deciding to vindicate one party.

Vindication or justification means upholding their side of the story and deciding in their favour.

The word Justification means precisely this: the Judge finds in one's favour at the end of the case.

Here, in this parable, we are puzzled at first glance since, though Jesus intends to judge to stand for God, this Judge is about as unlike God as possible. He has no respect for God himself, and he doesn't care whether he does the right thing for people or not.

The point of this parable is then to say: if even a rotten judge like that can be persuaded to do the right thing by someone who pesters him day and night until it happens, then, of course, God, who is Justice in person, and cares passionately about people, will vindicate them, will see that Justice is done.

This parable is about praying for and waiting for Justice and vindication.

A widow is among the most vulnerable in this Jewish society. Suppose the persistent pleading for Justice and vindication from a judge who doesn't know God is successful, then how much more do we think God, who loves us unconditionally, will bring Justice and vindication.

Jesus told this story to teach his disciples that they should pray and never give up their pursuit of Justice, even in the face of indifference and even downright evil.

So, let the widow's prayer become our prayer..." Grant me, Justice, against the adversary."

As we listen to this again, let us remember that this is a parable that we should always pray and not give up.

Yesterday we looked at the Pharisees.

But who were the despised Tax Collectors?

Tax collectors were Jewish collaborators with the Roman occupiers.

For a hansom prophet, they undertook the onerous task of collecting tax revenue for the Roman empire from their fellow Jews.

Generally, they employed no small amount of extortion and dishonesty in their work.

It's little wonder that though rich, they were generally despised.

It is important to note that the term "Sinners" in the bible is not referring merely to those who sin, but to those who have been formally excluded from Jewish religious life because of particular sins. The top of the list was the colluding, cheating tax collectors.

Understanding who the tax collectors were helps us understand what's going on when Luke tells us, "The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying 'This man receives sinners and eats with them.'"

The scandal was that Jesus was willing to dine with excluded tax collectors and exiled sinners before they repented.

Jesus dined with both Pharisees and Tax Collectors.

He was willing to share a table with the tax collectors despite their sins of dishonesty and extortion and the Pharisees despite their sins of self-righteousness and pride.

When Jesus came to Jericho, he dined with Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector. Jesus didn't require any repentance before sitting at the table with him.

By the end of the meal, without any written signs that Jesus preached at Zacchaeus, he pledged to amend his ways and right his wrongs and give half his wealth to the poor.

Such is the transformative power of the unconditional love that animated the ministry of Jesus.

What a thousand sermons from a hundred Pharisees could never accomplish, Jesus accomplished by simply sharing a meal with the most despised man in town.

Jesus brought salvation to his house. Salvation came to Zacchaeus, not by a formal prayer in a religious temple, but by inviting Jesus into his real life as it was, and suddenly discovering that because of Jesus, he wanted to change his life.

Salvation is not a status update but a fundamental transformation of our lives.

At his core, Zacchaeus wasn't really a con and a cheat; he was really a wayward son of Abraham who needed to be sought after and loved and brought to the table of fellowship.

Zacchaeus was a real-life prodigal son redeemed by love.

Lord Jesus, may we again receive you into our home so that your love and grace can save us by transforming us into true sons and daughters of God. Amen.

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Most of us are predisposed to divide the world into good and bad people, the righteous and the unrighteous.

But Jesus rarely does this. For Jesus, the prominent categories of differentiation are the proud and the humble.

We are all sinners; the question is, are we proud sinners or are we humble sinners?

If we are proud sinners, we concoct ways to justify ourselves by favourably comparing ourselves to people we deem “worse” than us. Looking for a lower watermark that makes shines a positive light on us.

But if we are humble sinners, we throw ourselves entirely on the mercy of God.

This is what Jesus sets forth in the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector.

The Pharisees are a tragic story and a cautionary tale.

They were a religious, political party that arose around 150 years before the birth of Jesus.

The Pharisees urged their fellow Jews to preserve their Jewish identity and remain separate from the corrupting influence of the idolatrous Pegan world.

The Pharisees were a covenant people and were looking to maintain their allegiance to the God of Israel by remaining separate from the sins of Idolatry.”

It is important to note that Pharisees began as a sincere and commendable movement seeking to preserve Jewish identity in a Pegan ocean.

Unfortunately, by the time of Jesus, the Pharisees had devolved into the self-appointed morality police, deeply infected with the disease of self-righteousness.

They had become a movement aimed at taking back Israel for God and convinced of their own purity while aiming their anger at sinners, and those sinners we epitomized by the tax collectors.

In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë captures what the Pharisees had become in this scathing sentence: “He was, and is yet most likely, the wearisomest self-righteous Pharisee whoever ransacked a Bible to rake the promise to himself and fling the curses to his neighbours.

This is what can happen if we adhere to the seductive adage, “hate the sin, but love the sinner.” It sounds good but almost always leads to the tragedy of a self-righteous life. Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the Tax collector teaches us to love the sinner and hate our own sin.

The Pharisee is very aware of the tax collector as he poses before God in the parable.

In the back corner, the tax collector is aware only of his own sin and his desperate need for God’s mercy.

As we spend some time in a quiet space, let us employ the ancient Christian Practice of repeatedly praying the Jesus Prayer.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Amen.

Music: Salt of The Sound. Lamb of God

Simon Wester. The Secret Place, Touched By Heaven.

Luke 10:35-37.

26 ‘Well,’ replied Jesus, ‘what is written in the law? What’s your interpretation of it?’

27 ‘You shall love the Lord your God’, he replied, ‘with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your understanding; and your neighbour as yourself.’

28 ‘Well said!’ replied Jesus. ‘Do that and you will live.’

29 ‘Ah,’ said the lawyer, wanting to win the point, ‘but who is my neighbour?’

Yesterday we saw how James and John wanted Jesus to nuke a Samaritan Village then we saw how differently Jesus reacted.

Today, we see a member from the same group of people that James and John wanted to destroy become the parable's hero and focus.

Jesus gives this parable in response to a Lawyer trying to wiggle his way out of loving his neighbour by asking for clarification on who constitutes a neighbour.

The Lawyer had understood that Jesus had identified that we needed to love God and our neighbours, but the Scholar was looking for a loophole because there were obviously some people he didn't want to love.

Jesus could have constructed the parable to show a noble Jew showing mercy on a Samaritan victim, and this would have been a step in the right direction, but it would have kept the Jew in the superior role.

But Jesus casts his parable so that the Jew is the victim and the other Jewish people fail to act in love. The Samaritan is the hero of the story.

This story is a shift in understanding that we need to view all people in the image of God.

We need not stop relating to ourselves and others as “I” and “It,” and start referring to us and others as “I” and “His.”

If we see every person we meet as His creation, then we will begin to treat everyone we meet as people created in the Image of God, no matter their background or track record.

Rabbi Pinchas once asked his students to tell when the night had ended, and the day had begun.

One student suggested that maybe it could be when you see an animal in the distance, and you can tell whether it is a sheep or a dog?

"No," answered the rabbi. Another asked, "is it when you can look at a tree in the distance and tell whether it's a fig tree or a date palm?" "No,” answered the rabbi. "Then when is it?" the pupils demanded. Rabbi Pinchas said, "It is when you can look into the face of any person and recognize them as your sister or brother. Until we are able to do that, it is still night."

Rabbi Pinchas has mastered the lesson given to us by Jesus in this parable of the Good Samaritan.

When we see all humans as image-bearers of Jesus and worthy of us bending our knee to help them up when they fall down - including those we call our enemy, then we will truly begin to love like Jesus loved

God help us to see everyone we meet through your eyes.

Lord Jesus, lead us in the way of life by teaching us how to recognize every person as our neighbour; and give us the grace to engage with our neighbours in co-suffering love.

Amen

Music: Dear Gravity - I Hope This Letter Finds You Well: See You Once More, The Wonders.