In Luke 13 and 14 Y'shua tells parables about God's reaching out, first to Israel and then to the nations. In the parable of the banquet those who were invited refuse to show up, telling transparent lies as excuses. This causes the master to send his servants first to the poor and then to the nations to fill his hall with guests.

In the Bible humility is regarded as one of the central virtues. In the Jewish mussar tradition it is the foundation upon which character rests. Both Moses and Y'shua are described as humble, so humility is clearly a trait to be cultivated.

In Luke 16, the conflict between Y'shua and the Pharisees over money continues. His perspective is that one cannot serve both mammon and God simultaneously. Their perspective is that they are exemplars of service to God and that they should be wealthy. His ensuing comments on divorce and the parable of Lazarus and the rich man demonstrate that they are not nearly so righteous as they assume.

In the book of Malachi, God decried Israel's religious establishment for its cynicism and corruption. Their problem was that they did not see themselves and their behavior in the same way. There was, however, a remnant that feared God and spoke correctly about Him. These people are written in a book of remembrance that God will consult when He makes up His treasured possessions. Our nation today is every bit as corrupt as was Israel at the time of Malachi. The criteria for being entered into the book of remembrance is still the same.

The parable of the dishonest manager in Luke 16 is difficult because Y'shua praises the behavior of a man who cheats his employer so that he will look good in the community and not have to do menial labor once he is fired. The key seems to be that the manager is a shrewd judge of the master's character and commits himself to that understanding without reservation.

There are probably as many beliefs about the end times as there are denominations. That confusion serves as a method to keep us divided and arguing, making us much less effective than we should be. If we consider the seven appointed times on God's calendar, it is possible to clear away much of the clutter and attain clarity.

In Luke 12 there are two parables about an absent master. In the first, he is at a wedding feast and is coming home late and presumably happy. In the second he is away for a much longer period and has set a manager over his household. In both cases finding his house in order and his servants alert results in blessing. In the second parable if he finds the manager has misbehaved, things get much darker.

In Genesis Joseph weeps exactly seven times. His tears are never the result of the affliction that he suffers. Rather they are all in the context of his relationship with his family. In this we see a very powerful man who is ultimately alone. His power is unable to gain him the thing that is most important to him - acceptance. The idea for this talk came from an article by Rabbi Sacks.

In Luke 12 there are two themes running through the commentary. The first is 'inside and outside.' There the contrast is between how things seem on the surface and how they are in reality. The second theme is 'possessions.' There the rebuke is that the Pharisees' focus is on wealth, status and possessions where it should be on the Kingdom.

Idol worship, the desire to get what appears to be a 'better deal' than God offers, is a constant temptation. Whether the idol be some pagan god or a politician or a man in a white lab coat, the details may differ, but the impulse is the same. In all cases the master idol is covetousness.