Week Twelve - February 8-14, 2016 - Luke 6:1-26

Luke began his Gospel account by giving us these words from Mary: He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. - Luke 1:51-53 (NRSV) In summary, Luke tells us that the Gospel of Jesus will bring about a new framework, a new reality, and a new set of values.  The old order of the world based on human rituals is out.  The new order of God's Kingdom has become present in Jesus.  As you read Luke 6:1-26 this week, how does Jesus present the value system of the Kingdom of God?

In Luke 6:1-5, Jesus and His disciples pick grain and prepare food on the Sabbath.  The Jews of the first century had placed a rigid rule of refraining from food preparation on the Sabbath above the human need to eat.  Jesus in His actions and teachings reveals that human need (hunger) is given priority over ritual observance/religious rules.  

Luke 6:6-11 adds to this teaching as Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath.  The Rabbis wrote in the Talmud that only someone who had a life threatening illness should be healed on the Sabbath.  Jesus highlights the error of placing rituals and rules above human need by healing a withered hand (not a life threatening illness) on the Sabbath.  In the Kingdom of God, meeting human need and bringing healing to others is the way we show love to God - not by simply observing man-made rules.

In Luke 6:12-16, Jesus chooses disciples from a group of men who were not the elite of Jewish society.  St. Ambrose writes, "He chose not wise men, nor rich men, nor nobles, but fishermen and tax collectors, whom he would direct, lest they seem to have seduced some by wisdom, or bought them with riches, or attracted them to their own grace with authority of power and nobility."  Jesus teaches us in His choice of disciples that in the Kingdom of God, God scatters the proud and lifts up the lowly.

Luke 6:17-26 gives us a glimpse of Jesus teaching His disciples.  What did He teach them?  Jesus taught them that the poor, the hungry, those who weep, and those who are persecuted for His sake will inherit the Kingdom of God and receive great reward.  On the other hand, He taught them that the rich, the satisfied with self, the laughing, and the revered will be left empty.  From the beginning of Luke's Gospel, Luke has been telling us that Jesus has come to give His Kingdom to those who are on the outskirts and fringes of the elite of society.  A poor, young virgin will give birth to Jesus.  Shepherds will be the first to hail Him as King.  Lepers will be cleansed and paralytics will be healed. The low-in-status will be His disciples.  Jesus has come to bring the Kingdom of God, and the world order will not align with it.

In the Kingdom of God, we find life when we love God and love neighbor.  Our life is not found in money or food or the high opinion of others.  Our life is found in joining Jesus' mission to heal the broken-hearted and to let the oppressed go free.

One final note: the Kingdom of God is not a reality Jesus invites us to realize after death.  The Kingdom of God is a reality Jesus invites us to join here and now.  Jesus invites us to submit our lives to His Kingship and to live by His values...the values that lift up the lowly, scatter the proud, and love God through loving the neighbor. How does this reality clash with how you presently live and see God...yourself...others?  How is God calling you through this passage to join His Kingdom in the here and now?

For final reflection, here is Luke 6:20-26 from Eugene Peterson's The Message:

You're blessed when you've lost it all.  God's kingdom is there for the finding. You're blessed when you're ravenously hungry. Then you're ready for the Messianic meal. You're blessed when the tears flow freely. Joy comes with the morning.  Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens-skip like a lamb, if you like!-for even though they don't like it, I do...and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.

But it's trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you'll ever get. And it's trouble ahead if you're satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long. And it's trouble ahead if you think life's all fun and games. There's suffering to be met, and you're going to meet it. There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests-look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.