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1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the humble hear and rejoice.
3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord and he answered me
and delivered me out of all my terror.
5 Look upon him and be radiant,
and let not your faces be ashamed.
6 I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me
and saved me from all my troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord
encompasses those who fear him,
and he will deliver them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are they who trust in him!
9 Fear the Lord, you that are his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger,
but those who seek the Lord
lack nothing that is good.
………….
Look upon him and be radiant,
and let not your faces be ashamed.
This is the vocation of those
called to be members
of the communion of saints:
Not to follow,
not to emulate…
but simply to watch & pray
& so reflect God’s glory
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Acts 28
After we had reached safety, we then learned that the island was called Malta. 2The natives showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us round it. 3Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ‘This man must be a murderer; though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.’ 5He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6They were expecting him to swell up or drop dead, but after they had waited a long time and saw that nothing unusual had happened to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.
7 Now in the neighbourhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8It so happened that the father of Publius lay sick in bed with fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and cured him by praying and putting his hands on him. 9After this happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10They bestowed many honours on us, and when we were about to sail, they put on board all the provisions we needed.
11 Three months later we set sail on a ship that had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian ship with the Twin Brothers as its figurehead. 12We put in at Syracuse and stayed there for three days; 13then we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. After one day there a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14There we found believers* and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15The believers from there, when they heard of us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.
16 When we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.
17 Three days later he called together the local leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, ‘Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18When they had examined me, the Romans wanted to release me, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. 19But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to the emperor—even though I had no charge to bring against my nation. 20For this reason therefore I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.’ 21They replied, ‘We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken anything evil about you. 22But we would like to hear from you what you think, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.’
23 After they had fixed a day to meet him, they came to him at his lodgings in great numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. 24Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe. 25So they disagreed with each other; and as they were leaving, Paul made one further statement: ‘The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah,
26 “Go to this people and say,
You will indeed listen, but never understand,
and you will indeed look, but never perceive.
27 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.”
28Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.’*
30 He lived there for two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, 31proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
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…proclaiming the kingdom of God
and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ
with all boldness and without hindrance.
So ends the two volumes assembled by Luke w3ith such care:
but why so abruptly?
It may be that events had caught up with the text
& that Luke’s volumes were written down
during the two years of captivity in Rome
possibly as part of Paul’s defence:
Was Theophilus to whom Luke dedicates his gospel & Acts
one of those who would advise the Emperor
when the case was brought before him?
It is possible that readers knew
that if accusers did not bring a case
within 18 months it would be dropped;
& that if accusers failed to make their case
they could incur heavy financial penalties.
Thus a happy ending may be implied
through these final words.
Against such suggestion
is Paul’s speech to the Ephesian elders
& the prophecies when he heads from Caesarea to Jerusalem
where it is implied Paul will die in Rome.
Despite the accuracy f much of this final section
~ the title of the chief man of Malta, for instance,
& the route of the grain/prisoner cargoes
are corroborated by contemporary records ~
it does seem that the framework of the narrative
has been put together some time afterwards
when Paul has attained near saint-hood
after his martyrdom in Rome.
However, if Paul had met his death
by the time Acts was written
why is not that the climax of the story?
Possibly such a record would have drawn too much of a parallel
between the life of the saint & of Jesus;
& it could well have served to undermine
the key contention of Luke
that Christianity posed no threat to the Empire.
If we wish to glimpse something of the ongoing story
we may look at the letters to Timothy & Titus
ascribed to St Paul.
They accept the imminence of Paul’s death,
& give something of his “last will & testaments”
rather in the style of the Miletus speech
to the Ephesian elders.
Could Luke have edited these letters
as a post script to Acts
speaking with Paul’s voice
as he does in the speeches he copies out in Acts?
All this said, we find in these last words of Acts
a clear ending very much in the style of the Gospels.
Mark speaks of the women saying nothing
because they were afraid…
& the opposite is affirmed here,
showing the power of the resurrection news & the intervention of the Spirit
which Luke has recorded:
Paul speaks out boldly.
Luke thus ends Acts in a similar way
to that with which Matthew ends his Gospel.
there Jesus commands his disciples to take the news of the kingdom
to the ends of the world.
Here, Paul is shown to e fulfilling that command
unhindered either by timidity or the secular powers.
Acts does not often use the term “Kingdom of God”
which occurs so frequently in Luke’s Gospel;
but here it is taken up once more
bringing, as it were,
the story full circle.
…………………………………………..
Ephesians 2 v 19 ~ end
You are no longer aliens in a foreign land,
but fellow-citizens with God’s people,
members of God’s household.
You are built upon the foundation
laid by the apostles and prophets,
and Christ Jesus himself is the foundation-stone.
In him the whole building is bonded together
and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
In him you too are being built with all the rest
into a spiritual dwelling for God.
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In him the whole building is bonded together
and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
In a time when the Church
seems once again in danger of splintering
it is good to recall
how diverse a group of apostles
Jesus brought together;
how they did not stop arguing
even once they had committed themselves to him,
& how the church as continued to be “bonded together”
almost despite itself!
……………………………………………………
Acts 27 v 27 ~ end
When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28So they took soundings and found twenty fathoms; a little farther on they took soundings again and found fifteen fathoms. 29Fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30But when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and had lowered the boat into the sea, on the pretext of putting out anchors from the bow, 31Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, ‘Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.’ 32Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat and set it adrift.
33 Just before daybreak, Paul urged all of them to take some food, saying, ‘Today is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense and remaining without food, having eaten nothing. 34Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will help you survive; for none of you will lose a hair from your heads.’ 35After he had said this, he took bread; and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. 36Then all of them were encouraged and took food for themselves. 37(We were in all two hundred and seventy-six persons in the ship.) 38After they had satisfied their hunger, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.
39 In the morning they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned to run the ship ashore, if they could. 40So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time they loosened the ropes that tied the steering-oars; then hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. 41But striking a reef, they ran the ship aground; the bow stuck and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves. 42The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none might swim away and escape; 43but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44and the rest to follow, some on planks and others on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.
…………………………………………….
We were in all two hundred and seventy-six persons in the ship.
Some versions reduce this number to 76
which perhaps is more feasible;
but the grain ships were bulk carriers
& many were government owned
& so able to be requisitioned as here
for military purposes.
To opt for the larger number being the original
would imply that the narrative is intending
to emphasize the stature of Paul as a leader of men
~ just as in the first part of Acts
the large numbers of those listed as converted
emphasizes the stature of Peter.
The main thrust of the narrative is after all
the ironic plot
in which Paul the prisoner becomes the true leader
over against both the centurion
& the captain of the ship.
This makes a very Pauline point:
God has chosen as the instruments of his purpose
not the great & powerful in the world’s eyes
but those held by the world as insignificant
or of no repute…
(did not the apostle abandon the name of a King
& take on instead the title “small”?)
This point is, however, made in a way
very typical of Luke:
there is no confrontation with the worldly rulers
but rather in an urbane & courteous dialogue
the shackled Christian is shown to be
the one through whom God’s grace is at work.
The other reason for taking 276 rather than 76
to be the accurate reading of the original
is that it is a particularly significant “triangular” figure:
276 is the sum of all numbers
from 1 to 13, the number of the disciples
plus Jesus (or perhaps plus Paul,
the “least of the apostles”).
………………………………………………
Acts 27 vv 1 ~ 26
When it was decided that we were to sail for Italy, they transferred Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort, named Julius. Embarking on a ship of Adramyttium that was about to set sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul kindly, and allowed him to go to his friends to be cared for. Putting out to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. After we had sailed across the sea that is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy and put us on board. We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind was against us, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. Sailing past it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.
Since much time had been lost and sailing was now dangerous, because even the Fast had already gone by, Paul advised them, saying, ‘Sirs, I can see that the voyage will be with danger and much heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.’ But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. Since the harbour was not suitable for spending the winter, the majority was in favour of putting to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, where they could spend the winter. It was a harbour of Crete, facing south-west and north-west.
When a moderate south wind began to blow, they thought they could achieve their purpose; so they weighed anchor and began to sail past Crete, close to the shore. But soon a violent wind, called the northeaster, rushed down from Crete. Since the ship was caught and could not be turned with its head to the wind, we gave way to it and were driven. By running under the lee of a small island called Cauda we were scarcely able to get the ship’s boat under control. After hoisting it up they took measures to undergird the ship; then, fearing that they would run on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea-anchor and so were driven. We were being pounded by the storm so violently that on the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard, and on the third day with their own hands they threw the ship’s tackle overboard. When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest raged, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.
Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, ‘Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thereby avoided this damage and loss. I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor; and indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.” So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we will have to run aground on some island.’
…………………………………………………………………………
All hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.
This graphic narrative
in the first person plural
& with so much accuracy in its details
reads very much like the work of an eye-witness.
However, if the text here is,
as seems most likely,
based upon Luke’s own “travel diary”
it is not without features
that show great literary artistry
& have also clear symbolic overtones.
Firstly, the story of Jonah is recalled
& thus we find once more a parallel
between the witness of Peter
in the first half of Acts
where the story of Jonah is deliberately if cryptically recalled,
& the witness of Paul
who, though held a captive,
is deliberately heading off to preach to the Gentiles
taking the same route that Jonah took
in order to avoid obeying such a commission.
Then, as an angel rescues Peter from prison,
Paul reports how an angel has appeared to him
to assure him of his eventual rescue.
There seems also, quite remarkably,
to be here a parable that spells out
Paul’s doctrine of faith & grace
~ returned to over & over again
in Paul’s correspondence,
but generally neglected in Acts,
even when the narrative entails
speeches & sermons
purporting to come from Paul himself.
The power of the sea is described here
in terms that are almost deliberately apocalyptic
~ making the despair over being “saved”
a clear parallel with a salvation
that depends upon God’s power
rather than any human strength.
……………………………………………………
Acts 26 v 24 ~ end
While he was making this defence, Festus exclaimed, ‘You are out of your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you insane!’ But Paul said, ‘I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth. Indeed the king knows about these things, and to him I speak freely; for I am certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.’ Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?’ Paul replied, ‘Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am—except for these chains.’
Then the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those who had been seated with them; and as they were leaving, they said to one another, ‘This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.’ Agrippa said to Festus, ‘This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to the emperor.’
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Too much learning is driving you insane.
There is an urbane irony
in the exchanges between Paul & the Governor & King
that have the ring of authenticity.
Paul knows of Agrippa’s ability
to grasp the argument he is putting forward,
whether or not he could have accepted their implications:
a belief in the afterlife was one thing….
that it had broken through on earth
with such earth-shattering consequences
~ that was something else entirely.
Festus acknowledges Paul’s intellect…
but whether Paul himself would have appreciated this compliment
must be open to doubt:
in his correspondence with the Corinthian Church
he has made plain that God reveals himself
to the simple, not to the wise.
In this sense he may well have been happy
to have been described as “insane”
for this would have put him alongside
what he terms the “foolishness of God”.
This part of the narrative ends
with Agrippa & Festus in agreement
(rather as Herod & Pilate make friends
the day Jesus is condemned to death).
As Pilate three times in Luke’s Gospel
proclaims “this man has done nothing wrong”
so here Festus & Agrippa make plain
their belief in Paul’s innocence.
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Acts 26 vv 1 ~ 23
Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You have permission to speak for yourself.’ Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself:
‘I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defence today against all the accusations of the Jews, because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently.
‘All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, your Excellency, that I am accused by Jews! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
‘Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.
‘With this in mind, I was travelling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.” I asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The Lord answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
‘After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.’
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I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.
The vision on the road to Damascus
& the later one in Jerusalem
here seem to be telescoped into one.
this third account of Paul’s conversion
is in this sense more stylized:
as the version given of it in Jerusalem
seems to be delivered in a Jewish manner,
this time we have a polished Greek manner.
The martyrdom of Stephen
also seems to be given more of an epic dimension
as part of a more widespread persecution….
& the way that others apart from Paul
fall to the ground when the light shines out
suggests we are hearing the same story but on a grander scale:
these things ere not, as Paul proclaims,
done in a corner.
But given all that,
may feel that it is this version of the Conversion
that is closest to the truth,
& that Luke could have been present
when this defence was delivered
or even had the text of the speech before him.
Certainly the speech is powerful
& shows clearly the impact of the Damascus Road experience.
After it, could Paul do anything other than obey?
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Matthew 24 vv 30 ~ 35
Jesus said to his disciples:
30 ‘The sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,
and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn,
and they will see
“the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven”
with power and great glory.
31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call,
and they will gather his elect from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to the other.
32 From the fig tree learn its lesson:
as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves,
you know that summer is near.
33 So also, when you see all these things,
you know that he is near, at the very gates.
34 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.’
….………………………………………………
Acts 25 v 13 ~ end
After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to welcome Festus. Since they were staying there for several days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, ‘There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix. When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me about him and asked for a sentence against him. I told them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met the accusers face to face and had been given an opportunity to make a defence against the charge. So when they met here, I lost no time, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. When the accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the crimes that I was expecting. Instead they had certain points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. Since I was at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wished to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges. But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of his Imperial Majesty, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to the emperor.’ Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I would like to hear the man myself.’ ‘Tomorrow’, he said, ‘you will hear him.’
So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then Festus gave the order and Paul was brought in. And Festus said, ‘King Agrippa and all here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish community petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. But I found that he had done nothing deserving death; and when he appealed to his Imperial Majesty, I decided to send him. But I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write—for it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.’
………………………………………………………..
Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp.
Agrippa was the grandson of Herod the Great
& it was his father who had executed James the Apostle.
He had succeeded to the throne when only 17
& had been brought up in Rome.
He had been given oversight of the temple
& Nero gave him cities in Galilee.
When the Jewish revolt broke out in 70CE
both he & his sister Bernice
took the side of Rome.
There is evidence that he was genuinely interested
in religious questions,
& despite the pomp & number present
this seems occasion to have been no trial
but, as Luke presents it here, an informal inquiry.
The stage is thus set fro what turns out to be
the last presentation of the case
in the Holy Land
not just for Paul but for Christianity itself
before the scene shifts to Rome,
with the implication that it is here
that the new faith will find its true centre.
There would also be a conscious parallel
being drawn between Christ’s death
& Paul’s destiny in following him,
with both Jesus & Paul being interviewed
~ & indeed mocked ~
by a member of the Herod family
which claimed to rule “the Kingdom of God”.
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Acts 24 v 24 ~ 5 v 12
Some days later when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak concerning faith in Christ Jesus. And as he discussed justice, self-control, and the coming judgement, Felix became frightened and said, ‘Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.’ At the same time he hoped that money would be given to him by Paul, and for that reason he used to send for him very often and converse with him.
After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and since he wanted to grant the Jews a favour, Felix left Paul in prison.
Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem where the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews gave him a report against Paul. They appealed to him and requested, as a favour to them against Paul, to have him transferred to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, planning an ambush to kill him along the way. Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and that he himself intended to go there shortly. ‘So’, he said, ‘let those of you who have the authority come down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them accuse him.’
After he had stayed among them for not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea; the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. When he arrived, the Jews who had gone down from Jerusalem surrounded him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove. Paul said in his defence, ‘I have in no way committed an offence against the law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against the emperor.’ But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favour, asked Paul, ‘Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and be tried there before me on these charges?’ Paul said, ‘I am appealing to the emperor’s tribunal; this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know. Now if I am in the wrong and have committed something for which I deserve to die, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can turn me over to them. I appeal to the emperor.’ Then Festus, after he had conferred with his council, replied, ‘You have appealed to the emperor; to the emperor you will go.’
…………………………………………………………….
He used to send for him very often and converse with him.
Luke here records Paul
following a pattern found in the stories
of John the Baptist & Jesus:
both of them having semi-private discussions
with King Herod.
In a way this may be seen as fulfilling a prophecy
ascribed to Jesus when he tells his disciples
that they will bear testimony before kings & rulers.
However, the two year captivity in Caesarea
is a significant period in Paul’s life,
& even if his Letters from Prison
were not sent from here
they will have helped shape his thoughts.
Presumably his remarkable thoughts
in the Letter to Rome on honouring the Emperor
were penned during or after this period
& so in urging this stance
he was writing knowing the full reality
of the way imperial power was wielded.
Equally, it would seem
from the use of the first person plural
in passages framing this narrative
that Luke was in contact with Paul
at the time of his captivity in Caesarea
& therefore is giving us
a not-too-distorted take
on the dealings of Roman officialdom.
This period thus is key not only in Paul’s life
but in the evolution of the Church.
Despite the successive waves of persecution
the sanctuary afforded by Caesarea
& then the faith in the validity
of the subsequent appeal to the Emperor
indicates how it was that the centre of Christendom
eventually was to become Rome
rather than its unstable birth-place, Jerusalem.
………………………………………………….
Acts 23 vv 12 ~ 35
In the morning the Jews joined in a conspiracy and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who joined in this conspiracy. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, ‘We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food until we have killed Paul. Now then, you and the council must notify the tribune to bring him down to you, on the pretext that you want to make a more thorough examination of his case. And we are ready to do away with him before he arrives.’
Now the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush; so he went and gained entrance to the barracks and told Paul. Paul called one of the centurions and said, ‘Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to report to him.’ So he took him, brought him to the tribune, and said, ‘The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you; he has something to tell you.’ The tribune took him by the hand, drew him aside privately, and asked, ‘What is it that you have to report to me?’ He answered, ‘The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more thoroughly into his case. But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him. They have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink until they kill him. They are ready now and are waiting for your consent.’ So the tribune dismissed the young man, ordering him, ‘Tell no one that you have informed me of this.’
Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, ‘Get ready to leave by nine o’clock tonight for Caesarea with two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen. Also provide mounts for Paul to ride, and take him safely to Felix the governor.’ He wrote a letter to this effect:
‘Claudius Lysias to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, but when I had learned that he was a Roman citizen, I came with the guard and rescued him. Since I wanted to know the charge for which they accused him, I had him brought to their council. I found that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but was charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. When I was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.’
So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him during the night to Antipatris. The next day they let the horsemen go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. When they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. On reading the letter, he asked what province he belonged to, and when he learned that he was from Cilicia, he said, ‘I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.’ Then he ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod’s headquarters.
………………………………………………………………………….
‘Get ready to leave by nine o’clock tonight for Caesarea
with two hundred soldiers,
seventy horsemen,
and two hundred spearmen.’
Are we here at the beginning of the way the Bible story
has become splendid material for epic films?
Can Paul have become so important?
And yet the stray detail of Paul’s nephew
(where nowhere else do we hear of the apostle’s family)
& the tone & terminology of the legal procedures
do lend this story
the air of authenticity.
Have we actually come here
close to the audience
for which Luke/Acts was written?
Is this the world in which Theophilus had his home?
Was Luke in fact at this time
employed by those in authority
in occupied Palestine?
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Ecclesiasticus 38 vv 1 ~ 14
Honour physicians for their services,
for the Lord created them;
for their gift of healing comes from the Most High,
and they are rewarded by the king.
The skill of physicians makes them distinguished,
and in the presence of the great they are admired.
The Lord created medicines out of the earth,
and the sensible will not despise them.
Was not water made sweet with a tree
in order that its power might be known?
And he gave skill to human beings
that he might be glorified in his marvellous works.
By them the physician heals and takes away pain;
the pharmacist makes a mixture from them.
God’s works will never be finished;
and from him health spreads over all the earth.
My child, when you are ill, do not delay,
but pray to the Lord, and he will heal you.
Give up your faults and direct your hands rightly,
and cleanse your heart from all sin.
Offer a sweet-smelling sacrifice, and a memorial portion of choice flour,
and pour oil on your offering, as much as you can afford.
Then give the physician his place, for the Lord created him;
do not let him leave you, for you need him.
There may come a time when recovery lies in the hands of physicians,
for they too pray to the Lord
that he will grant them success in diagnosis
and in healing, for the sake of preserving life.
……………………………………………………………..
Give the physician his place, for the Lord created him;
do not let him leave you, for you need him.
St Paul certainly valued Luke,
his “beloved physician…”
& presumably so did Theophilus
for whom Luke wrote his Gospel & Acts.
and many millions more down the ages
have come to value the man behind those works
which take up such a large proportion
of the NewTestament.
But they value the doctor not just for his writings
but the spirit in which they are written.
That spirit of care & solicitude
has probably done far more
than any other part of the New Testament
in shaping an ethos by which Christians
have lived their lives…
Here are the marks of the “caring” profession
written into the stuff of daily living:
the characters so typical of Luke’s vision,
Simeon, Barnabas, the Good Samaritan,
the Prodigal Son’s father, Priscilla & Aquila…
they are warm-hearted people
in whose steps countless Christians
have been glad to follow.
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Acts 21 v 7 ~ 22 v 21
Just as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, ‘May I say something to you?’ The tribune replied, ‘Do you know Greek? Then you are not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?’ Paul replied, ‘I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city; I beg you, let me speak to the people.’ When he had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people for silence; and when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:
‘Brothers and fathers, listen to the defence that I now make before you.’
When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then he said:
‘I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.
‘While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” I answered, “Who are you, Lord?” Then he said to me, “I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.” Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. I asked, “What am I to do, Lord?” The Lord said to me, “Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.” Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.
‘A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, came to me; and standing beside me, he said, “Brother Saul, regain your sight!” In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.”
‘After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw Jesus saying to me, “Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.” And I said, “Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And while the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing by, approving and keeping the coats of those who killed him.” Then he said to me, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.” ’
……………………………………………………………….
A certain Ananias,
who was a devout man according to the law
and well spoken of by all the Jews living there,
came to me.
Luke has Paul tell of his conversion three times,
& in this way he seems deliberately to parallel
the three times the story of Peter’s vision is told.
Both stories have the same point:
the divine guidance of God
in bringing the Gospel
to those beyond the bounds of Israel.
In this account, however, Paul is addressing crowds;
& he therefore presents Ananias
not as on of the Damascus disciples
but as a “pious Jew”.
The vision in which he is subsequently again called
to take the Gospel to the Gentiles
is received in Jerusalem.
Paul insists in his letters
that he is independent of the Church in Jerusalem;
but Luke does not wish to present him
as independent of Jerusalem itself.
The story of the Gospel & Acts
is of the spread of the Gospel throughout the world,
but it is never forgotten
that it is from Jerusalem that it spreads.
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Matthew 22 vv 15 ~ 22
When the chief priests and Pharisees had heard the parables,
they realized that Jesus was speaking about them.
Then the Pharisees went & plotted to entrap him in what he said.
16 So they sent their disciples to him,
along with the Herodians, saying,
‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere,
and teach the way of God in accordance with truth,
and show deference to no one;
for you do not regard people with partiality.
17 Tell us, then, what you think.
Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’
18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said,
‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?
19 Show me the coin used for the tax.’
And they brought him a denarius.
20 Then he said to them,
‘Whose head is this, & whose title?’
21 They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’
Then he said to them,
‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s,
and to God the things that are God’s.’
22 When they heard this, they were amazed;
and they left him and went away.
………………………………….
‘Whose head is this, & whose title?’
Each of us
are minted in God’s image;
& so it is to him that our tribute is due:
The tribute of our whole lives.
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Acts 21 vv 17 ~ 36
When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us warmly. The next day Paul went with us to visit James; and all the elders were present. After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. When they heard it, they praised God. Then they said to him, ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the law. They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. Join these men, go through the rite of purification with them, and pay for the shaving of their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself observe and guard the law. But as for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have sent a letter with our judgement that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.’ Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having purified himself, he entered the temple with them, making public the completion of the days of purification when the sacrifice would be made for each of them.
When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, who had seen him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, shouting, ‘Fellow-Israelites, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.’ For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. Then all the city was aroused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. While they were trying to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Immediately he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the tribune came, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; he inquired who he was and what he had done. Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another; and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. When Paul came to the steps, the violence of the mob was so great that he had to be carried by the soldiers. The crowd that followed kept shouting, ‘Away with him!’
………………………………………………………….
They have been told about you
that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles
to forsake Moses…
The narrative at this point
seems acutely aware of the controversy
aroused by Paul’s ministry,
& seems to attempt to show the Church
presenting a united front,
with trouble being stirred up
by Jews outside the Church’s ranks.
Was there more dissension within the Church
than is allowed for here?
Was Paul ready to take a conciliatory line?
How far could “becoming a Jew to win Jews” take him?
Why does he have to be reminded
of the decision of the Council of Jerusalem?
The main thrust of the story-line remains, however,
the concern to show Paul
as an example to all who would follow Jesus:
He is shown almost literally
to be following in the steps of his master.
The charge against him
is similar to that brought against Jesus:
that he is an enemy of the Temple;
& the crowds thus echo those
who bayed out for Christ’s blood:
“Away with him!”
………………………………………………..
Acts 21 vv 1 ~ 16
When we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. When we found a ship bound for Phoenicia, we went on board and set sail. We came in sight of Cyprus; and leaving it on our left, we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there. We looked up the disciples and stayed there for seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. When our days there were ended, we left and proceeded on our journey; and all of them, with wives and children, escorted us outside the city. There we knelt down on the beach and prayed and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.
When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and we greeted the believers and stayed with them for one day. The next day we left and came to Caesarea; and we went into the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy. While we were staying there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. He came to us and took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, ‘Thus says the Holy Spirit, “This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.” ’ When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, ‘What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’ Since he would not be persuaded, we remained silent except to say, ‘The Lord’s will be done.’
After these days we got ready and started to go up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came along and brought us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to stay.
…………………………………………………………….
‘The Lord’s will be done.’
Once again there is a parallel
between Christ’s fate in the Gospel
& Paul’s in Acts.
It is noteworthy that with the “we” passages
there comes an intensification
of expressions of faith
in the Spirit’s guidance.
However, here it is clear that it is still open
for humankind to interpret the implication
of what the Spirit says.
It is clear that Paul is to suffer….
but should he avoid or embrace that suffering?
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Acts 20 v 17 ~ end
From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him. When they came to him, he said to them:
‘You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house, as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus. And now, as a captive to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.
‘And now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will ever see my face again. Therefore I declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing. You know for yourselves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions. In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” ’
When he had finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and prayed. There was much weeping among them all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, grieving especially because of what he had said, that they would not see him again. Then they brought him to the ship.
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Keep watch over yourselves
and over all the flock,
of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
If we are looking for part three
of Luke’s great work which he began with the Gospel
& the second part of which
he is now preparing to end,
we may well look towards the Pastoral Epistles.
the two letters to Timothy
& the single one to Titus
take up many of the themes outlined here
in the speech to the Ephesian elders.
In Acts this is the single speech
where Paul is speaking to the converted
rather than to those on the brink of faith
or to total outsiders.
Luke is presenting Paul here
(as he is presented in those letters ascribed to him
as a saint who is about to be martyred
& a church leader concerned about good order
& the danger of heresy.
Here is a gentle & careful Paul,
very different from the passionate person
who performs such intellectual gymnastics
in the main letters ascribed to him.
Here is Paul domesticized & canonized:
not the firebrand who changed people’s thinking so radically
but one who is what he asks his followers to be:
a shepherd who will lay down his life
for his flock.
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Acts 20 vv 1 ~ 16
After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples; and after encouraging them and saying farewell, he left for Macedonia. When he had gone through those regions and had given the believers much encouragement, he came to Greece, where he stayed for three months. He was about to set sail for Syria when a plot was made against him by the Jews, and so he decided to return through Macedonia. He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, by Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, by Gaius from Derbe, and by Timothy, as well as by Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia. They went ahead and were waiting for us in Troas; but we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we joined them in Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul was holding a discussion with them; since he intended to leave the next day, he continued speaking until midnight. There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were meeting. A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, began to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked still longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead. But Paul went down, and bending over him took him in his arms, and said, ‘Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.’ Then Paul went upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he continued to converse with them until dawn; then he left. Meanwhile they had taken the boy away alive and were not a little comforted.
We went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there; for he had made this arrangement, intending to go by land himself. When he met us in Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. We sailed from there, and on the following day we arrived opposite Chios. The next day we touched at Samos, and the day after that we came to Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; he was eager to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
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After encouraging them and saying farewell,
he left for Macedonia.
With these words,
Luke begins a section which is valedictory in tone,
very similar, perhaps deliberately similar,
to the earlier descriptions
of the last journey of Jesus up to Jerusalem
& then his farewell to his disciples
at his Ascension.
However, we come here too
to the resumption of the “we” passages
~ Luke’s diary which broke off
with Paul’s arrival in Macedonia.
as he returns to that region
we not only note how the author
speaks as being in Paul’s company,
but also how the geographical details become more precise
as do the time references
& the lists of personal names.
It ha been suggested that the particular list here,
which associates individuals with particular towns,
could have detailed a deliberate group
representing each of the churches
which were sending contributions
to the poor in Jerusalem.
If so, Luke could have joined the group
as the representative of Philippi
while Paul himself was representing Corinth.
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Acts 19 v 21 ~ end
Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to Jerusalem. He said, ‘After I have gone there, I must also see Rome.’ So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Asia.
About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way. A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, ‘Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.’
When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ The city was filled with the confusion; and people rushed together to the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s travelling-companions. Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; even some officials of the province of Asia, who were friendly to him, sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theatre. Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defence before the people. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ But when the town clerk had quietened the crowd, he said, ‘Citizens of Ephesus, who is there that does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple-keeper of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell from heaven? Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. You have brought these men here who are neither temple-robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius and the artisans with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges there against one another. If there is anything further you want to know, it must be settled in the regular assembly. For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.’ When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
…………………………………………………………….
When the town clerk had quietened the crowd…
Paul’s decision to head for Jerusalem once more
is set out prior to the narrative of the riot
to ensure that the impression is not given
that it was this that prompted Paul
to end his stay in Ephesus.
Instead of the mission ending in failure
the implication is that it was successful.
The speech of the town clerk
rather like that of Gamaliel earlier
addressing the Sanhedrin
serves to underline Luke’s concern
to show how Christianity
posed no threat to the culture of the ancient world
~ which would, Luke suggests,
fade away of its own accord.
Paul & his followers are presented
as champions of the one living God
over against the adherents of idols:
but their message is not a negative one.
they are not temple robbers or blasphemers…
they use neither vitriol nor violence.
In many ways the speech by aul in athens
sets out the aspirations of Christianity
as Luke understands his faith:
as the Church fulfils the hopes of ancient Israel
without undermining them,
so this new faith answers the hopes of those
who grope towards the unknown divine:
wrong-headed as their worship might be
~ exploited as it is by those seeking their own gain ~
their hearts may still find their answers
in the good news of the Gospel.
In this Luke also shows a trust
~ not totally unfounded ~
in the justice & legislative proceedings
of the Pax Romana.
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Acts 19 vv 8 ~ 20
He entered the synagogue and for three months spoke out boldly, and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation, he left them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.’ Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit said to them in reply, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’ Then the man with the evil spirit leapt on them, mastered them all, and so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded. When this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, everyone was awestruck; and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised. Also many of those who became believers confessed and disclosed their practices. A number of those who practised magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
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This continued for two years…
Given this length of time
& the way, it would seem,
several of Paul’s letters
were written from Ephesus,
it is surprising that the details of this passage
are so sketchy.
Indeed, the narrative seems to rely mainly
on a concern to present Paul
as following Christ’s footsteps
(the exorcisms are modelled those in the gospels,
& the term “Kingdom of God”
is often used by Jesus & hardly at all by Paul)
or echoing the ministry of Peter
(the aprons & handkerchiefs that work miracles
are like Peter’s shadow earlier).
No record exists of a high priest called Sceva,
& the possibility is that he was the leader of a cult
based in Greece or Asia Minor.
Later, Ephesus seems to have been the base
of followers of John the Apostle
rather that Paul,
while the “Letter to the Ephesians”
is more of a summary of Paul’s work
~ possibly a preface to his collected letters ~
by another hand.
Towards the end of Acts Paul avoids
returning to Ephesus
but addresses the elders at Miletus.
Here he warns them against others
who will seek to take over the Church.
Perhaps when acts was written
this had already happened,
& so Luke speaks of the Church growing
“in Asia” generally rather than in Ephesus,
because he know that the church founded there by Paul
has already disintegrated.
The story to which this passage is thus a preamble
is thus a narrative about a successful confrontation
with local pagan beliefs
rather than about the founding of a Christian community.
…………………………………………………….
Acts 18 v 22 ~ 19 v 7
When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. After spending some time there he departed and went from place to place through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord; and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the believers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the inland regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ They replied, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ Then he said, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ They answered, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ Paul said, ‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.’ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied—altogether there were about twelve of them.
………………………………………………………………
While Apollos was in Corinth,
Paul passed through the inland regions and came to Ephesus.
To track Paul’s travels in these passages
makes one feel one is going around in circles.
It has, indeed, been suggested
that this brief journey to Jerusalem,
foreshadowing as it does the later one
(which has similar details
~ the presage of doom, the vow & hair-cut)
may be an editorial insertion
in order to emphasize once again
Paul’s links with Jerusalem.
However, there is nothing to say
that Paul did not regularly visit Judea,
especially given the concern
~ so strong in the letters
yet hardly touched on in Acts
to collect for the poor of Jerusalem,
thus showing solidarity with them.
the vantage point does seem to be from Philippi
Luke presumably gathering there
the details of the parallel work going forward
in Corinth & Ephesus.
The rival groups founded in Corinth,
& mentioned in Paul’s correspondence with the Christians there,
bears out the presence of Apollos there,
yet it is strange that Luke omits
all mentions of Peter’s ministry there.
As far as Apollos is concerned,
Luke once again shows his concern
to show the Church moving forward
in an ordered & harmonious way
with Paul bringing people together
in the style of later leaders.
It is implied that the disciples of the Baptist in Ephesus
who have to be brought into the fold by Paul
may well have been part of a group to which Apollos belonged
~ Apollos having to be brought into the same fold
by Priscilla & Aquila.
……………………………..
Acts 18 vv 1 ~ 21
After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together—by trade they were tentmakers. Every sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.’ Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshipper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized. One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.’ He stayed there for a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. They said, ‘This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the law.’ Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘If it were a matter of crime or serious villainy, I would be justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews; but since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I do not wish to be a judge of these matters.’ And he dismissed them from the tribunal. Then all of them seized Sosthenes, the official of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of these things.
After staying there for a considerable time, Paul said farewell to the believers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was under a vow. When they reached Ephesus, he left them there, but first he himself went into the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. When they asked him to stay longer, he declined; but on taking leave of them, he said, ‘I will return to you, if God wills.’ Then he set sail from Ephesus.
…………………………………………………………
When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia…
It is by this note that it is possible
to begin dating Paul’s ministry
& then indirectly the rest of the New Testament.
The term “proconsul” is accurate
for Achaia was governed by an official named thus
between 27BCE & & 15CE, & then again from 44CE onwards.
Gallio was the brother of the Emperor Nero’s tutor
but was eventually executed on Nero’s orders.
Inscriptions tell with accuracy
when he was proconsul;
& thus Paul’s trial before him
must have taken place in the summer of 51CE
or within a year or so after that date.
The detailed knowledge
that Paul has of the Christians of Corinth
as shown by the correspondence with them
shows the intensity of his mission here.
It is interesting to count the number of people
mentioned by name in those letters
& then count how many people one could name
from one’s own congregation.
That said, there is no great detail
apart from the appearance before Gallio
found here in Acts.
It is as if Luke working at the same time in Philippi
has heard little of the detail of Paul’s ministry
that he feels worth chronicling.
…………………………………………
Acts 17 v 16 ~ end
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the market-place every day with those who happened to be there. Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, ‘What does this babbler want to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.’ (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, ‘May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.’ Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.
Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, ‘Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, “To an unknown god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said,
“For we too are his offspring.”
Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’
When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, ‘We will hear you again about this.’ At that point Paul left them. But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
…………………………………………………………………
What therefore you worship as unknown,
this I proclaim to you.
A contrast may well be drawn
between Paul’s Letter to Rome
& this address in Athens.
Both touch on similar themes;
but one may well see in this speech
more of Luke than of Paul.
Although Luke is probably accurate
in portraying Paul as presenting the Gospel
with only limited success at the heart of ancient Greece,
the speech can hardly be a verbatim account
of how he presented his case.
Certainly Paul was ready to be
“all things to all men
that in one way or another he might win some”;
but would this extend to the recycling of Greek philosophy
we find in this passage?
The speech is better seen
as part of the agenda of Acts
showing Christianity as compatible
firstly with the political peace established by the Empire
& here, secondly, with its philosophical openness.
Luke is in this way the first of the “Apologists”
~ the group of Early Church Fathers
who “apologized” for Christianity,
not in the sense of making excuses for it,
but in the sense of showing how it could hold its own
~ & indeed triumph ~
when judged by the standards
of contemporary civilization.
The speech is thus central to the narrative of Acts
which shows the spread of the knowledge of the Gospel
being the driving force of the Church’s mission.
To “know” is the necessary step to take
prior to loving or believing.
In this narrative of salvation,
“They know not what they do…”
is the tragedy of the Chosen People;
while worshipping an unknown god
is the tragedy of the Gentiles.
The optimism of Luke’s Gospel
lies in the faith that such ignorance
can be dispelled.
…………………………………….
Acts 17 vv 1 ~ 15
After Paul and Silas had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This is the Messiah, Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.’ Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews became jealous, and with the help of some ruffians in the market-places they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. While they were searching for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly, they attacked Jason’s house. When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some believers before the city authorities, shouting, ‘These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has entertained them as guests. They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus.’ The people and the city officials were disturbed when they heard this, and after they had taken bail from Jason and the others, they let them go.
That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas off to Beroea; and when they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. These Jews were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and examined the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, including not a few Greek women and men of high standing. But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Beroea as well, they came there too, to stir up and incite the crowds. Then the believers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy remained behind. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and after receiving instructions to have Silas and Timothy join him as soon as possible, they left him.
………………………………………………
These people who have been turning the world upside down
have come here also.
Paul, in Galatians 5 v 12,
uses the same verb of his enemies,
agitators, trouble-makers;
& in Acts 21 v 38 the verb is employed
to describe a revolutionary.
It may be that the verb is used here
with irony:
The Magnificat speaks of the new age
when all earthly values will be reversed.
Were these words in the Fourth Gospel
such irony might be deliberate:
It is necessary for one man to die
to stop the Romans suppressing revolt,
so Christ’s death is literally sacrificial.
However, though Luke occasionally has such moments
(“neither will they believe
should someone return from the dead”)
by & large he is more matter of fact.
certainly part of his agenda
is to show how Christianity
poses no threat to Rome
& certainly its followers are not to be ranked
along with rioters & revolutionaries.
…………………………………
Acts 16 v 25 ~ end
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They answered, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, ‘Let those men go.’ And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, ‘The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.’ But Paul replied, ‘They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.’ The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens; so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. After leaving the prison they went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.
………………………………………………………………
He and his entire household rejoiced.
This is the fourth time in this narrative
that the family of the gaoler is mentioned.
They are not at all necessary to the story’s plot,
& so we must assume that Luke knew something
about the sequel to the story.
If Paul left Luke behind in Philippi
to care for the growing Church there
he may well have looked after this household
or nurtured it as a base for the Christian fellowship.
he suddenness of the conversion
& the subsequent baptisms
is dramatic but surprising:
as with the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch
there is no long drawn out catechizing of candidates.
The conversion experience seems to be enough…
& the baptism of the family
suggests how Christianity spread then
~ as so often now ~
socially & communally
rather than spiritually & personally.
The possibility that the gaoler’s household
included small children
may be used to give scriptural authority
for the practice of infant baptism
which later supplanted the baptism of adults
as the norm.
……………………………………………..
Acts 16 vv 6 ~ 24
They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us.
One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, ‘These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.’ She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour.
But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market-place before the authorities. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, ‘These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.’ The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
………………………………………………………………..
‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’
This call signals the expansion of the Church
from Asia into Europe;
& the voice in the vision is preceded
by two interventions of the Spirit
(“the Holy Spirit” & the “Spirit of Jesus”)
suggesting very deliberate divine guidance…
indeed the summary of this decision
is the conclusion that God was guiding the mission.
Motivation for this mission
(on the part of God or of Paul himself!)
is not difficult to find.
A journey in the opposite direction (20 v 6)
is said to have taken five days
compared to the one day here,
so the “straight course” could have been assisted
by a prevailing wind.
The communities in Macedonia & its district
were places where Jews & Greeks lived
side by side apparently by & large amicably.
Neapolis was at the end of the Via Egnatia,
a main route to Rome ~
& Paul this early on may have had his sight set
on a journey to the heart of the Empire.
Finally, of course, Paul was leaving behind
the controversies that had arisen
first in Antioch & then in Galatia,
& he may well have been keen
to start a new mission without interference
of messengers from James & the Jerusalem Church.
It is also significant that it is at this point
the “we” passages begin,
with Luke joining Paul’s team.
They continue, however, only as far as the point
where the team arrives in Philippi,
& it could well be that Luke was left there
to help run this new community of faith
in a city now derelict
but in which the author seems
to take so much pride here.
If Luke were in any way responsible
for the founding of the Church here,
it would be easy to see his influence…
the gentleness & generosity reflected
in the pages of Luke’s Gospel
could be seen to tally with the way Paul writes
to the Church in Philippi
commending it for its warm-heartedness
& its liberality.
………………………………………
Psalm 104 vv 26 ~ 30
O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
They all look to you, to give them their food in due season.
When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you send forth your Spirit they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
…………………………………………………
When you open your hand,
they are filled with good things.
At harvest time, as we come together to celebrate
the diversity of blessings surrounding us,
never far from our minds
is the Parable of the Sower,
with its implied image of God
as the Hebrew farmer with a pouch of seeds:
he dips his hand into the leather bag
draws out the seeds & liberally scatters them.
Here in the 104th Psalm we have a similar image,
perhaps an image of similar bounty,
but perhaps too more intimate.
How many of us have given a sugar lump to a horse,
holding it tight as the big nostrils scent it,
& then holding it in the palm of the hand,
the wet whiskery feel as it is snaffled up,
the relief that the horse does not use its teeth
to gather up what is offered it.
Open-handed is still a good way
to describe generosity:
nothing is held back
in this very personal act of caring.
During this season of Creation-tide
what we have remembered
is not that God’s work in this respect
is confined to a few energetic seconds
at the start of time,
but that it ripples through the centuries
& is seen moment by moment,
season by season.
Scientists may seek the “God-particle”
deep in Swiss underground laboratories;
but the true essence of God
can be discerned running in & through
the whole universe.
“You renew the face of the ground…”
This is a poetic attempt
on the part of the Psalmist
to describe the Spirit of God
that moved in Genesis
“upon the face of the waters”
coming like “the breezes & the sunshine”
to awake delight day by day.
It remains for us
both a revelation an inspiration…
we can see God at work
as berries appear profusely on each bough
ready for birds to garner as winter approaches:
that is a revelation so close to us that it can go unnoticed;
& it is also an inspiration,
urging us on to acts of generosity on our part…
an inspiration that is so much part of the everyday
that we too often take it for granted
forgetting that love is not a one-off act
but like the God-particle
the divine essence thar runs & ripples through creation
all the more hen we offer ourselves
as channels of this endless grace.
…………………………………….
Acts 15 v 36 ~ 16 v 5
After some daysPaul said to Barnabas, ‘Come, let us return and visit the believers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.’ Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul decided not to take with them one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work. The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and set out, the believers commending him to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Paul went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and had him circumcised because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went from town to town, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily.
……………………………………..
After some days…
In the first part of Acts
new stages in its narrative tend to be introduced
with the words, “So then…”
Now these new words “after some days”
are repeated instead.
This second half of Acts
is also that in which Luke himself
seems to have been an eye-witness:
The use of the first person plural
has led to particular passages
being said to have been culled from
“Luke’s Travel Diary”.
Although this passage is still in the third person,
the disagreement between Barnabas & Paul
is reported with no effort to gloss over it.
The argument led Paul to recruit a new team:
not just Silas as a partner
but also Timothy
who becomes particularly significant
having the two letters addressed to him ~
letters which have concerns for order & unity
which are very close to the concerns
of the author of Acts.
The Greek word for the disagreement
is in fact a medical term
applied technically to illnesses
where there is a skin irritation.
……………………………………….
Acts 15 vv 22 ~ 35
Then the apostles and the elders, with the consent of the whole church, decided to choose men from among their members and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers, with the following letter: ‘The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the believers of Gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that certain persons who have gone out from us, though with no instructions from us, have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds, we have decided unanimously to choose representatives and send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.’
So they were sent off and went down to Antioch. When they gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. When its members read it, they rejoiced at the exhortation. Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. After they had been there for some time, they were sent off in peace by the believers to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, and there, with many others, they taught and proclaimed the word of the Lord.
…………………………………………………………………….
When its members read it,
they rejoiced at the exhortation.
The momentous Council of Jerusalem,
set as it s by St Luke centrally to his narrative,
shows James, the brother of Jesus,
as having emerged as the leader of the Church
in Jerusalem & probably universally.
Later tradition & records
& the letters of Paul
all bear witness to this development .
However, it is obvious from Paul’s letters
that he at least felt there was a higher authority
than that which James & the group around him
attempted to claim.
Luke, on the other hand,
strains every sinew to suggest
that the Church settled its differences
amicably & indeed orderly.
That this was not the case is shown
by the way in different early texts of Acts
the Letter from the Council has been copied out
with several variations.
The letter of Paul to the Galatians
seems to refer to exactly the same dispute,
but in his version events
arguments seem to be sparked off
rather than settled
by emissaries from Jerusalem.
Certainly in Paul’s correspondence with Corinth
he seems to have no knowledge
of such a letter as this,
& he is there quite clear about how Christians
should look on the Jewish food laws
~ in a manner very different from that
inculcated here.
Luke is keen to present him
to having signed up to the letter’s contents
& indeed to being one of the emissaries
who promulgate it.
Acts is thus one of the first Early Church documents
that presents Christianity as universal
& universally harmonious
embracing very different Christian groups
in one fellowship & organization.
This movement was in reaction to power blocks
which seized on Paul’s teaching
taking its anti-Jewish & liberal elements further
& so seeking to distance Christianity
from the sweep of salvation history
to which Luke saw it owed so much.
To this end, Acts & the Letters to Timothy & Titus
subtly (or at points such as this rather clumsily)
present Paul as speaking out
against those of his followers
who had hijacked his message
exaggerating it & thus causing a disunity
which obviously pained the heart of Luke
& of those who took up his work
fashioning the creeds & customs
which ultimately held Christianity together.
…………………………………………………..
John 1 v 47 ~ end
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him,
he said of him,
‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’
48 Nathanael asked him,
‘Where did you come to know me?’
Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’
49 Nathanael replied,
‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God!
You are the King of Israel!’
50 Jesus answered,
‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?
You will see greater things than these.’
51 And he said to him, ‘Very truly,
I tell you, you will see heaven opened
and the angels of God ascending and descending
upon the Son of Man.’
…………………………………………………………
‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’
Jacob deceived his brother & fled from him.
On starting out of his journey
he saw a ladder reaching to the sky
& angels ascending & descending upon it.
He then sojourned with his uncle Laban
& proceeded to deceive him.
On his return, before crossing the stream of Jabbok,
he wrestles with an angel
who gives him the new name Israel.
Seven times in John’s Gospel
Jesus uses the affirmation, “I am…”
& here he is presented as the new ladder
connecting heaven & earth.
The encounter of Jacob with the heavenly host
prompted the Abba song,
“I believe in angels”:
I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I’ll cross the stream – I have a dream
I have a dream, a fantasy
To help me through reality
And my destination makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness
Still another mile
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I’ll cross the stream – I have a dream
I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I’ll cross the stream – I have a dream
I’ll cross the stream – I have a dream.
………………………………………………………………..
Acts 14 v 8 ~ end
In Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet and had never walked, for he had been crippled from birth. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. And Paul, looking at him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said in a loud voice, ‘Stand upright on your feet.’ And the man sprang up and began to walk. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, ‘The gods have come down to us in human form!’ Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice. When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting, ‘Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to follow their own ways; yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good—giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.’ Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.
But Jews came there from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. Then they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the city. The next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.
After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch. There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, ‘It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.’ And after they had appointed elders for them in each church, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.
Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had completed. When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles. And they stayed there with the disciples for some time.
………………………………………………………….
We are mortals just like you.
Paul may well make such a declaration…
for very soon he & Barnabas are to show their human side
with their bitter argument over Mark.
The gaps in the narrative here
are filled in by the apocryphal
“Acts of Paul & Thecla”
which has this description of Paul
which is hard to imagine to have been invented…
“A man of small stature,
with his eyebrows meeting
and a rather large nose,
somewhat bald-headed, bandy-legged,
strongly built, of gracious presence;
for sometimes he looked like a man,
& sometimes he had the face of an angel.”
Paul’s role as an “angel” or “messenger”
would seem to be borne out
by the crowd identifying him here
with Mercury, the messenger of the gods
& patron of oratory.
…………………………………………………….
Acts 13 v 44 ~ 14 v 7
The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
“I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles,
so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” ’
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region. So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through them. But the residents of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. And when an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to maltreat them and to stone them, the apostles learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country; and there they continued proclaiming the good news.
…………………………………………….
Since you reject the word of God
and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life,
we are now turning to the Gentiles.
This dramatic statement
sums up the simple understanding
that Luke had of the spread of Christianity,
an understanding that he helped to promulgate
in such a way that most would imagine still today
that Christianity emerged
in the Greek & Roman world
as a clear alternative to Judaism
among non-Jews.
It is more likely that Judaism was by no means monochrome,
& neither was Christianity.
There would probably have been a long gestation period
during which the various communities
co-existed & overlapped.
Even given the undoubted dynamism of Paul
there was probably no clean break
as the Acts of the Apostles tends to suggest.
In fact this concept is present also
from the start of Luke’s Gospel:
Simeon hails Jesus as both
the Light to Lighten the Gentiles
and (at the same time?) the glory of Israel.
The move made by Paul, is however,
anticipated in Christ’s first sermon in Nazareth
with its stress on two Gentiles touched by God
~ a sign of the prophet without honour in his own country
anticipating a better reception elsewhere.
Even in Acts, however,
there is no record of one clear break.
Paul continues the strategy
of preaching first in the Synagogue
until he comes up against blank walls
like that he meets here in Pisidian Antioch.
Some have seen this as evidence
that this was indeed the strategy of Paul.
However, the notes of the move
are so deliberate & so similar
that one might conclude that this is Luke’s concept
rather than Paul’s strategy.
Luke did indeed see Christ as Israel’s glory,
but needed to say that only after Israel
had rejected its divine calling
was invitation issued to the Gentiles.
That Luke put forward this pattern of events
some time after Paul’s letters
had been collected & circulated,
might be confirmed by the way these notes come
at points at which Luke records Paul coming
to the places to which he addressed his main letters:
Galatia ~ here;
Corinth ~ Acts 18 v 6
Ephesus ~ Acts 19 v 9
Rome ~Acts 28 v 29
In both the first & last of these scenes
Luke has Paul, like Jesus at Nazareth,
support his stance
with a text from the prophet Isaiah.
……………………………..
Acts 13 vv 13 ~ 43
Then Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem; but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the law and the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, ‘Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it.’ So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak:
‘You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. For about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. After he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance for about four hundred and fifty years. After that he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, “I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.” Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus, as he promised; before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his work, he said, “What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals on his feet.”
‘My brothers, you descendants of Abraham’s family, and others who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize him or understand the words of the prophets that are read every sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him. Even though they found no cause for a sentence of death, they asked Pilate to have him killed. When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead; and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm,
“You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.”
As to his raising him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
“I will give you the holy promises made to David.”
Therefore he has also said in another psalm,
“You will not let your Holy One experience corruption.”
For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, died, was laid beside his ancestors, and experienced corruption; but he whom God raised up experienced no corruption. Let it be known to you therefore, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you; by this Jesus everyone who believes is set free from all those sins from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, that what the prophets said does not happen to you:
“Look, you scoffers!
Be amazed and perish,
for in your days I am doing a work,
a work that you will never believe, even if someone tells you.” ’
As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people urged them to speak about these things again the next sabbath. When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
…………………………………………………………….
God gave them Saul son of Kish,
a man of the tribe of Benjamin,
who reigned for forty years.
In this, the first of the major speeches,
Luke attributes to Paul,
it is perhaps natural that he should note
the reign of his namesake
as one of the key points in Hebrew history.
In Philippians 3 v 5 Paul speaks
of his being of the same tribe as Saul,
& the rejection of Saul & selection of David
could have had resonance for Paul
as he moved from his former life
committing himself to the “Son of David”.
The speech thus fits neatly into the narrative,
showing Paul emerging as the Church’s key pioneer
as he moves from his old life into his new dynamic role.
The texts used at the climax of the speech
were certainly among those
the Church in its early days employed
to establish the nature of Christ’s Messiahship:
one who had conquered death
& thus been acknowledged
as the channel of God’s new power
restoring his world.
Luke has then shown a grasp
of Paul’s key tenets,
the inadequacy of the Law of Moses,
the primacy of grace
& the forgiveness of sins
coming into the world through Christ.
Luke has, however, placed this proclamation
in the context of a speech
which very much reflects his own viewpoint
& his special concerns.
There is a strong story-line:
no concept of a pre-existent Christ,
but simply a Saviour, sent by God
into a historical situation:
& Christ’s death comes not through the agency
of demonic powers & “rulers of this world”
but through ordinary people
acting in ignorance…
The fact that
“their leaders did not recognize him
or understand the words of the prophets”
reflects Christ’s prayer from the cross,
so central to Luke’s account of Calvary,
& reported only by Luke:
“Father forgive them,
for they do not know what they are doing.”
……………………………………………
Mark 4 vv 26 ~ 29
26 ‘The kingdom of heaven is like this.
A man scatters seed on the ground.
27 Then he goes to bed at night
& gets up in the morning,
& meanwhile the seed springs up & grows
~ how, he does not know.
28 The ground produces a crop by itself,
first the blade, then the ear,
then full grain in the ear;
29 but as soon as the crop is ripe,
he starts reaping because harvest time has come.’
……………………………………………….
How, he does not know.
This short parable,
powerful as it is,
is hard to interpret.
All Christ’s parables
have an element of allegory about them,
& this allegorical nature of the parables
was worked up by later generations.
One can see this process there already
in the Gospel texts:
The Parable of the Sower
has its interpretation attached to it:
The Seed = The Word of God.
In others details show how the parables were interpreted:
the death of the son of the owner of the vineyard
is to be interpreted by the Gospel readers
as Jesus himself….
who died outside the city wall
as the son of the vineyard owner
is murdered, his body thrown outside the vineyard.
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan
later generations interpreted details
in exactly this way…
so the Inn to which the victim is taken
is seen as being the Church,
while the oil & wine used to heal his wounds
are interpreted as being the sacraments.
In this story, though,
no immediate correlation
seems to work.
The farmer in such stories
is often interpreted as being God…
but does God go to sleep
& not know what is happening
to the seed he has planted?
Well, perhaps God is in for a surprise;
& perhaps God in giving humanity freedom
cannot tell what will be
the end-result of history…
But this seems a highly speculative
or deeply theological twist
to give to such a simple story.
Do we then interpret the farmer
as being humankind?
This would seem to be the more likely
way to begin interpreting the story.
However, once one starts to look
for some allegorical correlations
it has the same effect that comes
when someone starts explaining a joke.
One recalls Keats’ injunction
against unweaving the rainbow’s woof.
No, the parable belongs in the context
of so many of Christ’s short pithy sayings,
like those in the Sermon on the Mount,
where he seems simply drawing attention
to the way God made the world.
Light shines, salt has a tang,
fathers have a concern for their children.
Of course such sayings have implications:
Let your light shine,
have salt in yourselves,
look after your children…
but the sayings are not limited
by their interpretation.
They are saying, in effect,
“This is how God created the world,
& he continues to create & care in this way,
& looks to humanity to act like him
& indeed with him
& with him working through humanity.
So in this parable,
there is a recklessness & a trustfulness
& an ultimate resolve & astuteness
in the farmer’s activity & inactivity
which is found in creation
& can be looked for too
in human attitudes & behaviour.
“How, he does not know…”
There is no looking under the bonnet
to see how the engine is working,
there is no pulling up of the plant
to examine the roots:
there is & must be in the essence of our life
a mystery & a trustfulness
& a readiness ultimately to act with resolve
when purposes long hidden
& only gradually evolving
reach their intended end.
……………………………….
Acts 13 vv 1 ~ 12
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. But the magician Elymas (for that is the translation of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now listen—the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun.’ Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went about groping for someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.
…………………………………………………………
After fasting and praying
they laid their hands on them
and sent them off.
With fasting mentioned twice,
& a repeated note of the Holy Spirit’s role,
it is clear that we have here an understanding
that a new stage in the spread of the Gospel
has been reached.
In many ways we can see this move
as a natural development.
Barnabas had come from Cyprus
& it was natural for him to return home.
As a trader the sea voyage would not be out of the way;
& Paul has been his companion
on each of his journeys leading up to this point.
However, we do now find from this point onward
a much more detailed account
of the spread of the Gospel,
the sea-ports, for instance,
that see the beginning & end of journeys being noted.
Luke himself may have been present in Antioch,
confessing his presence under the name
“Lucius of Cyrene” here.
The presence of John Mark
is also a detail which is not really necessary to the story
but which shows knowledge of the relationships
~ not always easy ~
on which the growing movement depended:
Mark’s role as an “assistant”
could well refer to his task as a scribe,
caring for the texts used by these early teachers,
an assistant like those on whom Luke says he follows
in mapping out in his prologue his calling as an evangelist.
Paul himself, from this point on
is give the title of an apostle
as if Luke understood the laying on of hands
to have conferred that status;
& of course it is also suggested
that it was during the Cyprus mission
that he took his new name:
perhaps in honour of the proconsul
(the accurate title is used)
or perhaps to stress as Paul does in his letters
his role as the “least” of the apostles
dependent not on human strength
but on God’s grace alone.
…………………………………..
Acts 12 v 18 ~ end
When morning came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. When Herod had searched for him and could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.
Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him in a body; and after winning over Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for a reconciliation, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to them. The people kept shouting, ‘The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!’ And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents. Then after completing their mission Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem and brought with them John, whose other name was Mark.
……………………………………………………..
Herod was eaten by worms and died.
The dramatic death of Herod
is reported by the historian Josephus
who describes his royal robes glittering in the sun
at a similar public ceremony
after this son of Herod the Great
had been honoured by the Emperor Claudius.
However, behind this reporting
of an undoubtedly historical incident,
there is a narrative that makes a direct link
between the story of Jonah
& that of Peter who in Matthew 16 v 17,
when Jesus blesses him,
is called the son of Jonah.
The resonance the Old Testament had for the Early Church
is witnessed by the first Christian art
with sketches of the story in the catacombs.
In Christ’s teaching much is made
of the “sign” of Jonah
being the only sign given to Christ’s contemporaries;
& this is interpreted as the sign
of the conversion of the foreigners in Nineveh
foreshadowing the Gentiles accepting the Gospel,
& the sign of the whale foreshadowing the tomb
that held Christ captive for three days & nights.
The story on which Luke draws for his narrative
would seem to have had Peter
being an obedient Jonah,
not boarding a ship at Joppa as Jonah does,
but immediately obeying the summons
to preach to foreigners.
The various animals in Peter’s vision
may refer to the “much cattle” of Nineveh
on whom God has compassion
at the end of the Old Testament story.
As, however, Peter is portrayed as one
who was obedient where Jonah was disobedient,
King Herod Agrippa, in this story,
becomes a mirror image of the King of Nineveh.
The latter King proved his penitence
by taking off his regal garments
& putting on sack-cloth.
Herod, on the other hand,
shows his lack of penitence
for his assault on Peter & the Church
by putting on regal garments.
The Old Testament story ends with the strange incident
of the gourd that grows & withers
~an incident which upsets Jonah
but which proves God’s compassion for the great city
he decides not to destroy
because it had listened to Jonah & repented.
The story of Peter ends in a similarly strange way
with the death of Herod
who unlike the Ninevites
had not repented.
The gourd shrivelled because God had prepared
a worm to eat it up;
& Herod dies, “eaten by worms”!
……………………………………………………
Acts 12 vv 1 ~ 17
About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.
The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to him, ‘Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.’ He did so. Then he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’
As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying. When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind!’ But she insisted that it was so. They said, ‘It is his angel.’ Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed. He motioned to them with his hand to be silent, and described for them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he added, ‘Tell this to James and to the believers.’ Then he left and went to another place.
………………………………………………………………………
‘Tell this to James and to the believers.’
This is the last we really hear of Peter
apart from his fleeting appearance
at the Council of Jerusalem.
The letters of St Paul suggest
he was engaged in missionary work
particularly among Jewish communities;
& it is implied in Acts & in Paul’s letters
that any authority Peter had
was from this point ceded to James the brother of Jesus
who became “Bishop” of Jerusalem.
Tradition says that the other place
that this passage says Peter went to
was in fact Rome
from where he was to lead the Church
before being martyred there
during the persecution instigated by Nero.
However, this passage should probably be viewed
more as part of Luke’s intention
to show how the example f Jesus should be followed
& indeed could be followed
by each generation in turn.
Thus this story ends a sequence of stories about Peter
~ which could originally have stood on their own ~
showing how Peter’s life took forward
the life of Jesus himself.
This, then, is the Passion & Resurrection of Peter.
It takes place in Jerusalem at the Passover
& ends with the command to tell James
just as the Gospel story ends
with a command to tell Peter.
The history of the Early Church
becomes for Luke rather like a relay race,
the baton of the Gospel being passed on
as the forces of evil attempt in vain
to intercept it.
……………………………………….
Matthew 9 vv 9 ~ 13
9 As Jesus was walking along,
he saw a man called Matthew
sitting at the tax booth;
and he said to him,
‘Follow me.’
And he got up and followed him.
10 And as he sat at dinner in the house,
many tax-collectors and sinners came
and were sitting with him and his disciples.
11 When the Pharisees saw this,
they said to his disciples,
‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’
12 But when he heard this, he said,
‘Those who are well have no need of a physician,
but those who are sick.
13 Go and learn what this means,
“I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’
…………………………………………………………
He saw a man called Matthew
sitting at the tax booth…
Nathaniel when Jesus called him
was sitting down ~ under the fig tree.
The first disciples Jesus called
were sitting down mending their nets.
Matthew in the same way
is at work ~ but sitting down.
Jesus calls each in turn;
& they have to rise & start walking.
To be a true disciple
one has to start moving,
to take off on a journey.
But that all said,
no sooner has called Matthew
than we see them both seated,
this time in Matthew’s home,
both of them sitting down,
& many more sitting with them.
Jesus & his disciples are indeed
constantly on the move;
but they are ready to pause,
to accept hospitality,
& indeed to go where the world is.
Jesus sits down to eat & to talk;
but one wonders how long it will be
before he says to the all those sitting there,
“Rise, come with me…
Let’s get going.”
…………………………………………..
Acts 11 vv 1 ~ 18
Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.” And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’ When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’
……………………………………………………………..
Who was I that I could hinder God?
There is a strong sense of destiny
in the narrative of the acts of the Apostles.
Although there is consistently seen to be
a place for individual freedom
~ Judas & then Ananias & Sapphira
are shown wilfully mapping out their own grim future ~
one knows all the while
that God has a purpose for his world
& will persist with its fulfilment
leaning very heavily on humankind
that he might find there partners
to bring his fruit to harvest time.
It is, therefore, seen best
not to resist God’s will:
This is the advice of Gamaliel:
“If this thing is from God it will succeed.”
It is also how Paul sees his vocation:
“I was not disobedient,” he tells King Agrippa,
“to the heavenly vision.
Likewise here Peter
has seen God take the initiative
in giving Cornelius & his household
the gift of the Holy Spirit
& has made the simple decision
to go along with God.
…………………………………………………….
Acts 10 v 34 ~ end
Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
………………………………………………….
They invited him to stay for several days.
The implication is that Peter accepted the invitation;
but such is the clarity of purpose on his part here
it is difficult to imagine him
accepting the stricter Jerusalem line
as Paul alleges in Galatians 2 v 11 ff.
Assuming it is Luke who is attributing to Peter
a much more positive & proactive role
in the mission to non-Jews,
we can but assume that the agenda of the Holy Spirit
was not quite so clear cut in reality
as the Acts of the Apostles suggests.
This particular passage
seems to be meant round off neatly
the first main section of the book,
referring back as it does
to the events of the Day of Pentecost.
there the baptized Jewish followers of Christ
receive the Holy Spirit
& talk in different languages;
here new Gentile followers
receive the Holy Spirit,
speak different languages
& then are baptized.
It is possible to reconcile the differences between Acts & Paul’s letters
at least in this area,
by assuming that there was agreement
that Gentiles should be welcomed into the church
~ after all Jews accepted proselytes
~ converts into their ranks ~
& Christians could very well have done the same.
The controversy arose during the debates
over the lifestyle the new mixed communities
should adopt.
Here Peter could have been swayed
by James & the Jerusalem contingent
as Paul suggests.
After all, his vision,
even though it was couched in imagery
drawn from the Mosaic food laws,
was not about eating together as a community
but about the basic fact that non-Jews should become
baptized members of the Church.
……………………………………………..
Matthew 20 vv 1 ~ 16
Jesus said to his disciples:
1 ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard.
2 After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
3 When he went out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the market-place;
4 and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard,
and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went.
5 When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock,
he did the same.
6 And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around;
and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?”
7 They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.”
He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.”
8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager,
“Call the labourers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and then going to the first.”
9 When those hired about five o’clock came,
each of them received the usual daily wage.
10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more;
but each of them also received the usual daily wage.
11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner,
12 saying, “These last worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us
who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.”
13 But he replied to one of them,
“Friend, I am doing you no wrong;
did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
14 Take what belongs to you and go;
I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.
15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?
Or are you envious because I am generous?”
16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’
……………………………………………………………………
Are you envious because I am generous?”
One can understand the muttering,
just as one can understand the sulk
of the elder son
when the prodigal is welcomed home.
The rules are there & the workers employed first,
just like the elder son,
have played fair by them.
But then somehow they feel,
as the late workers are paid the same as them,
as the younger son s welcomed home,
that the goal posts have shifted.
Why should they have worked those long hours
~ or in the elder son’s case perhaps
those long years ~
if others are to be treated the same as them?
In neither story is God mentioned;
but it is self-evident that both parables
point towards the exercise of God’s grace
which has been found so unsettling.
We must also find in the background
of these two stories
the way God’s generosity
is being played out in the Early Church:
Children, the ill, the unlearned,
foreigners & society’s pariahs
are being given a welcome
in this new society
that seeks to reflect the whole world
as God intends it to be.
So these stories can still impinge upon our everyday lives
& unsettle them.
Of course we believe in a God who plays fair,
who demands equal shares for all,
who makes the rough places smooth
& brings down the mighty from their seat.
Such a God can tally with our expectations of & work for
a just society.
“Equal opportunities for all”
is a watchword of a just society
as it is fashioned by our educational system & our welfare regime.
But such well-intentioned concepts
~ so much under strain in a world
without endless financial resources ~
break down completely
once we try & implement the ideals of God’s grace
& his superabundant love.
How can this sort of policy be applied at all
we may well ask
in a world where we cannot borrow endlessly
piling up a greater & greater debt
to be born by future generations?
In a world where the number of people is growing
& the amount of available resources is shrinking,
surely there can be very little opportunity
for us to apply the tenets of the extravagant giving of God
as held up for us as an example & an inspiration
so challengingly in these two parables?
But wait….
what are the two parables actually saying.
Although the mathematics are by no means the be all & end all
it is worth looking first at them.
To have increased the pay
of those employed first
would have cost more.
The employment of extra hands late in the day
would not have given such good return
to the madcap owner of the vineyard….
but presumably he was still within budget.
And on top of this, with the saying
“Half a loaf is better than no bread” in mind
we can conclude that more was generated by the last workers
than would have been the case
had they remained in the dole queue
& their penny remained in their employee’s pocket.
The same might be said of the finances of the return of the prodigal.
He had received his half of the inheritance;
so it could be said that on his return
he was filching something which by rights
should have ultimately belonged
to the elder brother;
however, there is nothing to say that the inheritance
had not increased while the prodigal had been away
cattle would have calved & more harvest reaped & more seed sown.
And, in any case, there is nothing to say
that the father did actually give the Prodigal an extra cu:
the fatted calf aside,
all it is said that he received
was a warm welcome.
And that after all is the point of the two stories.
The economy of God’s love
cannot be measured in terms tracing it down to the last decimal point.
It is above all simply a matter of attitude.
And attitude is not an airy fairy thing.
It counts:
in the work-place, in the class-room, in the home
just as much as it does on the psychiatrist’s couch.
A grudging & grumbling work-force
will not come up with the goods
any more than will a penny-pinching attitude
on the part of the management.
There is so much that can be done
before the decimal points are4 decided.
There have to be pay & conditions policies;
& conditions do not have to cost in the way that pay does;
& as the parable of the workers in the vineyard also makes clear
pay bargains need not cost
quite as much as an outraged sense of justice
might cost touchy feelings.
We all have heard stories of people
who have foregone benefits
for the sake of their firm:
management deciding to forego pay rises,
workers agreeing to work fewer hours
rather than face redundancy.
Sometimes such decisions are made for show
or out of dire necessity;
but often they are made while facing hard facts on one side
& out of sheer belief in a greater good on the other.
It is a question of a positive attitude
leading to positive policies
which, it is hoped, will have positive results.
It is the same in the class-room & the home.
Why should that student be praised
when they have not scored so consistently
as those at the top of the class?
But praise has cost nothing
& it is more likely to lead
to greater effort
than criticism & curt put downs.
So this is the policy of God.
The world he has made has limited resources
but the world without end,
which is the one we are called to administer,
is a world of love without end
& so also a world with hope without end,
& a world enriched by a faith in a God
whose expectations of us
knows no limits.
……………………………………..
Acts 10 vv 17 ~33
Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon’s house and were standing by the gate. They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Look, three men are searching for you. Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them.’ So Peter went down to the men and said, ‘I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?’ They answered, ‘Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.’ So Peter invited them in and gave them lodging.
The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the believers from Joppa accompanied him. The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. On Peter’s arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshipped him. But Peter made him get up, saying, ‘Stand up; I am only a mortal.’ And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled; and he said to them, ‘You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?’
Cornelius replied, ‘Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me. He said, “Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter; he is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.” Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.’
………………………………………………………..
So Peter invited them in and gave them lodging.
This is a dramatic & crucial moment
in the life of the Early Church;
but it is typical of St Luke
that he puts in a gently domestic context.
Before Peter accepts the hospitality of Cornelius
he extends hospitality to his emissaries.
In this way, barriers are broken down.
Likewise the vision itself,
reminiscent of the opening of the heavens
at Christ’s Baptism & at his Transfiguration,
has a delightful “Noah’s Ark”
or supermarket feel to it.
Although the great controversy that is to follow
ranging around the mission f Paul,
concerns kocha food as well as circumcision,
the story here seems blissfully unaware of the cultural complexity
of such issues.
As the command, “Kill & eat!” comes in a vision,
& Peter is not depicted going off to a butcher’s shop,
one feels this is perhaps to be counted
as “just a dream”
~ a parable of more general relationships
rather than a command deliberately to overthrow
all the Mosaic commands.
…………………………………………….
Acts 10 vv 1 ~ 16
In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, ‘Cornelius.’ He stared at him in terror and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ He answered, ‘Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter; he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.’ When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him, and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa.
About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. Then he heard a voice saying, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.’ The voice said to him again, a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.
…………………………………………………………
He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.
We have already been told in the last chapter
that this is where Peter is.
Luke has an especial interest in hospitality
& often notes those who extend it
& those who receive it.
However, the occupation of Simon
is of significance.
The skins of animals that had to be treated by such men
brought them into contact with animals
which would have been considered unclean
in a strict interpretation of the Mosaic law.
Paul would have had similar contact
with the skins of animals
in following his trade as a tent-maker:
tents were made of dried skins.
The residence of Peter
thus prepares him for the dream
he experiences in this residence
~ indeed Simon’s trade could well have prompted it.
It is not made clear
what Peter was doing in his travels.
It was in such travels that Jesus encountered
the Syro-Phoenician woman
who was longing for help
& was at first rejected.
Travels in this territory
would have exposed Peter to such contacts.
The coastal region, the old Philistine territory,
was a doorway to the cosmopolitan world
nurtured first by Greece & then by Rome.
What was Peter’s attitude to such a society?
Did he need a vision to prompt him
to bring the Gospel to those living in this area?
Luke’s main purpose, though,
in this long & carefully told narrative,
is to ensure that the initiative
for the world-wide mission of the Church
is seen to come from Jerusalem & the apostles.
His concern is therefore to establish this
before embarking on the story of Paul
~ which naturally suggests taken on its own
that Paul was the leading if not the sole pioneer
of this radical move.
……………………………………………
Acts 9 v 32 ~ end
Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralysed. Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!’ And immediately he got up. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.
………………………………………………………………………..
Peter put all of them outside.
The stories about Peter that begin here
seem to take up the narrative featuring him & John
before it broke off to tell the stories
of Philip & the Ethiopian eunuch
& of Paul travelling to & from Damascus.
It seems an idealized account
owing much to the gospel stories of healing.
Sometimes strangely an odd detail
present in Mark but omitted by Luke
occurs in Luke’s narrative here:
the common word for a mattress
rather than a bed, for instance.
Luke does not say Peter was present
at the healing of the daughter of Jairus,
whereas Mark mentions him.
That “raising” is very similar
to that of Tabitha here:
Peter, like Jesus, is summoned from a distance,
& the words to the dead, the old woman & the young girl,
are very similar;
& in both tales the mourners are ejected,
Mark using the word “all”
which Luke uses here.
Once again we see the nature of discipleship:
almost literally following,
copying & thus continuing
the ministry of Jesus.
……………………………….
John 3 vv 13 ~ 17
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
13 ‘No one has ascended into heaven
except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not perish
but may have eternal life.
17 Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through him.’
……………………………………………………………….
Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up…
This passage is selected as the Gospel
for the Feast of the holy cross.
Jesus refers to the story in Numbers 21
of fiery snakes biting those who grumbled
on the journey to the Promised Land.
When they repented Moses cured them
by erecting a bronze serpent on a pole
& commanding them to gaze at it.
A similar command is given in Isaiah 45:22:
“Look to Me, and be saved,
all you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other…”
The biblical evangelist Charles Spurgeon
was so impressed by this passage
that he took the picture of the serpent on a pole
as a logo for his publications.
What impressed Spurgeon was that the healing
came about simply by the people looking at the snake:
it was a re-orientation of their lives
by looking in a new direction.
But what was the meaning of the image
to which the people had to raise their eyes?
In a way it was like the folk medicine
typified in the saying, “a hair of the dog that bit you…”
as a cure for a hangover…
which is not dissimilar to the science of vaccination,
deliberately infecting someone on a small scale
to create immunity from a major infection.
On the other hand the picture of the snake
impaled on a pole
could simply be a heartening & encouraging image:
the snake with its neck caught in the fork of a pole
is no longer a danger.
The fact that the snake was of bronze
might underscore the correctness of this interpretation.
The Hebrew words for “bronze” & “snake”
are very similar, so they could be two translations
of the same original image;
but bronze is a metal that has passed through fire…
the snake has thus been not only impaled
but rendered impotent by passing through fire.
Such images of evil rendering evil impotent
are there in the Greek images of the rods
of Mercury, whose caduceus has two intertwined snakes,
& of Asclepius whose pole survives as the doctor’s sign today.
The Moses story was probably one that attempted
to explain a Canaanite serpent idol
which could well have had a similar significance,
but was seen as a mere idol when King Hezekiah
reformed worship in the Jerusalem temple
& had the bronze serpent smashed:
2 Kings 18 v 4:
“Hezekiak broke in pieces the bronze serpent
that Moses had made;
for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan…”
For the Fourth Gospel the pole becomes
an image of the cross…
with Jesus strangely pictured as a snake:
He has, in undergoing the death of a criminal,
taken on himself the world’s evil…
& then through his suffering
has drawn the sting of both sin & of pain.
………………………………………………………..
Acts 9 vv 1 ~ 19a
Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ The men who were travelling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’ But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus.
…………………………………………………….
That you may regain your sight
and be filled with the Holy Spirit….
The story of Paul’s conversion
is told three times in Acts,
each with minor variations.
Here there are several medical details
perhaps marking Luke’s own interpretation of the story.
Fasting could well be part of the cure for blindness, & eating an act certifying the cure;
but equally these may be part of the custom
followed as a preparation for baptism
followed by a celebration of the ceremony.
In his own letters Paul omits any mention of Ananias.
He is concerned to stress that his conversion
was God’s work alone.
Paul is also keen to stress his independence
of the Church in Jerusalem & the apostles.
To this extent the narrative of Acts agrees,
for having emphasized the necessary role
in the conversion of the Samaritans
of the apostles laying hands on converts
before they received the Holy Spirit,
here Ananias,
~ who seems to have no connection with Jerusalem
or with any of the apostles ~
brings Paul into the community of faith
by laying hands on him
& that he might receive the Holy Spirit.
……………………………………………………
Acts 8 v 26 ~ end
Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:
‘Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.’
The eunuch asked Philip, ‘About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’ He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
………………………………………………………………..
When they came up out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away;
the eunuch saw him no more,
and went on his way rejoicing.
This passage, which has many Old Testament echoes
apart from the key one to the Suffering Servant
(Zephaniah 2 vv 4 & 11, & 3 v 4;
1 Kings 17 vv 2 & 9, 2 Kings 1 vv 3 & 15,
Jonah 1 v 2 & 3 v 2),
is nevertheless a story which is similar in tone
to other narratives found only in Luke
with their journeys & conversations
~ particularly we may be reminded of the Walk to Emmaus.
The story ends, however, with some abruptness.
The semi mystical conclusion
of Philip disappearing from the scene
is rather like the way Jesus vanishes at Emmaus
once the disclosure point has been reached.
Also, the joy of the eunuch
is like that of the of joy the Samaritans
when they have embraced the Gospel.
Then again the end of the story ties in exactly
with the appearance of Philip in Caesarea
when in chapter 21 the first person plural
suggests that Luke is staying with Philip
& so could have gained first hand information
about such an incident as this.
However, the particular abruptness comes
with the account of the baptism itself.
The parallel with Christ’s baptism
suggests that the Spirit,
instead of snatching Philip away,
should have descended on the eunuch,
who goes back to his own country
without the gift of the Spirit
which has been so important in the narrative of Acts
up to this point.
The reason for this discrepancy
could well be the difficulty Luke has
of recording this narrative
immediately after that of the Samaritans’ conversion
which needed the laying on of hands
by the Apostles in order to authenticate the Baptism.
Such a difficulty would account for
this careful (yet clumsy!) piece of editing.
What remains, though, is the witness
to a very important milestone
in the expansion of the Church.
The eunuch could well have been a proselyte or a god-fearer
~ why else would he have visited Judea
& be reading the Hebrew scriptures? ~
but he was still a foreigner
& as such, without being circumcised for instance,
is accepted as a baptized member of the Church
just as he is.
Philip’s action in this respect
is a piece of significant pioneering
which takes place with none of the controversy
which is to surround the actions
of both Peter & Paul in this same field.
…………………………………….
Matthew 18 vv 21 ~ 35
21 Peter came and said to Jesus,
‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me,
how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’
22 Jesus said to him,
‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
23 For this reason the kingdom of heaven
may be compared to a king
who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
24 When he began the reckoning,
one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him;
25 and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold,
together with his wife and children and all his possessions,
and payment to be made.
26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying,
“Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.”
27 And out of pity for him,
the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.
28 But that same slave, as he went out,
came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii;
and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.”
29 Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him,
“Have patience with me, and I will pay you.”
30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison
until he would pay the debt.
31 When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened,
they were greatly distressed,
& they went & reported to their lord all that had taken place.
32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him,
“You wicked slave!
I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave,
as I had mercy on you?”
34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured
until he would pay his entire debt.
35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you,
if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’
………………………………………………….
Acts 8 vv 4 ~ 25
Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word. 5Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. 6The crowds with one accord listened eagerly to what was said by Philip, hearing and seeing the signs that he did, 7for unclean spirits, crying with loud shrieks, came out of many who were possessed; and many others who were paralysed or lame were cured. 8So there was great joy in that city.
9 Now a certain man named Simon had previously practised magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great. 10All of them, from the least to the greatest, listened to him eagerly, saying, ‘This man is the power of God that is called Great.’ 11And they listened eagerly to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12But when they believed Philip, who was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Even Simon himself believed. After being baptized, he stayed constantly with Philip and was amazed when he saw the signs and great miracles that took place.
14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit 16(for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). 17Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19saying, ‘Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ 20But Peter said to him, ‘May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money! 21You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God. 22Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness.’ 24Simon answered, ‘Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.’
25 Now after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans.
……………………………………………….
‘This man is the power of God that is called Great.’
The word for “great” is very similar to that for a Magician.
Simon Magus has become the byword
for those buying spiritual powers;
but his bent, before & after his conversion,
would seem to have been the belief
that one could channel & manipulate
spiritual powers
~ exactly what magic is about.
Very often we see in the Acts of the Apostles
Paul expressing his faith
in a style which would more naturally belong to Peter,
& Peter being the one who articulates
Pauline theology.
Here is a case in point:
the idea that salvation can be attained
by human exertion rather than by God’s grace
is Paul’s constant theme.
Here it is Peter who rejects such a notion of power.
The “greatness” of Simon Magus
is thus to be contrasted with the humility of Saul
who is to take the name “Paul” ~ “Little”.
The visit of Peter & John to Samaria
underlines one of the concerns of Luke:
to show how the Early Church was held together
by an authority that stemmed
at least in the first decade or so
from Jerusalem & the Apostles.
Philip’s mission in Samaria
anticipated that of Paul later.
Although Luke bears witness here
to the strategic importance of Philip’s work,
it was to be dwarfed by the breakthrough
in Asia Minor & then Greece.
Much of the theological groundwork
for the worldwide mission of the Church
must have been laid out in Samaria.
It has thus been credibly suggested
that the lost Q document shared by Matthew & Luke
& much of St John’s Gospel
bear witness to the work in Samaria
first of Philip & then of Peter & John
as lightly sketched in here.
……………………………………….
Acts 7 v 54 ~ 8 v 3
When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.
And Saul approved of their killing him.
That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison.
……………………………………………………………
‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’
Luke seems here to deliberately model the death of Stephen
upon the death of Jesus,
with both of them praying
for those responsible for their deaths.
The other small detail in both narratives
is the way the executions take place outside the city.
This, as it were, spells out the way
Jesus & Stephen are rejected: literally cast out.
There is also a parallel with Christ’s Baptism
where he sees the heavens opened.
Paul later works out the identification
(initially made by Jesus in his question to James & John
“Can you be baptized with my baptism?”)
between a Christian’s vocation
expressed both in Baptism & self-sacrifice.
For Paul, though, the believer & Christ are one:
he speaks of being crucified with Christ.
For Luke it is more a matter of following in Christ’s footsteps.
So Stephen has here the vision of Jesus
in touch with his suffering Church,
but above, removed, looking on.
The connection between Jesus & his followers
is the Holy Spirit, sent down on the day of Pentecost
& here enabling Stephen to see his fate
in a new & emboldening perspective.
…………………………………………………
Acts 7 vv 44 ~ 53
‘Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the wilderness, as God directed when he spoke to Moses, ordering him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. Our ancestors in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors. And it was there until the time of David, who found favour with God and asked that he might find a dwelling-place for the house of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says,
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is the place of my rest?
Did not my hand make all these things?”
‘You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are for ever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.’
………………………………………………………….
And it was there until the time of David, who found favour with God.
It could be imagined that Stephen
was not allowed to finish his speech,
having so angered his accusers
that they ended it for him.
However, as it stands
the text does make sense;
& it has been pointed out that in the Greek
it concludes with a succession of harsh consonants
as if Stephen was almost spitting out his words
with great anger.
It certainly suits Luke’s purpose
to have the speech end with an attack on the temple,
for thus a parallel is drawn between this trial
& the trial of Jesus
~ although the Gospel record is not totally consistent
with the idea that Jesus did attack the temple:
those who allege this are “false” witnesses,
& their testimony “did not agree”.
However, Stephen’s attack on the temple,
if such it is, comes late in the speech.
what is consistent throughout
is that those sent by God (Joseph, Moses, the prophets)
were ignored & indeed attacked.
Dramatically, then, the whole speech
is an appropriate overture
to the death of the first martyr.
The speech’s further consistent theme
is the fact that the rejection & suffering comes
because those attacked were like Jesus “Righteous”;
& righteousness lies, self-evidently for Stephen,
in the keeping of the Law…
a diametrically opposed view to Paul’s
who saw “righteousness” coming
through God’s grace setting people right
all their moral endeavours having ended in failure.
The background to Stephen’s slant on Jewish history
is that of a people who have, like God,
no fixed abode: the nomadic life is in their genes.
However, this is not necessarily an invalidation
of the building of the temple.
The first home for the ark
on its arrival in the Promised Land
under the guidance of Joshua
(a name which in Aramaic becomes Jesus)
is in Samaritan territory;
& that is the natural implication of the words
“there until the time of David.”
What perhaps, therefore, touches his opponents on the raw
is this implied identification
of the despised Samaritans
with those rejected for upholding the Law of Moses;
while what could well have angered Paul
even when still known as Saul
was the way Stephen makes the Law of Moses
the touchstone of Hebrew history
through to the time when it culminated
in the death of Christ, the Righteous One.
………………………………….
Acts 7 vv 17 ~ 43
‘But as the time drew near for the fulfilment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased and multiplied until another king who had not known Joseph ruled over Egypt. He dealt craftily with our race and forced our ancestors to abandon their infants so that they would die. At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful before God. For three months he was brought up in his father’s house; and when he was abandoned, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. So Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds.
‘When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his relatives, the Israelites. When he saw one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his kinsfolk would understand that God through him was rescuing them, but they did not understand. The next day he came to some of them as they were quarrelling and tried to reconcile them, saying, “Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong each other?” But the man who was wronging his neighbour pushed Moses aside, saying, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” When he heard this, Moses fled and became a resident alien in the land of Midian. There he became the father of two sons.
‘Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord: “I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, “Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.”
‘It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, “Who made you a ruler and a judge?” and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, “God will raise up a prophet for you from your own people as he raised me up.” He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living oracles to give to us. Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him; instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, “Make gods for us who will lead the way for us; as for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.” At that time they made a calf, offered a sacrifice to the idol, and revelled in the works of their hands. But God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
“Did you offer to me slain victims and sacrifices
for forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
No; you took along the tent of Moloch,
and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you made to worship;
so I will remove you beyond Babylon.”
………………………………………………………
Moses received living oracles to give to us.
In Galatians 3 v 19
Paul describes Moses receiving the ten commandments
through angels as God’s intermediary.
However, whereas Paul obviously felt
this diminished the value of the Law,
for Stephen here it enhances it.
Moses is a Law giver whose Law was rejected;
& Jesus in a similar way
is seen as one who taught righteousness
& was in his turn rejected.
For Stephen this meant a convincing identification
of Jesus with the prophet foretold in Deuteronomy
“like unto Moses”.
For Paul, is meant a diminishing of God’s purpose;
& he could well have been unsettled by Stephen’s stance
even before he himself became a Christian
& found in Christ’s teaching & in his death & resurrection
a validation of his belief in God’s grace
as being greater than the commands issued on Sinai.
……………………………………………………….
Acts 7 vv 1 ~ 16
Then the high priest asked him, ‘Are these things so?’ And Stephen replied:
‘Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, “Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.” Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there to this country in which you are now living. He did not give him any of it as a heritage, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as his possession and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child. And God spoke in these terms, that his descendants would be resident aliens in a country belonging to others, who would enslave them and maltreat them for four hundred years. “But I will judge the nation that they serve,” said God, “and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.” Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
‘The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him, and rescued him from all his afflictions, and enabled him to win favour and to show wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. Now there came a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan, and great suffering, and our ancestors could find no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there on their first visit. On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five in all; so Jacob went down to Egypt. He himself died there as well as our ancestors, and their bodies were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
………………………………………………………….
They shall come out and worship me in this place.
At first sight Stephen’s speech seems merely to be
a summary of Jewish history;
but the slant given to the familiar story
makes it something of a subversive tract.
In the Genesis record,
God appears to Abraham at Haran
while he is en route to the Promised Land;
here, as in the historians Philo & Josephus,
the call comes even further from Jewish territory,
while Abraham is still in Mesopotamia.
It is then stressed that Abraham himself
owned none of the land promised to his descendants.
God then speaks to Abraham
about the eventual escape from Egypt,
& speaks about their worship in this place.
In the Exodus story the Israelites escape
in order to worship rear Mount Sinai;
& the Jews of Jerusalem interpreted the command
given to Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy
to worship in a place yet to be revealed
as being Jerusalem & its temple.
But “this place” for Abraham
must have meant the territory
where he received this call
& that would certainly rule out Jerusalem
as the intended place of worship.
What Stephen has in mind becomes clear
at the end of the first section of his speech
where he alters the Exodus record
of Jacob being buried at Hebron in Judean territory
& has him & the other patriarchs
being buried at the burial place of Joseph,
at Shechem, the tomb purchased by Abraham.
This town was close to the shrine
where the Samaritans worshipped, Mount Gerazim;
& Stephen is implying that if the travelling nomads
were to have any particular focus for their worship
it should be here rather than in Jerusalem.
As Stephen’s speech now stands
it becomes an attack on the temple,
& so shows Stephen’s trial being similar
to that of Jesus earlier,
Christ being accused of threatening to destroy the temple.
The most part of the speech, however,
has a slightly different drift.
Especially in its second section
it presents Moses as prefiguring Jesus.
In its account of Abraham here
& then in its version of the Exodus saga
the speech would seem to have been
something of a manifesto for the mission to Samaria,
a presentation of Jesus
as the Messiah for whom they longed,
one “like unto Moses”.
…………………………..
Acts 6
Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.’ What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and others of those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they secretly instigated some men to say, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.’ They stirred up the people as well as the elders and the scribes; then they suddenly confronted him, seized him, and brought him before the council. They set up false witnesses who said, ‘This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us.’ And all who sat in the council looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
……………………………………………………………………………..
Then some of those
who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called),
Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and others of those from Cilicia and Asia,
stood up and argued with Stephen.
Suddenly in this chapter Luke uses the word “disciples”
& this suggests to some that he begins here
using a new source.
A close reading of chapter 21
suggests that during Paul’s imprisonment in Jerusalem & Caesarea
Luke stayed with or close to Philip,
& it is possible that he gained information
on this part of his narrative from him.
Certainly the lists of the Seven & their opponents
suggests first hand information;
& Stephen’s speech itself
is very different from the other speeches in Acts,
& seems to be a text that originally stood on its own.
All that said,
there is an element of artistry about this narrative,
the “grumbling” recalling the grumbling of the Israelites
on their journey through the desert (Numbers 11)
while the appointment of the seven
owes something to another section of the Exodus story
~ the appointment of the elders in Numbers 27.
The story of the Seven is thus another art of the New Testament
which makes deliberate parallels with the story of Moses.
The expectation of a prophet “like unto Moses”
was particularly strong in Samaria
as the Samaritans naturally did not share
the Jerusalem hope for a Davidic Messiah.
Philip’s eventual mission to Samaria
could well thus have been framed
to present Jesus as the fulfilment of the hope
for a new Moses;
& in this respect it is interesting to note another parallel
between the appointment of the Seven
& Christ’s appointment of the Seventy
preparing for the Samaritan mission (Luke 10).
The mission to Samaria
is presented by Luke as the first stage
of the expansion of the Church beyond Jerusalem,
& thus an overture to the great mission of Paul.
However, the two missions though they had much in common
~ particularly in their proclamation of Abraham
as the father of many nations & not exclusively the Jews ~
had a very different agenda
~ particularly in their attitude to Moses.
For Stephen, he was a hero whose life
foreshadowed that of Jesus;
& presumably this was the Gospel
taken up by Philip in his mission.
For Paul, Moses, the mediator of the Law
had to be one who was superseded by Jesus…
for the mission of Paul was to those
whom he could not ask to accept
the whole of the Mosaic commandments.
Although Luke is to present Paul’s conversion
as a dramatic volte-face,
the arguments he was to put forward
in his letters to Galatia & Rome
could well be those espoused in opposing Stephen
in the latter’s presentation of Jesus the successor of Moses,
& thus essentially simply a Righteous Teacher.
The divergence between Paul’s teaching
& that of the Seven
could well be seen emerging as early as this,
for presumably Paul of Tarsus could have been among those
mentioned here as being of the synagogue of the “Freedmen”
based in his home district of Cilicia…
those who were among the opponents of Stephen.
……………………………………………………….
Matthew 18 vv 15 ~ 20
Jesus spoke to his disciples.
15 ‘If another member of the church sins against you,
go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.
If the member listens to you,
you have regained that one.
16 But if you are not listened to,
take one or two others along with you,
so that every word may be confirmed
by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
17 If the member refuses to listen to them,
tell it to the church;
and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church,
let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector.
18 Truly I tell you,
whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 Again, truly I tell you,
if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask,
it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name,
I am there among them.’
………………………………………………….
Where two or three are gathered in my name,
I am there among them.
In the prayer of St John Chrysostom
as it appears in the Book of Common Prayer,
this becomes,
“When one or two are gathered together
in my name
I will grant their requests.”
This seems at first a a bit of an exaggeration
of the initial promise of Jesus.
However, even as it stands,
it is quite a remarkable promise.
This is a point where Matthew’s Gospel
seems to come close
to spelling out the affirmation
found in Paul’s letters
that the Church is not a collection of individuals,
but in fact represents Christ,
or even, IS Christ:
“We are the Body of Christ!”
“We have the mind of Christ!”
Christ’s resurrected body
is not an ephemeral ghost
glimpsed at various points
by one or two individuals,
but is experienced in the communal living
to which the Early Church was committed.
One might see this phenomenon
even prior to Paul’s writing
~ in his conversion experience itself…
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
Paul was not persecuting Christ of course
but his followers,
crucifying Christ once more
as he attacked them.
Can we see this proclamation of a solidarity
between Christ & his Church
reaching back to the time of Jesus himself?
If this saying is indeed part
of his original teaching
~ as its context suggests ~
then we may conclude it does emanate from him
& is not some wishful theology
dreamt up by his followers
when smitten by withdrawal symptoms
& needing the reassurance
of their Risen Master’s presence.
It has been suggested that the teaching
about “two or three” gathered together
could well tie up with rabbinic
& indeed Jewish legal thinking.
We have in the trial of Jesus
the record of the requirement
of “ two or three” witnesses agreeing
in order to establish a case.
In a similar way,
two or three messengers from a rabbi
could be thought of as representing that rabbi.
Jesus thus sends out his disciples in pairs,
& the record of the Acts of the Apostles
seems incidentally
to bear out the way this practice was continued:
Peter & John, Paul & Barnabas,
& then Paul & Silas.
Paul’s letters, though very much Paul’s,
are often linked with Timothy,
as if he were a co-author & not just a scribe.
What is beyond question
is that Jesus called together a group
& put a high premium
on that group’s communality.
The Last Supper
is a key expression of this practice,
& all traditions point
to the communality of the meal
having as its focus Christ’s coming passion
& the invitation to those participating in the meal
to participate also in that imminent experience.
Two or three gathered together in Christ’s name
thus became the hall-mark
of both worship & action.
Matthew, it may well be noted,
preserves this saying
in the context of peace-making.
Being gathered in Christ’s name
means being in agreement,
being part of a forgiving & forgiven community.
Where bread is shared, where love is shared,
a mind is also shared, a purpose is shared…
shared by the members of the group
but also shared & owned
by the one in whose name they meet.
If this is so, Cranmer & John Chrysostom
are not that far from the truth
in seeing in such communion
the assurance of prayers answered.
This then surely must be the driving force
behind our concern to work
for the fair sharing of the world’s resources today.
Sharing a common mind
means sharing a common task,
a task bequeathed by the one
who saw in broken bread his broken body,
one still committed to working in & through
those two or three
who continue to meet in his name.
…………………………………………….
Acts 5 v 27 ~ end
When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, ‘We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour, so that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’
When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time. Then he said to them, ‘Fellow-Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared. After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!’
They were convinced by him, and when they had called in the apostles, they had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonour for the sake of the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.
…………………………………………………………………………..
If this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail;
but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.
Paul is said to have studied under Gamaliel;
& Gamaliel himself was a pupil of Hillel
one of the greatest teacher amongst the Pharisees.
Although in the Gospels
the Pharisees appear as Christ’s constant opponents,
their form of Judaism was close to the emerging Christianity,
& in Acts they are cast generally in a more favourable light.
Although Paul’s conversion is depicted
as a radical volte face,
it is probable that he learnt & treasured
much from the Pharisaic tradition.
Gamaliel could well therefore have been
ready to sympathise with the early Church’s general stance;
however, his portrayal here, it must be admitted,
owes much to Luke’s artistry.
He is ready to find in the ranks of the Jews
people like Simeon in the infancy narratives
ready to welcome the new age;
& he brings on a cast of those in power,
ranging from Pilate himself to Herod Agrippa
whom he portrays as ready to give Jesus & his followers
the benefit of the doubt.
The historical events referred to in Gamaliel’s speech
are mentioned also by the historian Josephus;
& some have therefore argued that Luke
must have written after Josephus
& so towards the end of the first century.
However, Josephus was as dependent upon sources as was Luke
& they could well have been using the same texts or traditions.
Theudas & Judas come 40 years apart
in the chronology Josephus preserves,
& if his is correct, then the revolt of Theudas
occurred in 44CE whereas Luke has Gamaliel refer to it
eight years before it happened.
One way of reconciling this is to suggest
the intervention of Gamaliel occurred
during one of the later trials of the apostles;
but although Luke claims to be setting things out
in chronological order,
he is far more concerned to show
the Early Church as a divinely inspired
& beneficial movement;
so it is highly appropriate for him
to record Gamaliel’s speech here
making it contrast Christianity
with the more violent revolts against Rome
& so prefacing his record of the Church’s outward movement
with this testimony to its divine inspiration.
……………………………………………
Acts 5 vv 12 ~ 26
Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by. A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.
Then the high priest took action; he and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), being filled with jealousy, arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, brought them out, and said, ‘Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life.’ When they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching.
When the high priest and those with him arrived, they called together the council and the whole body of the elders of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the temple police went there, they did not find them in the prison; so they returned and reported, ‘We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.’ Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed about them, wondering what might be going on. Then someone arrived and announced, ‘Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!’ Then the captain went with the temple police and brought them, but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
……………………………………………..
in order that Peter’s shadow
might fall on some of them as he came by…
Later on it will be reported
that Paul healed by means of handkerchiefs;
& it is suggested that there is in Acts
a deliberate parallel between the Acts of Peter
in the first part of the Acts of the Apostles
& the Acts of Paul in its second, larger, part.
There is certainly a tendency on the part of Luke
to see the Apostles as “followers” of Jesus
in a very literal sense.
Whereas Paul & John see the whole group of disciples
forming a new community
through which Jesus continues to work,
Luke has a much simpler view
of members of the Church
following Christ’s example,
continuing his saving work by copying it.
the same is true of the fate of the disciples.
There could well have been just one occasion
where Peter is arrested, imprisoned & then escaped death;
but such an incident could well have been described
in a multitude of traditions;
& so Luke incorporates each of the stories in turn,
in chapters 4 & 12 as well as here;
& this repetition simply serves to emphasize
how in this sort of way
the arrest, trial, imprisonment, death & resurrection of Jesus
is a pattern that continues to be lived out
in the lives of individual Christians ~
who “daily” (a word Luke uses in this context)
take up their cross to follow him.
……………………………….
Acts 4 v 32 ~ 5 v 11
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ‘Ananias,’ Peter asked, ‘why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!’ Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him.
After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter said to her, ‘Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.’ And she said, ‘Yes, that was the price.’ Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.
…………………………………………………………..
And great fear seized the whole church.
It could be that some explanation had to be found
for the first two deaths to occur
within the new community
who had begun to rejoice
in living the risen life won by Christ’s death.
Certainly there are other points
when death amongst the faithful
seemed a puzzle:
There is, for instance the promise
that the disciples will not taste death
until they see Christ’s glory,
a promise which is tempered
as it is handed down.
This story is similar also
to those of the stories
of the deaths of Israelites in the wilderness:
To explain why God, having rescued them from Egypt,
then allowed them to die,
they have to be presented as having sinned
& so proved unworthy of the grace given them.
Such an explanation of this story
might be backed up by the way
Semitic expressions such as “at the feet of the apostles”
occur in this narrative,
suggesting Luke is using an early tradition
of the community in Jerusalem.
Almost unnoticed, though,
at the end of this dramatic story,
comes Luke’s first use of the word “Church”
which he is to use of the Christian community
from now on.
Paul regularly uses the word;
but it only occurs twice in the Gospels
~ both where Matthew seems to be reflecting
a later tradition.
Jesus in recruiting twelve disciples
was consciously founding a New Israel;
& this was an eschatological sign
of a new world order
rather than a structure with any ongoing organization.
if we are to trace back into the practice of Jesus
anything approaching
what became a settled institution,
we may find it strangely enough
in a passage not dissimilar to this one:
the way Jesus was ultimately betrayed
by one who is said to have administered “the common purse”.
………………………………….
Acts 4 vv 13 ~ 31
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. So they ordered them to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another. They said, ‘What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’ So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.’ After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.
After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, ‘Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant:
“Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
and the rulers have gathered together
against the Lord and against his Messiah.”
For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.
…………………………………………………….
They gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed…
Here, as in Peter’s speech,
the Greek is again awkward.
Some feel that Luke is trying to recreate
the early tones of the apostles,
others suggest he is adapting an Aramaic source.
Certainly we have here a host of proof texts
~ those from the Psalms especially being interpreted here
& in other non-Christian literature
as being open to a Messianic interpretation.
Again, these texts tie in
with the Passion narrative as found in Luke:
he alone records the Trial before Herod,
& presumably this must be what is referred to here
in the power exerted by the “kings of the earth”.
There is also in this narrative
a host of mixed messages
about the nature of Christ’s role.
He is the Davidic Messiah, & the Suffering Servant;
but he is also the Christ,
literally anointed at his Baptism
& then again prior to his death by Mary Magdalene.
The early “Adoptionists” believed Jesus became Son of God
at his Baptism, or even as he died & rose again.
One theory is that Luke’s Gospel itself
was to begin with Adoptionist,
beginning with the adoption of Jesus at his Baptism.
This theory would see the earlier chapters
recounting the Virgin Birth
as having been added
to bring this heretical gospel into line
with the evolving acceptance of Christ
as Son of God from conception
or even from before the creation of the world.
…………………………………………….
Acts 4 vv 1 ~ 12
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. So they ordered them to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another. They said, ‘What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’ So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.’ After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.
After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, ‘Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant:
“Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
and the rulers have gathered together
against the Lord and against his Messiah.”
For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.
…………………………………………………….
They gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed…
Here, as in Peter’s speech,
the Greek is again awkward.
Some feel that Luke is trying to recreate
the early tones of the apostles,
others suggest he is adapting an Aramaic source.
Certainly we have here a host of proof texts
~ those from the Psalms especially being interpreted here
& in other non-Christian literature
as being open to a Messianic interpretation.
Again, these texts tie in
with the Passion narrative as found in Luke:
he alone records the Trial before Herod,
& presumably this must be what is referred to here
in the power exerted by the “kings of the earth”.
There is also in this narrative
a host of mixed messages
about the nature of Christ’s role.
He is the Davidic Messiah, & the Suffering Servant;
but he is also the Christ,
literally anointed at his Baptism
& then again prior to his death by Mary Magdalene.
The early “Adoptionists” believed Jesus became Son of God
at his Baptism, or even as he died & rose again.
One theory is that Luke’s Gospel itself
was to begin with Adoptionist,
beginning with the adoption of Jesus at his Baptism.
This theory would see the earlier chapters
recounting the Virgin Birth
as having been added
to bring this heretical gospel into line
with the evolving acceptance of Christ
as Son of God from conception
or even from before the creation of the world.
…………………………………………….
Acts 4 vv 1 ~ 12
While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead. So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand.
The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is
“the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.”
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’
……………………………………………….
There is salvation in no one else…
Although this passage
makes sense as good Greek,
compared to the speech of Peter
which could well be a rough translation
from an original Aramaic text
& so is in places quite obscure,.
we seem still to be here with early Church tradition
which Luke has as a good historian preserved.
in many places in the New Testament
we see traces of a collection of “proof texts”
featuring the rejected stone that becomes a foundation stone,
(particularly in 1 Peter)…
& we find the theme of the power of Christ’s name
threading through the stories
of the apostles’ early days in & around Jerusalem.
In particular, though,
in the Semitic understanding
the words for “life” & “salvation”
are not really distinct,
& this makes the transition very smooth
between the cure of the cripple
& the power of the Gospel for all.
…………………………………………….
Acts 3 v 11 ~ end
While he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s Portico, utterly astonished. When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.
‘And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets. Moses said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you from your own people a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you. And it will be that everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly rooted out from the people.” And all the prophets, as many as have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, also predicted these days. You are the descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your ancestors, saying to Abraham, “And in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.’
………………………………………………………….
And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance,
as did also your rulers.
These words recall those of Jesus from the cross
~ recorded by Luke alone ~
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
They connect this speech
with the Gospel’s account of the Passion
on which the whole text is in a sense a meditation.
Although dramatically tied in
with the healing of the cripple at the Beautiful Gate
it is so full of obscure & at times ungrammatical sentences
it could well be assumed that Luke is here
weaving into his narrative
material preserved in the Early Jerusalem Church.
Along with other passages in the first part of Acts
there is a focus on the Name of Jesus
as having a healing & saving power;
while many texts from the Old Testament
are threaded together to illuminate the nature of the Messiah
that Jesus had turned out to be.
However, a close reading of the text
could show it to have its origins
in an even earlier period,
for it seems at times to be looking forward
rather than backward
to the coming of the Messiah.
It is, in this respect, fascinating
to read it alongside narrative of Christ’s healing of a cripple
~ again in Jerusalem ~
as reported in John 5,
which is also followed by a speech
which links the healing
with both suffering & resurrection.
………………………………………….
Acts 3 vv 1 ~ 10
21 From that time on,
Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering
at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes,
and be killed,
and on the third day be raised.
22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying,
‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’
23 But he turned and said to Peter,
‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me;
for you are setting your mind not on divine things
but on human things.’
24 Then Jesus told his disciples,
‘If any want to become my followers,
let them deny themselves & take up their cross & follow me.
25 For those who want to save their life will lose it,
and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
26 For what will it profit them
if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?
Or what will they give in return for their life?
27 For the Son of Man is to come with his angels
in the glory of his Father,
and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.
28 Truly I tell you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’
……………………………………………………
You are a stumbling-block to me.
These words addressed to Peter
are found only in Matthew’s Gospel;
& it is again Matthew alone
who records the full blessing of Peter
as the Rock on which the Church is to be built.
This fuller account of Peter’s Confession at Caesarea Philippi
found in Matthew’s Gospel
would thus seem to go back to the earliest tradition
rather than being an addition by a Church
that claimed Peter as its founder.
The contrast between the solid rock
on which Christ can rely
& the annoying outcrop of stone
by which he can be tripped up
rings true as coming from the lips
of the one who delighted to speak in parables.
What originally strikes the reader today
is the high estimate of Peter’s role;
but it also can surely speak to us
of the very realistic picture it gives of Jesus,
needing friends on whom he can rely
& vulnerable when they let him down
~ ironically by thinking too highly of him
rather than too little.
The whole passage can thus be seen
as a meditation on identity,
introduced with the words,
“Who do people think I am?”
it is not just about Messiahship,
but about expectations,
our expectations of Christ & of God in Christ.
But as the narrative proceeds
we discover it is also about Peter’s identity:
Rock or Stumbling Block?
And thus by implication it becomes a test
of our own identity,
as followers, as leaders,
who are we, where do we stand?
On the side of the risk-taking God ?
Or on the side of a humanity that hedges its bets?
……………………………………….
Acts 3 vv 1 ~ 10
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, ‘Look at us.’ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, ‘I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.’ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
…………………………………………………..
People would lay him daily
at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate.
Luke opens the second part of his work
as he did the first part of it:
Luke’s Gospel opens & closes in Jerusalem
& the district close to it
~ Emmaus like Bethlehem
is quite close to the capital city.
Here in this narrative,
as in the story of the Presentation of the child Jesus in the temple,
the building is romanticized…
it is a place for worship, teaching & charity
& so becomes the springboard
of the mission of the Church.
there is thus a deliberate emphasis
on the continuity between Judaism & Christianity,
a gentle & divinely blessed evolutionary process
even though at the end of the story in Rome
there has to be recorded
the tragic break between these two great faiths.
……………………………………………
Acts 2 v 37 ~ end
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
………………………………………….
They devoted themselves
to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship,
to the breaking of bread
and the prayers.
This idealized picture
of life in the Early Church
has been seized upon by later generations
as providing the archetype
of what the Christian community should be.
It is only later in acts
that we see the difficulties,
the arguments over the attempt at communism,
the economic difficulties it may have exacerbated
& the tensions caused by people of different cultures sharing meals.
Luke also assumes here
that all the apostles taught a single message
whereas early Christianity
very much like today’s
was a richly diverse movement from the outset.
All that said,
it is no vague aspiration we have here,
nor a donning of rose-tinted spectacles.
The definite article is repeated three times:
& this suggests that Luke is not being vaguely optimistic
but is setting out clearly precise expectations.
As will be seen,
the Acts of the Apostles
has a distinct & deliberate agenda
that anticipates the evolution of the Catholic Church,
“catholic” in the sense of it being inclusive
& concerned to hold together
Christianity’s range of views & practices.
…………………………………………….
Acts 2 vv 22 ~ 36
‘You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know—this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him,
“I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
moreover, my flesh will live in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One experience corruption.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.”
‘Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying,
“He was not abandoned to Hades,
nor did his flesh experience corruption.”
This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.’ ”
Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’
……………………………………………………..
He has poured out the Holy Spirit hat you both see and hear.
Luke begins his Gospel
with the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary
& then descending on Jesus at his baptism.
Both events recall the first verses of Genesis
describing the Holy Spirit
brooding over the face of the waters.
In the birth & baptism of Jesus
a new creation is discerned.
Now comes a third action of the Spirit,
the drama with which Luke opens
the second part of his work:
the descent of the Holy Spirit
on the disciples on the Day of Pentecost.
Here again, Luke is saying,
we see a new creation.
with the birth of the church
the world is re-born.
……………………………………………….
Acts 5 vv 12 ~ 14
12 Many signs and wonders were done among the people
through the apostles.
And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico.
13 None of the rest dared to join them,
but the people held them in high esteem.
14 Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord,
great numbers of both men and women,
15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets,
and laid them on cots and mats,
in order that Peter’s shadow
might fall on some of them as he came by.
16 A great number of people would also gather
from the towns around Jerusalem,
bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits,
and they were all cured.
………………………………………………
in order that Peter’s shadow
might fall on some of them as he came by.
The concept of Peter’s shadow
having healing powers
can possibly be interpreted in the same way
as the legend of Veronica’s handkerchief,
used to wipe the sweat from Christ’s brow,
& then discovered to have on it the image of Christ’s face:
these are stories which speak of love & healing
being above all the renewal of humanity
in the image of Christ.
The legend of the death of Bartholomew
may well belong to the same family of ideas.
Bartholomew is supposed to have been skinned alive
& so his symbol is the knife.
In some portrayals of the saint
he carries his own skin
rather like a diving suit.
The most notable painting in which this occurs
is the painting in the Sistine Chapel
of the Last Judgement.
Many have seen in the skin of Bartholomew
a self-portrait of Michelangelo
who felt himself being flayed by his critics
who felt it inappropriate
to have so many nudes painted
in such a holy place.
In this imagery, however,
we have the reverse of the concept found
in the stories of Peter’s shadow
& Veronica’s handkerchief.
In them it is the image of Christ that is passed on
with healing power from generation to generation.
Here we see the old image being cast aside
in the dead skin
& the new image reborn through martyrdom.
………………………………………
Luke 24 vv 13 ~ 35
13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. 18Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ 19He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.’ 25Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ 27Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. 30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ 33That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ 35Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
…………………………………………………………….
…… how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
One of the most moving stories in Luke,
this narrative shares several features
with other high points in this Gospel
which are stories of a similar length:
Both the story of the Good Samaritan & that of the Prodigal Son
involve sorrow turning to joy,
journeys & communal meals.
…………………………………………………………….
Luke 23 v 56b ~ 24 v 12
Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.
On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
………………………………………………………..
Why do you look for the living among the dead?
As all the Gospels begin in different ways,
so they diverge dramatically
when it comes to how they end.
It is difficult to reconcile the accounts of the resurrection,
although all have common features…
the empty tomb,
the initial disbelief,
the role of women & angels;
& Luke here has a good deal in common
with the Fourth Gospel’s narrative.
But these words addressed to the women
have a resonance for all the accounts,
& remain as a challenge to the Church
down the ages
urging it to look forward
& seek for God’s dynamic
rather than looking back,
clinging to the familiar,
the safe shackles of mortality.
…………………………………….
Luke 23 vv 44 ~ 56a
44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last. 47When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’ 48And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. 49But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
50 Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council, 51had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. 52This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. 54It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. 55The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.
………………………………………………..
‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’
Nothing emphasizes the difference
between Mark’s Gospel & Luke’s
than these last words of Jesus from the cross.
Although it may be suggested
that Mark’s record may suggest
Jesus said on the cross the whole of Psalm 22
which begins with despair & ends with hope,
the immediate impression given by the words quoted from it
is certainly that Jesus was feeling deserted by God
& that therefore the loud cry which followed these words
was a cry of agonized despair.
Luke, on the other hand, continues to portray Jesus
as one who is confident to the end:
not one with overweening confidence
but with the child-like trust
inculcated by the opening
of the Lord’s Prayer.
Christ ends his life as Jewish children
are taught to end their day,
commending themselves into their heavenly Father’s care.
this inner calm of Jesus
seems to radiate out from him.
The centurion is drawn
not to make a theological statement
“This was God’s Son!”
but an acknowledgement of the quality of the life
of the one who he is seeing face death so gently.
And whereas Jesus in Mark
dies deserted by his friends
who have fled in panic,
here, though they are at a distance,
all his friends stay & keep vigil,
& all the crowds return to their homes mourning this death.
…………………………………………………..
Luke 23 vv 26 ~ 43
26 As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. 28But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.” 30Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us”; and to the hills, “Cover us.” 31For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’
32 Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!’ 36The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, 37and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’ 38There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ 40But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ 42Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ 43He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’
………………………………………………………………
‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’
Christ goes gently towards his death,
bringing calm & healing & hope
for those surrounding him;
but the healing power
which continues to emanate from his presence
springs from his confidence in his heavenly Father
in whom he continues to trust to the end.
………………………………………………
Psalm 45 vv 11 ~ 18
11 ‘Hear, O daughter; consider and listen closely;
forget your people and your family’s house.
he is your master; therefore do him honour.
13 The people of Tyre are here with a gift;
the rich among the people seek your favour.’
14 All glorious is the princess as she enters;
her gown is cloth-of-gold.
15 In embroidered apparel she is brought to the king;
12 The king will have pleasure in her beauty;
15 After her the bridesmaids follow in procession.
16 With joy and gladness they are brought,
and enter into the palace of the king.
17 ‘In place of fathers, O king, you shall have sons;
you shall make them princes over all the earth.
18 I will make your name to be remembered
from one generation to another;
therefore nations will praise you for ever and ever.’
………………………………………
Forget your people and your family’s house….
Similar bitter-sweet sentiments
are in the hearts of all those who attend a wedding.
It is a break with the past.
Friends as well as family are summoned
to say a sort of good-bye.
If a marriage is to work
those who once came first
now have to learn to take second place.
A husband instead of talking things over first
with his father or his friends,
now confers first with his wife;
& a wife may still talk on the phone
with her mother & her friends,
but her first loyalty is now to her husband.
The witnesses at the wedding are reminded of this:
The bride & groom are no longer yours.
“They belong to one another;
& they begin a new life with each other
in the community.”
In this way a new unit in society comes into being.
in this ancient psalm the splendour of the ceremony
cannot disguise the wrench & the heart-break.
A princess is brought from a far country
to become the queen of a new realm…
& this is the psalm used to epitomize
the mystery of the life of the Virgin Mary.
This is the story of one who left the everyday
to become the Queen of Eternity.
And the wrench & the heart-break
is there throughout her life.
Ordinary values have to be left behind
as rumours surround the Galilean girl
& she bows to do angelic bidding.
She gives birth in a cattle-shed
& the swaddling bands
with which she surrounds her child
anticipate the loving care
with which she is to hold him
through the flight into Egypt,
during the unrecorded years in the carpenter’s shop,
& then while he treks off into the desert
eventually casting off at Cana the family ties
to which she remains constant.
It is a different & strange life
with new & disturbing perspectives;
& it is a life to which all who say with her,
“Be it to me according to your word…”
are both pledged & committed:
forgetting from whence they have come,
& straining simply towards the point
to which this new life leads.
And this is the purpose of today’s Feast…
the promise that this pledge & commitment
will ultimately find
that far off point & their ultimate fulfilment.
…………………………………………
Matthew 15 vv 21 ~ 28
21 Jesus went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
22 A Canaanite woman from that region came out
and started shouting,
‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David;
my daughter is tormented by a demon.’
23 But he did not answer her at all.
And his disciples came and urged him, saying,
‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’
24 He answered,
‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’
25 But she came and knelt before him,
saying, ‘Lord, help me.’
26 He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food
and throw it to the dogs.’
27 She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs
that fall from their masters’ table.’
28 Then Jesus answered her,
‘Woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.’
And her daughter was healed instantly.
………………………………………………………………
‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’
Usually Matthew truncates Mark;
here the story is slightly longer;
& it may be thought of as emphasizing
the way Jesus apparently recoils initially
from helping a foreigner.
This statement is found in Matthew alone;
& he also has the word “Master”
of the table from which the crumbs fall.
There is an implication throughout
of the assumption that he & his compatriots
belong to a superior race.
In the end, of course, the woman is granted her wish
& is commended for her faith.
the story is being passed on in a community
that knows the barriers are being broken down
between the Chosen People
& the rest of the world.
so we read the story without it disturbing us.
Yes, Jesus seems prickly at first,
& yes, we can sympathize with the disciples
being pestered by this distraught woman;
but ultimately we feel
this is a story with a happy ending
speaking of past tensions, not ours.
But then we hear those words of Jesus,
“It is not fair…”
& we know he is asserting something
that articulates a very common feeling
& one that has a very contemporary resonance.
The queues of those accused of rioting
show the desire to see justice done
& done swiftly.
And is it fair that those committing outrage against society
should receive benefits fro that same society
they have blatantly flouted.
And then, what might they say in their defence?
Is it fair that many can afford to buy
carpets, trainers, expensive TVs, jewellery,
& live a lifestyle far removed from what they can afford
or will never be able to afford.
It is not the cry of intellectual revolutionaries
championing Equality
but the plaintiveness of a child in the playground,
“It’s not fair!”
And, we might add,
is it fair that the innocent should die…?
As Jesus wryly echoes this sense of grievance
we mark how he goes on here
as in many other parables & incidents
something higher & more far-reaching
than this longing for fairness:
a generosity that knows no bounds
& a world which glories in a multitude of differences,
differing expectations & differing achievements…
a world where a master will get up from the table
not to give the dogs tit-bits
but to take the form of a servant
washing the feet of those
who previously were calling him “Lord”.
……………………………………………………
Luke 23 vv 1 ~ 12
Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate. 2They began to accuse him, saying, ‘We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.’ 3Then Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ He answered, ‘You say so.’ 4Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no basis for an accusation against this man.’ 5But they were insistent and said, ‘He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.’
6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7And when he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign. 9He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate. 12That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.
…………………………………………………..
That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other;
before this they had been enemies.
There is a great contrast
between the way Luke presents the Passion
& that given by the other evangelists.
Without lessening the pain of Christ’s death,
its saving power is shown by the way
it continues Christ’s healing ministry.
Those brought near to the cross,
even as opponents of Jesus,
find their lives transformed:
the love of Christ
flows outward embracing those
to whom his message has seemed
dangerous, trivial or pointless.
……………………………………….
Luke 22 v 63 ~ end
63 Now the men who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him; 64they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, ‘Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?’ 65They kept heaping many other insults on him.
Jesus before the Council
66 When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council. 67They said, ‘If you are the Messiah, tell us.’ He replied, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe; 68and if I question you, you will not answer. 69But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.’ 70All of them asked, ‘Are you, then, the Son of God?’ He said to them, ‘You say that I am.’ 71Then they said, ‘What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!’
………………………………………………………
All of them asked,
‘Are you, then, the Son of God?’
He said to them,
‘You say that I am.’
Luke & Matthew here agree against Mark
in adding the words “You say…”
to the direct claim of divinity by Jesus.
As it is more likely that as time went by
scribes would be more inclined to expect
Jesus to have made that claim
rather than vice versa,
it is probable that here it is Luke & Matthew
who are copying from
an earlier version of Mark’s Gospel.
Luke himself, however, makes significant alterations
to the version found in Matthew & Mark.
He has all the people
& not just the high priest
pose the question “Are you the Son of God?”
And he omits the concept of the Son of man
coming from God’s right hand.
Rather than there being, therefore,
a prediction here
of Christ’s immediate return,
Luke, knowing when he is writing
how long such an event has already been delayed,
has a more static vision,
one that lived on in church tradition,
of Christ enthroned in heaven
rather than intervening on earth.
…………………………………………………….
Luke 22 vv 47 ~ 62
47 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; 48but Jesus said to him, ‘Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?’ 49When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, ‘Lord, should we strike with the sword?’ 50Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51But Jesus said, ‘No more of this!’ And he touched his ear and healed him. 52Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? 53When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!’
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. 55When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. 56Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, ‘This man also was with him.’ 57But he denied it, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know him.’ 58A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, ‘You also are one of them.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not!’ 59Then about an hour later yet another kept insisting, ‘Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.’ 60But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are talking about!’ At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. 61The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.’ 62And he went out and wept bitterly.
……………………………………………….
But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!
John says something similar
when he tells of Judas making off to fetch the soldiers:
“It was night…”
Although the presence of Satan
is stressed by both Luke & John
in a way this strangely
lessens the sense of evil in their Gospels.
If Satan is responsible,
human beings are less so.
And this is a concern of Luke & John:
they have a kind & compassionate view of humanity
& in this light they paints Jesus
very much as the loving Saviour.
So, even here, at the moment of betrayal,
whereas the other evangelists
have Judas kiss Jesus,
they do not…
Luke even suggesting that Jesus prevents him.
It is similar to the way the father of the Prodigal Son
has embraced his returning penitent
even before he can blurt out
his carefully rehearsed words saying “Sorry!”
……………………………………………….
Luke 22 vv 39 ~ 46
39 He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. 40When he reached the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’ 41Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, 42‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.’ 43Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. 44In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. 45When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, 46and he said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’
…………………………………………………
Then an angel from heaven appeared to him
and gave him strength.
44In his anguish he prayed more earnestly,
and his sweat became like great drops of blood
falling down on the ground.
Although these two verses are not present
in many manuscripts of Luke’s Gospel
they form an integral part of the traditions
forming the narrative of Christ’s Passion:
indeed in many depictions of the Agony of Jesus,
there appears the two details mentioned here
but absent in the other three Gospels:
the angel & the sweat that becomes blood.
Appearances of angels
are relegated to the wings of the story of Jesus,
appearing most prominently at its beginning & end;
& in the opening of Luke’s Gospel in particular
angels appear as heralds of his birth.
The Agony in the Garden
has several parallels with the Temptation Narrative,
& the angel here fulfils a similar role
to those which come & minister to Jesus
as Satan departs.
Some have seen the strength given by these angels
as a deliberate contrast with the sword-bearing beings
set as sentries to the Garden of Eden
after the fall.
As Christ vanquishes Satan
& resists the temptations put before him
in the Wilderness & in the Garden,
Paradise is regained
& its gates lie open
with angels set to give a welcoming
rather than barring them.
The way Christ’s sweat becomes blood
may be seen to have a similar symbolic meaning.
The way this phenomenon is described
suggests a medical diagnosis
appropriate to the “Beloved Physician” Luke
writer of the Gospel.
However, the words also recall those of God to Adam
condemning him to bring forth bread from the ground
by the sweat of his brow.
In the Temptation Narrative
Jesus resists the Satanic suggestion
to turn stones into bread,
& in the Lord’s Prayer he tells his disciples
to pray for daily bread.
This prayer is echoed in the Garden
suggesting that the Bread for which we are urged to pray
is the broken bread of the Eucharist.
The blood which waters the ground of the Garden
may thus be interpreted as signifying
the eucharistic wine:
the blood of Christ shed as sweat
& falling here to bring new growth
in this second garden,
a garden of new growth.
…………………………………….
Luke 22 vv 31 ~ 38
‘Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, 32but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ 33And he said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!’ 34Jesus said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me.’
35 He said to them, ‘When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?’ They said, ‘No, not a thing.’ 36He said to them, ‘But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. 37For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, “And he was counted among the lawless”; and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.’ 38They said, ‘Lord, look, here are two swords.’ He replied, ‘It is enough.’
………………………………………………
‘It is enough.’
With John,
& contrasting with Matthew & Mark
with whom this Gospel has so many parallels,
Luke relates these last instructions
given to the disciples in the upper room
immediately before the Agony in the Garden.
There are, however,
other stranger echoes of the Fourth Gospel
here in this discourse.
At the end of John’s Gospel
there is the scene on the shore of the Sea of Galilee
where Peter is commanded by Jesus to feed his sheep.
This is anticipated here with the command,
“strengthen your brothers”.
Similarly, both the Last Discourse in John
& that Gospel’s account of the crucifixion
end with brief words
indicating movingly Christ’s resignation
~ more than resignation ~
his readiness to embrace his death
& all that God is expecting of him
with a simplicity &carefreeness
that is almost childlike:
“Rise, let us be going.”
“It is finished.”
Here the evidence that among the disciples
were those ready to turn to violence,
“Here are two swords…”
is the cue for a similar brief response:
“It is enough…”
……………………………………….
Luke 22 vv 24 ~ 30
A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
…………………………………………………
I am among you as one who serves.
The dispute about greatness
is found a little earlier in Mark’s Gospel,
& the promise of the thrones
is found much earlier in Matthew’s Gospel.
Luke has placed them both here
in the context of the Last Supper
before the account of the Agony in the Garden.
In so doing he once again seems
almost by accident to parallel John’s Gospel
~ for there in the Upper Room
there is a long discourse
offering both inspiration & consolation
to those Jesus is addressing for the last time.
Yet more striking in this respect
are the central sentences here
found neither in Matthew nor Mark:
“I am among you as one who serves.”
What better commentary could there be
on the incident related only by John
which is to illuminate the commitment of Christ
which is going to steer him to Calvary,
the washing of the disciples’ feet?
……………………………………..
Matthew 14 vv 22 ~ 33
Immediately after feeding the crowd
with the five loaves and two fish,
22 Jesus made the disciples get into the boat
and go on ahead to the other side,
while he dismissed the crowds.
23 And after he had dismissed the crowds,
he went up the mountain by himself to pray.
When evening came, he was there alone,
24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves,
was far from the land, for the wind was against them.
25 And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake.
26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake,
they were terrified, saying,
‘It is a ghost!’
And they cried out in fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said,
‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’
28 Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you,
command me to come to you on the water.’
29 He said, ‘Come.’
So Peter got out of the boat,
started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus.
30 But when he noticed the strong wind,
he became frightened, and beginning to sink,
he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him,
saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’
32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 And those in the boat worshipped him, saying,
‘Truly you are the Son of God.’
………………………………………….
‘Truly you are the Son of God.’
Over the centuries
this story has been re-told
as one of the few miracles worked by Jesus
that may be described as “nature” miracles
rather than the more frequent “healing” wonders.
It appears in two versions in Mark’s Gospel,
once before the cure of the Gergasine demoniacs,
& then after the first miraculous feeding.
Matthew & Luke follow Mark
in relating the story in this way.
However, the story has so many overtones
that scholars are inclined to see it
as originally a parable
or teaching by Jesus
interpreting for his own time
the deliverance of his people
on the shores of the Red Sea.
This teaching could have been handed down
in the context of other material
that aimed to present Jesus
as the Messiah foretold in Deuteronomy
as “the prophet like unto Moses”.
Matthew’s version here ends differently
from the other accounts of the story,
giving an expression of faith
that is going to be echoed by Peter
at Caesarea Philippi
& by the centurion at the foot of the cross.
this is of particular significance
when we see how the Caesarea Philippi
seem so be related in its fullest form by Matthew
who gives us both the blessing & rebuke of Peter.
And Peter is also in the forefront of the miracle here.
This would tend to confirm
the suggestion that the story’s origins
lies in the question of Christ’s identity
~ indeed in Christ’s own exploration
of his divine vocation.
The way Peter walks & then sinks
is a direct parallel with the way at Caesarea Philippi
he sees the truth & then misinterprets its significance.
Jesus is indeed the Son of God…
but this does not mean he has divine protection:
he is to walk through the waters of suffering;
& those called by him
will have to show equal courage
& unhesitating trust in him.
………………………………………
Luke 9 vv 28 ~ 36
28 Jesus took with him Peter and John and James,
and went up on the mountain to pray.
29 And while he was praying,
the appearance of his face changed,
and his clothes became dazzling white.
30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah,
talking to him.
31 They appeared in glory
and were speaking of his departure,
which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
32 Now Peter and his companions
were weighed down with sleep;
but since they had stayed awake,
they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.
33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus,
‘Master, it is good for us to be here;
let us make three dwellings,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’
Peter did not know what he said.
34 While he was saying this,
a cloud came and overshadowed them;
and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.
35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’
36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
And they kept silent
and in those days told no one
any of the things they had seen.
…………………………………………………..
Moses and Elijah appeared in glory
and were speaking of his departure,
which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
The significant change
Luke makes to Mark’s account
of the moment of transfiguration
is his description of Christ’s death
as something that is to be “accomplished”.
This anticipates the way the Fourth Gospel
presents Christ’s death.
It records Christ’s dying words as,
“It is accomplished!”
suggesting that this seeming end
is in fact a beginning,
for with such words, Genesis proclaims,
God greeted the climax of his first creation.
In this way death itself
is transfigured.
………………………………………………………….
Luke 22 vv 1 ~ 13
Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people.
Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.’ They asked him, ‘Where do you want us to make preparations for it?’ ‘Listen,’ he said to them, ‘when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters and say to the owner of the house, “The teacher asks you, ‘Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ” He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.’ So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.
…………………………………………………..
Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot.
All four Gospels
come closer together
in their telling of the Passion Narrative.
Luke, however, does not preface it,
as do the others
with the Anointing at Bethany:
he has already told a story similar to this
earlier in his Gospel.
The controversy caused by Anointing
in the other three accounts
seems to be the trigger
moving Judas to betray Jesus.
Without this argument
Luke therefore simply says
Judas was moved by Satan;
& this is thus one of the minor agreements
between Luke & John,
who tells of Satan entering into Judas later
at the Last Supper.
………………………..
Luke 21 v 29 ~ end
Then he told them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’
Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple.
……………………………………………………………
Be alert at all times.
Luke ends this apocalyptic passage
with this second paragraph,
found neither in Mark or Matthew.
We find a similar tone
towards the end of the Acts of the Apostles
in Paul’s address to those gathered at Miletus
to with him farewell.
It is also not dissimilar from the tone
found in the letters to Timothy & Titus
~ letters ascribed to Paul
but more likely composed from Pauline recollections
in the way that Paul’s speeches
have been reconstructed
in the acts of the Apostles.
There is a belief in the Day of Judgement,
but it is more akin to the later medieval concept
of a universal far off Doomsday
than to the imminent return of Jesus
expected by the original readers of Mark’s Gospel.
The emphasis on alertness
comes therefore with an emphasis
on day to day godly living
& patience & perseverance
rather than on the sudden intervention of God
& a clarion call to stand with him
in a crucial struggle for the triumph of his cause.
……………………………………………
Luke 21 vv 20 ~ 28
‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it; for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfilment of all that is written. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
‘There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud” with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.’
…………………………………………………………..
Now when these things begin to take place,
stand up and raise your heads,
because your redemption is drawing near.
Luke adds this saying to those collected here,
& in this way adds a gleam of hope
to what could otherwise read
as a grim passage.
John’s Gospel, which has no similar passage,
has its own unique address by Jesus
at the Last Supper;
& here he compares suffering
to the throes of childbirth:
out of pain comes joy.
Some have seen in the Acts of the Apostles
the account of Paul as a follower of Jesus
set out making a deliberate parallel
between the approach of Jesus to Jerusalem
& the approach of Paul to Rome.
If so, we might read in this passage
a foreshadowing of that journey:
It was dogged with tribulation;
& yet it served to bring the gospel
to the heart of the empire.
During Paul’s last voyage
those on board ship were overwhelmed by panic…
“confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves”;
but Paul bids them to be of good heart…
“Your redemption is drawing near.”
………………………………………………….
Luke 21 vv 15 ~ 21
5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’
7 They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’ 8And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!”* and, “The time is near!” Do not go after them.
9 ‘When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.’ 10Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
12 ‘But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17You will be hated by all because of my name. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.
20 ‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it.
…………………………………………………………
There will be great earthquakes,
and in various places famines and plagues;
and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
Luke here transcribes what has been called
Mark’s “Little Apocalypse”.
As Luke is writing later
& has less faith in an imminent return of Jesus,
he makes several slight alterations.
In Mark Jesus suggests that
the “end” will come
once the Gospel has been proclaimed
in all the world.
There is some credibility in the suggestion
that Paul wanted to travel to Spain
with such a belief in mind.
Luke, who is to tell the story of this mission
makes Christ’s words less precise:
“This will give you an opportunity to testify.”
Luke also, as in his version of the Parable of the Sower,
emphasizes the virtue of endurance;
but he then adds a list of portents
that occurs in the same order
in the Book of Revelation;
& when he comes to the mention of Jerusalem’s fate
the details suggest this Gospel was written
with accurate knowledge of the siege
& the terrible events of 70CE.
…………………………………………….
Luke 20 v 41~ 21 v 4
Then he said to them,
‘How can they say that the Messiah is David’s son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms,
“The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.’ ”
David thus calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?’
In the hearing of all the people he said to the disciples,
‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’
He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said,
‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.’
………………………………………………..
Beware of the scribes…
At this point
Matthew records a long series of attacks by Jesus
on the scribes & Pharisees,
a passage which makes very clear
why Christ’s opponents
were so desperate to silence him.
Luke with Mark has this much briefer attack
which serves to preface the moving story
of the widow’s mite.
Short as it is in Mark,
Luke abbreviates it
& has Jesus address not just the disciples as in Mark,
but all the people.
………………………………
Matthew 14 vv 13 ~ 21
13 When Jesus heard that Herod had beheaded John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
But when the crowds heard it,
they followed him on foot from the towns.
14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd;
and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.
15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said,
‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late;
send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages
and buy food for themselves.’
16 Jesus said to them,
‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’
17 They replied,
‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’
18 And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’
19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish,
he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
20 And all ate and were filled;
and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces,
twelve baskets full.
21 And those who ate were about five thousand men,
besides women and children.
………………………………………….
…besides women and children.
Matthew thus increases the miraculous element
in the story of the feeding of the Five Thousand
& obscures what is already obscure:
the numerological significance of the event.
Mark simply has “five thousand men”…
& this is deliberate.
later Jesus questions the disciples
to see if they have understood the meaning
of the numbers involved.
Apparently they hadn’t….
& most of Mark’s readers remain puzzled with them;
but one must assume Mark himself
grasped something of the mystery.
The clue probably lies
in the opening of the story.
the context is the death of the Baptist
& the probability is that there was the anticipation
that Jesus was going to lead a revolt
given the public outrage at the execution.
Thus it is men alone in the crowd in Mark
& they have come to make him king.
this becomes apparent in John’s account of the sign
although there, as in Matthew,
the crowd includes at least one child (John 6 v 15).
The numbers relate to the story of the manna
which, again, is referred to explicitly
in the Fourth Gospel.
The twelve baskets of fragments
are presumably for the twelve tribes of Israel,
& the other numbers may have interpretations
like this, but now lost on us.
The key point of the story emerges, however,
as one sees the parallels with the Last Supper.
this is a Galilean Eucharist;
& here as later in Jerusalem
Christ uses a symbolic meal
to show he is not going to head a revolution
but be broken himself for his people
just like the fragments of the meal
that has been shared.
As today people are tempted with hamlet
to take up arms against a sea of troubles,
the Christian stance remains clear.
It is in the giving of oneself
rather than in any attempt at domination
that the world’s hunger will be satisfied
& its righteous anger allayed.
…………………………………………….
Luke 20 vv 27 ~ 40
Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, ‘Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.’
Jesus said to them, ‘Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die any more, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.’ Then some of the scribes answered, ‘Teacher, you have spoken well.’ For they no longer dared to ask him another question.
………………………………………………………………………..
Then some of the scribes answered,
‘Teacher, you have spoken well.’
Here again Luke’s text is virtually identical with Mark’s.
(Mark 12 vv 18 ~ 25)
Mark, however, has a lone scribe
congratulating Jesus on his reply;
& this leads into the next encounter.
Luke, in having a number of scribes
being pleased with Christ’s reply,
may have in mind the incident he is to report in Acts
(The Acts of the Apostles 23)
where Paul sets the Sadducees against the Pharisees
in raising the subject of the resurrection,
the scribal party, as here,
being closer to the Christian position.
…………………………………………….
Luke 20 vv 20 ~ 26
So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. So they asked him, ‘Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, ‘Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?’ They said, ‘The emperor’s.’ He said to them, ‘Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent.
……………………………………………..
They sent spies…
to trap him by what he said,
so as to hand him over
to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor.
This is once more a passage
which duplicates Mark’s text.
As Luke tends to be,
of all the evangelists,
the one with most sympathy for the Romans,
& as he is going to attempt to show,
in the Acts of the Apostles,
how the mission of the Church
should pose no threat to imperial power,
one might expect a variation or so
in the report of this incident.
Actually, by this extended introduction
Luke does show how sensitive he is
to the possibility of the power of Rome
being used to quell Christianity.
However,
he does not appear to see
the subtlety of Christ’s reply,
for he is less than explicit
about the handing over of the coin.
The fact that Christ’s opponents
have one in their pocket, as it were,
catches them red-handed.
They are shown by their use of this coinage
to be complicit in accepting the Roman occupation.
………………………………………..
Luke 20 vv 9 ~ 18
9 He began to tell the people this parable:
‘A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenants, and went to another country for a long time. 10When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. 12And he sent yet a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. 13Then the owner of the vineyard said, “What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.” 14But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, “This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.” 15So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.’
When they heard this, they said, ‘Heaven forbid!’
17But he looked at them and said, ‘What then does this text mean:
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone”?
18Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’ 19When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.
………………………………………….
He went to another country for a long time.
This parable appears virtually word for word
in Mark 12 vv 1 ~ 12.
One slight change appears here:
The absence of the owner
is for “a long time”.
Luke has an acute sense of history.
Taken allegorically
the long time refers to the stretch of time
between the creation of the world
& the coming of Christ.
But the absence of God extends
beyond the time of Jesus.
Although Mark probably expected
the return of Jesus
or the “End of the World”
to be imminent,
Luke realizes how much more time has passed
since Jesus was killed…
& God had apparently still not directly intervened.
………………………………………….
Luke 20 vv 1 ~ 8
One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders and said to him, ‘Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?’ He answered them, ‘I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ They discussed it with one another, saying, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why did you not believe him?” But if we say, “Of human origin”, all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.’ So they answered that they did not know where it came from. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’
…………………………………
All the people will stone us.
This is the first of a series of debates
taking place during Christ’s last days in Jerusalem
which Luke has, by & large, copied straight from Mark’s Gospel.
Here is a slight change,
which could stem from Luke’s historical knowledge
or reflect the source on which Mark was relying.
Mark simply says that the priests & scribes
were afraid of the people.
Luke says here they were afraid of being stoned.
Christ’s brother James was stoned in Jerusalem;
but this was in a brief period
when the Romans were changing their governor
& power was with the Sanhedrin.
The woman caught in adultery was threatened with stoning.
Here, however, what is envisaged
is not a legal stoning
but an outbreak of mob violence,
like that at Nazareth
on the occasion of Christ’s sermon there.
Perhaps this is Luke’s point of reference:
at the outset of his ministry
when the Baptist had been arrested
Jesus was threatened with stoning.
Here at his ministry’s close
the general opinion of John
~ & of Jesus himself ~
had so shifted
that their opponents had to be circumspect
in attacking them:
the roles had been reversed.
………………………………….
Luke 19 v 41 ~ end
As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.’
Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, ‘It is written,
“My house shall be a house of prayer”;
but you have made it a den of robbers.’
Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.
………………………………………………………………….
You did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.
These words are uttered in sadness:
The Gospel has reached its final form
after the siege & fall of Jerusalem in 70CE,
& this is seen here as a direct result
of the lack of recognition of Christ
by the previous generation:
yet Christ himself has not condemned them….
He came to his own,
his own did not receive him;
& yet he says,
“Forgive them,
for they know not what they do.”
……………………………………………
Matthew 20 vv 20 ~ 28
The mother of the sons of Zebedee
came to Jesus with her sons,
and kneeling before him, she asked a favour of him.
21 And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’
She said to him,
‘Declare that these two sons of mine will sit,
one at your right hand
and one at your left, in your kingdom.’
22 But Jesus answered,
‘You do not know what you are asking.
Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?’
They said to him, ‘We are able.’
23 He said to them,
‘You will indeed drink my cup,
but to sit at my right hand and at my left,
this is not mine to grant,
but it is for those for whom
it has been prepared by my Father.’
24 When the ten heard it,
they were angry with the two brothers.
25 But Jesus called them to him and said,
‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones are tyrants over them.
26 It will not be so among you;
but whoever wishes to be great among you
must be your servant,
27 and whoever wishes to be first among you
must be your slave;
28 just as the Son of Man came
not to be served but to serve,
and to give his life a ransom for many.’
………………………………………………………..
‘Declare that these two sons of mine will sit,
one at your right hand
and one at your left, in your kingdom.’
Christ comes into his kingdom
reigning with the cross as his throne
& with thorns making his crown.
On his right & left are two thieves:
& this is the trenchant irony of the contrast
between the “rulers of the Gentiles”
& the servant king.
James, killed by the son of Herod “the Great”
is thus the one apostle given this title.
The way he followed Christ
is thus the inspiration of his “followers”
~ pilgrims simply clad,
heading for a burial place
which becomes for them
a source of refreshment & new life.
It is appropriate that the Festival of James
should fall at the start of the holidays,
a time for abandoning the trappings of work
& replacing the concerns of business
for simplicity, carefree times
spent with friends old & new.
………………………………………..
Matthew 13 vv 31 ~ 52
31 Jesus put before the crowd another parable:
‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that someone took and sowed in his field;
32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown
it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree,
so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’
33 He told them another parable:
‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour
until all of it was leavened.
44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field,
which someone found and hid;
then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has
and buys that field.
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
in search of fine pearls;
46 on finding one pearl of great value,
he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net
that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind;
48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down,
and put the good into baskets
but threw out the bad.
49 So it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will come out
and separate the evil from the righteous
50 and throw them into the furnace of fire,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 Have you understood all this?’
They answered, ‘Yes.’
52 And he said to them,
‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven
is like the master of a household
who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’
……………………………………………………………….
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.
This collection of parables
all make different points…
& only in the last one of this particular collection
is any explanation offered.
In that instance, as with the Parable of the Sower,
the “parable” turns into an allegory;
& one begins to trace the way
the Early Church began to re-interpret the parables
for new situations
& in another cultural dimension.
With the Parable of the Mustard Seed,
brief as it is, & kept as a parable,
one can see such a tendency at work:
the “birds of the air”,
which in the Parable of the Sower
are allegorized as Satanic forces,
here become an implicit reference to the Gentiles
~ those of many different nations
who find a place within the new Christian movement.
A similar interpretation may readily be seen to be made
in one of the few parables found in the Fourth Gospel:
“In my Father’s house are many rooms”.
The inclusiveness of Christ’s message
may well originally not have had in its sights
the foreigners & the Samaritans
who early on in the Church’s mission
were swiftly drawn within its ambit.
Had Christ’s teaching explicitly advocated
such a degree of inclusivity,
there surely would not have been such opposition
to the strategy & practice of Paul,
& nor would he have had to defend it with such vehemence.
If, then, the Parable of the Mustard Seed
was not intended to make the case
for welcoming those of other nationalities
into the new movement,
then why did Jesus tell the story?
Such a question is particularly pertinent
given the fact that the inter-racial nature of the Church
is taken for granted today,
as is, by & large, its inclusivity.
What therefore remains of the story
after the interpretation of the birds as the nations
has been put to one side
is the simple contrast between
the small seed & the great tree.
Here we have not simply the constant message of Jesus
upholding the neglected, down-trodden
& the apparently insignificant,
but also the essence of these
“Parables of Growth”:
the great consequence of small beginnings.
It is not that he expected the expansion
of his original twelve into twelve million.
He talked not of quantity but of quality.
It was the slight touch
that transformed the life of one
whom society had rejected.
It remains the casual word & gentle smile
that can transform a whole life.
Desmond Tutu remembers as a small child
accompanying his mother
seeing Trevor Huddleston acknowledge her
by raising his hat.
This became for the future Archbishop
& leader of the Peace & Reconciliation work
a seminal moment
that might be said to have helped transform a nation.
……………………………………………
Luke 19 vv 11 ~ 27
As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. So he said, ‘A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, “Do business with these until I come back.” But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, “We do not want this man to rule over us.” When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, “Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.” He said to him, “Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.” Then the second came, saying, “Lord, your pound has made five pounds.” He said to him, “And you, rule over five cities.” Then the other came, saying, “Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.” He said to him, “I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.” He said to the bystanders, “Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.” (And they said to him, “Lord, he has ten pounds!”) “I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.” ’
……………………………………………………………………….
A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself
At first sight this parable seems overblown & awkward
compared to the more familiar version in Matthew’s Gospel.
However, once we remember the political situation
in the time of Jesus,
we are faced with the probability
that Jesus was rooting his teaching
in the day to day head-lines
~ or the contemporary gossip in the Galilean market places.
After the death of Herod the Great,
the land was divided between his sons;
but each of them were dependent ultimately
upon the favour of the Emperor in Rome.
To secure this, long trips to the capital
were essential.
But how dangerous was it
to leave the realm in the hands of others?
To compare God to a sycophantic Herodian
seems outrageous….
but this is what Jesus is undoubtedly doing.
Here is the root of his recurring theme
of an absent father, an absent landlord ~ an absent king.
The words “The Kingdom of Heaven”
preface so many of Christ’s stories,
so much of his teaching.
We accept it, or ignore it,
as so much window-dressing.
And so we are brought up short when we realize
he is in fact talking each time
of the Herodian settlement,
the Herodian jostling for power:.
The true realm, Christ is saying,
belongs to God & is being shaped by God
~ & those who would assist in this task
have to show the same loyalty, astuteness & effort
as political masters demand of their agents.
…………………………………………………..
John 20 vv 11 ~ 18
11 Mary stood weeping outside the tomb.
As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb;
12 and she saw two angels in white,
sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying,
one at the head and the other at the feet.
13 They said to her,
‘Woman, why are you weeping?’
She said to them,
‘They have taken away my Lord,
and I do not know where they have laid him.’
14 When she had said this,
she turned around and saw Jesus standing there,
but she did not know that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her,
‘Woman, why are you weeping?
For whom are you looking?’
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him,
‘Sir, if you have carried him away,
tell me where you have laid him,
and I will take him away.’
16 Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’
She turned and said to him in Hebrew,
‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her,
‘Do not hold on to me,
because I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and say to them,
“I am ascending to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.”’
18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples,
‘I have seen the Lord’;
and she told them that he had said these things to her.
…………………………………………………………..
‘They have taken away my Lord,
and I do not know where they have laid him.’
These words are repeated;
& it may be we have here
a combination of two versions
of the same story,
one of which has the words addressed to the angels
& the second in which they are addressed
to Jesus himself.
When the words are addressed to the angels
there is no reply,
possibly because the combination
has necessitated this omission:
presumably the angels would have replied
as they do elsewhere
with a command to tell the disciples
to go to Galilee.
The resulting structure, however,
of John is not dissimilar to that of Matthew
where the women encounter angels first
& then Jesus himself.
Here, however, we find the climax coming
not in reducing the women to the role
of simply being messengers
~ although Mary is asked to carry a message;
rather, it is the relationship that is paramount.
“Call me by my old familiar name…”
says the deceased in the classic funeral text
“Death is nothing at all” by Henry Scott Holland.
And in his last talk with his disciples
Jesus has said to them,
“I do not call you servants any longer,
I call you friends.”
Here, Mary treats Jesus as a servant
& discovers he is a friend.
Earlier, Mary has bent before Jesus as a servant
& has been proclaimed as a friend.
Discipleship is thus not a matter
of doing the leader’s bidding,
but in accepting Christ’s invitation
to enter this close relationship with him.
And the path to the next life
is like that of this one…
an encounter that is the reverse of brief.
……………………………………………………
Luke 18 vv 15 ~ 30
People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. But Jesus called for them and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’
A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honour your father and mother.” ’ He replied, ‘I have kept all these since my youth.’ When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’
Those who heard it said, ‘Then who can be saved?’ He replied, ‘What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.’
Then Peter said, ‘Look, we have left our homes and followed you.’ And he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.’
…………………………………………………
Luke 17 v 20 ~ end
Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.’
Then he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, “Look there!” or “Look here!” Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed all of them —it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.’ Then they asked him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’
……………………………………………
For as the lightning flashes
and lights up the sky from one side to the other,
so will the Son of Man be in his day.
There can be little doubt
but that Jesus & his first followers
were under the impression
that a huge world-shattering event was imminent
~ the event later described as “The End of the World”
but more accurately as far as they were concerned,
“The End of the World as we know it.”
After the crucifixion this event was reinterpreted
as “The Second Coming” or Christ’s return.
Jesus may well have thought of as The Son of Man
as someone else, a figure representing the new Israel
who would superintend this new beginning.
After the crucifixion this figure
was clearly identified as Jesus returning.
Mark’s Gospel & parts of Matthew’s
are thus at odds with other later writings
which tend to push this event
further & further into the future.
Luke tends to write in this manner:
he knows that the anticipation of the end Time
has led to speculation as to its precise moment;
& here & at his story of the Ascension
he suggests such guessing games are counter-productive:
“It is not for you to know the times & the seasons.”
In taking this stand,
he could well claim to be true
to Christ’s original teaching
as preserved in this passage.
As in his brief parables
of the Salt, the Yeast, the Light & the Seed growing in secret,
Jesus proclaims a God whose actions
are dynamic but surreptitious;
& the same contention comes here:
God’s coming (whenever it might take place)
is indeed dynamic yet like milk (pasteurized/past your eyes)
before you see it.
The power & surprise of the lightening flash
is in direct contrast with a religion
that can be assessed, its times & seasons predictable.
Such a faith is no more than a dead corpse
betrayed by the wheeling vultures
who take no notice of a swiftly moving traveller.
……………………………………….
Luke 17 vv 11 ~ 19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’
………………………………………………….
And he was a Samaritan.
Three mentions of Samaritans
are made in Luke’s “special section”.
Perhaps, although the geographical note here is imprecise,
Luke adds them because he knows
a journey from Galilee to Jerusalem
(which provides the framework of this section)
involves usually going through Samaria.
However, Luke avoids having Jesus
make direct contact with the population.
He will tell that story in Acts.
However, here & in the Parable of the Good Samaritan,
there is a favourable attitude
to these fellow worshippers of the God of Abraham & Moses.
In both there is a contrast
between this despised race
& the “true Jews”.
It is difficult to see
how the Samaritan’s faith
has cured him
& by implication, not the other nine:
Are the words “Your faith has healed you,”
just added unthinkingly by rote
from the conventional endings
of other healing stories?
However, the story does drive home the vital connection
between “Please” & “Thank you.”
They are not simply words of politeness.
Both, when they become prayers,
speak of a heartfelt spirituality:
a knowledge of one’s dependence upon God
both before & after his power is expressed in action.
………………………
Luke 17 vv 1 ~ 10
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, “I repent”, you must forgive.’
The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you.
‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” ’
………………………………………………………….
We have done only what we ought to have done!
This parable is found only in this Gospel
…. & it seems to go against
the far more dramatic picture found elsewhere
of the master doing exactly what here
it says it would be surprising for one to do:
serving rather than commanding.
However, the tone is typical of St Luke,
as is the setting:
a well-off establishment
in which the reader, Theophilus,
would feel at home.
And although Luke would not be one
to deny the call to sacrificial service
abandoning status in a life of generous giving,
he would be aware that this teaching
does not rule out the more common place ethic:
the duty expected from servants, slaves
& indeed all citizens.
…………………………………………..
Luke 16 v 19 ~ end
‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” ’
………………………………………..
Between you and us a great chasm has been fixed.
The gap between heaven & hell
is as great a divide
as there was between Dives & Lazarus
in their earthly life.
But the irony is that Dives
could have crossed that divide
& tended the poor man at his gate….
& the paradox of the parable’s ending
awakens us to the proclamation
that one did come back from the dead;
& though he met with as little response then
as he had done in his life,
he was & remains still ready to cross the divide
between rich & poor
& between heaven & hell…
no matter how great the chasm
or how remorselessly it seems fixed.
…………………………………..
Luke 16 vv 1 ~ 18
Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.” Then the manager said to himself, “What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.” So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?” He answered, “A hundred jugs of olive oil.” He said to him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.” Then he asked another, “And how much do you owe?” He replied, “A hundred containers of wheat.” He said to him, “Take your bill and make it eighty.” And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
‘Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.’
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him. So he said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God.
‘The law and the prophets were in effect until John came; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone tries to enter it by force. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a letter in the law to be dropped.
‘Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
………………………………………………………
Make friends for yourselves
by means of dishonest wealth…
The King James Bible spoke of friendship with
“The Mammon of Unrighteousness”
& John Wesley preached a sermon on this…
which rings true today when people are all too keen
to pillory bankers & newspaper magnates…
“An excellent branch of Christian wisdom
is here inculcated by our Lord on all his followers,
namely, the right use of money
–a subject largely spoken of, after their manner,
by men of the world;
but not sufficiently considered by those
whom God hath chosen out of the world.
These, generally, do not consider,
as the importance of the subject requires,
the use of this excellent talent.
Neither do they understand how to employ it to the greatest advantage;
the introduction of which into the world
is one admirable instance of the wise and gracious providence of God.
It has, indeed, been the manner of poets, orators, and philosophers,
in almost all ages and nations, to rail at this,
as the grand corrupter of the world,
the bane of virtue, the pest of human society….
But is not all this mere empty rant?
Is there any solid reason therein?
By no means.
For, let the world be as corrupt as it will,
is gold or silver to blame?
“The love of money,” we know, “is the root of all evil;”
but not the thing itself.
The fault does not lie in the money, but in them that use it.
It may be used ill: and what may not?
But it may likewise be used well.”
………………………………………….
Luke 15 v 11 ~ end
Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” ’
…………………………………………………….
While he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion.
The proper name for this parable
should be “The Lost Son”
for it forms a group with the much briefer parables
of the Lost Sheep & the Lost Coin.
The name “The Prodigal Son”
comes from the heading in the King James Bible
& concentrates on one graphic moment in the story
where the son squanders his cash in riotous living.
However, if we want to use this evocative word “prodigal”
perhaps we should use it of the Father.
He is indeed the key person in the story…
& surely Jesus is telling us,
as in the two earlier parables,
not what we are like
but what God is like.
The shepherd will risk his life to find the sheep;
the woman will search high & low for the coin
~ probably the missing piece in a patterned piece of jewellery
made up of coins.
The father in this story
is prodigal to start off with
in giving the son his inheritance,
pre-empting his own death.
He is prodigal in welcoming him back again
without any accusations.
And he is prodigal too with the elder resentful son:
What an expression of God’s own prodigality
~ his generosity to all creation ~
is found in those words
delivered so lovingly
by the father to his elder boy…
“Son, you are always with me,
and all that is mine is yours.”
…………………………………………………
Luke 15 vv 1 ~ 10
Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’
So he told them this parable: ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.
‘Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.” Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’
…………………………………………………………………
…the one that is lost…
In Matthew the sheep has strayed.
Here in Luke it is simply lost.
This is very much in keeping
with the gentle attitude of Luke
towards those to whom he sees Christ reaching out…
It is in this Gospel we hear Christ
praying on the cross for those executing him:
“Forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
……………………………………..
Luke 14 vv 12 ~ 24
He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
15 One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, ‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’ 16Then Jesus said to him, ‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. 17At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” 18But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my apologies.” 19Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my apologies.” 20Another said, “I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.” 21So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” 22And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” 23Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.” ’
…………………………………………………………………
Luke 14 vv 1 ~ 11
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. 2Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. 3And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, ‘Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?’ 4But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. 5Then he said to them, ‘If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?’ 6And they could not reply to this.
Humility and Hospitality
7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. 8‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
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Luke 13 v 22 ~ end
Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few be saved?’ He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us”, then in reply he will say to you, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” But he will say, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!” There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.’
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ He said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox for me, “Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem.” Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” ’
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‘Strive to enter through the narrow door.’
Matthew has a similar saying;
but there the picture is of a road, or a gate…
presumably that of the entrance into a walled city.
This is a feasible image of heaven,
which occurs especially
at the climax of the Book of Revelation;
later generations developed the idea,
with heaven as a sort of barricaded zone
& St Peter acting as the operator of the portcullis.
Luke may have altered the image
to let it lead on more naturally
to the parable of the midnight visitors.
However, the concept of the door rather than the gate or road
is much more in the style of Luke,
for homes & hospitality feature over & over again in his gospel.
And it could well be argued that this concept
might be more in tune with the teaching of Jesus himself.
Heaven is not a fortified city
but a home (with many rooms)
to which God longs to welcome his own.
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Luke 13 vv 10 ~ 21
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
He said therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.’
And again he said, ‘To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’
…………………………………………………………………………..
When he said this,
all his opponents were put to shame.
This is one of the miracle cures
like the raising of the son of the widow of Nain
found only in Luke’s Gospel.
It is the last time Luke records Jesus
preaching in a synagogue.
Some have seen it as a symbolic story
~ a parallel to the preceding parable
of the barren fig tree
suggesting God’s yearning to heal his people,
bent & barren as they are.
The division caused by the miracle
expressed in the different reactions to it
anticipates the end of Luke’s work
where, in the Acts of the Apostles,
Paul turns from his own people
to address the Gentiles.
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Luke 13 vv 1 ~ 9
At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’
Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” ’
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Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?
In the Sermon on the Mount
Jesus drives home a similar point:
the God who is indiscriminate in his “punishments”
is equally haphazard in his blessings:
he lets the sun shine
on good & bad alike.
It was this radical view of the universe
(difficult as it was for pious generations to accept)
that eventually allowed civilization to move
away from magic & superstition
& towards science.
It is also a teaching that helps faith
come to some understanding of the “Problem of Evil”.
The God who concerns himself with a sparrow’s fall
does not allow his emotions
to drive him to tinkering with the outworking
of the creation to which,
along with humankind,
he gave both freedom & independence.
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Habakkuk 2 vv 1 ~ 4
1 I will stand at my watch-post,
and station myself on the rampart;
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what he will answer concerning my complaint.
2 Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.
3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay.
4 Look at the proud!
Their spirit is not right in them,
but the righteous live by their faith.
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If the vision seems to tarry, wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay.
The Feast of St Thomas is properly marked
on the day of the winter equinox: December 21st.
Thus in Pete Townsend’s rock opera “Tommy”,
which takes its inspiration from the saint’s story.
the deaf dumb & blind boy who plays pinball
relying on the sense of touch
appears first on Christmas Day:
“Tommy does not know what day it is.
He does not know who Jesus is or what praying is.
How can he be saved,
from the eternal grave?”
Some suggest St Thomas was honoured
late in December towards the year’s end
because he was the last of the apostles
to come to believe in the risen Christ.
Others suggest he is honoured on the longest night
as this is an image of the darkness of his doubt.
Actually those who constructed our calendar
bit by bit but with beautiful symmetry
had the Birth of Jesus in mid-winter
balanced by the Birth of the Baptist in mid-summer
& similarly had the Feast of Thomas in December
balancing that of Peter in June.
Both Peter & Thomas wavered
yet they were the first to see
Christ’s full significance:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!”
“My Lord and my God!”
Peter is given the name Cephas, Rock,
& Christ proclaims that on this rock
his new community will be built.
The same image is repeated in the readings
still set for this feast day…
“You are no longer strangers and aliens,”
says the Epistle to the Ephesians,
“but you are citizens with the saints
and also members of the household of God,
20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
21 In him the whole structure is joined together
and grows into a holy temple in the Lord;
22 in whom you also are built together spiritually
into a dwelling-place for God.”
And December 21st is also the day
when the sixth Advent Antiphon is sung:
REX GENTIUM:
“Desire of nations
come & build
the city that with love is filled.
Set firm the cornerstone secure,
the rock that ever shall endure.”
It does seem a great act of faith
on the part of Jesus
to let the future of his community
depend on people like Thomas & Peter
& yet he relied on them
in the same way that today
he relies on us with all our doubt
& dubious staying power.
But then he was willing to wait…
& though he must get very impatient with us
he is still sold on the long haul.
And God asks us to persevere
& show patience in the same way:
“If the vision seems to tarry, wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay.”
It will not delay?
Two millennia of waiting…
that really is procrastination on a major scale.
Yet the point about history from God’s perspective
more happens behind the scenes
than on stage.
“We may not count her armies,
we may not see her King;
her fortress is a faithful heart,
her pride is suffering;
and soul by soul & silently
her shining bounds increase,
and her ways are ways of gentleness
and all her paths are peace.”
“Soul by soul & silently…”
This is the way the communion of saints
is built up or “knitted together”.
Tommy, the deaf, dumb & blind boy,
lives in a silent world
where he hears Jesus say
as he said to St Thomas, “Touch me, feel me…”
Healing comes as in the Gospels by touch,
not a magic touch
but the touch of a wounded hand.
When someone is dying
words are less & less use
as a way of communicating.
It may be that we need to use drugs
to take away that last remaining sense
the sense of feeling that feels pain.
Yet it is the squeeze of the hand,
the wiping of the fevered brow
that become the last so expressive
expression of love.
And the Good News of the Gospel
is still best communicated in this way.
After all, the Word did not become
a legal code or a library.
It became flesh;
& it is by ignoring the sheer physicality
of the one who held the daughter of Jairus
by the hand
& who made a whip of cords,
& who took little children in his arms
that the Gospel has shrivelled rather than spread.
“Do this in remembrance of me,” he said,
not, “Say this.”
“Touch me,” not “Talk about me.”
Verbiage & intellectualization
has stultified what should be
dynamic, graphic & tangible.
Perhaps we are still waiting for the vision
because we are expecting to see something
rather than feeling anything.
And perhaps far too many are being left
without glimpsing the vision
because we are still talking about it
rather than doing anything about it.
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Luke 12 v 49~ end
‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’
He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
‘And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? Thus, when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case, or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.’
……………………………………………………………
What stress I am under until it is completed!
This passage, although strung together
in an apparently haphazard way,
is similar in many ways to the sayings
collected in the Apocryphal Gospel of Thomas
& has the air of being a faithful record
of the original teachings of Jesus.
The mood is apocalyptic
but the warnings about the end-time
are not abstruse or esoteric
but expressed in the style of proverbs
& homespun peasant common sense.
The link, though, with the deeper purpose
of Luke’s Gospel ~ a purpose shared with that of St John ~
comes with the word “completed”.
At the Transfiguration in Luke
Jesus speaks of all he has to accomplish or perfect
in his last journey to Jerusalem;
& the last words of Christ on the cross in John’s Gospel
take up this same theme.
The suffering of Christ
which anticipates that of his followers
is like the birth pangs of a new age.
There is a baptism of fire to undergo
& the manner in which this stress is faced
ensures that this “completion”
is actually a new creation.
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Luke 12 vv 41 ~ 48
Peter said, ‘Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?’ And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says to himself, “My master is delayed in coming”, and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. But one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.
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From one to whom much has been entrusted,
even more will be demanded.
As the description of the watchful disciple
with a light kept burning
hints at the Parable of the Wise & Foolish Virgins,
so this brief affirmation
hints at the Parable of the Talents.
Did Jesus teach first & illustrate afterwards?
Or did he summarize his stories with such pithy sayings?
However they evolved
the inter-relation between these sayings & parables
found in different strands of the early Christian tradition
bears witness to the integrity of Christ’s teaching
& of the way it was formulated & transmitted.
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Luke 12 vv 32 ~ 40
‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’
………………………………………………..
He will fasten his belt
and have them sit down to eat,
and he will come and serve them.
The lit lamps is a detail surviving from the parable
~ found in Matthew at this point ~
of the Wise & Foolish Virgins.
Luke simply gives a graphic cameo
of the person awaiting their master.
Although the early church expected the return of Jesus
at any moment,
by the time Luke writes time has moved on
& we are closer to the medieval perspective
where the Day of Doom lies far in the future
& the mind is fixed on a judgement that comes
very soon after the moment of death.
This means the moment of assessment & reward
becomes much more personal
…. & here intimate.
the picture of the slave who has been preparing for their master
suddenly being tended by the one who returns
& for whom the preparations have been made
is a direct parallel to the acted parable in John:
The Washing of the Disciples’ Feet
at the Last Supper.
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Ezekiel 34 vv 11 ~ 16
For thus says the Lord God:
I myself will search for my sheep,
and will seek them out.
As shepherds seek out their flocks
when they are among their scattered sheep,
so I will seek out my sheep.
I will rescue them from all the places
to which they have been scattered
on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
I will bring them out from the peoples
and gather them from the countries,
and will bring them into their own land;
and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel,
by the watercourses,
and in all the inhabited parts of the land.
I will feed them with good pasture,
and the mountain heights of Israel
shall be their pasture;
there they shall lie down in good grazing land,
and they shall feed on rich pasture
on the mountains of Israel.
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep,
and I will make them lie down,
says the Lord God. I will seek the lost,
and I will bring back the strayed,
and I will bind up the injured,
and I will strengthen the weak,
but the fat and the strong I will destroy.
I will feed them with justice.
………………………………………………
I will rescue my sheep from all the places
to which they have been scattered
on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
The people of the northern kingdom of Israel,
when it had been defeated by the Assyrians,
were taken off into exile in Nineveh.
The people of the southern kingdom of Judah
after the fall of Jerusalem
were taken into exile in Babylon.
Others, like the group of which Jeremiah was part,
found their way into Egypt.
Although the rescue spoken of here
is that of the return to Jerusalem
with the relaxed Persian policies
following the defeat of Babylon,
these words have found an echo
in the hearts of all those who down the ages
have been scattered far from the land
for which they sigh
& to which they seek to return.
Jesus sees his people as a flock
straying without a shepherd’s care,
& urges Peter to tend them.
Paul’s ministry is initially one
to the Diaspora, the scattered people of God;
but very soon his vision becomes one
of many peoples & nations
to be gathered together
through God’s redeeming grace.
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Luke 12 vv 13 ~ 21
Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’
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So it is with those who store up
treasures for themselves
but are not rich towards God.
Being “rich towards God”
is what life is all about.
My job is one of the things
that allow me to serve God in this world
through my material possessions.
Whether it is providing for my family
or in giving help to others,
my job is a means to the end
or goal I have in sight.
However, it is not the end or goal of my life,
just like the material possessions it allows me to have
are not my life’s goal or end.
If we would just understand that our work (job)
is not our life,
but only provides us a way to live our lives,
we would be much happier and satisfied.
When our jobs become the focus of our lives
and what we live for,
then we have some of our priorities in the wrong places.
Are you rich?
I am!
Not in physical things,
but my earnest desire is to be rich
towards God, his church, and his people!
~ Russ Lawson
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Luke 12 vv 1 ~ 12
Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered in thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.
‘I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
‘And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.’
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Everyone who acknowledges me before others,
the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God.
The word acknowledge
implies more than a nod of recognition.
Whereas the Son of Man
is seen in other versions of his role in the End Time
as a Judge & assessor of all lives & eras,
here in Luke he emerges taking a gentler role,
that of an arbitrator or go-between.
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Matthew 10 vv 40 ~ 42
Jesus said to the twelve:
40 ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward;
and whoever welcomes a righteous person
in the name of a righteous person
will receive the reward of the righteous;
42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple –
truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’
…………………………………….
‘Whoever gives even a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple –
truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’
Reading this affirmation,
one cannot but recall the death
of the poet & soldier Sir Philip Sidney
who died declining a drink of water on the battlefield
giving it instead to a common soldier
with the words,
“His need is greater than mine.”
However, this passage is not about charity
but about the call to follow Christ.
What matters is not the gift but its recipient.
The “little one”, as elsewhere in Matthew’s Gospel,
is one of his designated followers
who trek the dusty roads following their Master
& are in great need of refreshment.
Although this Gospel
has usually a very different take on the Christian life
from that found in the letters of St Paul,
we are very close here to his concept of the “Body of Christ”.
Indeed, as original a thinker as was St Paul,
& distinctive as is his elucidation of the Christian faith,
he was not as radical as might at first be supposed.
It is proper to look for continuity,
& discern the ways the teaching of Christ
was developed by Paul in a genuine way.
Such a passage as this,
affirming the oneness of the messenger
with the one who has sent him,
along with the statement that
“where one or two are gathered together
there am I in the midst of them”
could well be the seeds of Paul’s affirmation
of the integration of the believer with Christ
found in such statements as “We have the mind of Christ”,
“We are baptized into Christ”,
& “We are the Body of Christ.”
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Luke 11 v 37 ~ end
While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.
‘But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practised, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honour in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the market-places. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.’
One of the lawyers answered him, ‘Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too.’ And he said, ‘Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, “I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute”, so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.’
When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile towards him and to cross-examine him about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.
……………………………………………………………………………………….
This generation may be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world.
Matthew’s account of the Crucifixion
has the crowd cry the fateful words
“His blood be upon us & upon our children!”
which appallingly gave the excuse later
for persecution down the ages.
Luke’s words here seem deliberately to limit guilt
to this one generation.
The whole passage is shorter than the parallel
in Matthew 23…
& this may suggest that this Evangelist
was copying from a shared text
but truncating it
bearing in mind his predominantly Gentile readers.
Luke seems also at first sight
to be less accurate than Matthew
in speaking of the persecuted as “prophets”.
In Matthew’s version they are simply “the righteous”.
The Zechariah who was killed in the temple
was not the prophet Zechariah;
& Abel lived long before the prophets emerged.
However, Luke, or indeed the shared source,
may have had a more general
& perhaps deeper understanding
of what prophecy involved.
Hebrews 11 recalls Abel’s blood
crying to God from the ground
& sees this as an act of faith,
a prophetic voice from the tomb, as it were.
Equally the Zechariah who died
was indeed a priest rather than a prophet;
but the father of John the Baptist,
though equally a priest
is recorded in Luke’s Gospel
as declaiming the Benedictus
which has very much the feel of prophecy:
“You shall go before the Lord
to prepare his ways.”
…………………………………
Psalm 85 v 7 ~ end
7Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
9Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
11Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.
………………………………………………………
Surely the Lord’s salvation
is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
The idea of salvation in the Bible
is initially conceived in political terms.
The Judge leads the tribal confederacy
to rescue them from oppressors.
The King gives to the nation
security & peace.
When the monarch fails
& the Prophet proclaims how trust in God
can bring salvation
it is again a political stability
of which he speaks.
The movement headed by the Baptist
which was on his imprisonment
inherited by Jesus,
was a movement suppressed
first by Herod & then by the Romans,
for they perceived it as a political threat.
The salvation looked for by the first disciples
was a liberation from the foreign power.
It was natural for this concept
to be broadened, with the nation’s foes
being agents of dark forces:
& so in medieval thought
& then in the doctrines of the Reformation
salvation was from the power of Hell.
This mythic interpretation of the word
has meant that salvation has been understood
in individual terms, the saving of souls,
rather than having a corporate understanding:
the well-being of a whole nation or group.
John the Baptist did not have an agenda
that was simply political,
any more than Jesus did;
but they both deliberately began their ministry
in the desert & by the Jordan
recalling the birth of the nation
first under Moses & then under Joshua.
One cannot today discard
either medieval imagery
or reformation doctrine
for the seeds of both are there
in the writings of the prophets & of St Paul.
They are not total misrepresentations
of all the Baptist & Christ lived & died for.
However, to be totally true to their teaching
salvation must be seen as
not “my” salvation, but the whole world’s.
It must be understood not as a single pious person
squeezing into heaven,
but as the transformation of secular structures,
the formation of liberated communities
&, ultimately, a new creation.
…………………………………………
Luke 9 vv 11 ~ 17
When the crowds found out about it, they followed him; and he welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured.
The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.’ But he said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.’ For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, ‘Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.’ They did so and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
……………………………………………….
For there were about five thousand men.
This miracle is found in Mark 6 vv 30 ~ 40
where the evangelist recounts the figure “5,000”
deliberately at the end of the story.
Mark then goes on to recount a parallel miracle
with different numbers,
about which Jesus cross-questions his disciples.
Luke omits this second miracle
& it is suggested that he does so deliberately
being conscious of the numerological symbolism.
On this hypothesis,
the first miracle represents the Eucharist
shared by the renewed tribes of Israel
while the second signifies the Eucharist
shared eventually by all nations….
& this miracle Luke omits
as he is going to recount this narrative
in the Acts of the Apostles
& therefore has no need
to foreshadow it symbolically.
…………………………………………..
Luke 11 vv 1 ~ 13
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’
And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’
………………………………………………………………
‘Suppose one of you has a friend,
and you go to him at midnight and say to him,
“Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;
for a friend of mine has arrived,
and I have nothing to set before him.”
Because of the heat,
journeys were often taken by night,
& so this story is not so fanciful
as it might at first appear.
However, prayer meetings in the Early Church
also took place at night…
& the imagery of dark & light
like that of need answered by generosity
sharpens the expectant quality
so often lacking in daytime prayer.
The urgency of Christian prayer
is also underlined by Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer.
The bread is not “daily” in the sense of it being routine,
a request that every day needs might be answered.
rather it is the urgency of Every Day,
the word of God being broken afresh
moment by moment.
………………………………..
Luke 10 v 38 ~ end
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’
…………………………………………..
A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
Jesus seems to have had a knack
of being rude to his hosts
…. or at least criticizing them:
But perhaps this story is placed here
as a counterbalance to the story that precedes it.
the story of the Good Samaritan
holds up for us the virtue of love & service.
this story reminds us
of how love & service is inspired.
Jesus tells Martha
not that her work as a hostess is wrong
but that her tasks are distracting her
from what inspires them.
We may go a little further back in the Gospel
& re-read the Parable of the Sower…
The word comes first,
& like the seed it needs to take root
& grow unimpeded
before it can bear fruit.
What Martha is doing is not wrong,
but a life of service can turn into a cul-de-sac
if it is not prefaced by a time of quiet listening.
Is Luke coming close here
to the great thrust of Paul’s polemic
proclaiming a how faith rather than works
is what must undergird our life?
…………………………………….
Luke 10 vv 25 ~ 37
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
…………………………………………………….
‘And who is my neighbour?’
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
shares many traits of the other stories
found only in Luke’s Gospel
such as the Walk to Emmaus & the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
Each is dramatic & moving
& all involve journeying & hospitality.
Each in turn speaks of a generosity & joy
upon which this evangelist puts a high premium.
Each story can stand very much on its own
& fits only loosely
into the narrative context of the Gospel.
Here, for instance,
the question that prompts the parable
& the question with which it concludes
have resonated down the centuries
in the world’s conscience.
But the word “neighbour” can refer
both to the one who tends
& to the one who is tended…
& although the given “moral” of the story
is that one should go & have compassion on those in need,
the dramatic impact of the story
lies in the fact that the person having compassion on us
in not necessarily “one of us”
~ love comes from unexpected quarters,
from “neighbours” who we may initially regard as aliens.
The point of the story,
once it is removed from its immediate context,
is thus about prejudice rather than good works:
it is about the re-drawing of boundaries
in the context of the universality of love’s imperative
rather than simply about the duty to love.
The remarkable thing about the parable is, after all,
is the way it asks us to share the perspective
not of those travelling along the road,
but of the one lying by the roadside crying for help.
…………………………………………………
2 Corinthians 13 vv 11 ~ 13
11 Brothers and sisters,
put things in order, listen to my appeal,
agree with one another, live in peace;
and the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the saints greet you.
13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, *
the love of God, *
and the communion of the Holy Spirit *
be with all of you.
…………………………..
Luke 8 vv 1 ~ 16
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.
‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But at the judgement it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum,
will you be exalted to heaven?
No, you will be brought down to Hades.
‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’
…………………………………………………..
After this the Lord appointed seventy others…
Counting the numbers of Noah’s descendants
in Genesis 10 & 11,
ancient tradition asserted there were 70 nations on earth
each with their allotted land.
It may therefore be assumed
that as 12 disciples were appointed
to create a new Israel,
an apostle for each tribe,
so the 70 were appointed to create a new world.
For Luke, with his concern to show how the gospel
was proclaimed throughout the world,
the mission of the 70
thus takes on especial significance.
the pairing of the disciples,
has a good deal of practicality:
in acts we see similar partnerships ~
Peter & John, Paul & Barnabas ~
but this could also be a symbolic feature:
as the animals went into the ark two by two
to become the cradle of a new world,
so the disciples go out in pairs
to see the world rescued once more.
………………………………………
Luke 7 v 51 ~ end
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’
…………………………………………………..
When the days drew near for him to be taken up,
he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
At this point an entirely new section of the Gospel begins:
sometimes called Luke’s special section,
because by & large its content is found only in Luke
& not in the other three canonical gospels.
The section consists of stories & sayings
loosely strung together around the story
of Christ’s last journey up to Jerusalem
& these words that introduce it
link it with the Elijah & Elisha stories
to which references in Luke have already been seen.
However, there seems from the outset
a deliberately distancing of this narrative
from that found in the Books of the Kings…
In 2 Kings 1 Elijah does call down fire from heaven;
while in 1 Kings 19 Elisha is allowed
to bid farewell to his parents.
…………………………………………..
Luke 9 vv 37 ~ 50
On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, ‘Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It throws him into convulsions until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.’ Jesus answered, ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.’ While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, ‘Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.’ But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, and said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.’
John answered, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.’
…………………………………………………………….
And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
This passage is based almost word for word
on the narrative of Mark 9.
Luke shortens his originally considerably,
& in particular omits the question posed by the disciples
as to their failure to effect the cure.
Instead Luke has the more straightforward
awe of the crowds at the miracle.
In the Acts of the Apostles
Luke is going to recount the way
the disciples do actually continue Christ’s healing ministry
& so there this would possibly dissuade him
from downplaying their role here.
…………………………………..
Luke 9 vv 28 ~ 36
Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
………………………………………….
They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure,
which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
This passage has its parallels in Mark 9 & Matthew 17;
but Luke alone tells of the subject of the conversation
between Jesus, Moses & Elijah.
In so doing we find another parallel with John,
whose Gospel presents the cross
as very much a triumph rather than a defeat
with Christ’s final words indicating victory:
“It is accomplished!”
This indeed suggests the reason
for the presence of Moses & Elijah
for the conclusion of both of their deaths were mysterious.
Elijah does not die but ascends to heaven
carried by a chariot of fire.
Moses does not enter the Promised Land
but disappears on a mountain
with no-one being able to trace his grave.
Although Christ’s end is described
using the stuff of myth:
angels, mountains, clouds…
his death is all too real.
indeed this might be said to add to its significance
for the glory gained
shines through the reality of pain & desolation.
a victory is the greater
when it is over a real & powerful foe.
…………………………………………..
Luke 9 vv 18 ~ 27
Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ They answered, ‘John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’
He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, ‘The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.’
Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.’
……………………………………………………………..
Jesus was praying alone.
Peter’s Confession at Caesarea Philippi
comes in the centre of Mark’s Gospel
& leads to the Transfiguration
& the final journey up to Jerusalem.
As Luke has more material to add
this incident does not seem so pivotal;
yet Luke is very much aware of its significance
for he prefaces it along with other crucial moments
with the note that Jesus was praying.
Christ’s relationship with his heavenly Father
thus becomes crucial to the narrative…
for as at the Baptism, it is in this context
that Christ’s identity is disclosed
to himself & then to others.
………………………………
John 7 vv 37 ~ 39
37 On the last day of the festival, the great day,
while Jesus was standing in the temple, he cried out,
‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,
38 and let the one who believes in me drink.
As the scripture has said,
“Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”’
39 Now he said this about the Spirit,
which believers in him were to receive;
for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
………………………………………………………
As yet there was no Spirit,
because Jesus was not yet glorified.
This seems to be one of the points
where John is singing from the same hymn sheet as Luke.
Usually John seems to concertina Christ’s impact:
The Ascension & the giving of the Spirit
seems to happen as Christ is hoisted up on the cross
& water flows from his side.
Luke, on the other hand,
lets each theological event unfold
chapter by chapter,
3 days, 40 days, 8 days…
gradually the mystery unfolds.
So here, the disciples have to wait for the Spirit
until Christ’s work is complete
& theirs begins, glorifying God in bearing much fruit.
In the Old Testament the Spirit seems ever active,
speaking, as the Creed says, through the prophets.
How is it, then, that in this most mystical of gospels
which proclaims from the outset
the pre-existence of Christ
the third person of the Trinity
has to be placed on the back burner
until circumstances, as it were,
allow this last evolution of the divine being?
Are we to link this prevaricating statement
with the similar command to Mary:
“Do not touch me…”
which contrasts so forcefully with the invitation
issued a week later to Thomas,
“Put your hand in my side…”
The Spirit is first mentioned in the Bible
at the moment of Creation,
as the Spirit of God moves on the water.
Every Baptism recalls this moment
as a New Creation is witnessed.
Could it be that this is what John proclaims:
the new creation of the body of Christ,
the resurrection happening as the new temple comes into being,
the new Spirit poured out
as this new age begins.
Foreshadowed indeed,
it is only now the Spirit comes into his own.
The difference between Luke & John
~ similar as they are as they tell the tale of Pentecost ~
is that Luke sees the coming of the Spirit beginning
a new chapter in God’s relationship with the world
whereas for John that moment
takes the old world
into a new dimension…
a new dimension for humanity
but also for God himself.
…………………………………….
Psalm 112
Praise the Lord!
Happy are those who fear the Lord,
who greatly delight in his commandments.
2Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures for ever.
4They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
6For the righteous will never be moved;
they will be remembered for ever.
7They are not afraid of evil tidings;
their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.
8Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
their righteousness endures for ever;
their horn is exalted in honour.
10The wicked see it and are angry;
they gnash their teeth and melt away;
the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.
………………………………………………
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.
This psalm is aptly chosen
to be used on the Feast of St Barnabas
someone whose positive attitude
gave great encouragement
to the Early Church.
Confidence & generosity
are two sides of the same coin,
one quality re-enforcing the other.
In a world where we are hemmed in
by the necessity to be on guard,
to take bureaucratic precautions
& to keep politically correct,
in a world where the media
can easily create an atmosphere
where the worst is believed
both of individuals & groups,
the examples of St Barnabas
& of those like him whom Psalm 112 champions
provide a much needed
inspirational counterbalance.
………………………………………….
Luke 8 v 40 ~ end
Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying.
As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her haemorrhage stopped. Then Jesus asked, ‘Who touched me?’ When all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.’ When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.’
While he was still speaking, someone came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.’ When Jesus heard this, he replied, ‘Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved.’ When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother. They were all weeping and wailing for her; but he said, ‘Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and called out, ‘Child, get up!’ Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astounded; but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.
………………………………………………..
Peter said, ‘Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.’
Luke’s version of this story
is once again heavily dependent upon St Mark…
but one of the alterations he makes is here,
naming Peter as the spokesman.
In Mark all the disciples express their bewilderment.
Luke is, of course, to tell us much more about Peter
in his sequel, the Acts of the Apostles,
& perhaps because of the close relationship
described in Acts between Peter & John
Luke here lists John next to Peter,
rather than following Mark
who has the more normal order here,
“Peter, James & John”.
……………………………….
Luke 8 vv 26 ~ 39
Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me’—for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion’; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
……………………………………………………………..
So he went away,
proclaiming throughout the city
how much Jesus had done for him.
The healing of the Gerasene demoniac
is a story copied by Luke from Mark 5 vv 1 ~ 20.
It is remarkable in that Gospel
in as much usually Jesus enjoins silence
whereas here he does actually command
that the news of the healing should be spread.
Perhaps the explanation for this
lies in the fact that the Decapolis
was a region beyond the Lake of Galilee
& thus considered Gentile territory:
on this argument, Jesus would enjoin silence at home
but publicity abroad.
Were Luke aware of this,
it would explain why he copies this ending of the story
with relish ~ “proclaiming” for Mark’s “making known” ~
for Luke is himself keenly interested in the mission to all.
However, Luke does seem to be unaware
of the exact geography of the area
interpreting Decapolis as the name of a city
rather than a region named after the Ten Towns
located there.
………………………………….
Luke 8 vv 16 ~ 25
‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.’
Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.’ But he said to them, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.’
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A gale swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?’
………………………………………
‘My mother and my brothers are those
who hear the word of God and do it.’
In Mark 3 Christ’s family come
to try & restrain him
believing him to be deranged.
Hearing of their presence
Jesus implicitly rejects them,
asking who they are…
& then replying that his family are those
who do God’s will.
Luke makes the whole encounter gentler.
The family come on the scene
with no particular motivation,
& Christ’s words about his true family could include them
as well as those listening to him.
This is one of many ways
in which Luke eliminates from his source
any element of aggression.
His Jesus is kind rather than confrontational.
……………………………………………..
Luke 8 vv 1 ~ 15
Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.
When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: ‘A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.’ As he said this, he called out, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’
Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that
“looking they may not perceive,
and listening they may not understand.”
‘Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.
…………………………………………………..
But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.
There is a significant difference
between the way Luke has Jesus tell this parable
& the version found in Matthew & Mark.
We call the story the Parable of the Sower…
but in Matthew & Mark the key element
is not the person who sows
but the ground on which he sows:
three different types of ground.
Thus the point of the parable
is neither the nature of the God
who sows his word,
nor the word that he sows,
but the nature of the hearts in which he sows.
Throughout Luke’s Gospel
there is always an emphasis on story & history…
the time line is far more closely defined
than anywhere else in the New testament.
Thus the story of Jesus
which has a concentrated impact in Mark’s Gospel
is unfolded with care in Luke’s Gospel:
Birth, childhood, call, ministry,
death, resurrection, ascension
& then the mission of the Church.
And here in this parable
it is the stages of growth that matter:
not the heart, but the story of how the heart responds.
the seed has to take root, grow & bear fruit
& the word has to be heard, understood & inspire action.
All this is present in Matthew & Mark;
it is Luke who has the dramatic flare
to concentrate on verbs rather than nouns,
a story rather than something more static.
……………………………………………
Luke 7 v 36 ~ end
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.’ Jesus spoke up and said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ ‘Teacher,’ he replied, ‘speak.’ ‘A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon answered, ‘I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have judged rightly.’ Then turning towards the woman, he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.’ Then he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’ And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’
……………………………………………….
The one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.
Graphic & effective as this story is
it has many discrepancies
compared to the parallels in John & Mark
where the incident is linked with the Passion
& the woman is not a sinner
but (in John) Mary, the sister of Lazarus & Martha.
Why would the Pharisee invite Jesus to his home
& then neglect him?
How did the woman gain access to the house?
Why would feet be anointed when it is the head,
as in the other accounts,
which is honoured with oil?
What is the point of the parable
when it is told prior to the pronouncing
of the forgiveness of the woman’s sins?
All this said,
the power of the story remains.
The discrepancies, those listed here
& the discrepancies between the different accounts of the story,
point to the incident having its roots
in an actual occurrence;
while the general drift of the story
underlines the message of Jesus
& his personality
~ especially as portrayed in Luke’s Gospel:
one who had time for those on society’s fringe,
one who valued the ministry of women,
one who was forgiving & gentle,
one who had a healing touch
& inspired others to such tender acts,
one who valued social occasions
& made them points of illumination
as well as of hospitality.
……………………………
John 17 vv 1 ~ 11
1 Jesus looked up to heaven and said,
‘Father, the hour has come;
glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,
2 since you have given him authority over all people,
to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
3 And this is eternal life,
that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
4 I glorified you on earth
by finishing the work that you gave me to do.
5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence
with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
6 I have made your name known
to those whom you gave me from the world.
They were yours, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you;
8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them,
and they have received them
and know in truth that I came from you;
and they have believed that you sent me.
9 I am asking on their behalf;
I am not asking on behalf of the world,
but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.
10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine;
and I have been glorified in them.
11 And now I am no longer in the world,
but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.
Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me,
so that they may be one, as we are one.’
…………………………………………..
The words that you gave to me I have given to them.
The Prologue to this Gospel
speaks of Jesus as God’s Word…
& now as the Gospel reaches its climax
we gradually see how those whom Christ has gathered
are now being commissioned
to be in their turn
an articulation of God’s power & purpose.
Christ’s Ascension
removes him from the world…
but those whom he leaves behind
~ if they remain in unity with him ~
are his presence in the world
for he is now present in them
ready to work through him.
………………………………
Luke 7 vv 18 ~ 35
The disciples of John reported all these things to him. So John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ When the men had come to him, they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” ’ Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. And he answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’
When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who put on fine clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.”
I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.’ (And all the people who heard this, including the tax-collectors, acknowledged the justice of God, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism. But by refusing to be baptized by him, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves.)
‘To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the market-place and calling to one another,
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not weep.”
For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.’
………………………………………………………
‘Blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’
This passage is found also almost word for word
in Matthew 11.
It has several details in common
with the Confession of Peter
at Caesarea Philippi
~ an incident found in Matthew Mark & Luke
but with greater detail in Matthew.
There Jesus first blesses Peter
but then upbraids him as having taken offence
at the prediction of Christ’s passion:
Peter has become not a Rock
but a stumbling block.
In the present passage, although the list of miracles
have been taken literally by both Matthew & Luke,
the original prophecy in Isaiah
has more of a metaphorical feel to them:
A highway is built through the desert,
rugged places become a plain,
the poor become well,
the dead come to life.
One salient detail, however,
is missing from Isaiah’s original list,
a detail actually quoted by Jesus
in his Sermon at Nazareth:
He sent me to bring release to captives…
But the Baptist is still in prison
& is losing faith.
Is the point of this encounter, therefore,
like that between Peter & Jesus later,
the cost of the coming Kingdom.
Unless one is ready to suffer for the Gospel,
the good news cannot be good news.
Jesus here thus ends by recalling
John’s original vocation
which was as a voice in the wilderness,
not one who aspired to supplant Herod
upon his well-padded throne?
……………………………………..
Luke 7 vv 11 ~ 17
Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, rise!’ The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen among us!’ and ‘God has looked favourably on his people!’ This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.
……………………………………………………….
When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her.
In the next passage
which Luke has probably taken from one of the sources
he shares with the evangelist Matthew,
Jesus gives a list of his activity
which provides his credentials.
In that list is mentioned
bringing the dead back to life;
& as Luke has not mentioned such a miracle
he inserts this momentous sign here.
It probably comes from a source
which presents Christ rather than the Baptist
as a Second Elijah…
a theme already touched upon in the Sermon at Nazareth:
Nain is near the village where Elisha
restored the Shunammite woman’s son back to life.
(2 Kings 4)
The story, although short,
& absent from all the other gospels
has distinctive features:
the presence of a coffin is suggested,
but these would be absent from Galilean peasant funerals.
Also the word for “being carried out”
comes only here in the Bible
& is a technical term for a funeral procession.
Finally, the passage is given importance
by the way Luke uses for the first time here
the word “Lord” of Jesus
~ & this is going to be his distinctive way
of reverently refering to Jesus
as his narrative unfolds.
…………………………………..
Acts 1 vv 1 ~ 11
1 In the first book, Theophilus,
I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning
2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.
3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them
by many convincing proofs,
appearing to them during forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 While staying with them,
he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem,
but to wait there for the promise of the Father.
‘This,’ he said, ‘is what you have heard from me;
5 for John baptized with water,
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit
not many days from now.’
6 So when they had come together, they asked him,
‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’
7 He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods
that the Father has set by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’
9 When he had said this, as they were watching,
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
10 While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven,
suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.
11 They said, ‘Men of Galilee,
why do you stand looking up towards heaven?
This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven,
will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’
…………………………………………………….
He was taken up…
There is no mechanism
within mortality,
no inner spring
that projects us as if we were
the Magic Roundabout’s Zebedee
up to heaven.
As the Bible tends to use the term
“Christ was raised”
rather than
“Christ rose,”
so the Ascension is described
in a way that suggests God
stooping & lifting
rather than humanity
~ even Christ’s humanity ~
self-elevating.
In daily life too,
lived in the light of Ascensiontide,
we find the grace of God
rather than any human effort
working amongst those who are down-hearted,
& bringing to the despondent
new & greater expectations.
………………………………………….
Colossians 2 v 20 ~ 3 v 4
If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe,
why do you live as if you still belonged to the world?
Why do you submit to regulations,
‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’?
All these regulations refer to things that perish with use;
they are simply human commands and teachings.
These have indeed an appearance of wisdom
in promoting self-imposed piety, humility,
and severe treatment of the body,
but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.
So if you have been raised with Christ,
seek the things that are above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things that are above,
not on things that are on earth,
for you have died,
and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ who is your life is revealed,
then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
……………………………………………………………..
If you have been raised with Christ,
seek the things that are above.
Worship demands the far distances of God;
it protests against the little, the near, the material.
It must love but it must look up.
It cannot live without the note of spirituality and universality,
if not mystery.
The ascension, the passing of Christ within the veil,
answers this need.
So does a full-robed Christianity add to definiteness of knowledge
the outreach of imagination and home.
~ Maltbie Davenport Babcock
…………………………………………..
Luke 1 vv 39 ~ 56
39 Mary set out and went with haste
to a Judean town in the hill country,
40 where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the child leapt in her womb.
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
42 and exclaimed with a loud cry,
‘Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
43 And why has this happened to me,
that the mother of my Lord comes to me?
44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting,
the child in my womb leapt for joy.
45 And blessed is she who believed
that there would be a fulfilment
of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
56 And Mary remained with her for about three months
and then returned to her home.
……………………………………………
As soon as I heard the sound of your greeting,
the child in my womb leapt for joy.
Life, some may argue,
begins at birth.
But this story points to the consciousness of a child
long before that moment.
Of course, it may be that what we have here
is meant to be taken as a miracle,
something out of the ordinary,
a wonder that comes about
because the child John has a wisdom
even within the womb,
or because the child Christ
has a charisma long before the first Christmas.
But even if we do read the story in this way,
we must remember the nature of the miraculous
in the Christian tradition.
Miracles are not contradictions
of the natural law:
they are not wonders or tricks
like those of pagan tradition.
Rather they are given
to show the potentiality of all life
to surprise & enrich us.
So here, what is true of these holy children
is true potentially of every child.
It is not just that a child’s physical health
can be endangered or enhanced
during those nine months of waiting.
The love & calm & joy
of a family awaiting a birth
can be felt by the waiting child,
& equally their movement within the womb
shows an anticipation & excitement
that can communicate with those
preparing for their birth.
Even so the Spirit of God
which moved on the face of the waters
prior to the dawn of the first day
is present drawing us together in love
long before those nine months of expectancy
are over.
………………………………………..
Luke 6 vv 27 ~ 38
‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’
………………………………………………
A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over,
will be put into your lap…
The measure in Matthew’s Version
has the feel of a law-giver’s assessment;
Luke has Jesus speak as a tradesman.
However, God is depicted as no profiteering stall-holder
but as a recklessly generous one.
Love, the essence of Christian living,
is no patronizing self-conscious virtue,
but a simple response to the generosity of God:
a kindness that knows no limits.
…………………………………………….
John 14 vv 15 ~ 21
Jesus said to his disciples:
15 ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate,
to be with you for ever.
17 This is the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees him nor knows him.
You know him, because he abides with you,
and he will be in you.
18 I will not leave you orphaned;
I am coming to you.
19 In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me;
because I live, you also will live.
20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father,
and you in me, and I in you.
21 They who have my commandments and keep them
are those who love me;
and those who love me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’
…………………………………………………………
They who have my commandments
and keep them
are those who love me.
Those who love little
pray little.
Those who love much
pray much.
~ St Augustine of Hippo
………………………………………………
Luke 6 vv 12 ~ 26
Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
‘Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
‘Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
‘But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
‘Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
‘Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
………………………………………………….
He came down with them and stood on a level place.
The passage which follows the call of the disciples
is absent in Mark but present in Matthew
as “The Sermon on the Mount”.
This material is different from that
which Luke & Matthew shared earlier
in relating the teaching of the Baptist
& the three Temptations:
here there is less verbatim agreement
indicating perhaps a shared tradition
rather than a shared text.
The Beatitudes, for instance,
are given in Matthew
to those of a particular spiritual disposition,
“meek” or “pure in heart” for instance,
whereas in Luke they are given to those
with more specific physical attributes:
“poor”; “hungry” ~ & laughing.
The other, seemingly deliberate, divergence
is the way Matthew keeps Jesus on the Mountain
teaching just his disciples,
whereas Luke has him come down
& teach crowds.
This does in fact reflect the distinctive character
of the two Gospels.
Matthew presents Jesus as a Second Moses
bringing new commandments
to twelve disciples
who are the new twelve tribes of Israel
in embryo;
whereas Luke has his eye
on the future worldwide mission of the Church.
……………………………………………..
Luke 6 vv 1 ~ 11
One sabbath while Jesus was going through the cornfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. But some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ Jesus answered, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions?’ Then he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’
On another sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. Even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come and stand here.’ He got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?’ After looking around at all of them, he said to him, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. ……………………………………………………..
But they were filled with fury
and discussed with one another
what they might do to Jesus.
Mark has the scribes discussing not amongst themselves
but with the supporters of Herod’s regime
what to do to Jesus.
This may be a deliberate omission on Luke’s part,
for as his story unfolds
he tries to make it clear that Jesus posed no political threat.
To have the religious leaders enlisting state power
at this early stage in Christ’s ministry
could leave the implication
that he was a danger to Rome
& their puppet king Herod.
……………………………………..
Luke 5 v 27 ~ end
After this he went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up, left everything, and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax-collectors and others sitting at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and sinners?’ Jesus answered, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.’
Then they said to him, ‘John’s disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink.’ Jesus said to them, ‘You cannot make wedding-guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.’ He also told them a parable: ‘No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, “The old is good.” ’
……………………………………………………………..
No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment.
As Luke puts it,
such an act is highly improbable.
Matthew & Mark are probably closer to the original
which speaks of the inexperienced tailor
using unweathered material for patches.
Christ in his original parable
was probably urging his disciples
to make a clear break with the shabby religion
to which faith had degenerated:
having put one’s hand to the plough
there must be no looking back.
The fresh garments of the kingdom
cannot be compromised.
Luke has, however, has a wider perspective.
He knows the controversies the Gospel is encountering
in the new international context;
but he also has respect for the ancient traditions
& does not wish to see them
either discarded or damaged
in this clash with the evolving new world
which the mission of the Church is engendering.
…………………………………………………..
Luke 5 vv 12 ~ 26
Once, when he was in one of the cities, there was a man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.’ Then Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, ‘I do choose. Be made clean.’ Immediately the leprosy left him. And he ordered him to tell no one. ‘Go’, he said, ‘and show yourself to the priest, and, as Moses commanded, make an offering for your cleansing, for a testimony to them.’ But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.
One day, while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting nearby (they had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem); and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. Just then some men came, carrying a paralysed man on a bed. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. When he saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you.’ Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, ‘Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, ‘Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven you”, or to say, “Stand up and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the one who was paralysed—‘I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home.’ Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God. Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen strange things today.’
……………………………………………………………..
They went up on the roof
and let him down with his bed
through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus.
This is one of the key passages for study
in the complicated assessment of the relationship
between the first three gospels
all of which carry this story virtually word for word.
That all three use the same words
in describing Jesus turning from his challengers
to the paralytic
shows this relationship is a literary one:
that is to say two are probably copying from the third.
Because Matthew misses out the drama
of the paralytic being taken up on to the roof
would seem to rule out this gospel as it stands
being the one on which the others are dependent.
Luke has a technical term “paralysed man”
rather than the more colloquial “paralytic”
found in Mark & Matthew
& this is what we would expect of a doctor
improving his text with a medical term
rather than the other two independently
making such a term more colloquial.
Also Luke seems to have imagined a house
built with a roof built with tiles
rather than the more likely poorer dwelling
with a flat roof with overhanging wattle
~ much more likely & certainly easier to remove
than the somewhat dangerous exercise
tiles would necessitate.
However, against these good arguments
for the primacy of Mark
we find here as elsewhere many minor agreements
of Luke & Mathew against Mark.
An example is the word for “bed”
which both Matthew & Luke use
instead of the stranger word used by Mark
which suggests a makeshift pallyass:
a sort of duvet stuffed with straw
which could be used as a stretcher
& could easily be rolled up & carried away.
In this instance one could imagine both Luke & Matthew
deciding to use a more familiar term;
but the number of yet more trivial agreements
make coincidence highly unlikely.
The most workable hypothesis
is therefore that Matthew & Luke are both copying
from a sort of second edition of Mark
~ whereas the version of Mark we have
is one that has not been “improved”.
……………………………………….
Luke 5 vv 1 ~ 11
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
…………………………………………………………………
‘Do not be afraid.’
The words of the angel to Mary
are now repeated by Jesus
as he commissions Peter.
Luke tells of the call of the disciples
later than does his chief source, Mark,
possibly so that it is clear what Christ’s followers
were letting themselves in for.
John places this incident at the end of his Gospel
recording it as the last resurrection appearance.
John & Luke share many of the details of the story
& over & over again, especially in small details,
this overlap can be noted.
Both evangelists see the story pointing forward
to the universal mission of the Church.
Luke, with his especial interest in the spread of the Gospel,
seems deliberately to tell the story of Peter’s call
accompanying it with his story
of the first miracle worked by Jesus
that is not part of his healing ministry.
…………………………………………
Luke 4 v 38 ~ end
After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.
As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. Demons also came out of many, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.
At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.’ So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.
………………………………………………………..
I was sent for this purpose.
Luke here is copying out, fairly verbatim,
Mark 1 vv 29 ~ 39…
& he seems to have made two minor alterations
with a degree of deliberation:
firstly all the crowds look for Jesus
& not just the disciples;
& when they find him Christ’s explanation
for why he is expanding his ministry
is different in Luke.
In Mark, Jesus says he “came out”
to spread the good news…
& this could refer either to the way
he literally came out of the town
to go to the desert place,
or to the way he came out from heaven
to bring good news to the world.
In Luke his words indicate
how he understands his ministry
as being under God’s command
rather than acting under his own volition.
His words take up those used
by God’s servant in the Isaiah passage
he has quoted in the sermon at Nazareth:
“I have been sent to bring good news to the poor…”
With these words Luke thus portrays Jesus
as the first of the apostles
~ the word he tends to use eventually
of the disciples.
Christ’s chosen ones
are not so much taught
(the literal meaning of the word disciple)
as sent
(the literal translation of the word apostle).
Jesus has been commissioned by God
& sent into the world
where he will send others on this universal mission.
………………………………………………………..
1 Peter 2 vv 2 ~ 10
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk,
so that by it you may grow into salvation –
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals
yet chosen and precious in God’s sight.
5 Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house,
to be a holy priesthood,
to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For it stands in scripture:
‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen & precious;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’
7 To you then who believe, he is precious;
but for those who do not believe,
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very head of the corner,’ and
8 ‘A stone that makes them stumble,
and a rock that makes them fall.’
They stumble because they disobey the word,
as they were destined to do.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim
the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness
into his marvellous light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.
…………………………………………….
Alone we can do so little;
together we can do so much.
~ Helen Keller
……………………………………………………..
Luke 4 vv 31 ~ 37
He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, ‘What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!’ And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.
………………………………………………..
He was teaching them on the sabbath.
This whole passage seems to have been copied
very faithfully from Mark 1 vv 21 ~ 28.
It may be that we should detect in the opening verse
an emphasis on the fact that Jesus was teaching
~ & therefore effecting a cure~ on the sabbath:
something which causes controversy
later in Mark’s Gospel
when in ch 3 he is criticized for the cure
of a man with a withered arm.
Luke also places later the story
of the call of the first disciples.
It may be that this reflects his concern as a doctor
to emphasize Christ’s healing ministry.
…………………………………………….
Luke 4 vv 14 ~ 30
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.” ’ And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’ When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
………………………………………………………..
No prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town.
The rejection of Jesus at Nazareth
anticipates his rejection & crucifixion in Jerusalem,
&, indeed, the rejection of Paul’s message
by the Jews of Rome
~ the incident with which Luke ends the Acts of the Apostles.
For Luke this rejection is strongly linked
with the welcome Christianity received
in other parts of the world.
In the Nunc Dimittis
Simeon welcomes the child
as both a light for the nations
& the glory of his own people;
but the narration as it unfolds shows Christ’s own people
to be blind to that glory.
In Luke’s narration Christ’s sermon in Nazareth
is deliberately placed here at the outset of Christ’s ministry.
Its mention of the concern for foreigners
shown first by Elijah & then by Elisha
~ Sidon & Syria both being foreign territory ~
emphasizes the fact that there is continuity
between the message brought to the Jews of old
& that brought to Luke’s contemporaries.
Whereas there were those amongst them,
notably followers of Paul like Marcion,
who wished to see a complete break from Judaism,
Luke is opposed to this,
& writes to claim the history of Judaism
as also the history of Christianity.
Thus, the mission to the world
is not something which began
with Paul & Barnabas,
but with Jesus & John….
& further back in time
with Elijah & Elisha.
………………………………….
Luke 4 vv 1 ~ 13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” ’
Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written,
“Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.” ’
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you”,
and
“On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’
Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’ When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
………………………………………………………..
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem…
This is one of the passages
Luke shares almost verbatim with Matthew.
Here the temptation in Jerusalem comes last
& it has been suggested that it is Luke
who has altered the order
because of the way he ends his Gospel in Jerusalem
& begins the Acts of the apostles there
showing how Christianity spread from here.
…………………………………………………
Luke 3 vv 15 ~ 22
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison.
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
…………………………………………………………………………..
When Jesus also had been baptized
and was praying,
the heaven was opened,
and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove.
For those who had seen Jesus emerge
as the key figure of the movement
to which they were committed,
it was an embarrassment to know
the clear record that he had been baptized by John,
whose followers continued as a group
parallel to Christians
long after the deaths of both John & Jesus.
Luke here, therefore,
tries to avoid the implication
that it was John’s act in baptizing Jesus
that led to the proclamation from heaven.
He puts Christ’s baptism in parenthesis…
“When Jesus had been baptized…“
putting the scene as it were off stage:
& then the narration makes the cue
for the voice from heaven
not John’s act but Christ’s prayer.
On this prayer we do not eavesdrop
as we are allowed to do in Gethsemane
or in the Fourth Gospel at the Last Supper.
But of all the Gospels Luke is the one
that presents Jesus as a person of prayer.
However, this does not lead to us
imagining Jesus as subordinate to his father,
asking things of him.
Rather, we have here one who is prayerful…
that is to say, a person is portrayed who is constantly
in deep communication with God,
not, therefore, subordinate to the Father,
but the reverse: one with him;
& this is indeed what the voice from heaven affirms.
…………………………………………
Luke 3 vv 1 ~ 14
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” ’
John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’
And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’
……………………………………………………
And the crowds asked him,
‘What then should we do?’
With this passage we can start to witness Luke dealing
with three of the major sources of his Gospel.
We can put his Gospel side by side with that of Mark
& work out fairly rapidly how
it is Luke that is dependent on the text preserved in Mark
rather than vice versa;
& then we can go on to see the degree of loyalty
Luke shows towards the text in Mark,
& where & how he feels it necessary to alter it.
We can also see how there is another text
~ evidenced first in the Baptist’s attack on the crowds here ~
that Luke shares with Matthew’s Gospel;
& as this text can only be reconstructed
by seeing the overlaps between the two gospels
it is harder to see where they are diverging from the original…
& the possibility can never be ruled out
that passages appear in only one of the gospels
came from this shared source…
& indeed the possibility that this shared source
was actually originally more than one document.
Thirdly we can see passages which could be ascribed
to the shared source,
but which in the first instance be ascribed
to sources peculiar to Luke.
The chronological note starting this section of Luke’s Gospel
fits very much into this category
for in it we see concern for history
typical of Luke elsewhere,
his desire to place the genesis of Christianity
into a wider universal context,
& his tendency to contrast the powerful with the poor:
here, for instance, God’s word is not heard
in the great capital cities
but out in the wilderness.
the last section of this passage
is again peculiar to Luke,
& it pursues this contrast
between the powerful & the poor
with john’s social teaching.
there is a gentler tone
than in the preliminary attack…
advice rather than condemnation;
& the passage helps us to see
the stance of the Baptist’s community
& evidence in favour of the hypothesis
that the canticles preserved in the first chapters of Luke
were originally the psalmody of this community,
rejoicing as they do
in the powerful being brought down
& the poor being lifted up.
However, the passage may also be seen as anticipating
the greater spiritual struggle
to which this teaching provides an overture:
the testing of Christ’s role that is to take place
in the threefold challenges put in the wilderness.
The agenda for the crowds here
is not to rely on bread alone,
while the advice to the tax collectors & soldiers
may be seen as foreshadowing the decision
to rely on God alone
rather than seeking to bolster up one’s own security
by the reliance on worldly power.
……………………………………………
Luke 2 v 41 ~ end
Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travellers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour.
…………………………………………………………….
Look,
your father and I have been searching for you
in great anxiety.
This is the only story in the Bible
relating to Christ’s infancy.
Other later Gospels not included in the Bible
tell other stories about Jesus growing up
mostly laced with more fanciful elements
of the miraculous.
Why Luke include4d this isolated story
may be explained by the fact it has elements
which this Gospel will return
as its narrative unfolds.
Firstly there is the emphasis on Jerusalem.
Whereas the other Gospels suggest
the risen Christ met his disciples in Galilee
Luke’s story holds them in Jerusalem,
or o few miles outside the capital;
& this allows the narrative to continue in Acts
with Jerusalem as the centre from which
the Gospel is spread,
& to which reports of success & problems
are formally made.
Secondly, although the temple
was a relatively new building,
Herod the Great having begun work on it
partly to curry favour with his subjects
& partly as an ego-trip enterprise.
Historically, therefore, at the time of Jesus
the temple might have been
a controversial & dubious building site
rather than the romantic holy place
suggested by Luke’s narrative.
In investing the national shrine with such an aura
is probably motivated by another part of his agenda.
There were many among the early Christians
~ in particular the heretic Marcion ~
who took the teachings of Paul to extremes
& advocated the severance of all links with Judaism.
Luke, especially in this early part of his Gospel
subtly fights back against such ideas,
stressing the links with the ancient Hebrew traditions…
& in this the role of the temple is obviously key.
All this said, fitting this short & charming story
in to the general sweep of the narrative
has had to be accomplished with some degree of skill.
Mary has been told, “Fear not!”
& she has fulfilled her role with calm trust.
Here, however, she panics
& admits to the stress her son is giving her…
& she speaks to Jesus about Joseph
quite naturally as “your father”
having to be gently corrected by her son
who speaks about another Father
(of whom presumably we must assume
Jesus has been told by Mary?)
a Father in whose house Jesus is at home
& whose more important tasks he now has to tackle.
…………………………………………..
John 10 vv 1 ~ 10
Jesus said:
1 ‘Very truly, I tell you,
anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate
but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit.
2 The one who enters by the gate
is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him,
and the sheep hear his voice.
He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own,
he goes ahead of them,
and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5 They will not follow a stranger,
but they will run from him
because they do not know the voice of strangers.’
6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them,
but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So again Jesus said to them,
‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits;
but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the gate.
Whoever enters by me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’
……………………………………………
Acts 1 vv 15 ~ 26
15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers;
(together the crowd numbered about one hundred and twenty people)
and said,
16 ‘Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled,
which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas,
who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus –
17 for he was numbered among us
and was allotted his share in this ministry.’
18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness;
and falling headlong,
he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.
19 This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem,
so that the field was called in their language
Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)
20 ‘For it is written in the book of Psalms,
“Let his homestead become desolate,
and let there be no one to live in it”;
and “Let another take his position of overseer.”
21 So one of the men who have accompanied us
throughout the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 beginning from the baptism of John
until the day when he was taken up from us –
one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.’
23 So they proposed two,
Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
24 Then they prayed and said,
‘Lord, you know everyone’s heart.
Show us which one of these two you have chosen
25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship
from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’
26 And they cast lots for them,
and the lot fell on Matthias;
and he was added to the eleven apostles.
………………………………………………………….
One of these must become a witness with us
to his resurrection.
One would think from the ideal CV
outlined by St Peter here,
the job specification would tally with it.
But not so.
The ideal CV for the new apostle
is that he has been with the other disciples
from Christ’s Baptism through to his Ascension.
The job specification, however, is to witness
only to the latter end of that period.
And the second odd thing about the ideal CV
is that the candidate is to have been
not with Jesus but with the apostles.
Yet odd as they are these discrepancies
make sense & more than sense…
What matters is not Christ’s life
but where it led.
Peter is not seeking someone
with a photographic memory,
but one who, in the light of the resurrection,
has a mind & heart open to the future.
And into this future the apostles
need to walk together…
not throwing in the towel like Judas,
but committed to each other,
for it is together they are to be
the body of Christ
bearing his life into all the world…
Because they need to do this together,
they need to have been
part of the group that has bonded together
in following the man from Galilee.
And at a job interview
the questions that take precedence over
those about the facts swotted up for exams
are the ones that ask,
“What is your hope for the future?“
&
“How well do you work as a member of a team?”
………………………………………..
Luke 2 vv 1 ~ 20
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
……………………………………………
A decree went out from Emperor Augustus…
Although the beginning of this Gospel
emphasizes the perception that Jesus was born
as a Messiah fulfilling the hopes of those
who longed for a resurgence of the kingdom
whose glories had waned after the death of David,
as the narrative tells of Christ’s death
& the spread of his message
throughout the Roman Empire
we find a slightly different message
being spelt out:
This is no threat to the earthly power of Pilate
or to the earthly authority of kings & governors.
The child born in the home
of the shepherd boy David
has more affinity to those tending their flocks
than to those seeking to tax their subjects
or dominate nations by force of arms.
This is indeed an inauguration
of more than a Pax Romana:
“Peace on earth & Good Will amongst men”
is no bad summary of what Christianity will represent.
…………………………………
Luke 1 v 57 ~ end
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, ‘No; he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘None of your relatives has this name.’ Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbours, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, ‘What then will this child become?’ For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty saviour for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.’
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.
…………………………………….
You will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.
The immediate understanding of this prophecy
is that the child will grow up
to be the Messiah’s herald,
& this is what Luke intends us to understand.
However, taken out of this context,
“the Lord” would naturally refer to God
& so the whole hymn would have as its focus
a prophet like those of the Old Testament
but now ushering in a new revolution.
The “Benedictus” most probably was thus
a rallying song for the community of the Baptist
with a vision of Israel restored
freed from Roman domination
& no longer sullied by the hollow worship
offered in Herod’s temple.
The “mighty saviour”
could then be the same figure
as “the prophet of the Most High”
~ perhaps John himself
or the community gathered around him,
from which community Jesus himself emerged
to become the ultimate focus
of all this messianic hope.
……………………………………
Luke 1 vv 39 ~ 56
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
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.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
And Mary remained with her for about three months
and then returned to her home.
………………………………………………
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.
It has been said that Mary’s song, The Magnificat,
is more revolutionary than “Das Kapital”
& has changed the world more than did “Mein Kampf”.
Perhaps originally this song
along with the other “canticles”
that stud the opening of Luke’s Gospel
have been taken from the psalmody
composed & used by the community
which gathered around John the Baptist.
Each of them show fervour & hope
but also a respect for the past history of Israel:
indeed the longing for change
which breathes through each of these poems
is not explicitly expressed
in the future tense:
it is simply what God has done in the past
that gives grounds for faith in the future.
Remarkably, the way Luke has used these poems
identifies the event of the incarnation
with all that has gone before in Israel’s history.
Thus the raising up of the humble
can refer both to the visit of the angel to Mary
& to the choice of the small nation of Israel
& its heroes like the barren Sarah
& the shepherd boy David
& the Suffering Servant of Isaiah.
………………………………………..
Luke 1 vv 26 ~ 38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.
……………………………………………………….
In the sixth month
the angel Gabriel was sent by God
to a town in Galilee called Nazareth.
Although the chronological precision
suggests accurate historical reporting,
here as elsewhere in this Gospel
we have a poetic patterning
which eventually is to shape the Christian calendar
inspiring the future Church’s worship.
It could be argued that
whereas the Church has erroneously
based its understanding of its history
on the accounts given by the third Gospel,
it has been true to this author’s intent
in the way it has shaped its spiritual life
around the scenes depicted here.
The “sixth month”
which looks meticulous
does not allow us to attach any date to it;
& the list of rulers, equally,
is less than helpful when studied
to tell us with any degree of accuracy
when these events actually took place.
However, the two lists of world rulers
when considered poetically
create a deliberate contrast
with the humility & obedience
of the ordinary people
amongst whom God is actually at work:
two mothers, & shepherds watching their flocks.
The “sixth month”,
as the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,
will prompt the celebration of Christmas
& the Midsummer rites associated with
the birth of John the Baptist
at the two key points of a solar circle.
In the Fourth Gospel the Baptist will say,
“I must decrease as he will increase…”
& behind all the Gospel narratives
lie the historical facts of two ministries
that of John & that of Jesus
which are later presented as complementary…
John representing the climax of the old order
& Jesus the inauguration of the new.
Thus also in this narrative
~ which has all the quality of a stained glass window
or a painting above an altar ~
we have the contrast between two birth,
one to an old woman & one to a young girl,
one to a doubting priest
the other to a trusting & obedient “maidservant”.
The half year which separates these births
is not in the gospel record
anchor them in the two solstices,
but delineates them as poles apart
yet orchestrated with the help of angelic messengers
as balancing each other in a heavenly harmony.
……………………………………..
Luke 1 vv 1 ~ 25
Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.
Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense-offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’ Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.’ The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.’
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. When his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, ‘This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favourably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.’
…………………………………………………..
This week & continuing to All Saints’ Day
we begin following the largest work
in the New Testament:
The Gospel of St Luke
& its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles.
The very personal testimony
given here at the beginning of this work
shows the author’s respect for the past
& his concern for orderliness.
In a way these two principles tend to pull against each other.
As a historian & collector of memories
he gives us a treasure trove of facts
about the genesis of Christianity;
but though we can see from the way
he copies out St Mark’s Gospel
how faithful he is to his originals,
we see too a tendency to force his information
into an over-arching pattern.
The story he tells
~ & he tells it with tremendous drama
& in a beautiful literary style~
is thus both moving & unforgettable…
but we can sense over & over again
how a concern for a smooth narrative flow
has set us at some remove
from the harsh realities & strange dynamic theology
which provided the actual crucible
for the Christian phenomenon.
…………………………………………………..
