No one gave him anything ...
And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in 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 into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
This is the beginning of one of Christ's most famous parables. It is Act I of a three part play. In this Act we see the unregenerate condition of all human beings. This state of humanity is greedy and thinks only of them self. Like this young son they have embraced an ideology of entitlement and a hedonistic lifestyle. We see ourselves in the selfish demands of this son and we see the kindness of God in his father. It is like Jesus is holding a mirror to our souls.
Likewise we can also see our unregenerate condition in the callousness and indifference of the people in that far country who seemed to like the boy when he had money but did nothing to help him in his time of need. Does your heart not break for this young boy who was so hungry that he wanted to sit down and eat with the pigs? It is a stark and compelling image of all who would reject the table of our Father for the scraps this world offers.
I am broken Lord and in need of your touch. I repent. Heal me of being self centered and selfish.
There will be more joy in heaven ...
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable:
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, 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 persons who need no repentance.
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Have you ever considered how valuable you are to God? In these stories Jesus communicates the idea that each of us is worth finding. In the first parable we see the lengths that the shepherd goes to find the sheep that has strayed away from the flock. And in the second a party is thrown over a lost coin that was found. You and I are that sheep and that coin. Like the tax collectors and sinners, Jesus spends time with us and draw us to himself.
I think that we do not really understand the heart of God when it comes to this idea of a sinner repenting. I think that we can often be a bit Pharisaical about people who are far away from God. I think that it is so easy to forget that these are "our" lost brothers and sisters. And like those religious leaders we too can grumble at God not understanding that it is his heart to be with "sinners". Would that we too would throw a party when they turn to God for help.
Lord, I confess that I am a Pharisee. Cause my heart to break for those who are lost and rejoice when you find them.
Salt is good ...
So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
These last two verses in Luke 14 speaking of salt are an interesting wrap-up to a chapter that speaks of discipleship. Try substituting the word "disciple" for "salt". As we compare the two words we begin to understand the influence that discipleship is meant to have on the earth. In these few words Jesus tells us that discipleship adds flavor to the world. Before refrigeration salt helped preserve food. In like manner discipleship will cause one to persevere.
In contrast, when salt is contaminated by other minerals it loses the qualities that make it what it is. So it is when a disciple does not renounce all to follow Jesus. One cannot follow Christ except that they deny themselves and persevere in faith. It is the wise person who has inner ears that understands that the path of discipleship is one filled with obstacles and distractions. Such a disciple does not faint or lose their saltiness when trials come.
Lead me today Lord in ways that would sprinkle a loving seasoning on others' lives.
First sit down and count the cost ...
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
The story draws you in until the last sentence is uttered. How can it be that the cost of discipleship is so dear? Why is it that Jesus requires so much of those who would follow him? Can we not simply add God into our lives? Is it not possible to follow him by doing religious things like praying and going to church? Why must the cost be so high that we must renounce all? Could it be that Jesus is the true example of discipleship and to love means to sacrifice all?
The cost that Jesus asks us to count is the cost of loving God, loving our neighbor and loving our enemies. He asks us to consider in advance what we are committing to because the kind of love that he calls us to will cost us dearly. Yet who among us realized when we initially said yes to Jesus that it would mean saying no to things that stroke our ego and make us happy. In a way we can only know this kind of cost as we are confronted with opportunities to love.
Thank you Lord Jesus for showing us love that cost you your very life. Empower us to live with such love.
He cannot be my disciple ...
Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. ... So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
This passage reminds us all that, while salvation is absolutely free, discipleship can cost us everything. For sure Jesus is speaking in hyperbole here - he does not actually desire us to hate our relatives.. he wants us to love even our enemies. He speaks in such a fashion to draw our attention to the preeminence of Christ in every aspect of our lives. We cannot claim to be his followers if another relationship is more important than our relationship with Jesus.
What do you think he means when he speaks of bearing our own cross? Interesting to note that he uses the word "own" indicating that the cross will look different for each of us. Biblical commentator John Gill says of our own cross that "it signifies whatever is trying and disagreeable to flesh and blood". The call to discipleship is a call to persevere in the face of adversity and trials. This call is what defines a disciple. Jesus lived it our graphically in his last hours.
Lord help us to persevere and keep you preeminent in every part of our lives. You are worthy.
They all alike began to make excuses.
When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses.
...
So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
The message of this parable had to be very clear to to the Jewish leaders who were present with Jesus. Since the days of their ancestor Abraham the Jews had an open invitation to fellowship with God. Yet so many in their history, and even those in Christ's presence, rejected the call to this intimate relationship. I wonder if those present even understood that God was inviting them, even at that very moment, to himself in Jesus?
We mistake the meaning of this parable if we dismiss it as a call to evangelization of the masses. For sure the invitation is open for everyone who will simply say yes but we would do well to remember that the initial invitees all tendered excuses and declined God's offer. In a sense we, who have been around the church for many years, can fall into that same trap. Thankfully the call remains for us to come and dine with the Master at his table of fellowship.
Help me to say yes every day Lord. Open my eyes to the excuses I give when you call me to intimacy.
Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind ...
He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
I think that it is very hard in the western world to receive a gift when we are unable to repay the gift in kind. We all want to be generous and charitable but very few want to be given something they have not earned or deserved in some way. Even government sponsored welfare is viewed more as an entitlement than charity for those reasons. No one wants to admit to being needy and no one wants to be marginalized as a person needing charity.
Yet Jesus says in the gospel accounts that we will always have the poor among us.. and in this passage from Luke's gospel he speaks of welcoming them into our meals and our lives. This is a difficult scripture for we in the western world. We want this verse to be all about our donations to charity and our generosity yet the verse speaks deeply to the idea of involvement with the poor. It is as if Jesus is telling us that people do not need our money but they need us.
Help me to both receive and give charity today Lord.
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