Bible readings - September 2007
September 2
Luke 14:1, 7-14 (Today's New International Version)
1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this person your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
12 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Things to think about
Jesus' advice about taking a lower seat at a wedding feast isn't just a piece of social etiquette. Verse 1 sets the scene, saying that Jesus was being watched by a prominent Pharisee. And verse 7 tells us that it is a parable, so it has a double meaning. Jesus meant that we should be very wary of jostling for status in our religious lives. We must be humble in our faith.
September 9
Luke 14:25-33 (Today's New International Version)
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even life itself—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.'
31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won't he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Things to think about
Jesus makes it plain here that to follow him requires us to put him before all the things we hold dear - family, possessions and even our lives. It is a radical request, Jesus never made out that following him was an easy option.
The verses about building a tower seem to have a political edge. In Jesus' time Herod had embarked on an enormous project to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The work would never be finished, and the temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD70 after a violent uprising by the Jewish Zealots, who Jesus seems to be warning in verses 31-32. Jesus seems to be saying that our focus should be on the new kingdom, not on the old.
September 16
Luke 15:1-10 (Today's New International Version)
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
8 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn't she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Things to think about
Jesus would happily leave ninety-nine sheep unprotected to go after one who gets away. Are you one of the ninety-nine, who needs to look after yourself (with help from the flock) from time to time while Jesus' energies are put into people who are lost?
In the second parable, which has a similar meaning, Jesus adopts a female persona in the woman. Jesus often associated himself with female attributes like this (earlier he compared himself to a hen). Are we ready to accept that God has a feminine character as well as a male?
September 23
Luke 16:1-13 (Today's New International Version)
1 Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'
3 "The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'
5 "So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'
6 " 'Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied.
"The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.'
7 "Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?'
" 'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied.
"He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'
8 "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
10 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Things to think about
Jews were forbidden to lend money and expect interest, but many got around this by lending goods such as oil and wheat 'in kind' and expecting a return on these. When the manager cancelled the debtors interest in the story, the master couldn't punish the manager without admitting his own wrongdoing in charging interest in the first place.
We as the 'people of light' are called to emulate this degree of shrewdness, to act wisely and cleverly to make the best of situations.
September 30
Luke 16:19-30 (Today's New International Version)
19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
30 " 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "
Things to think about
This is a call to repentance. Jesus is warning us that we need to take seriously his call to spread the kingdom of justice and fairness. We cannot ignore the poor at our gate.
This story was a common folk tale of the time which Jesus borrowed here. However, in the normal version the Lazarus figure does go back and warn the rich man's family in time. Jesus reverses this, making it clear that people have had plenty of warning already through the law and prophets, which he 'fulfilled'. He finishes by predicting that some people would still not listen after he was raised from the dead.
