Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.  Brothers do not slander one another.  Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting on judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you – who are you to judge your neighbor?
— James 4:10-12

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Only when we can claim the love of the crucified Christ with heartfelt conviction, the love that transcends all judgments, can we overcome all fear of judgment. When we have become completely free of the need to judge others, we will also become completely free from the fear of being judged. The experience of not having to judge cannot co-exist with the fear of being judged, and the experience of the nonjudgmental love of the crucified Savior cannot co-exist with the need to judge others.
— Henri Nouwen, Here and Now

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Encounter 17: The Sermon on the Plain Part III – Judging Others

Luke 6:37-42

³⁷“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

³⁹He also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

⁴¹“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

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Some Observations

• After admonishing his followers to love their enemies, Jesus continues on in his theme of mercy towards others.
• According to what Jesus says here, we should not judge, condemn or withhold forgiveness from people under any circumstances. Is this an underserved standard among North American Christians…or is it just me?
• Think about that for a moment. I am left wanting. The church stands wanting.
• Here is the principle Jesus hinges this teaching on: “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
• But what about those Godless-liberals/closed-minded-conservatives; those bigoted-Prop-8-proponents/culture-destroying-anti-family-values-activists? Keep going, you can come up with these black/white, good/evil (depending on perspective) contrasts all day long. Flip on any news channel and take in some hand-to-hand commando punditry if you need help with the inventory. But…what about…justice/compassion?
• We live in a culture of condemnation that goes beyond the principle to the person.
• The Henri Nouwen extract suggests that this is a source of our persistent fear and lack of peace. We are in bondage in need of being set free.
• God, through Jesus, extends his costly mercy and love towards us even when we deserve judgment and punishment. As followers of Jesus, we are held to account to extend the same grace to those around us, both friends and enemies alike.
• This includes those with whom we vehemently disagree. Yeh, but they don’t know how wrong they are!
• Jesus’ logic for this is hard to refute: we are typically equally broken and blind – though usually in other areas – relative to the brother or sister we are tempted to judge. We are not only morally deficient, but we would be the ultimate fool if we believed our conclusions and positions represented the only possible correct interpretation of what is true.
• The blind cannot lead the blind. This is making my head hurt.
• An important point here is defining what Jesus means by judgment or condemnation. In other words, are we supposed to just keep our mouths shut if we see a brother or sister we love engaged in destructive behavior?
• This “live and let live” interpretation would conflict with other teaching on correcting, rebuking and encouraging repentance. OK, now we’re getting somewhere.
• But this is done in love, not judgment, where our desire is to see peace, healing and reconciliation with God for our brother or sister. For example, a married friend conducting an affair would be well-served by concerned friends in the community – but not by having a “hellbound adulterer” scarlet letter stamped on his or her forehead. Any of us is equally capable of such an act, so, while we don’t mince words about the destructiveness of adultery or the clear sin it represents, we seek to lovingly and humbly restore and encourage our friend in both words and faithful prayer.
• On matters of principle, do we have a fuzzy morality where we hold our tongue and pretend there are no absolutes; are we silenced from vigorous debate or engagement on issues of importance?
• Not at all. But we must remember that the debate is about the principle or idea, not whether our sparring opponent is good or evil or about establishing our own moral superiority.
• The judgment that Jesus refers to here is taking it upon ourselves to judge another person’s motives and inner heart – which only God can do – and then “judge” through words of condemnation and/or from a position of superiority (pride). This includes not only our words, but also our thoughts. Yikes. So schadenfreude is not a Christian virtue?
• This may appear to be a fine line in practice, but approaching such a situation with love, humility, prayer and a genuine desire to see healing in the person’s life is very different from the typical “judgment” that comes so easily (e.g., criticizing the person in conversation with others, not in their presence).
• Jesus then uses his famous sawdust/plank analogy.
• Note that he does not stop after asking whether we can remove sawdust from our brother’s eye when we have a plank in our own.
• Rather, he encourages us to take the plank out of our own eye, so we can then help remove the speck from our brother’s eye.
• This suggests that our pre-occupation should be with repenting of and overcoming our own sin, not that of others. But I kind of like some of my sins…is that so wrong?
• This perspective is part of our sanctification and also a practical way to approach things from a position of utter humility.
• Through our own repentance and transformation, we become equipped to lovingly help our brothers and sisters. Like having my pointing fingers broken?
• Jesus gives us a very practical lens to govern all our interactions if we are truly seeking transformation. If we really believed that the measure we use on others is the measure that will be used on us, our lives would look very different – we would be more loving, merciful, giving, patient, faithful and encouraging and less judgmental, harsh, stingy, unloving and pre-occupied with our own need to be right.
• Imagine how God could transform a city with a community of followers of Jesus living their lives seeking to use the measure Jesus used on us to interact with others.

Wisdom

Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.
— Proverbs 9:7-12

A Prayer

My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.  Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me! Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.
— Psalm 26:15-21

Solomon West works in the private equity industry.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
— Jesus, John 15:5

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Jesus, it must be remembered, restricted nine-tenths of his ministry to twelve Jews because it was the only way to redeem all Americans.
— Eugene Peterson, Traveling Light

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Encounter 14: Jesus Designates the Apostles

Luke 6:12-16

¹²One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ¹³When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: ¹⁴Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

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Some Observations

• Jesus again goes out by himself to be with his Father and pray.
• In this instance, he prays all night — perhaps reflecting the seriousness of the undertaking in selecting from among his many disciples to appoint apostles. What’s the difference between laying awake worrying and staying up to pray purposefully?
• Disciples are best understood as learners/apprentices, while apostles are given full power and authority to teach and heal.
• This decision — and Jesus’ intense seeking of the Father’s will — is probably one of the most important of his ministry.
• He is essentially appointing the small group of those will be responsible for carrying on his ministry once he is gone; these are the seeds that will reproduce to spread Jesus’ gospel to the ends of the earth. Is it more surprising that Jesus had a succession plan or that one of the chosen became a traitor?
• As noted in the Eugene Peterson excerpt above, Jesus chose to invest the majority of his time in a small group that would reproduce to generate exponential growth in followers of Jesus over time.
• The math of Jesus’ model can be contrasted to more volume-oriented, but non-reproducing, “transactional” evangelism. If someone participates in leading 10 people to Christ each year for ten years, there will 100 Christians at the end of this period. For someone who leads one person a year to Christ and then invests deeply in discipling that person to become a fruitful, reproducing follower of Jesus, the math is quite different. After 10 years, there will be 1,024 disciples of Jesus, assuming each disciple follows in leading and discipling one person per year thereafter (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1,024).
• It is not overstatement to say the reason we are reading and discussing Jesus here is a result of the Spirit’s work through the first apostles and their spiritual children. Is it conceivable that transmission could end?
• While our words and deeds should make our faith visible to all and we should seek to widely share Jesus’ good news, in asking his followers to, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” Jesus is asking us to adopt his example of discipleship as the primary means of investing our lives in others.
• As the apostles are listed, our friend Peter is first on the list. Yes, the man who told Jesus, “away from me, I am a sinful man,” on the deck of his boat after the miraculous catch of fish in Luke 5. What if it turned out there was an inverse relationship between worthiness and usefulness in God’s kingdom?
• It is hard to conceive the transformation we can undergo and the fruit the Spirit can yield through us if we choose to truly follow and learn from Jesus.
• May the Lord give us grace and perseverance to do so wholeheartedly.

Wisdom

Now then, my sons, listen to wisdom; blessed are those who keep my ways.  Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it.  Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily in my doors, waiting at my doorway.  For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord.  But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.
— Proverbs 8:32-36

A Prayer

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.  Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
— Psalm 20:6, 7

Solomon West works in the private equity industry.

Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of the world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules?
— Paul, Colossians 2:20

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Until the love of God that knows no boundary, limit or breaking point is internalized through personal decision; until the heart is conjoined to the mind through sheer grace, nothing happens. The idolatry of ideas has left me puffed up, narrow-minded and intolerant of any idea that does not coincide with mine.

The wild, unrestricted love of God is not simply an inspiring idea. When it imposes itself on the mind and heart, it determines why and at what time you get up in the morning, how you pass your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read and who you hang with; it affects what breaks your heart, what amazes you and what makes your heart happy.
— Brennan Manning, The Furious Longing of God, p 75

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Encounter 13: Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

Luke 6:6-11

⁶On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. ⁷The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. ⁸But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.

⁹Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. ¹¹But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

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Some Observations

• Jesus is teaching on the Sabbath at the synagogue and he observes a man with a shriveled hand. Why did Jesus spend so much time with conventionally religious people when it so often seemed to end badly?
• The self-appointed sin enforcers are, as always, scrutinizing Jesus’ every word and action. In this case, the Pharisees have watched him heal many and are hoping to catch him performing a healing on the Sabbath, thereby “working” and violating Sabbath law.
• Think about that for a moment — they want to catch Jesus healing someone so they can accuse him of breaking their strict interpretation of the law. Do I hold — or have I held — onto anything comparable to the Pharisee’s tight-fisted orthodoxy?
• Before we write off the Pharisees, let us examine our own judgmental hearts . . .
• As usual, Jesus is well aware of their intentions; our Master is a master of perception.
• Time again for Jesus to meld teaching with action (let us learn: words without action are empty; faith without works is dead).
• This is one of the rare healings where Jesus approaches the person in need of his touch, rather than being approached (though the man may well have been there hoping for a chance to approach Jesus for healing). Why would Jesus wait to be asked?
• Jesus tells the man to stand up in front of everyone.
• Before doing anything, he asks the Pharisees a question: “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” Is this a little like the question, “Have you stopped beating your children?”
• I now imagine a long pregnant pause: “He looked around at them all . . . “
• The gauntlet has been laid down; the tension is building in the room.
• Jesus may be meek as a lamb, but he throws some devastating one-two blows of logic and action.
• After asking the question and presumably getting no response, tells the man to stretch out his hand and heals him.
• The Pharisees, boxed in a corner by Jesus’ words — can doing good on the Sabbath really be a violation of law? — and subsequent healing action are “furious.”
• Interesting parallel to the use of “furious” in the title of Brennan Manning’s book referenced above. Imagine the Pharisees’ furious anger, intent on catching Jesus in a legalistic violation and having him judged to death. Contrast this with God’s furious love for us — to extend unimaginably sacrificial and limitless grace through Jesus so we can be brought to life as totally new creations.
• That is new wineskins! That is the Gospel. Why do so many subvert God’s generous liberation in favor of subjugation to religious legalism?
• We should examine our hearts to make sure that our view of God is not more similar to the character of the Pharisees; do we view him as a hypercritical, nit-picking omniscient scold always trying to catch us doing something wrong or as a loving father who lavishes his love and forgiving grace on all who repent and seek him?
• As with the disciples picking and eating grain on the Sabbath in the most recent encounter, Jesus’ pragmatism and creativity is evident. His mission of healing, liberation, love and mercy transcends human co-opting of law or ritual to judge others.
• Jesus gives us an object lesson in his earlier admonition to, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” (Matthew 9:13)

Wisdom

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
— Psalm 19:7-11

A Prayer

May the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
— Psalm 19:14

Solomon West works in the private equity industry.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ.
— Paul, Colossians 2:8

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Any significant change can come only by breaking the stranglehold of the ideas and concepts that automatically shunt aside Jesus, ‘the Prince of Life,’ when questions of concrete mastery of our life arise. More than any other single thing, the practical irrelevance of actual obedience to Christ accounts for the weakened effect of Christianity in the world today, with its increasing tendency to emphasize political and social action as the primary way to serve God. It also accounts for the practical irrelevance of Christian faith to individual character development and overall personal sanity and well-being.
—  Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, p. xv

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Encounter 12: Lord of the Sabbath

Luke 6:1-5

¹One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. ²Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

³Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” ⁵Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

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Some Observations

• Jesus and his disciples are walking through the grainfields. A light wind is rustling the stalks, swaying gently as they cut a swath through. We are there with them.
• These guys are always together and Jesus uses every opportunity to impart understanding. To what degree do I entertain the sense of being with Jesus through the day?
• The disciples are hungry and pick grain to eat.
• The Pharisees (do you get the sense these guys are always following Jesus around trying to catch him doing something wrong?) immediately declare that he is breaking the law by “working” on the Sabbath.
• Jesus refers to scripture as the precedent on which he is about to build his argument, again demonstrating his thorough knowledge and instinctual reliance upon the biblical writings to help work through each situation that arises. What are my instinctual precedents in decision-making and conflicts?
• The passage he refers to (I Samuel 21:1-6) has David – in his warrior era – procuring consecrated (holy) bread from a terrified priest for his hungry men to eat.
• Jesus is doing three things here:
• First, he is claiming to be Lord of the Sabbath – again proclaiming his deity and, by default, his precedence over any religious formalities.
• Second, Jesus is showing his purposeful pragmatism, which we will continue to see throughout his life. In other words, he chooses to knowingly “break” religious law to meet the needs of his men . . . in this case, to meet their hunger. Are there religious scruples, the breaking of which—even by Jesus—would offend me?
• Third, Jesus knows that the purpose of the Fourth Commandment to, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8) is to recognize God’s six days of creation and seventh day of rest; this day is set aside for worship, rather than work. By allowing his disciples to pick and eat grain, Jesus is demonstrating that, while the spirit of the law is to honor God by not making the Sabbath a day of work, meeting basic human needs take precedence over the legalistic interpretation applied by the Pharisees. When the law becomes a mechanism to judge others and honor ourselves, we can be sure that we are far from the spirit of the law as God intended.
• In this encounter, the disciples are on a “holy mission” with Jesus just as David and his men are described in 1 Samuel.
• There are deep implications here for how we serve others. The “holy mission” of Jesus should take precedence over our preoccupation with somehow breaking religious ritual or expectation in how this should be conducted. Have I failed to serve anyone because doing so might call my reputation into question?
• This is not an excuse to go around doing things solely to tweak legalists or a release from our call to seek righteousness.
• Rather, it opens up new possibilities, encourages creativity and removes some constraints as to how the mission of Jesus – healing, redemption, restoration, liberation, etc. – is pursued.
• The guys who run Triple X Church, an outreach to the porn industry, exemplify this. They go to the big porn convention in Vegas (of course drawing criticism) and set up a booth . . . and build relationships and friendships with people in the business who are curious about what they are doing there. As a result, God has used their relational ministry to “set free” many of the folks to live redeemed lives. But they do not go to the convention to protest, shame or preach, simply to show Jesus’ love to the people there and take the risk and trust that the Holy Spirit is at work.
• (I am not advocating that everyone is called to this ministry – for many believers that struggle with sexual sin, this would likely create more problems than purpose . . . plenty of other opportunities to be used by God to bless people out there!)
• Again, this is not to say that conventional approaches to ministry are ineffective; being unconventional for the sake of being unconventional is more often than not about pride rather than mission. However, there are many – perhaps unlimited – opportunities to apply God’s gift of creativity to the great call of bringing Jesus’ healing and restoration to those around us.
• We begin each day with a large white canvas before us. What are my paints and brushes for working on this canvas?

Wisdom

With wisdom are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.  My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.  I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full.
— Proverbs 8:18-21

A Prayer

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.  In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.  It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.
— Psalm 19:1-6

Solomon West works in the private equity industry.

If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.
— Jesus, John 7:37, 38

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On a given day at a specific hour only known to the Father (Matthew 24:36), Jesus will return in glory. Every man and woman who has ever lived will be appraised, evaluated and measured solely in terms of their relationship with the Carpenter from Nazareth. The Nazarene Carpenter did not simply refine Aristotelian ethics; he did not merely reorder Old Testament spirituality; he did not simply renovate the old creation. He initiated a revolution. We must renounce all that we possess not just most of it (Luke 14:33).  We must give up the old way of life, not just correct some aberrations in it (Ephesians 4:22). We are to be an altogether new creation, not a refurbished version of it (Galatians 6:15). We are to be transformed from one glory to another, even in the very image of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18). Our minds are to be renewed by spiritual revolution (Ephesians 4:23). — Brennan Manning, The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus

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Encounter 11: New Wineskins

Luke 5:33-39

^{33,/sup>They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”}

³⁴Jesus answered, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? ³⁵But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

³⁶He told them this parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. ³⁹And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’ “

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Some Observations

• This encounter follows Jesus’ eating and drinking with tax collectors and “sinners” at Matthew’s house after Matthew began following Jesus.
• We can infer that Jesus likely had some of his disciples with him at the party based on the way the question is posed.
• When Jesus says to “follow me,” it is an invitation to learn everything about him, from his teaching, to his priorities, to his mission, to how he acts in different social situations. Is there any business circumstance in which I cringe to think I am in the company of Jesus?
• Jesus’ critics try to catch him again, this time using John’s disciples’ ascetic lifestyle as a challenge to Jesus’ seemingly less rigid way. Why does it seem so many religious people resort to the holier-than-thou-because-look-what-I-gave-up ploy?
• Jesus responds with another hint of his deity as he refers to himself as the bridegroom. The wedding metaphor suggests the celebratory mood of the kingdom – God has broken into the world to redeem it!
• Jesus’ reference to fasting after the bridegroom is taken indicates there are indeed appropriate times for sorrow, fasting, etc. What is the relative balance between feasting and fasting in my life?
• The life of the disciple is therefore neither a round-the-clock party, nor is it a legalistic withdrawal from the world God created.
• Taking joy in God’s love, grace and provision for us should be a common factor in both states, whether we are celebrating or experiencing sorrow. Do I tend to be more aware of God’s presence in times of celebration or times of longing?
• Jesus then moves on to new/old patches and new/old wineskins.
• He is hinting here at how different his teaching will be from what everyone expects.
• He will neither affirm the legalistic Pharisees nor will he deny the call to righteousness for sinners that live under his grace and forgiveness.
• As Brennan Manning says above, Jesus brings not just some minor alterations to existing teaching and practice, rather a revolution; total renunciation of the old life to enter the new; becoming new creations, not updated versions of the old man or woman, but total transformation.
• Jesus did not come to reform the old system, but to replace it. Does that ring true in the spiritual communities with which I am familiar?
• Jesus also recognizes how hard accepting his new way will be when he says, “No one who after drinking the old wants for the new.”
• We are very locked into the patterns, ideas and assumptions that we have built our lives around and our orientation is to bolt Jesus onto the existing frame. Can I identify any patterns of elevating certain teachings of Jesus while “reading around” others in my religious subculture?
• Jesus claims that such cosmetic changes and behavior modification are not what he intends for his followers.
• Rather we are to become new men and women, transformed into his image in all dimensions of our lives: more loving, graceful, wise, sacrificial, patient, kind, peaceful, servant-like, etc. with a sense of purpose that transcends our self-seeking default. Who is my spiritual life about—me or the God who calls me into his kingdom?
• This is the call of discipleship. Becoming more like Christ means knowing him more thoroughly as the disciples did when they left everything to follow him and learn from everything he did and said.
• To state what we all know from firsthand experience, accepting God’s grace through Christ as our way of reconciliation to God does not mean automatically becoming Christ-like.
• The decisions to “become a Christian” and to become a true follower and disciple of Jesus are discrete. Given the lack of evidence of transformation in the lives of many people defining themselves as Christians, it appears that perhaps a majority have affirmed the first decision while answering no to the second (perhaps by ignoring that such a mandate from Jesus exists). “In my business, a difference that makes no difference is no difference.” — Daniel Greystone, in “Caprica”
• As daunting as becoming Christ-like may seem — we all see way too much of the old man/woman daily — we know that this transformation is possible. We see it repeatedly through the biblical narrative in the lives of a bunch of fishermen, tax collectors, prostitutes, persecutors and even Pharisees. Where do I see evidence of that transformation in my experience?
• With God all things are possible — his Spirit is at work in us to bring forth change and fruit that we cannot manufacture on our own.
• Much of contemporary neuroscience supports the idea that such transformation (how we think and act) can indeed occur and that our brains are designed in a way that makes this eminently possible. The brain’s “plasticity” permits changes of the physical structure of our brains — rewiring of neurons and synapses to support new ways of thinking and acting, while connections facilitating the “old” behavior weaken and atrophy — based on new patterns and our will. Can I identify any new ways of thinking gaining prominence in my life?
• New grooves replace old grooves over time as we follow Jesus and seek to emulate his thinking and behavior, with the Spirit at work throughout.

Wisdom

I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion.  To fear the Lord and to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.  Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power.  By me kings reign and rulers make laws that are just; by me princes govern, and all nobles who rule on earth.  I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.
— Proverbs 8:12-17

A Prayer

As for God, his way is perfect; for the word of the Lord is flawless.  He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.  For who is God besides the Lord?  And who is the Rock except our God?  It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.  He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.  He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.  You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.  You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.
— Psalm 18:30-36

Solomon West works in the private equity industry.

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
— Jesus, John 4:13, 14

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To repent means to turn around, to stop what you’re doing and do the opposite. To repent means that even though you used to assume one thing was true, you now know it’s wrong – all wrong – and you will now believe and act upon something totally different. Repent is a good, strong word, full of hope and new beginnings. In the context of Jesus’ kingdom, repent is an invitation to another world, another life, a way of being that was supposed to be all along and can be now.

We need to repent, for example, of our convenient assumption that following Jesus and pursuing the American Dream are in complete harmony and will take us pretty much in the same direction. They won’t. The reality of the kingdom is dangerous and beautiful and life-altering. To repent is to say to God: “I’m blind. I don’t see, but I want to. Please show me your heart in everything.”
— Rick McKinley, This Beautiful Mess

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Encounter 10: The Calling of Levi

Luke 5:27-31

²⁷After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

²⁹Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ’sinners’?”

³¹Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³²I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

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Some Observations

• The passage starts out, “After this . . . ” referring to Jesus’ healing of the paralytic lowered through the roof in our last encounter.
• Levi the tax collector is elsewhere known as Matthew; this story is also told in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.
• In Matthew’s version, after telling the Pharisees that it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick, and that he has come to call sinners to repentance, Jesus adds, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’”  Why must religious people like the Pharisees be reminded that God values mercy over sacrifice (Hosea 6)?
• We must likewise learn. Becoming merciful towards people – expressed through lives of love, grace, kindness, gentleness, non-judgment, generosity, sacrifice, etc. – is central to the call of discipleship, i.e., becoming more and more Christlike.
• While we are clearly called to holiness, Jesus’ call is more about the new attributes we are to take on as we are conformed to his image than the things we are to now avoid. Jesus is more interested in us becoming loving, merciful people who bless others than “sacrificial” (having overcome a lot of visible sin) but unloving judges of those less pious around us. What has been modeled more for me: mercy or sacrifice?
• In Jesus’ day, tax collectors were often corrupt and universally despised by the people, considered swindlers and the lowest of the low. Why does this sound so familiar?
• Jesus walks right up to Matthew and says, “Follow me.” That is the usual “call” Jesus asks people to respond to in each encounter.
• Note that he lays out no plan, nor states any intention or prerequisites.  He applies no persuasion. How does this compare to the evangelistic techniques with which I am familiar?
• The fact that Matthew immediately got up and followed him is fascinating.  What could have attracted him to Jesus?
• We can assume the Matthew likely heard of the miraculous healing Jesus had been doing and perhaps even his claims of deity. He was probably stunned that Jesus would even approach him let alone actually invite him to become a follower.
• He likely had a deep awareness of his own sin and brokenness. Do the metaphoric tax collectors I know in my industry have a sense of their brokenness?
• As was the case with the earliest disciples, he “left everything” to follow Jesus. In the next beat, he holds a banquet for Jesus in his house; so what does leaving “everything” mean in this connection?
• Matthew’s response implies a degree of faith that Jesus had something to offer greater than his current situation in humility (he must have looked foolish to impulsively abandon his booth) and obedience (his immediate response to Jesus’ request).
• The next thing Matthew does is hold a great banquet for his colleagues, the other tax collectors, presumably to honor Jesus and give them a chance to meet him. Do I have colleagues who are as much in need of mercy as me?
• As Jesus celebrates with these outcasts, the Pharisees predictably take a shot a Jesus for “eating and drinking with tax collectors and ‘sinners.’”
• Jesus answers them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
• Again, Jesus affirms the focus of his work: healing, liberation, preaching the good news of the kingdom and calling sinners to repentance.
• We can assume he was doing just this in the midst of the party, perhaps in an unspoken way merely through his merciful presence among such a ragtag bunch of swindlers.
• The Pharisees probably felt pretty smug after hearing Jesus’ response, assuming they were the “righteous” Jesus was referring to with no need for repentance or a doctor. Bad assumption, as we will see later.

Wisdom

Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances, she cries aloud. Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare to her.— Proverbs 8:1-3, 10-11

A Prayer

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
— Psalm 18:1-3

Solomon West works in the private equity industry.

Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we were competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold. — Paul, II Corinthians 3:4, 5, 12

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Grace proclaims the awesome truth that all is a gift. All that is good is ours not by our right but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God. While there is much we have earned – our degree and salary, our home and garden, a Miller Lite and a good night’s sleep – all this is possible only because we have been given so much: life itself, eyes to see and hands to touch, a mind to shape ideas, and a heart to beat with love. We have been given God in our souls and Christ in our flesh. We have the power to believe when others deny, to hope where others despair, to love where others hurt. This and so much more is a sheer gift; it is not reward for our faithfulness, our generous disposition, our heroic life of prayer. Even our fidelity is a gift. “If we but turn to God,” said St. Augustine, “that itself is a gift of God.” My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.
— Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel, p 23-24

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Encounter 9: Jesus Heals a Paralytic

Luke 5:17-26

¹⁷One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. ¹⁸Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²²Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ²⁵Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

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Some Observations

• Jesus is out teaching the good news of the kingdom of God – this is the starting point for many of our encounters in Luke’s Gospel.
• He is not out actively looking for people to heal, rather they come to him.  Word is spreading, as we just observed in the last encounter. What is the character of the word that’s spreading about Jesus where I live and work?
• Jesus has by now attracted not only seekers and followers, but also caught the interest of skeptics and opponents . . .  “Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem.”
• The growing awareness of Jesus’ healing power (“the power of the Lord was present with him to heal the sick”) continues to attract people in need of healing from all over as well.
• In this encounter, the house where Jesus is teaching is so crowded, the friends of a paralyzed man need to bust a hole in the roof in order to lower their friend down to Jesus.
• Visualize this: Jesus standing before a crowd on all sides and now a crippled body descending down “right in front” of him . . . chaos. What audacious acts have I witnessed in people eager to place a friend in front of Jesus?
• We saw in the last encounter how Jesus responded to the faith of the leper who approached him in humility and faith; falling on his face in front of Jesus he says, “if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
• In this case, Jesus responds to the audacious faith of the friends of the paralytic in need of healing – they are presumably still on the roof holding the ropes they used to lower the man, gazing down at Jesus and their friend now lying in front of him.
• The paralytic’s friends did whatever they had to do to get to Jesus. They were desperate and clearly believed that Jesus could/would act . . . hence their bold and unorthodox approach to access Jesus.
• (The effort to haul the limp body of their friend up onto the roof in the first place is a faith statement in and of itself)
• The passage says that Jesus responded, “when he saw their faith,” referring to the faith of the man’s friends. What sort of faith do I have in placing colleagues, friends and family in front of Jesus? What difference does it make that Jesus’ presence is spiritual, not physical?
• Our faith that God desires to bring healing to friends’ lives is honored by God and should be actively pursued.
• We should be “lowering friends through the roof” to Jesus in active prayer, with an unwavering belief that our loving and powerful master can, and is indeed willing to, heal.
• As the man descends on him, Jesus first says: “Friend your sins are forgiven.” Does this sound like a bait and switch?
• While Jesus has the power to do this, one can’t help but think this overt statement serves to challenge those in the audience who are there to catch him in error or blasphemy.
• True to form, the Pharisees are about to make just such an accusation.
• Jesus “knew what they were thinking.” As noted, he likely knew what they would be thinking before he issued the pardon.
• Jesus’ response is to preempt their thoughts with a question: “Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or say, ‘Get up and walk?’ So which is easier?
• It is, to the naked eye, easier to say to someone that his sins are forgiven than to instruct him to get up and walk and then actually enable a paralyzed person do so; in reality, the ability to forgive sin trumps physical healing (there are examples of healing through followers of Jesus later on, but only God can forgive sin).
• However, because the tangible example of seeing a cripple get up and walk is a proof statement of Jesus’ divinity – hence supporting the claim that he can forgive sin – he proceeds with the healing.
• “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
• Jesus uses the visible and temporary (physical healing) to support his claim to do the invisible and eternal (forgiving sin).
• While physical healing, emotional healing or relational healing are all good things that we should have faith God can and will do, spiritual healing – occurring when people embrace God’s grace through Jesus – is the ultimate healing that takes precedence over all others. Is it enough for me—this promise of spiritual healing?
• This is available to every human that walks the earth right now, but to Brennan Manning’s point above, even our ability to believe and receive grace is a gift from God.
• In spite of our present need for healing in other areas, we should be full of gratitude that we have been fully healed in the only way that transcends our lives on earth to eternity. We should likewise crave this for those around us who have not received this grace.
• The man immediately stands up, rolls up his mat and, Luke says, goes home “praising God.”
• “Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God.”
• Healing is a primary means Jesus uses to reveal himself – it brings glory to God and results in people becoming his followers. How does my experience correspond with my theology on this point?
• This brings Jesus’ reading from the Isaiah scroll in Luke 4 full circle: healing and his “preaching of the kingdom of God” go hand-in-glove in moving those who seek to active response.
• May we have faith that God can heal us and our brothers and sisters in Christ in all the ways we need to be healed beyond the ultimate healing we have already experienced . . . and may we be used as his instruments to heal others, to God’s glory.
• May we likewise desire the ultimate healing – receiving God’s grace – for those around us who are not yet Jesus’ followers and be as fervent as the paralytic’s friends in pursuing this desire through prayer, words and action.

Wisdom

“The path of the righteous is the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.  Let you eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.  Make level the paths of your feet and take only ways that are firm.”
— Proverbs 4:18, 25, 26

A Prayer

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs.  I have set the Lord always before me.  Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will also rest secure.  You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasure at your right hand.
— Psalm 16: 7-9, 11

Solomon West works in the private equity industry.