Touchpoints on Luke (Page 2)
Wanted For No Good Reason
Grace to you from the Mystery in whom we live and breathe and have our being. Sit with me in this moment. Tell her, then, to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but few things are needed—indeed only one.” Luke 10:38-42 different temperaments My mom was definitely a Martha in personality. The kid in me wants to yell, “yahoo, Jesus said I don’t have to help In kitchen!” This story of…
Parable of the Neighbor
Grace to you from the Mystery in whom we live and breathe and have our being. Who is my neighbor? Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:25-37 Good Samaritan If this parable we’re laying on the side of the road, stripped and beaten of its deep message of radical compassion…
Peace Travels
Grace to you from the Mystery in whom we live and breathe and have our being. He said to them… The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few,” Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two 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 laborers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send…
Jesus Sent With No Attachments
Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” And Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Banishing Fear
Grace and Peace from the mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. Galatians 3:23-29 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. Luke 8:26-39 Jesus and his disciples arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite…
See Deep Fishing
Grace and peace to you from the Mystery in whom we live and move, and have our being. Jesus’ first disciples. When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.” Luke 5:1-11 Jesus is choosing his first apprentices. Why didn’t he pick from the eager…
Jesus Cliff Notes
“This is the story we have to tell. The story of a God who is bigger than we can imagine. The story of One who embraces more than we can embrace. One who is beyond our limits.”
The Powerlessness of Jesus
“I’m not saying Jesus was or wasn’t God. I’m saying what we know is that Jesus was a man who saw deeply into the mystical oceans of connection and Divine love without ever claiming to be anything other than human, yet still one with God. Jesus was a man who acknowledged the frailty and resilience of humanity, yet embodied hope for us all, a man whose voice cried, “You belong” to the adulteress, the leper, the thief, and the Pharisee. His love and compassion unmasked their false identities and declared, “You belong.” Undeserved, unearned and seemingly out of nowhere, “You belong.” You belong, and have always belonged, and will always belong to the Divine Oneness of the Mystery we call God. What you’re seeking is knowing this and waking up to it – as it always was, and is and always will be. Even when you didn’t know it, you belonged.”
Magic, Miracles or Mystery?
“The unconditional presence of Spirit midwifed my own inner birth. The One who awakens me in the mornings of my distress with the anointing of compassion. In me, the power of pride is brought down and my soul is grateful.”
The Good Bad News
“Am I more disturbed that John’s words predict a God of love cutting fruitless trees down and burning them then the suffering of those around me? What weighs heavier on me, the threat to my theology concerning John’s image of a punishing God, or those mentioned who are cold and hungry?”
Making Way for The Way
“John’s cry for repentance was to prepare the way of the heart for a change in direction. To clear the way of old ways. He wasn’t yelling the repentance that says “Hey everyone, stop sinning, Jesus is coming and boy is he pissed!”, or “Just look busy!” He said prepare the way for the real deal. The way beyond all ways. It’s not a hack to make your life easier. It is a way of peace amid all the other hacks wanting to have their way. A compassionate voice crying in the wilderness of our hearts. A voice of anticipation. The voice that says create space for a new beginning.”
The Risen Bread of Life
“The comedian in me wants to believe Jesus had a great sense of humor with his disguise. Jesus starts walking ahead of the two men and they say, “Dude, come with us. It’s late and we all need to eat.” Jesus’ plan is working perfectly! No more parables, no more feeding them with a spoon. No more pulling grains of wheat to quench their hunger, no more seeds to scatter. No more lessons on how a stalk of wheat grows. The Bread of Life has fully risen and it’s time for the feast of life!”