Location is everything in this fairly disturbing passage, and the potential for anti-semitism is rife. So the first thing that must be said is that we should read it an internal critique, a Jew criticizing other Jews, and as we read it we should consider a mental parallel - what if an outsider Christian launched … Continue reading Luke 19:1-27 Zacchaeus and Rahab
A blind beggar calls out to Jesus as he and the disciples are approaching Jericho. Jesus heals him of his blindness. In this story, Luke is telling us that we can only really see when we come into contact with the divine. Sight is not about our eyes but our souls. True sight is seeing … Continue reading Luke 18:18-43 The Blind Man’s Calling Out
Gerald May, in his beautiful book about St. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, says this: When we were children, most of us were good friends with mystery. The world was full of it and we loved it. Then as we grew older, we slowly accepted the indoctrination that mystery exists only to … Continue reading Luke 18:1-17 Children of Mystery
When I was in seminary, someone asked why we couldn’t simply get rid of those parts of the Bible that don’t make any sense anymore. After all, if we accept that the Biblical canon was created by people, we should also accept that it can be uncreated by people. The professor gave a very wise … Continue reading Luke 17:11-37 Apocalyptic Being
Jesus issues a duo warning in this passage. First, when you fail (and we are all bound to fail), don’t lead anyone after you in your failure. Second, the surest guard against failure is the encouragement and forgiveness of community. If we are to accept the schema of self that I’ve talked about previously in … Continue reading Luke 17:1-10 We Will Find Ourselves in Communities of Forgiveness and Grace
KPB Stevens 