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
I am not a disciple of Jesus. I have not given up family, and home, and possessions, for his sake. It is important to admit this from the outset, to set aside the hypocrisy and vanity of claiming that I’m something that I’m not. The handful of people who followed Jesus were better at this … Continue reading Luke 14:25-35 Asking for Terms of Peace
The Gospels claim, and Christians believe, that divinity is entangled with humanity. The evangelists go even further. When Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God, he is saying that creation itself is shot through with divinity. Divinity is all around us, and it always has been. Poets and mystics alike attempt to see through the … Continue reading Luke 2:1-21 Divinity Entangled with Humanity
Saint Luke’s feast day was a few Fridays ago. In additional to writing his Gospel and the Book of Acts, Luke is the patron saint of artists, for the simple reason that he’s believed to have been the very first Christian artist. The earliest icons, showing Christ and Mary, were thought to have been painted … Continue reading Spiritual Mastery
KPB Stevens 