I
normally don't like to write sermons anymore. But because a smug
Christian had to ask on twitter about “How many animals Noah took
to his Ark?” to verify who is going to Heaven and Hell. Yeah, let's
talk about it… When you become a Christian, you don't need to fear
atheists, because most of the time, they are nice guys, who don't
bother you much, with some exceptions, who can also be evaded and
reasoned with. Even Satanists can be talked to in an orderly and
normal fashion. The one thing a fledgling Christian has to beware,
the reason, why Jesus even had to say:
“It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” Luke 17:1,2
are
other Christians. And not any kind of Christians, but the smug ones,
who think about, that they will go to Heaven, because they have aced
the faith; because their good deeds and prayer they did in the
public, will do it for them. Not Jesus Christ on the cross and His
mercy – No! Their awesomeness!! And that's why petty feuds between
Christians happen, and why people can't understand our commandment
for Love, then we always fight… It's a good thing, the Gospel of
Luke is especially well written against smug Christians – since it
was addressed to
someone called Teophilos, who wasn't Jewish but probably a roman
citizen, it couldn't be written like the Gospel of Mathew, which
began with inane annals most people skip, for you understand their
significance only, when you had previously read all of the Old
Testament, If you also can read the Jewish
commentaries, what different rabbi's have thought about the Torah,
and about contemporary commentaries, you would also understand why
Jesus hated them… but I haven't read them, so lets not ponder too
long on that… The main concept, what I could gleam through reading
the Bible, is that the Pharisees and Sodokite built a fence around
the law, so that people couldn't even get close to it, in order to
violate it. But if you don't get close to something, you don't reap
its rewards as well. The most notorious of that, is the celebration
of Sabbath: A leaf drops on your shoulder – what should you do? You
can't walk along, because, then you would carry the leaf, and that is
work, which violates Sabbath. You can't remove the leaf – that is
also work. This bizarre and crazy example sums up, why Jesus hated
the scholars. Not understanding what the heart of the Torah was
saying. And how to make it benefit real life, and not just your own
coffers, because you work as such. In a way the Pharisees and
Sodokite, did the same, as the sons of Eli, who lost the Arc of the
Covenant. They made people mock God and speak against following the
law and tradition. Just as Jesus has said about eating food:
“There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. Mark 7:15
If
you follow the law or faith in such a way, that makes other people
feel spite and contempt, you're not helping your cause very well.
Because the outside is outside, and doesn't
get you as those in the inside. There are the people, who can really
hurt your feelings and faith.
Back
to Luke's Gospel we come. Before Jesus started His
mission on earth, there was John, the Baptist. He was called that,
because, he baptized people in the water to cleanse their confessed
sins. People there also hoping, that he is the promised Messiah –
even some of the scholars, who should have been spotless, came to
his, which angered John greatly (Luke 3) When a new preacher comes to
town, all men want to be on his good side, so they could benefit from
it. For the same reason joined Judas Iskariot the ranks of Jesus.
Just because you're able to perceive, that something is good for you,
or beneficial to be joined by you, in order to gain access to
something you want, doesn't necessarily make you a good person. You
could as well join the Nazi's or some other regime like that, and in
the court excuse yourself that you where just a cog in the machinery
and couldn't know better or do anything – for you being a coward
and a fool. John even baptized Jesus, who after that went into the
desert (tossed or chased by spirit would be a better translation)
also do skip the annals again, what are in the 3rd
chapter of Luke, they don't matter, unless you know the back-ground.
In
the desert Jesus fasted 40 days to attune himself for His ministry.
It is so significant to Christians, because of the 3 temptations He
went through. According to Luke, they there 1. “Make the stone to
bread!” Because, obviously after 40 days of fasting, Jesus was
hungry. And Jesus answered thus: “Man
shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word of God.’ ” Luke
4:4 While it sounds corny, it packs a fundamental law of faith. Why
do you believe? For yourself and your needs, or for a greater
purpose, what sometimes compels you to even forget nourishment and
stuff you like. You believe the Word of God, not Yourself and your
success story. If you believe yourself, what significance should it
pose, compared to something else, what you could do? Others have
success stories as well!! The second temptation was 2. “I offer you
the world if you acknowledge my dominion!” and the answer was: “Get
behind me, for you shall worship God and Him alone!” Luke 4:5-8 The
reason, why this is important, you must understand the surroundings.
Israel was an occupied territory by Rome. The building of the Temple
of Herod, so Jews could worship Yahweh had catapulted the region into
hyper inflation and poverty. Only the scholars and tax collectors,
who collaborated with the Romans, and wealthy land owners of course
had any kind of money. Everybody else labored for the day-wage. In
such predicaments a deal with the devil is pretty enticing. It wasn't
an empty offer, and packed its punch. Still Jesus was able to say no
to it, although many advisers and business men would tear their hair
out on this one. You normally don't turn down an offer you can't
refuse!! At least that's what humans say. That denial itself showed
how out of this world Jesus really is. In the first
temptation
He talked big, now He lived according to His words. It is easy to say
big, that you don't take advantage of your transformative abilities
for
yourself,
but another if you turn down real power. I'll
come back to it at the 3rd
temptation. So Jesus wasn't willing to directly abandon His mission
of being the Messiah, although people didn't even know clearly, what
to expect from that figure anyway… The third temptation was: “Throw
yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple and God will surely
command His angels and save you!” and the answer to that was “Don't
tempt God!!” Luke 4:9-12 Have you ever heard such of Christians.
That someone teases them, and they answer moderately, not lashing out
at their opponents? In a way this temptation, was a repetition of the
1st
but indirectly. There He had to help Himself to still the craving of
His belly, now He was offered to help “the people” to give them
that Messiah, they wanted to see - “He who fell down from Heaven,
carried by Angles, as the trumpets sang and the Earth shook!”
People, who normally can say no to a direct offer, fall for it, if
you repeat that indirectly and add pride or half-truths to it. Many a
Christians have failed by helping the people, and not realizing, they
are doing it, to further their own agenda and cause. And Jesus had
only “Don't tempt God!” to say about it. Wow! What resolve –
such honor even when talking with the devil. It shows great lengths,
how you treat people, who you perceive to be inferior to you, or in
Christian tongue - “those, who go to Hell” I learned it, when I
was reading Harry Potter – you know, that book banned in the
Schools of Tennessee, because of Witch-Craft; although none of the
banning Christians ever read it!! Everybody can treat your boss well,
who could fire your ass or give you promotions; treat a star well,
because you like his/her show/movies/songs etc. But how you treat
those who are down-trodden really defines your character. I'm not a
good person, because I work as a security officer – when I started,
I had to work at supermarkets, and one of my tasks, what I really
hated, was kicking hobos out of my premise. Sometimes it had to be on
February, when it was snowing and cold outside, being totally aware,
that trey
might suffer from the cold. Some others there protecting legal
beggings, while kicking out illegal ones. The legal ones there asking
for donations to this cancer patient or that blind not able to afford
the dog. The problem wasn't about the legitimacy of their claims, it
was there it was askewed and why didn't the Health Insurance system
called “Haigekassa” didn't help out with it!! Also, I will never
believe, that the shop didn't take a cut from that money. They only
had it, to make themselves look better, so people would spend more
money. When real beggars came to our doors, they there immediately
turned out. If the shop had a bleeding heart, why mind a penny to
them? There there some scammers too, but mostly people knew about
them. And then there are the sales agents, you never get rid off to
sell you stuff you don't want or need. But since they pay the shop,
that's ok. Sometimes their so obnoxious I have considered to turn
back and go somewhere else… I really hate sales agents. I spit
fire, whenever one calls my work-phone…
Youtube
is full of Christian videos against this and that, there Christians
want to help the people. And I can't help but have to wonder, did
they just throw themselves from the top of the temple, like Jesus did
not! How to detect a good Christian video from a bad one. The good
one wont lament how your way of life sucks catapulting you to Hell,
but rather tries to find an answer to questions you asked and what
are actually helpful… casting stones has made nobody Christians,
but has killed many souls…
So
there was I? Ah
right Luke 5:12-26 Remember then I was talking about the
down-trodden. In this passage are two of such. One leper and one
paralytic. Jesus heals them both, and what do the pharisees have a
problem with? How He does that. Just because he also said, while
healing the paralytic: “Your sins are forgiven!” You have to
understand what being a paralytic or leper did to you, in a community
there it was widely believed, that if you got sick it was your sin or
your families sin, what caused it. So instant karma. Living in that
thought, is not a nice thing, so it can't be overstated how valuable
it really is, when someone, who can actually help you, tells you such
words of mercy, when you had thought otherwise since then. Nobody
noticed them, because they there listening to Big Jesus, having a say
or two, until He healed them and talked weird about sin. Before that,
the leper and the paralytic was no-mans business. The latter had to
be even hauled in through the roof, because nobody gave way, so the
Healer could help. That's how much people wanted to hear Jesus, that
an obvious distressed persons need, became irrelevant! Luke 5: 27-32
Jesus visits a tax collector, which brings Him bad blood with the
scholars, who like to remain spiritually pure, by not talking to
“those who go to Hell” transforming that person. Luke 5:33-39 The
pharisees question why Jesus' disciples don't fast. Obviously they
couldn't ask Jesus directly, for His piety was well known. Jesus
countered it with the parable of the bridegroom to highlight that He
must die on the cross, and then His disciples shall mourn and fast –
although nobody understood that back then. He
also talked about new wine and old skins. And this goes on all His
ministry: Pharisees being mad that Jesus does things the new way
disregarding the old forcing them to have a thought with status quo.
People don't want change, unless they control that change. That's why
so much conflict happens between the Democrats and Republicans of
America. Both sides want to control the whole table.
The
6th
chapter speaks about the Sabbath, how His disciples eating on that
day breaks it. The pharisees there not even mad, because of the
eating, but because of the plucking and rubbing, which was considered
work. Then they got mad that Jesus dared to work Himself by healing a
sick on Sabbath!! That all shows you who really cares about the
people, and who only cares about reputation. The Beautitudes you can
read by yourself along with the Sermon of the Mount at Mathew 5-7
because its too painful. Too many Christians fail against t and I
don't think people want to hear my Jeremiyah's lament about it… 7th
Chapter of Luke talks about how a Centurions servant gets healed. I
find that significant how the problem is presented to Jesus. Jesus
must help him, because the Centurion is a nice guy and donated to the
Jewish synagogue. The fact of distress is regarded at 2nd
or 3rd
rate… And then that Centurion, with his limited knowledge about Him
offers such insight about Jesus, that it makes you wonder, why we
even erect churches… If a person so far, can recognize someone as
Son of God, or a man under authority, but pharisees could not, over
how Jesus followed the Sabbath, then what does it say about becoming
a Jew or Christian?
At
Luke 7:36-50 we encounter a sinful woman, who dost not let the
Pharisee, who invited Jesus in, to enjoy his loving kindness. That
passage reveals something about sin. When you're too righteous, it
robs you from understanding people, who are less fortunate. Because
if they would walk a mile in your shoes, they would get better! But
nobody offers them your shoes, they got their own, what you would be
but reluctant to wear… Also Jesus disses the Pharisee for not
fulfilling the law about receiving good guests. So Jesus was invited
but not as a VIP. There was no red carpet entrance for Him, although
it would not have cost the host more. It was a gentle nudge to remind
Jesus, there the Host belonged and there the prophetic healer in his
opinion. Not seeing the woman's sinfulness
as
a reason to rebuke her, hurt the pride and purity of the Pharisee.
Surely he would not have committed those sins she did!! And that made
him a better person.
Lets
skip to Luke 19 now. Jesus and Zacchaeus. Again we are talking about
a tax collector, but not any kind, he was a dwarf and the chief tax
collector. Obviously people hated his guts and he couldn't see Jesus,
and had to climb a tree. When he finally found Jesus, who saw him up
a tree and volunteered to lodge in his house, that was a big deal.
Other Jews didn't wanna know him, for collaborating with the Romans,
so people didn't like the idea, of Jesus resting at there. People
thought, that tax collector take more than is ought. But that man
vowed to give away half his money to the poor and restore wrongfully
taken fourscore. That meant only up to 50/4=12.5 percent could have
been fraudulent, or he would not been able to fulfill that vow. How
many rich people, would do such vow today? At
Luke 19:11-27 Jesus talks about authority and what it costs to not
recognize it correctly. At Luke 19:45-48 Jesus cleanses the temple so
the proselytes and pagans could pray in peace and not amongst cattle
crying and the sound of money being weighed and bought and sold. You
see, in the temple, only the Sheckel was a valid currency, but in
Rome that was not so, and Jerusalem, like all Israel, was occupied
under Rome. While it was important to have a place there to do that
business, exploiting the part of temple, what was accessible for
pagans and proselytes, who couldn't enter the real temple entrance
and be with the faithful, was Evil. Why should people become faithful
to the Lord, if they could only pray under the stock exchange? You
are like a faithful, but not really… Why should anybody allow such
humiliation. And the pharisees hated Jesus for being that way.
Towards the meek and down-trodden and not towards establishment.
There could be more to say about this Gospel, but I don't wanna spoil
your fun in reading. The point was, don't trust authority and smug
tone/fashion. Normally it contributes to nothing. Trust peoples
actions, and whom they do it. That speaks more volumes, than their
sermons. Godspeed and good health.
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