Luke 12:22-34 . A companion piece to August 4 blog.

Do not worry? Do not be anxious.

Does anyone here not worry? We all worry. Of course!  

I sometimes wonder if Jesus inhabits the same kind of world as we do. He doesn’t seem to have young family or older family to look after. He doesn’t have rent or mortgage or car payments. He and his friends don’t have to worry what they will eat- someone always seems to feed them.  He’s not concerned about providing for his old age- he seems to know he’s not going to have one.  And in his time, no one worries about climate change. 

And yet Jesus knows stuff can happen at any moment. Life is precarious. His world is one of small farmers one harvest failure, one rent payment away from losing their land- fisher folk one storm or shipwreck away from…

[Text: Luke 12:13-21 ]. This and August 11 somehow go together- there’s a little repetition , partly because not everyone gets to church every week or remembers perfectly, and partly because I think this is really important for North Americans like us.

You can guess- it’s not going to end well for that rich farmer. In Luke’s gospel rich people are headed for trouble, from the get-go. Mary’s Song promises “ the rich will be sent empty away”. In Luke’s blessings and woes- blessing number 1 is for the poor- not just the poor in spirit, no, the poor- theirs is the realm of God. Woe no. 1 is for the rich: “ you have received your consolation . “

And Jesus as told by Luke is not the first to attack the rich. Prophet after prophet in the Hebrew Bible, the First Testament , do the same.

And yet…

(Luke 10:38-42 ;Luke 11:1-13 ; “Praying” by Mary Oliver)

Long ago, my church in England was planning an event – I’ve long since forgotten what it was.   All I remember:  the priest said, well, someone could bring lunch, just  a few chicken sandwiches , that would be easy wouldn’t it?  This priest knew more about theology than about food preparation: he didn’t realize to get proper chicken sandwiches, someone first had to cook and dismember  a chicken – not exactly a 5 minute project on the way out the door  !

Jesus and his travelling troupe didn’t get it either. Poor Martha, toiling away- and remember, no freezer, no microwave, no running water– she had to do it all herself, for people who may have known about as much as my priest about what went into preparing a meal. It’s always bugged me that Jesus criticizes Martha…

[]Readings – .Amos 7:7-15 ; Luke 10:25-37]

We think we know today’s gospel story. But do we?

I’ve been reading a Jewish commentary on Luke- by Amy Jill Levine- part of a whole New Testament commentary written entirely by Jewish scholars. Jewish people don’t grow up with this story the way we do. And they often know the First Testament, their Bible , much better than we do. So they may notice things we’ve missed.

So – I’ll start today’s reflection in light of my dialogue with this Jewish commentary.

That lawyer- well, he’s not what we may think- he’s a learned scholar of the Torah , the Jewish law. He’s a pedantic fellow, as some scholars are. He wants to get the better of Jesus- testing him with a trick question: What must I do to inherit eternal life?

Jesus doesn’t bite. Instead he throws the scholar…

Today’s sacred texts : Luke 10:1-11, 17-20: “The Messenger” by Mary Oliver,https://www.poeticous.com/mary-oliver/messenger and as it turns out, Rumi’s “The Guest House”

Imagine 2 out of those 70 travellers, showing up on your doorstep. Barefoot, dusty, carrying nothing, looking as if they didn’t have a shekel to their name.

Remember, back then, your house was probably have been very small and humble. No guest room. Everyone doubling up if house guests came , some sleeping on the floor in whatever corner you could find. Your pair might have been male or female or one of each- or, who knows? You wouldn’t have a fridge or freezer with extra soups or casseroles for last-minute meals. You’d be cooking from scratch and you’d be stretching out a pretty modest food supply, and making sure the guests got the best of it. You likely had to haul water from the town well…

[This reflection was offered on Pentecost Sunday in Wesley United, St Andrews. That day we also dedicated and blessed our new renovations, as well as celebrating communion. That afternoon, we had a huge Open House, attended by many well beyond our congregation, who wanted to take a look around and hear/see the story of our renovations. We had the chairs moved to the side so that the floor labyrinth was displayed.April 16 was our soft reopening- today was the Grand Reopening.]

Pentecost did not just happen out of the blue, you know. Here’s some backstory.

  Easter happened first- and you know what happened before Easter- Holy Saturday- the day of watching and waiting, with not the foggiest idea what was next.  And then, Easter-  the day, not just the day,  40 days-40 days of Mystery breaking into the Jesus- followers’ world . One way or another, they experienced…