a reflection on Luke 11:14-12:12

by Katie Heemstra

While praying through this week’s readings I was truly at a loss for what to write about.  No one section or day really stood out to me and each one seemed so critical of something, which is honestly not fun to write about.  We have Jesus casting out demons and the famous, “a house divided cannot stand,” verse, we have a section on judgment and letting our light shine, another section on woes to the Pharisees, and finally a section on hypocrisy, fearing God but not fearing God at the same time, unforgivable blasphemy and finally the power of the Spirit to give us words.  What a jumble of topics! But in praying through this section of scripture as a whole, God started showing me a common theme in all of it: cleanliness and light.

The two are symbolically similar and tend to go hand in hand.  Where we find one it would be no surprise to find the other. Light can bring healing, cleansing is healing too.  Shedding light on a situation is a type of purging, which in turn is a type of cleaning. With that in mind then looking at the verses as a cohesive whole, I think Jesus is trying to convey the difference between true light and true cleanliness and that which is made or done through human effort.  

We see it first in the example in Luke 11:24-26, when an unclean spirit leaves a person and returns to that person finding everything tidied up and rearranged back in order, then invites all his demon friends back with him for the equivalent of a house party wreaking havoc on this poor man’s soul.  An odd example, right? I thought so, so I looked into some commentaries on these verses and they key to this scenario is that this person was expelled of the unclean spirit and tried to clean up the aftermath on his own (notice the use of swept clean – he basically dusted his house and put the pictures back up on the shelves, but did not put the effort in to truly, deeply clean) basically just cleaning up the demon’s room, inviting the spirit to come back.

Here’s a more tangible example…say you have an addiction and it has taken over your life.  You begin to see the destruction it is causing so you make up your mind to stop using whatever substance you’re addicted to.  You make it a couple days, maybe even a week or two, but something sets you off and you binge that substance so hard, you’re now even worse off than you were before you tried to quit.  This man tried to quit (“sweep his house”) on his own effort, but if he were to check himself into a rehab facility (“deep clean”) he would stand a chance against the onslaught of attack his addiction would have against him.  That deep cleaning is only available when we invite the Spirit in to help us clean up our act. It’s the only way to truly change our situation.

Next, we have the example of putting a lamp on a stand, rather than hiding it under a bowl in Luke 11:29-36.  We are warned in this passage to make sure that the light within us is not darkness. Another odd reference from Jesus.  How can light really be darkness? The answer is only if it is not from the true source of light: God our Father. If our light is coming from another source, say our own efforts to be righteous, it is not a true light we are shining, but a poor imitation.  We’re back to sweeping our own houses clean rather than letting the Spirit deep clean us: our effort versus letting God take control.

Third, we have the example of the Pharisee calling Jesus out for not washing before eating his meal (we’re back to the cleaning thing!).  Jesus throws it right back at the Pharisee accusing him of washing the outside of his dish but not the inside. Finally we have a fairly straightforward example: the Pharisee does much to make sure his outer appearance (how he looks, what he does, who he is perceived to be) follows the letter of the law, but his internal condition (his motivations, his desires, his heart) is quite dirty and ugly.  Jesus shows us the difference between the clean outside and clean inside in the examples in the following verses (Luke 11:43-52). Visible tithing, taking important seats in the synagogue, receiving respectful greetings in public are all focused on outer appearance. Cleanliness of the inside is shown as being generous to the poor and showing justice and the love of God to others. In order to do any of these things with a genuine heart rather than selfish motivation, we must be in tune with God and the Spirit.  It is his work through us that makes us able.

Finally we have the example of hypocrisy where truth is brought to light in the end (Luke 12:1-3).  Here we are, back to the light once more! We are warned that whatever we think we’re doing in secret will one day be revealed to all.  Whether this revelation will come through people coming to see our true character in this life or if all will be revealed in the next, we don’t know, but the heart of Jesus’ statement is if we act in the manner of the Spirit, truly cleansed on the inside, acting in love, justice and mercy we will have nothing to fear in this life or the next.  I think this is why Jesus continues on to say we should not be afraid of others who can only kill our bodies, but only fear God who can eternally damn us to hell. God sees what is done in secret, He sees if we are only working in our own effort to sweep our houses clean or only wash the outside of the dish. He sees our hearts and our true motivations.  BUT, we are to fear His judgment, we are not to fear Him, because He is the only one who can redeem us, make us truly clean, bring light into every situation in our lives.  We are to run to him with hearts wide open asking for His cleansing love and righteousness to make us well and whole and able to show his love to the rest of his children here on earth.

A lot easier said than done, right?  It sure is for me. But that is the beauty of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.  Just as He will come and teach us what to say when we are called out to speak (Luke 12:11-12), He also comes when we ask to gently (yet deeply) clean out our hearts and shed light on our actions and circumstances.  It is not by our own efforts alone that we are going to be able to do what Jesus is asking of us. We have four examples in just these passages of how that does not work. We must first go to God, rely on Him to do His work in us, and in our willingness to be shaped, cleansed, and used by Him, we will be filled to overflowing with the love, justice, and mercy God calls us to act out in our lives.

artwork:Woe Unto You, Scribes and Pharisees, James Tissot (1836-1902)

a reflection on Luke 10:25-37

by Serena Lee

This passage that describes the conversation between the expert (lawyer) and Jesus includes the most famous commands of the Bible: to love the Lord your God, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Moreover, it includes the famous parable of The Good Samaritan that Jesus tells in order to convey to the expert what “neighbor” means. We may have heard this story and been reminded of these commands time and time again. But I hope that by sharing a bit of my own processing of this story with you, it will bring a fresh perspective and a gentle conviction that we will never be able to “graduate” from learning God’s love. That is, God’s love is not something to be achieved nor earned, but rather an ever-growing relationship between the Lover and the beloved.

The expert of the law and Jesus seem to have a cordial conversation, and in fact seem to be in agreement with one another. They both agree that (paraphrasing) “loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength” and “love your neighbor as yourself” are two important commands written in the law. Jesus’ response “do this, and you will live” brings up the expert’s wonderful question of how he should carry out these commands. 

This part of the story, Jesus inserts yet another story (a pericope) in order to present to the expert who “neighbor” is. At this point, we have all read and heard the sermons attempting to help us connect with each character of the story: the Levite, the priest, the Samaritan, and even the observer of the story. What we may have not paid much attention to is how a sermon prompts listeners to take on the perspective of each character significantly changes what we take away from this short story. 

For example, a sermon that focuses on the perspective of the Levite or priest perhaps prompts challenges listeners to think about their own judgments and prejudice against people they consider as “the other,” just like the wounded, unnamed man. If preached from the perspective of the Good Samaritan, the sermon may encourage listeners to think about those they consider “the other” and serve them the way the Good Samaritan has. Even as an observer in the story, it is clear that the Samaritan is considered “the other” when compared to the Levite and priest, and therefore should be welcomed into the kingdom of God for showing mercy to the wounded man. 

The only character that we have not yet taken perspective of is the wounded, unnamed man’s. Though his role in the story is quite passive, I understand that he represents pain, suffering, and hurt in this world. I’m positive most of us have not experienced being beaten half to death, but perhaps for our purposes, let’s take up his perspective of pain, hopelessness, and desperate need for a neighbor. 

This unnamed man has no background or context, only that his life depends on the mercy of someone who will give it. Because we cannot assume the identity of this name, we don’t know what his reaction would be if a Levite or priest were to have helped him. However, I wonder if it would have mattered to this unnamed man if the Levite or priest did help him. Would he have been more thankful? Would he have tried to repay them? I don’t think so…I think he would have reacted the same because he simply needed a neighbor. That is, he needed someone to show him mercy. 

Of course, there is significance that the Samaritan plays the role of the neighbor, especially given that Luke writes for a Gentile audience. Thus, I think Jesus uses the Samaritan as the example not to create the dichotomy of “other” and “included”, but to actually eliminate otherness. After all, the kingdom of God will not have “others.” This is a taste of heaven. We may need to categorize “others” for now, but we do so as a means to an end, a tool in order to eventually create relationships of equality and reciprocity, just as Jesus did in the story by making the Samaritan an example as the Neighbor.

Neighbor is not the one who is included or excluded. Neighbor is not “us vs. them.” Neighbor is not our group and “others”. Neighbor is not beneficiary and benefactor. Neighbor is not patronizing. 

Neighbors are patient. Neighbors are kind. They do not envy, they do not boast, they are not proud. They do not dishonor others, they are not self-seeking, they are not easily angered, they keep no record of wrongs. Neighbors do not delight in evil, but rejoice with the truth. Neighbors protect, trust, hope, and persevere.

There is no cultural, socio-economic, racial/ethnic, or gender construct or barrier that restricts one from becoming or having a neighbor. For being a neighbor only requires mercy and love—transformed through the love of God—which means anyone can be a neighbor, and anyone can have a neighbor. We know who our “others” are. We have all been the “other.” But I think otherness begins to cease when we can recognize that there is a neighbor-ness (and need for neighbor) in each of us, which allows us to sense a common humanity among the people that God has called us to love.

artwork:The Good Samaritan, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)