Luke 6 | At Water’s Edge

Lord of the Dance

I am obsessed with the hymn called “The Lord of the Dance.” Do you know this song? It tells Jesus’ story from his preexistence to his resurrection in five theology-packed verses. The tempo and the tune are as jaunty as the refrain, which proclaims that Jesus is the Lord of the dance, and we are invited to dance along. Marvelous!

The third verse is especially meaningful for our Scripture reading today:

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame:
The holy people said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me on high,
And they left me there on a cross to die. (UMH 261)

Luke 6 (Common English Bible)

6 One Sabbath, as Jesus was going through the wheat fields, his disciples were picking the heads of wheat, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. ²Some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the Sabbath law?”

³Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read what David and his companions did when they were hungry? ⁴He broke the Law by going into God’s house and eating the bread of the presence, which only the priests can eat. He also gave some of the bread to his companions.” ⁵Then he said to them, “The Human One is Lord of the Sabbath.”

When Jesus proclaimed himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath, he shattered all of their preconceived notions of sabbath-keeping. They tried to trap him into performing a healing on the sabbath, and Jesus did not disappoint.

⁶On another Sabbath, Jesus entered a synagogue to teach. A man was there whose right hand was withered. ⁷The legal experts and the Pharisees were watching him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. They were looking for a reason to bring charges against him. ⁸Jesus knew their thoughts, so he said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” He got up and stood there. ⁹Jesus said to the legal experts and Pharisees, “Here’s a question for you: Is it legal on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰Looking around at them all, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he did and his hand was made healthy. ¹¹They were furious and began talking with each other about what to do to Jesus.

This Scripture reminds us that many people solidly grounded in tradition can’t accept that fact that meeting a human need is more important to God than adhering to a tradition, especially one that is faulty in reason and logic. Hosea 6:6 clearly explains that God wants mercy over sacrifice. Loving others has always been more important than any ritual application of rabbinical law that hurts a person. That is completely out of harmony with God’s purpose for us.

Jesus’ bold statement that he was Lord of the Sabbath was a loud and direct claim to his deity. As such, he had authority over the law. Notice that the Pharisees are watching him closely, expecting him to perform a miracle of healing that will violate their rules. This was an acknowledgement that they believed he could do miracles! And of course our Lord responds by schooling them about good and evil and the choice to save a life or destroy it. It is never, ever wrong to do something good. Sadly, the Pharisees neglected acts of compassion and love for the needy, allowing their time to be consumed by the minutiae of man-made regulations.

The Pharisees’ understanding of the sabbath missed the point. The point was about keeping the day holy and entering God’s presence by ceasing your toiling for a day. What better way to worship God and enter into his presence can we find than helping one of his children who is hurting?

Do we as a church ever fall into Pharisaical thinking? Do we put discipline, polity, and process before people? How can we better reflect the goodness of God to all people, even if it violates the Building Use policies?

Jesus invites us to the dance. May we all join and rejoice with the Lord of the Dance.

Nature’s Dance by Kathy Schumacher

Keepers

Posted on May 7 by Betsy

I have a natural curiosity about the lighthouses that dot the East Coast. There are five lighthouses located on the Outer Banks where I live. Lighthouses used to be run by Lighthouse Keepers, whose job it was to climb twice a day to the top and maintain the oil, wicks, Fresnel lenses, and flame. From the early 1800’s to the very last East Coast light house to be automated in 1998, the keepers and their families worked seven days a week to keep the light on.

Our Scripture today invites us to be keepers of a different sort. We are invited to keep the sabbath holy. This fourth commandment was intended to provide a day of rest, just as God rested on the seventh day of Creation. Notice that sabbath wasn’t just offered to the free Israelite men but was wholly inclusive in its scope. Women, slaves, immigrants, and even animals were to receive this blessing of rest, making this directive quite extraordinary for its time and context. God is very clear in explaining why: Israelites were once immigrant slaves in Egypt, but God brought them out of their bondage. God offers every living being the same essential dignity of the right to a day of rest.

Deuteronomy 5 ( Common English Bible)

¹²Keep the Sabbath day and treat it as holy, exactly as the Lord your God commanded: ¹³Six days you may work and do all your tasks, ¹⁴but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. Don’t do any work on it—not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your oxen or donkeys or any of your animals, or the immigrant who is living among you—so that your male and female servants can rest just like you. ¹⁵Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That’s why the Lord your God commands you to keep the Sabbath day.

Sabbath keeping is not just about resting and taking a break from labor, but more importantly is intended to be a day given “to the Lord your God.” Clearly God is saying that the seventh day is to be both sacred and separated from the rest of the week, and the purpose in setting down the plow and letting the cooking fire go out is so that the focus can be on praising and honoring the Lord of all creation. By ceasing our work, we can look heavenward and give God all the glory for what we have. Were we to keep working without ceasing, we might never pause long enough to worship. And God truly deserves our worship.

Early Jewish communities took this keeping to levels that weren’t practiced in Christian communities. In Luke 6:1-2, the Pharisees objected to the disciples picking, rubbing, and eating grain on the Sabbath. According to the minutiae of the law, the disciples violated sabbath keeping. By picking grain and breaking it down in their hands to make it edible, they broke the commandment twice. In modern Jewish orthodox communities, light switches may not be turned on, cars may not be driven long distances, and phones may not be used on the sabbath.

How do you keep the sabbath? Do you rest and regenerate? Do you give that day back to the Lord in worship and adoration? What does a holy keeping mean to you?

We are called to be keepers of the light of Christ to the world, By spending our sabbath in worship, our flame can be renewed, and we will be rested enough to be about the work of our Father.

Flame Keeping

Just Be Nice

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Betsy

I have a happy memory of visiting my mother at the paint factory where she worked as the bookkeeper when I was very young. Occasionally my babysitter would drop me off there and I had to wait until mother’s workday was finished. The men in the factory were all like old, wizened uncles to me. One in particular was quite fond of me and always asked me about my day. He called me “Ornery.” It was many years before I knew the definition of that word … but I did like that he gave me a special nickname. Now that I think about it, his choice of words was rather prophetic.

This gentleman once gave me a real treasure. It was a solid green marble ball with a gold and black band around it that read: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I cherished this gift and hid it under my bed lest my sister try to take it from me. I often thought about the words and the generosity of that craggy old fellow.

I later learned that those words come from the Bible. Listen to this discourse from the book of Luke, as he records Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. We begin with the “blessed are you” portions:

Luke 6 (New International Version)

²⁰Looking at his disciples, he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.
²¹Blessed are you who hunger now,
    for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh.
²²Blessed are you when people hate you,
    when they exclude you and insult you
    and reject your name as evil,
        because of the Son of Man.

²³“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

Jesus assured the hearers that the resurrection will reverse all of their current woes. Poverty, hunger, weeping, rejection, exclusion, insults … soon will come a time when earth will pass away, and a time of rejoicing will ensue.

²⁴“But woe to you who are rich,
    for you have already received your comfort.
²⁵Woe to you who are well fed now,
    for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
    for you will mourn and weep.
²⁶Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
    for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

But woe to those who enjoy the affluence and wealth of this earthly existence, for that, too will pass away and their joy will be short-lived here on earth.

²⁷“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Some people operate from a theology of ‘do unto others before they do unto you.’ Don’t be those people. So today, as you’re driving with angry drivers cutting you off, when you are in rush at the grocery store and the cashier is taking too long, when annoying things happen at home, remember the solid green ball’s message that fascinated a child: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Just be nice!

Blessed by Michelle Robertson

Do Unto Others

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Betsy

Luke 6 (New International Version)

²⁰Looking at his disciples, he said:

²³“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

But woe to those who enjoy the affluence and wealth of this earthly existence, for that, too will pass away and their joy will be short-lived here on earth.

²⁷“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.

³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

So today, as you’re driving with angry drivers around you, when you are in rush at the grocery store and the cashier is taking too long, when annoying things happen at home, remember the solid green ball’s message that fascinated a child: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

This is the way.

Pray for Your Enemies

Posted on February 25, 2022 by Betsy

Before we get to today’s Scripture, which ironically commands us to pray for our enemies, we need to pause for a moment to pray for Ukraine. Waking up yesterday to the realization that we are watching a war in Europe begin was a shock. We sat stunned as we witnessed the merciless invasion of the peaceful people of Ukraine by Putin’s armies. Europe hasn’t seen an invasion of this scope since Hitler took over Poland in 1939 … and he didn’t stop there. Never in my lifetime did I think I would see what may end up being a Third World War. But I never expected to live through two years of a global pandemic, either.

And so we join our hearts with brothers and sisters in the British Methodist Church, who published this prayer yesterday on social media. As a European denomination, this situation is much closer to them than it is to us. All of Europe trembles today.

I pray for all people all around the world this morning. I pray for bold Russians who risk arrest to protest by the thousands in Russian cities. I pray for the orphans in Ukraine who, even as we sip our coffee, are hunkered down in dirty subway tunnels. I pray for peace.

If you are tired of worrying about all of this and want to do something practical, please consider donating to the orphanage. I have friends who have traveled for years to do mission work there, and this is a legitimate cause with a legitimate and urgent need: https://www.fathers-care.org

And now to our devotional.

Do Good

Think of someone who has really, really hurt you. Someone who has wronged you so wrongly that you want to wrong them back with a vengeance. We all have people on that list. From the girl who gossiped about you in Middle School and made your life miserable, to someone who has abused you on some level, it is natural and normal to have enemies. I have them. I know you do, too.

What does the Bible say about how to treat our enemies? Get ready for the bitter pill:

Luke 6 (Common English Bible)

²⁷“But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. ²⁸Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t withhold your shirt either. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks and don’t demand your things back from those who take them. ³¹Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.

Lawdy. Of all the teachings of Jesus, this may be one of the hardest ones to swallow. I confess that I would so much prefer to salt the wounds left by my enemies by recalling ad nauseam EVERY INSTANCE OF HURT they inflicted on me. Over, and over, and over. And then I want to hit back. But Jesus calls us to a higher response. Jesus commands us to love them. Jesus commands us to do good to people who have hurt us. Jesus calls us to a response that reflects the way we wish they had treated us.

Is Jesus asking for the impossible?

³²“If you love those who love you, why should you be commended? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³If you do good to those who do good to you, why should you be commended? Even sinners do that. ³⁴If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, why should you be commended? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be paid back in full. ³⁵Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return. If you do, you will have a great reward. You will be acting the way children of the Most High act, for he is kind to ungrateful and wicked people.

Yes, this calling is hard. But he states his case beautifully. Should you be commended for only showing grace to the people who love you? Will you get a pat on the back for being good to those who are good to you? Nope. That is the easy way out. Being good to your enemies takes a lot more work. But when you do, you are acting just like Jesus.

³⁶Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.

And there it is. Being God-followers means we have to respond like God … with kindness and compassion, even to the ungrateful and wicked people.

³⁷“Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.³⁸Give, and it will be given to you. A good portion—packed down, firmly shaken, and overflowing—will fall into your lap. The portion you give will determine the portion you receive in return.”

I don’t know about you, but in the end, I would much rather be like Jesus than my enemy. Lord, bring on that good portion to us! And may we bring it to others in your name and for your sake.

Level Ground

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Betsy

Today’s Scripture is a whopper. It happens in a physical location that Luke describes as “level ground,” but it also happens at a spiritual “level ground” as well. When you read this, expect to be grounded.

And possibly leveled.

Luke is very transparent about the audience: they came to hear Jesus because they needed healing. They came to level ground to be healed from all their diseases. Some had unclean spirits. Some were bothered. They had learned about his power, and everyone wanted to touch him.

Are you sick in spirit?

Are you bothered by life?

Do you need to be healed?

Proceed with caution.

Luke 6 (Common English Bible)

¹⁷Jesus came down from the mountain with them and stood on a large area of level ground. A great company of his disciples and a huge crowd of people from all around Judea and Jerusalem and the area around Tyre and Sidon joined him there. ¹⁸They came to hear him and to be healed from their diseases, and those bothered by unclean spirits were healed. ¹⁹The whole crowd wanted to touch him, because power was going out from him and he was healing everyone.

²⁰Jesus raised his eyes to his disciples and said:

“Happy are you who are poor,
    because God’s kingdom is yours.
²¹Happy are you who hunger now,
    because you will be satisfied.
Happy are you who weep now,
    because you will laugh.

So far, so good. This twist on what we normally think of happiness fits into Jesus’ style of teaching. Happy=poor, happy=hungry, happy=weeping … this all equates in the system I call “Jesus math.” Jesus doesn’t do math like we do. He has his own system of equations.

Then it gets more extreme.

²²Happy are you when people hate you, reject you, insult you, and condemn your name as evil because of the Human One. ²³Rejoice when that happens! Leap for joy because you have a great reward in heaven. Their ancestors did the same things to the prophets.

To define happiness THIS way requires the mind of the divine. But do you see what Jesus is getting at here? Happiness means being completely, wholly, and entirely SOLD OUT to Jesus and his cross. That indeed is cause to rejoice, even in the midst of the world’s condemnation.

Then it gets more extreme.

²⁴But how terrible for you who are rich,
    because you have already received your comfort.
²⁵How terrible for you who have plenty now,
    because you will be hungry.
How terrible for you who laugh now,
    because you will mourn and weep.
²⁶How terrible for you when all speak well of you.
    Their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.

Jesus math comes in again. Terrible=rich. Terrible=plentiful. Terrible=laughing. Terrible=praise from the world.

What can we learn from this today? I think it calls us to take a hard look at our own math. If you live your life on the “plus side” of things, perhaps it is time to minus out some of your excess and reach out to others. When we share from our plenty … our resources, our lives, our egos, and our hearts … that is when our math shifts.

What can you do today to bring joy to someone? How can you build up someone’s situation and diminish your own in the cause of the kingdom? Where can you impact the world for something outside of yourself?

And if you find yourself on the “minus side” of things, where can you go to reach out for help?

We are all sick in one way or another, but when we touch Jesus’ power, his healing flows to us and through us. That, my friends, is the math of equality.

Jesus calls us all to level the ground around us. Where do you fit into the equasion?

Better Than Gold

Posted on September 10, 2020 by Betsy

I received the most incredible gift this week. A cherished high school friend contacted me about a month ago and said she had found a cross stitch that she had started as a wedding present for me in a box in her basement. It reads,

Be unto me kind and true as I be unto you.

I’m sure you recognize this as a kind of “wedding version” of the Golden Rule. We were all raised on the Golden Rule, which instructs us to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Did you know that the Golden Rule comes from scripture? Here it is in the Message version:

Luke 6 (The Message)

^31-34“Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!

There is a lovely irony for me in this. Several decades ago my friend painstakingly stitched the Golden Rule onto a sampler and this month she completed it and mailed it to me with some of her beautiful homemade cookies to match. She isn’t just stitching the Golden Rule, she is living it out. She is treating others with love, care, and respect, much as she would hope to be treated in return.

Read what the rest of the passage says:

If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that.

^35-36“I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.

What a powerful example for us today. My friend gave her time, talent, and resources so that I might have an incomparable gift for my upcoming 40th anniversary in November. I can never hope to repay her and she knew that when she completed the work she began so many years ago. I am deeply humbled and inspired. I hope you are too.

How can you live out the God-created identity that Luke is talking about? Can you be generous? Can you help someone today? Where is God calling you to be gracious to someone who can’t possible return what you give?

Our Father is kind: you be kind as well. You’ll never regret it.