At Proper 22C, in our journey with Jesus through Luke, we come to a third consecutive Gospel reading with teaching addressed to his disciples. Luke 17:5-10 begins with a request of “the apostles” (5) to “the Lord” to “increase our faith” (5). In fact, this is likely in response to the teaching given prior (see…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 21C
The assigned Scripture readings for the Season after Pentecost, Proper 21C, expose the church to a second consecutive week of contemplating the dangers of a love of worldly wealth. The Gospel reading for this Sunday is from Luke 16:19-31, Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The first part of the parable (19-26) narrates…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 20C
Moving forward in the special section of Luke (passages unique to that Gospel) in Year C, we come now to a two-week period of the Pentecost season in which the worshipping church must meditate on the temptation to love money or wealth more than God. The Gospel reading assigned for Proper 20C, Luke 16:1-13, is…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 19C
At Pentecost, Proper 19C, we come to another instance in Luke where religious leaders watch Jesus to trap him. From the assigned Gospel reading, Luke 15:1-10, we hear the narrative of Jesus responding to Pharisees and scribes grumbling because Jesus “receives sinners and eats with them” (2). He tells them three parables, the first two…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 18C
From the Proper 18C Gospel reading, Luke 14:25-33, we learn that as Jesus approaches Jerusalem, “great crowds accompanied him” (25). “Accompanied” as opposed to “come after me” (27). Luke uses subtleties of the Greek language to distinguish from Jesus’ words the stark difference between being in the presence of the Son of God and surrendering…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 17C
This week’s assigned Gospel reading contains yet more teaching of Jesus found only in Luke. The setting of Luke 14:1,7-14 is a meal with religious dignitaries to which Jesus has been invited to attend. To the guests who were maneuvering to take the seats of honor at the banquet, Jesus tells a parable concerning the…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 16C
In Year C, the Sunday lectionary in the stretch of Ordinary Time that follows Pentecost or Trinity Sunday features Gospel readings from the special section of Luke (9:51-18:14) containing mostly narratives unique to that New Testament Gospel. In this section, we find our Lord, as he approaches Jerusalem for the last time, alternately conversing with…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 15C
At Proper 15C, the church brings us in our walking with Jesus in worship to the end of what appears to be a parenthetical discourse delivered to his disciples while he is teaching crowds somewhere in Judea. In the first part of the assigned Gospel reading from Luke 12:49-56, Jesus passionately urges his disciples to…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 14C
Moving forward in Luke’s detailed section of Jesus’ approach to Jerusalem, we come to Proper 14C to more intense teaching directed to the disciples alone. In the assigned Gospel reading out of Luke 12:32-40, we enter into the middle of a discourse on radical commitment to gospel service in the world. Using both intimate and…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 13C
Moving ahead to Proper 13C, the church assigns the parable of the rich fool from Luke 12:13-21 as the central reading in our worship. This parable, found only in Luke, is our Lord’s response to an unnamed man in a crowd demanding that he settle an inheritance dispute with a brother. The story of a…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 12C
We continue this Sunday with meditation on Jesus’ teachings on discipleship from Luke. The assigned Gospel reading from Luke 11:1-13 focuses on prayer, including material found in Matthew and two brief parables that appear only in Luke. So, in response to the disciples’ request that Jesus teach them to pray, Jesus responds with the words…
Today in the Spirit: Proper 11C
At Proper 11C, the Gospel reading takes us to another passage unique to Luke, where Jesus teaches on radical discipleship. In Luke 10:38-42, we overhear the conversation between Martha and Jesus after Martha vociferously complains to Jesus that her sister, Mary, should help with the “serving” duties. Jesus defends Mary’s decision to “listen to the…
