What Must I Do?

Gospel: Luke 10: 25-37

The lawyer wants to know what he must do in order to inherit eternal life.  The answer is to be like the Samaritan in this story Jesus tells - to care for those on the margins, those who are sick and dying.  The Samaritan did not stop to consider the man's racial or ethnic identities.  He did not see if the man had lawful status or not.  He did not look for any other reason to exclude him from his circle of care and concern.  He simply provided healing to this man in need.

On the other hand, the alleged religious people - the keepers of Temple ritual - did not hesitate in finding some reason to not help this poor man.  No doubt they regarded their religious duties of Temple worship as being more important than caring for the man.  They felt that maintaining ritual purity and performing the Temple rituals as prescribed was the way to inherit eternal life.  They may have even regarded their own safety as more important than helping this man.

A building made of stone cannot be saved by the use of oil and wine.  They are not living things with an eternal destiny.  God made only one temple of worship dedicated to him - the human person.  To provide oil and wine in order to heal, liberate, and nourish others in need is the only path to eternal life, the only authentic worship in spirit and in truth.  And to do so without freely without regard to a person's identity is the way of Jesus.  

Increase Our Faith

Gospel: Luke 17: 5-10

The disciples come to Jesus and ask him to increase their faith.  Like many things people say to Jesus, it is ignored or used as an opportunity to say something else.  Here, Jesus does talk about an increase in faith, but not in the way the disciples wanted.  He first states that if you had even a modicum of faith you could do great things, but you do not.  He then states that the person of faith is like a servant who merely does their duty without seeking any reward or accolades.  

The disciples are wanting the reward without doing any of the work.  They want the baby Jesus magic to just give them a strong faith, much like an unfit person wanting a well-toned body without hitting the gym.  Faith is like any virtue.  It is acquired through habit, through trial and error, through a long process of working at it.  We cannot expect to have faith or any other virtue present within us without working at it day in and day out.

Jesus came into this world as an ordinary human being who over time lived an extraordinary human life.  That is the normal course of things for every human being who seeks to live a life of great faith.  There are no short cuts, no placebos.  We are merely servants of the Lord here to do our daily duties in faith, not seeking reward or exception.  If we ask for an increase in faith, we must then kneel down to wash the feet of others as the Lord Jesus himself had done.

Seeing the Good

Gospel: Luke 10: 17-24

Jesus had sent out his disciples to do the work that he has been doing: healing people of their illness, delivering them from their demons, nourishing people at table, extending peace and reconciliation to all they meet.  The disciples now return from that mission, and they are rejoicing that they have had success in this work.  They were able to see people healed, liberated, nourished, reconciled, and this brought great joy to them.

Jesus calls and send us out to do the same work.  It is our task to find those in need of healing and provide for them according to our talents.  We are to look for those possessed by demons and liberate them however we may be called to do so.  We are to seek the hungry and lonely, providing them food and presence.  We are to extend reconciliation and peace to all we encounter in the mission the Lord Jesus has sent us out to do.

And, each day, we are to rejoice in the good that has been accomplished.  We must celebrate with those who are healed, with those who are liberated, with those now fed and nourished.  We must give thanks to God for these great deeds and for being part of these joys with those who have received them.  This is the work of the disciple, and each day it brings great joys that lead us to give thanks to God and to have great joy always.