Maintaining the Right Attitude

Luke 17: 1 -19

When have you thought you have been treated unfairly at work?

Read verses 1 – 2. Who is it that Jesus thinks deserves to be drowned? Why is Jesus so stern with this saying? What are some ways you tend to hurt or use other people in your life? How can you become a more positive influence on other disciples?

Read verses 3 – 4. Describe Jesus’ standard and pattern of forgiveness. Why does he tell the disciples to “be on your guard” in this area of their lives? Think of someone you need to forgive in your life. How can you take steps towards doing that this week?

Read verses 5 – 6. Why do the disciples think they need increased faith? What is Jesus saying about the nature of faith in his reply to them? Why does faith work that way? How can we have more effective faith?

Read the story in verses 7 – 10. The concept of slavery is obviously more distant in our culture than in theirs. What are some more contemporary images that communicate similarly what Jesus is saying in the story? Why would it be silly for slaves to expect special treatment after a normal day’s work? What are some attitudes Jesus wants his disciples to have, and what are some attitudes he expects his disciples to avoid? What needs to change in your attitude about your discipleship? How does a person go about changing their attitude?

Read the experience in verses 11 – 19. Imagine you are one of the men with leprosy, describe your everyday life. What emotions are going through your heart as Jesus passes by? How does Jesus go about healing them? Why do you think he heals them in this indirect kind of way? What does the Samaritan display about his character by his return to Jesus? What do the others show about themselves by not returning? Why does Jesus view this as a particularly tragic? Do you think the others remain healed from their disease? Why or why not? What are some ways Jesus has brought healing into your life? How can you better show your gratitude to him for what he has done for you?

Why has Luke compiled all of these stories into the same narrative context? What similar themes run throughout all the pericopes? How can we help each other develop the attitudes Jesus wants his followers to have?

Eternal Consequences for our Temporal Values

Luke 16:16 - 31

When is a time you got in trouble as a kid and you knew that you deserved it?

Read verses 16 – 18. According to Jesus, what is the relationship between what we call the Old Testament and the message of the good news that he proclaims and existentially represents? Why does Jesus focus on the particular laws surrounding divorce and remarriage in his continuing debate with the religious leaders? What are some parts of God’s law that you find inconvenient? What needs to change in your life to better fit God’s expectations of people?

Read dramatically verses 19 – 31. Why is Jesus telling this story in the context of his argument with the religious leaders? Imagine you are Lazarus at the gate of the rich man. Describe what your life is like beyond the basic description of the story. What emotions are you dealing with? What questions are you wrestling with? How are you coping with your situation? Contrast that with the life of the rich man. What are some clues in the text we receive about his opulent lifestyle? How often do you think the rich man thought of Lazarus? Why did he not do more to help Lazarus? Who is a Lazarus in your life? What could you do to help them more?

Compare and contrast the moment of death for the two men. What is similar and what is different? What patterns in the rich man’s life made his destiny obvious? What patterns in the poor man’s life demonstrated his destiny? What is your life showing you about your standing in eternity? Describe the experience the rich man is having in the after life. Why is he crying out for help to Abraham? What does this show us about his assumptions? What are the reasons Abraham gives for not being able to help him? What do you trust in to help you in the afterlife besides a life now transformed by God’s grace?

When the man realizes his agony cannot be eased, what is his next desire he expresses in verses 27ff? Why does he think sending Lazarus to his home will help his brothers to believe? Why does Abraham not think this would be of any help to the man’s household? How is Abraham’s answer related to verses 16 – 18? What is Jesus saying through Abraham in the story about the relationship between his good news and the Old Testament? How can we become more aware of the eternal consequences of our decisions in this life? How can we help others realize the importance of their decisions without coming across judgmental? How open do you find yourself to God’s message? What can we do to become more open to God’s direction in our lives?

Making the Right Things Important

Luke 16: 1 - 15

What is the most difficult performance review you ever experienced at work or school?

Read verses 1 – 2. If you were the manager how would you be feeling after this meeting? What would you try to do in this situation? How should we react as disciples when things don’t turn out as we would want them to at work?

Read verses 3 – 7. Someone describe in detail the plan the manager comes up with. What are some terms that are used for this kind of plan in today’s world? What scenario could you imagine that would make his actions not dishonest or illegal? What are his motives for giving discounts to his master’s debtors?

Read verse 8. Why in the world would the master be happy with what the manager was doing? What layers of shrewdness exist in the actions of the manager?

Read verse 9. What is Jesus trying to illustrate with this story? What point is he trying to make using this shifty character as an illustration? What is Jesus not saying through this story? Is Jesus really encouraging us to use our money to buy friends? Why is Jesus encouraging people to invest in ways that improve relationships? What strategy could a person use to turn their worldly assets into eternal benefit? How is what Jesus is saying going to change how you allocate your financial resources?

Read verses 10 – 13. What does how we spend our money demonstrate about the quality of our discipleship? If Jesus were a financial advisor what would be his advice to the average investor? What do our financial habits reveal about us as persons? What needs to change in your priorities in order to better match the values Jesus is laying out in this text?

Read verses 14 – 15. What kind of compromises do you figure have gone on in the hearts of the religious leaders to create their sneering reaction towards Jesus’ perspective on money? What sneers do people today give towards Jesus’ perspective on money? What sneers do you find in your own heart towards Jesus’ perspective? What does Jesus’ answer reveal about his values? What are the things that are highly valued by men? What needs to change in your heart in order to value what Jesus values?

Interfaith Blog Event #4

This is part of an interfaith blog dialogue on various topics occurring between the Protestant Christian perspective of this blog, a person writing from a Buddhist perspective, and a person writing from a Pagan perspective. The topic for this discussion is: What role does justice play in the universe?

Have you ever spent much time observing toddlers and children interacting with one another? Over this past week I have had many such opportunities as we have gathered with extended family for our Christmas celebrations. One thing that you will almost inevitably face if you are responsible for keeping the peace between warring tribes of children is one of the most common statements in the world: "That's not fair!" If you are comfortable gambling you could win quite a bit on a wager that bet that statement would be made at least once ever 10 minutes between children who are playing. The question of course is, what do they really mean by that statement.

No doubt children when they claim something is not fair are saying more than "that did not turn out how I wanted it to" or "I am displeased with that outcome." They are claiming, without even understanding at all what they are saying, that by some objective standard their position is in the right and their friend or cousin is in the wrong. They are claiming, with out the sophistication to say so, that there has been some kind of crime against Justice by the fact that the other child swiped the toy they were playing with out of their hands. They want to see Justice fulfilled though they are too young to know for what they are actually asking.

We can all readily see injustice in the world. The wealthy person who uses their wealth to oppress others and gain more wealth. The court case that let a person who was obviously guilty avoid punishment (and no, I have no specific case in mind, but I am sure there are a billion from which to pick). A person who seems to have a ridiculous string of "bad luck" that damages every aspect of their life and relationships. Yes, it is very easy to see injustice in the world, what is very difficult is to admit the injustice we do to others. Though, in fairness to ourselves, I would guess in our moments of honesty we can even see that we ourselves at times are not fair towards others.

Atheist philosophers often use the concept of injustice to raise a specter of doubt upon the existence of an all-good, all-powerful God. But, Christian philosophers actually began working on this question long before the atheist's did, and in fact the biblical writers actually hint that the fact of injustice in the world may be a compelling argument for the existence of that very God the atheist's question. Let me briefly trace that argument [for a full logical defense of this position, read C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity]:

There is simply no clear reason in a purely Darwinian world why the concept of justice would even arise at all. Natural selection by its very definition insists that "might makes right." Social constructs must come from societies. Societies are run by those in power. Why would those in power construct a natural check on their own power? Indeed toddlers amazingly know how to challenge the justice of their parents long before parents do much in teaching them what justice involves. So if nature does not give us a concept of justice and other people cannot directly and entirely support this concept of justice where does it come from? What or indeed Who would have the authority to define what justice is by the sheer fact of His character? The answer that Christian philosophers give is:"Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are your ways, King of the nations!" [NIV Revelation 15:3b]

We may be able to ask questions about God's justice, but ultimately if He were not just there simply would be not adequate philosophical root for that concept. Indeed, By attempting to stain God's justice through atheist philosophy, we burn the bridge we are walking upon. In the end we remove the only grounds we have for expecting justice.

Ultimately, Christians have three separate simultaneous perspectives on justice. First, Justice was ultimately fulfilled upon Jesus on the cross, so that those who trust in him are "justified." Second, we strive by the power of the Holy Spirit to live as justly as we can in this world. Third, we look forward to the coming Kingdom, when God will fulfill the promise that Justice makes through the enactment of judgment.