The mind of Christ - Psalm 118

If one reads carefully in chapters 19 and 20 of Dr. Luke's gospel, one finds several references to Psalm 118, including Jesus making a razor sharp explanation that concludes His parable of the vineyard.

But he looked at them and asked, "What then does this scripture passage mean:

The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

YOUCH! The two-edged sword is sharp as sharp!

That being the case, it behooves us to dip backwards and take a short look at this mighty psalm, Psalm 118. Here are a few questions on this psalm:

1. In the first four verses, the psalmist exhorts
   1. Israel,
   2. the house of Aaron, and
   3. those who fear God
   tp give thanks to God. Is there a group of human beings that are permanently outside this set of three groups?
2. Is the psalmist in danger? Is he a weenie or is he brave? What kind of danger was Jesus heading into?
3. What was the thing about Jesus that most scandalized the Pharisees?
4. Was the Lord Jesus ever encircled during the betrayal and crucifixion? Did he ever cut anyone off?
5. Was the Lord Jesus chastised during the betrayal and crucifixion?
6. How did shouts of deliverance sound during the betrayal and crucifixion, if at all?
7. Can you see Jesus joyfully exclaiming, "Open for me the gates of righteousness! I shall enter them and thank God"?
8. How does this view of Jerusalem square with what Blessed John saw in the Revelation? Sneaky peek: Rev. 21.
9. What does the Church teach about the Lord’s Day? Which day is THE day that the Lord has made?

We will study this Thursday in Psalm 118, and, in that, seek to "learn him," seeking as always to become doers of the Word.

Postponed

I have to postpone the Psalm 118 session until next week, due to transportation difficulty. So session is cancelled, today only. Sorry!

Dr. Luke's record of the Lord's εξοδον, his Exodus

We concluded last week's discussion by looking into the question of Jesus following his interaction with IRS man Zacchaeus by the parable of the wicked king and his ten "minas." What did Jesus accomplish with this pair of teachings, side by side?

This week we will look into the answer: his mission in Jerusalem. Here are a few questions to think over:

1. 
   Jesus sees his place of torture and execution, Jerusalem, and he weeps, for Jerusalem? Not for himself? What is the subject of his sorrow in vv. 41-44?
2. Was Jesus actually in the line of David, king of Israel?
3. Has God ever raised praise from the very stones of Earth?
4. Previously many times Jesus admonished people not to blab about him, and he definitely discouraged people from proclaiming him a king... but not this time. Why is that?
5. At Mass, when do we repeat the exclamation of Jesus as Lord? What does that signify, geospatially?
6. Who was worse: the money-changing merchants in the Temple or the scribes and Pharisees everywhere else? How were the two groups similar?
7. In v. 48, Dr. Luke writes that the people hung upon Jesus' words. How does Luke back up that concept with the beginning story of Ch. 20?
8. Did Jesus ever reveal the source of his authority?
9. Does Jesus show salt in this beginning of his Jerusalem mission?

This exodus from Jerusalem is the center of all history. We do well to look into it and thereby find our feet, steady and sure, ready to become doers of the Word.

Mr. Zacchaeus and the sycamore tree

In Ch. 19 of Luke, we read about worthy Zacchaeus and the sycamore tree. Here are a few study questions to work on:

1. Jesus came to save the lost. But did Zacchaeus act as if he were lost?
2. How would you feel if you were hustling and bustling to find Jesus, and then you turn the corner and hear Jesus call out, "Aha! Just the man I was looking for?"
3. How dignified was it for the top IRS man in Jericho to hustle about and climb a sycamore tree?
4. Zacchaeus gave half of his belongings to the poor, then repaid victims fourfold. What was Zacchaeus' extortion rate?
5. Is fourfold repayment a true restitution?
6. Did the man who hid his gold in a handkerchief commit a sin or omit a righteous action? Sin of commission or sin of omission?
7. Is usury OK with Jesus?
8. The parable of a king and his three servants ends rather harshly. Is there any resemblance between this king and the Lord Jesus?
9. It is interesting to think about the contrast Jesus makes between how Zacchaeus handles money and how the ten servants of the parable handle their money. What did Jesus accomplish with this pair of teachings, side by side?

I think this last question, #9, will be the most helpful for us, as we seek to become doers of the Word.

Humility and arrogance in Luke 18

There is a slew of teaching in Luke's 18th chapter concerning humility and arrogance. Let's take it question by question:

1. Was the widow in v. 3 a humble person or an arrogant person?
2. Why is it appropriate to use the figure of an unrighteous judge in a parable to compare to God? What was Jesus thinking about the Twelve at that moment?
3. What could cause a person to lose heart concerning God's righteousness?
4. How does it appear: did the widow trust the unrighteous judge?
5. Had the unrighteous judge promised anything to the widow?
6. How would Father Abraham have reacted to this parable? WOuld he have seen it as applying to himself?
7. What unrighteous method could the widow have used to defeat the unrighteous judge?
8. When you arrive at Sunday Mass, are you thinking like the Pharisee in v. 10 or like the tax collector?
9. Why were the Pharisee and the tax collector praying? Why do we pray?

The Holy Spirit can help us decide these question this morning. Be ready!

Continuing in Luke 17, lepers and Samaritans

Some of our questions for today include four from last time:

1. Do you recall: What was the problem with Samaria?
2. How do you react to God's grace? Like the one Samaritan leper who was healed? Or like the other nine who were healed?
3. Where did the lepers have to go to show themselves to the priests?
4. In this chapter, Jesus teaches us to "return" and NOT to return? What?! How does Jesus get that sorted out?
New this week...
5. What does it mean that the kingdom of God is in our midst, within your, among you? The Greek word εντοσ is related to the Greek word for intestines!
6. Was it heartless for the Lord Jesus to make it so that some of those present would not see Him, in v. 22?
7. After reading Scott Hahn's mini-essay, Jesus, the Son of Man, you might wonder why the victorious figure of the Son of Man could easily be mistaken: "Where, Lord?" asked the Twelve. But the name, "Son of Man," is also connected to the coming betrayal in Jerusalem at Passover. Was there any uncertainty in the Egyptians that the Passover was happening?

It is good to study over these topics, because the Passover of the Lord Jesus is the center of our salvation, which we celebrate at every Mass in the Eucharist. Let's look into it today.

Toward Jerusalem in Luke 17

In the 17th chapter of Luke, there is a short set of mini-lessons from Jesus on his way to Jerusalem. There is a lot to learn here, so let's dig in with a few questions:

1. Of all the people you have had to forgive, who is the person you have forgiven the greatest number of times?
2. Is it possible to lose your faith?
3. Faith that makes its power felt in love -- is it sacrificial?
4. When does Luke first mention that Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem?
5. Do you recall: What was the problem with Samaria?
6. How do you react to God's grace? Like the one Samaritan leper who was healed? Or like the other nine who were healed?
7. Where did the lepers have to go to show themselves to the priests?
8. In this chapter, Jesus teaches us to "return" and NOT to return? What?! How does Jesus get that sorted out?

With God's grace, His message can penetrate our hard skulls, so we will pray and look for the Holy Spirit on the move today.

Lazarus

The 16th chapter of Dr. Luke's gospel is loaded with profound teachings, including the story of Lazarus. Here are some questions to get our brains in motion:

1. Is Lazarus in heaven now?
2. What was the first step here on Earth for a person who, eventually, dies and goes to heaven?
3. Is Abraham’s bosom the same as purgatory? Is it in Hell?
4. Why are there so many different abodes for souls after death? Shouldn’t there only be two, heaven and hell?
5. Why should a sinner like the rich man even get to see an instant of the reward of Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham?
6. Wasn’t it unfair that the rich man does not get a break, an extra chance?
7. Why didn’t the rich man treat Lazarus with kindness during his earthly life?
8. If we could, in our actions and words, live out the prayer of the Our Father, we would be really in God’s will. Do the actions of the rich man go against the Our Father?
9. Is there only one judgement after death, as seen with Lazarus and the rich man, or, in the case of the repentant thief, or is it that there are two judgements?

That is a huge amount to think over, but by God's grace, we can look into it.

Mysterious Parables

The 16th chapter of Luke's gospel contains some mysterious parables. Here are a few questions we can tackle:

1. What are we to make of the parable of the dishonest steward? Jesus recommending dishonesty? That cannot be it. But how do we understand it?
2. Is it wrong to give alms from ill gotten gains?
3. We are not physically taking care of an orchard or farm, most of us, yet we must consider ourselves stewards. Who are our debtors, what is the debt, and what does changing the promissory note mean for us?
4. When the unjust steward uses the fake promissory note trick, is that theft? From whom?
5. What was the unjust steward supposed to have been doing BEFORE the rich man fires him?

It is a lot to think over, but by the grace of the Holy Ghost we can find God's wisdom.

Breaking the ionic bond of good old sodium chloride, salt

Chemists and physicists will tell you that a sodium atom (Na) and a chlorine atom (Cl) form an ionic bond, becoming thereby a substance called salt.

In the previous chapter of Doctor Luke's gospel, Jesus also has plenty to say about salt, how one ought not to lose one's saltiness.

But what does saltiness mean, for a Christian?

The following questions will help us understand Jesus' teaching in Chapter 15 about not losing salt.

1. Jesus associates with sinners who want to listen to His teachings, but the Pharisees and scribes get burned up and accuse Jesus of being a hypocrite. Are they accusing Jesus of having lost his salt?
2. Jesus invites sinners to that conversion without which one cannot enter the kingdom, but shows them in word and deed his Father's boundless mercy. In the parable of vv. 4-7,
   1. what was NOT lost, and
   2. who was it that did NOT lose it?
3. In the parable of vv. 8-10,
   1. what was NOT lost, and
   2. who was it that did NOT lose it?
4. In the parable of the prodigal son, vv. 11-32,
   1. what was NOT lost, and
   2. who was it that did NOT lose it?
5. Looking back, does the Our Father appear to be a prayer of a Christian holding his salt?
6. It is most profitable to compare the answers to the three questions b, above. What do you make of the combination of persons who did NOT lose their saltiness?

As I have noted before, there is a lot to learn in these chapters of Luke. Let's get to it tomorrow morning, asking for God's grace.