Signs in Luke's seventh chapter

More questions to propel your thought toward the Messiah, as we look through Ch. 7 of Dr. Luke's gospel:

1. Does Dr. Luke record the righteous actions of another centurion in Acts of the Apostles?
2. Does Jesus believe in signs?
3. How does a sign of contradiction work?
4. The catechism says that John the Baptist is "more than a prophet." In him, the Holy Spirit concludes his speaking through the prophets. John the Baptist is compared and connected to the great prophet Elijah, but John the Baptist never raised up any sons of widows. What does this tell you about the nature of Jesus’ frequent use of "Make my day" tactics?
5. How many contradictions are there in the house of Simon, where Jesus had supper?
6. What is Jesus' concluding word to the woman who was a sinner? What does it signify?
7. Where do you see the Holy Spirit on the move at this supper in the house of Simon?

Let's get rolling with this set of questions + some delicious coffee, and get a hold of seeing into the signs of contradiction today.

How to follow the Lord into battle

In the second half of Luke's sixth chapter, there are several challenges to love your enemy. One could ask a few questions about that, viz.

1. How does the sacrament of confession help us become merciful as God the Father is merciful?
2. When Jesus directs us, Bless those who curse you, that applies only to priests and deacons, correct?
3. Sometimes we are confronted by situations for which making moral judgments is less assured and decision difficult. What part of Jesus’ instruction here is the most important to remember if you seriously seek what is right and good?
4. How successful have you been at taking these verses seriously?

Four questions, but they cover a lot of ground. Let's get down to it this morning.

Hunger and fasting

The end of the fifth chapter and the beginning of the sixth chapter of Dr. Luke's gospel have to do with fasting and eating. Here are some questions to get the brain out of neutral, setting the alert level up a notch:

1. The Bridegroom Jesus is how Jesus describes himself here at the end of Luke 5, and in Matthew’s parables on Judgement Day and in Revelation. How does that Judgement Day view relate to the sabbath as shown in Luke 6:1-11?
2. 
   As always, Jesus supports the Torah, but not necessarily in agreement with the scribes and teachers of the Torah. Why would his actions in vv. 1-10 enrage the scribes?
3. Does the Torah have an independent existence, independent of Moses and his whole history, for instance? Why?
4. Again we see Jesus head up the mountain to pray. What was his prayer like?

How do these concepts lead us to freedom and guide our feet on the way to peace?

Dr. Luke in the 5th chapter

We now look into the fifth chapter of Dr. Luke's gospel. A few questions to ask are these:

1. Right after taking in a huge catch of fish, Peter asks Jesus to depart from him. Why would he say something like that?
2. Can you think of anyone else who has behaved as Peter did?
3. Jesus famously counseled the "rich young man" about seeking perfection, "If you would be perfect...". So how could the notorious IRS man Levi dare to follow Jesus?
4. What was wrong about the Pharisees and scribes complaining about Levi and the other notorious sinners at Levi's big dinner?
5. What did Jesus pray about?

There is a lot to think about in this first part of Luke 5. Let us look into it.

More in Ch. 4

Here are some additional questions for finishing chapter 4 of Dr. Luke's gospel:

1. When Jesus brings up the widow in Sidon and Naaman the Syrian general, is it a way of rejecting the Jews from His salvation?
2. Does the set of three sentences and one exclamation from the demon, v. 34, make sense? What does that set of words signify?
3. What miraculous act did Jesus do in Capernaum other than expelling demons and curing sicknesses?
4. The folks in Nazareth, the home town of Jesus, did not expect that they would experience a miracle. But did they experience something miraculous?
5. Is Nazareth in Judea?
6. The prophet Isaiah testifies about Jesus in one way, and the demons in another way. What is the difference between these to messages?

There are a lot of reactions to Jesus in this section vv. 16-44. We can place ourselves there, in thought, and thereby gauge our own faith and the readiness of our own soul for this message.

New questions, chapter 4

After finishing up chapter 3 concepts this morning, we will begin to look into chapter 4. Here are a few questions to work with:

1. The Greek word used by Dr. Luke for being tempted has a strong meaning, to make a proof of Jesus, to make a trial of Jesus. What do we do in normal 21st century life to make a trial of something or someone?
2. Why would sending Jesus to a proving ground be helpful to God the Father's plan?
3. What is our proving ground?
4. If the demons knew that Jesus was the Son of God, v. 41, then why did the enemy try to prove it?
5. Why did the enemy apply his trial at the end of the forty day fast?
6. You look over a Corvette. Its color is red. Does checking its color prove a Corvette is fast?
7. A prosecutor interrogates a witness to a crime, up on the witness stand. He asks the witness if he likes the Minnesota Vikings. How would the defense attorney react to this kind of questioning?

We will go over more questions, and see if they can apply to our own lives and our parish.

Jan. 10, more concepts in Ch. 3 of Dr. Luke's gospel

We have several questions remaining from last week that we did not get to.

1. What do you remember of the prophet Isaiah? What was his most piercing message, in your opinion? (Everyone can have his own answer, here.) Done.
2. What is the significance of Dr. Luke quoting Isaiah's central prophecy, from chapters 40-55? Done.
3. Which sacrament helps us to avoid becoming a viper like the brood of vipers whom John the Baptist admonishes?
4. What do you make of John's admonition, "Do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father," in v. 8? Is it a somber warning or a surprising offer?
5. In vv. 10-14, there are specific challenges issued to
   1. repentant multitudes, i.e., people in general,
   2. repentant tax collectors, i.e., the IRS of the day, and
   3. repentant soldiers, i.e., the Red Army occupiers of the day.
   Which of the commandments had they broken?
6. In the Greek, Luke writes of "fruits that are worthy of repentance." If you offer a gift that is nor worthy of X, then what are you saying about X? More importantly, what does it say about your relationship to X?
7. Has God ever been known to raise up living beings from geological objects?
   
8. Name another place in Dr. Luke's writings where the multitudes ask, "What then shall we do?"
9. Does a farmer's threshing floor yield fruit?
10. In the short paragraph about the actual baptism of Jesus, why is there no mention of John?
11. Is the Trinity made apparent in the baptism of Jesus?

We continue to dig into the Scriptures and in them we gaze upon the Messiah.

Notes for today

It is interesting to note that, in Chapter 3, Dr. Luke describes John's evangelism with the word παρακαλων, from the same root as our word Paraclete, for the Holy Spirit. For this reason, it behooves us to look very carefully at John's message. That being the case, here are some reading questions for today's study:

1. What do you remember of the prophet Isaiah? What was his most piercing message, in your opinion? (Everyone can have his own answer, here.)
2. What is the significance of Dr. Luke quoting Isaiah's central prophecy, from chapters 40-55?
3. Which sacrament helps us to avoid becoming a viper like the brrod of vipers whom John the Baptist admonishes?
4. What do you make of John's admonition, "Do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father," in v. 8? Is it a somber warning or a surprising offer?
5. In vv. 10-14, there are specific challenges issued to
   1. repentant multitudes, i.e., people in general,
   2. repentant tax collectors, i.e., the IRS of the day, and
   3. repentant soldiers, i.e., the Red Army occupiers of the day.
   Which of the commandments had they broken?
6. In the Greek, Luke writes of "fruits that are worthy of repentance." If you offer a gift that is nor worthy of X, then what are you saying about X? More importantly, what does it say about your relationship to X?
7. Has God ever been known to raise up living beings from geological objects?
8. Name another place in Dr. Luke's writings where the multitudes ask, "What then shall we do?"
9. Does a farmer's threshing floor yield fruit?
10. In the short paragraph about the actual baptism of Jesus, why is there no mention of John?
11. Is the Trinity made apparent in the baptism of Jesus?

This Sunday is the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. So let's prepare for that today by diving into Dr. Luke's gospel.

Study questions for tomorrow morning

We press forward through Luke 2, starting with a handful of study questions:

1. Why did including Simeon and Anna make Dr. Luke’s gospel account stronger?
2. Why did God send these extra messages to Mary and Joseph through Simeon and Anna?
3. How have you reflected on God’s promises in your heart?
4. What kind of sword has ever pierced your heart?
5. What significance is there in the mention of Caesar Augustus?
6. What is the basic function of an angel? How do they fulfill that function in their appearance to the shepherds?
7. What is the meaning of the phrase, "first born son" to a Jew of that day?
8. When Jesus became a sign of contradiction, whom was he contradicting?

Continuing Luke's first chapter

Last week we looked into vv. 1-38 of Luke's first chapter. This week, we tackle the rest of the chapter, although with the Magnificat and the Benedictus in this part of Ch. 1, one culd easily spend a lifetime thinking about that short set of verses!

We will continue to employ study questions from the Hahn/Mitch study guide, and here are a few more study questions concerning this part of Ch. 1:

1. Mary visits her coursin, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth blesses Mary. What inspired Elizabeth to bless Mary this way?
2. Can God actually stop evil? How would Mary answer that question? What about an apostle like Peter or Paul?
3. How does Mary’s response to Gabriel's announcement differ from the actions of Eve?
4. How does pre-birth John the Baptist react to the real presence of his Lord?
5. How impossible did God’s promise seem -- His promise of mercy to Abraham -- and how long did it look ahead for its fulfillment?
6. Is it okay to worship Mary?
7. What aspect of God’s promise to Abraham has the properties of the truth?
8. How has God hallowed His own name in this chapter of Luke’s gospel?