Category Archives: Scripture

Saving What Was Lost

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This coming Sunday is the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Yesterday we considered the “cost”of grace. Today we take a look at the graciousness of Jesus

Jesus’ words in v. 9 are literally: “Today salvation has happened to/in this house(hold), because also this one is a son of Abraham.” What is the “salvation” that has happened? “Salvation” (soteria) is a rare word in Luke. All the other occurrences are in the Benedictus (Zechariah’s song of praise – 1:69, 71 & 77), which are in references to John the Baptist’s ministry. The related word also translated “salvation” (soterion) occurs in the Nunc Dimittis (Simeon’s cry of praise in 2:30) and in a quote from Isaiah (3:6). So outside of two songs and an OT quote, the noun “salvation” only occurs in this text. (Neither of these words occur in Mt or Mk and only once in John – although we have already encountered a related verb “to heal/save” (sozo) and will again in v. 10 below.) Continue reading →

A Warning About Cheap Grace

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This coming Sunday is the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Yesterday we considered the interplay between Jesus and Zachaeus, as well as the crowd’s reaction to the interchange. The dialogue and invitation raise another question to consider: Is it possible to be too gracious?

Should Jesus have told Zacchaeus to straighten up his act before he invited himself to his house? Couldn’t Jesus’ actions have been interpreted as condoning the tax collector’s sinfulness? Isn’t that the accusation against the Christian Churches of Germany after WWII? Continue reading →

Jesus and Zacchaeus – Conversion

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This coming Sunday is the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Yesterday we considered Zacchaeus’ quest and the ongoing Lucan question: who can be saved. Today, the story continues.

Zacchaeus, in spite of his reputation, is an attractive person. In our brief meeting, qualities akin to those of Peter emerge. Zacchaeus is spontaneous and impetuous, given to extravagant statements. But there is a deep genuineness. Though he is a person of some importance, his position does not prevent him from climbing the sycamore tree nor from publicly admitting his guilt and professing his repentance. Jesus says this is a son of Abraham, even if he is a tax collector. He should not be ostracized because of his failings but helped to find his way back to the flock. Continue reading →

A man on a quest

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This coming Sunday is the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Yesterday we look at the parallels and connections within the Lucan narrative as Jesus, moving steadily towards Jerusalem, continues to prepare his disciples for their evangelical mission.

At first glance we might expect this to be another parable challenging the rich. The rich have not fared well in Luke’s gospel. Jesus pronounces woes upon the rich (6:24). God called the rich farmer a fool (12:16, 20) and required his soul of him. The rich man went to Hades while Lazarus went to the bosom of Abraham, and Jesus observed how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven (18:23, 25).  Zacchaeus is a “wealthy man” (19:2) Continue reading →

Not like them

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The Gospel for this Sunday is from Luke 18:9-14 in which Jesus tells a parable about those who depend upon their own compliance with religious regulation for righteousness: “The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.”

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A Parable of Right Relationships

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This coming Sunday is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in prayer in the Temple. Culpepper (Luke, 343) concludes his comments with:

The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, contrary to some interpretations, is a two-sided parable. To read it as simply a warning against pride, self-sufficiency, or a relationship with God based on one’s own works is to miss the other side of the parable, which connects the Pharisee’s posture before God with his contempt for the tax collector. To miss this connection would be tantamount to emulating the Pharisee’s blindness to the implications of his attitude toward the tax collector. The nature of grace is paradoxical: It can be received only by those who have learned empathy for others. In that regard, grace partakes of the nature of mercy and forgiveness. Only the merciful can receive mercy, and only those who forgive will be forgiven (6:36-38). The Pharisee had enough religion to be virtuous, but not enough to be humble. As a result, his religion drove him away from the tax collector rather than toward him.

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A Parable of Reversal?

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This coming Sunday is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time. So far we have looked in some depth at the role played by the Pharisee and that of the Tax Collector. Jesus concludes the parable by saying: “I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14) Continue reading →