The Question of Inheritance

Posted on by
Reply

This coming Sunday is the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time. One of Jesus’ hearers was having trouble with his brother about the proper division of an inheritance. Jewish laws of succession covered most cases (cf. Deut. 21:17), but there was sometimes room for doubt and in this case the man who spoke up felt that an injustice was being done. His brother was clearly in possession and he wanted Jesus to persuade him to quit his claims. He does not ask Jesus to decide on the merits of two claims: he asks for a decision in his own favor. He seems to be acting unilaterally for nothing indicates that the brother had agreed to have Jesus try the case. The man is taking Jesus as a typical rabbi, for the rabbis customarily gave decisions on disputed points of law. 

Jesus is interrupted in his instruction of the disciples. Besides being rude, the interruption betrays an insensitivity to what Jesus has just said about matters of essential importance. Jesus sees behind the question the very greed he warned the Pharisees about (11:39–42). 

Jesus’ admonition in 12:15, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions,” provides a commentary on the previously narrated request for arbitration, warning against the danger of the possession of material wealth, even when it is inherited. Life is defined not by objects, but by relationships, especially to God and his will. Several OT passages state the same perspective: Job 31:24–25; Ps. 49; Eccles. 2:1–11, and Sir. 11:18–19.

Jesus refuses to be recruited as the arbitrator in a dispute over the division of family holdings, addressing instead the dispositions out of which he apparently perceives the man’s dispute to have arisen. He uses the opportunity to tell a parable about the trap of possessions.

Image credit: The Parable of the Rich Fool | Rembrandt, 1627 | Gemäldegalerie, Berlin | PD-US | also known as The Money Changer

The Heart of God

Posted on by
Reply

“So the LORD passed before him [Moses] and proclaimed: ‘The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but bringing punishment for their parents’ wickedness on the children and children’s children to the third and fourth generation.’” (Exodus 34:6–7)

Today is the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. There are two gospel options. A reading from John 11 recounting the scene around the death and raising of Lazarus, or a passage from Luke 10 recounting the story of Martha and Mary during a visit by Jesus. In both passages there are lots of questions asked of Jesus. I am reminded of a passage from St. John of the Cross’ Ascent of Mt. Carmel in which St. John offers:

“In giving us His Son, His only Word (for He possesses no other), He has spoken everything to us at once in this sole Word—and He has no more to say… because what He spoke before to the prophets in parts, He has now spoken all at once by giving us the All who is His Son. Therefore, anyone who now wants to question God or desires some vision or revelation is not only acting foolishly but is also offending Him, by not fixing his eyes entirely on Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty. For if God wished to speak a word, it was no other than His Son. He is the complete Word, and there is no more to be said.…” (Book 2, Chapter 22)  

The author goes on to explain that in the person of Jesus all that is knowable about God that we can comprehend has been given to us in the person of Jesus.

Continue reading →

Law, Land and Inheritance

Posted on by
Reply

The dispute and the parable appears only in Luke among the gospels, situated within the on-going travel narrative as Jesus and the disciples move ever forward towards Jerusalem. Although the inheritance in question (v.13) is not specifically mentioned as land, given the parable’s setting (v.16) one might safely assume land was the issue. 

In the western legal system, inheritance law, the core function of inheritance laws is to provide a legal framework for the transfer of ownership of a deceased person’s assets (real estate, personal property, financial accounts, etc.). The laws prioritize the rights of certain family members, particularly spouses and children, ensuring they receive a share of the estate. In general, the western version of the law does not serve a social function, e.g., helping to manage wealth distribution and prevent excessive concentration of wealth in the hands of a few.

Continue reading →

Warnings of the Coming Judgment

Posted on by
Reply

This coming Sunday is the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year C when we proclaim the Gospel of Luke. The gospel is from Luke 12 and, in large part, addresses our relationship to the riches of this life and what constitutes real treasure “in what matters to God.”

This text, as well as the Gospels for the two following Sundays, comes in a section of Luke (12:1-13:9) where exhortations and warnings are given by Jesus in preparation for the coming judgment. Culpepper (Luke, New Interpreter’s Bible, 255) writes of the transition from vv. 1-12 to vv. 13-21 with:

Continuing the theme of this larger section, the next verses shift from confession of Jesus to forsaking the security of material possessions. Those who confess Jesus look to God for their security, not to their own ability to accumulate possessions and lay up wealth for the future. 

Continue reading →

Wrestling with Prayer

Posted on by
Reply

I think that lots of us wrestle with prayer. A friend of mine has been separated from her husband for several years, and has prayed that God would reunite them. She hasn’t seen any movement on the issue and her husband seems to be moving on. She asked me “At what point should I stop praying for my desire and simply ask for acceptance of the situation?”  Tough question.  Equally as difficult are the questions about illness and dying – our own or that of a loved one. At what point do we move from prayers for healing and a cure of a serious illness, and begin to ask God for a peaceful and happy death?  Just like in life, so too we are often betwixt and between in prayer.  It seems to me that when praying for personal concerns, two questions often confuse us. 

– How persistent should we be in prayer, and

– How boldly should we pray

How long should we persist in making a request to God? For some it seems like we reach a point when persevering in prayer amounts to pestering God, being overly pushy – or worse yet, is it a case of  refusing to accept God’s will? When does persistent praying indicate faith, and when does it indicate a  stubbornness bent on changing God instead of ourselves?

Continue reading →

Ask, Seek, Knock and Good Gifts

Posted on by
Reply

This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday in Lectionary Cycle C.  9 “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? 12 Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? 13 If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

This section is also found in Matthew 7:7-11, not however connected with the Lord’s Prayer (6:9-13). The “ask, seek, knock” are virtually identical in both Gospels. There are a number of differences in the “good gifts” section (listed below). 

Continue reading →

Earthen Vessels

Posted on by
Reply

“But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.” 2 Cor 4:7

St. Paul speaks with remarkable honesty about the fragile condition of human life and discipleship. We are, he says, like jars of clay, earthen vessels—ordinary, breakable, imperfect. And yet, within us is a treasure: the presence and power of the Risen Christ. The contrast is deliberate. God’s glory is not hidden by our weakness—it shines through it.

St. James, the son of Zebedee and brother of John, was among the first called by Jesus. He was also one of the first to drink the cup of martyrdom. Though chosen and close to Christ—present at the Transfiguration and in the Garden of Gethsemane—James was not a perfect man. Along with his brother, he once asked for a place of honor in Christ’s Kingdom (cf. Mark 10:37). Matthew’s gospel has his mother make the request. Yet it was precisely through the transformation of his ambitions, through suffering and service, that James became a true vessel of the Gospel.

Paul continues, “We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair… always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.” (vv. 8, 10)

Christian life is not an escape from suffering; it is a path through suffering toward resurrection. Like James, we are called to remain near the Cross, to carry the dying of Jesus in our own bodies—through sacrifice, endurance, and fidelity. But we also carry His life. The trials we face are not the end of the story. The final word belongs to grace.

Paul ends with a word of hope and purpose: “Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.” (v. 15)

Our trials, our witness, even our weaknesses can serve God’s glory when offered in faith. We do not need to be flawless—we need to be faithful. Like James and so many CHristian before us, we are called to recognize the treasure within, to proclaim the Resurrection with courage, and to let thanksgiving overflow from our lives.

Image credit: Pexels and Canva | Roman Odenstov | CC-BY

Prayer: the midnight visitor

Posted on by
Reply

This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday in Lectionary Cycle C. Jesus presents a parable following the lesson on how to pray:

5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ 7 and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.

This parable, which is only found in Luke, is connected to the previous prayer by the words for “bread” (vv. 3, 5) and “give” (vv. 3, 7, 8). The setting is likely a small village where there are no shops. A household would bake its bread each morning. By the end of the day, the household’s supply is used. Now comes the unexpected call. At midnight the man must feed his friend, for hospitality is a sacred duty. So he goes to another friend for three loaves, i.e. three small loaves which would suffice for one man. But this second householder has shut his door and gone to bed with his children. Most families lived in a one-roomed house. The whole family would sleep on a raised platform at one end of such a room. A man in such a situation could not get up without disturbing the whole family. The friend raises no difficulty about giving the bread; the issue is the family already retired. (or perhaps just the bother of getting). 

Continue reading →

Testing or Temptation?

Posted on by
Reply

This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday in Lectionary Cycle C. We have been exploring some details about the Lord’s Prayer. One question that always arises in Bible studies is the meaning of the familiar form used in our liturgical settings where we are quite used to praying, “lead us not into temptation.” But note that the Lucan version in our gospel reading is “and do not subject us to the final test.” The underlying Greek word is peirasmos? Its normal meaning is “test” or “temptation” – not necessarily always with a religious connotation. In the LXX we find the ordinary senses (cf. 1 Sam. 17:39) However we also find the use of peirasmos with a religious use: divine testing, in relation to temptation to transgress God’s commands, and in regards to the human tempting of God. Here are some examples:

Human Temptation. Here peirasmos carries the sense of “that which tries to learn the nature or character of someone or something by submitting such to thorough and extensive testing,” namely, “examination, testing.” 

Continue reading →

Civilization and Air Conditioning

Posted on by
1

I was 38 years old before I lived in a home with air conditioning. Growing up in Orlando, while our parents had a window unit in their bedroom, the rest of the house depended on a massive in-ceiling fan that drew the evening air (relatively cool) up and through the house and discharged into the attic space forcing out the heated air that had collected during the way. It mostly worked. The US Naval Academy was not air conditioned. (That first summer in Annapolis exposed me to levels of heat+humidity previous never experience by this Florida boy). The submarine was air conditioned. My “when in port residence” in Aiea Hawaii didn’t have, didn’t need it – thank you tropical breezes. My home in Virginia was not air conditioned until it was added… when I was 38.

I have often wondered if air conditioning was the beginning of the downfall of western civilization. Growing up in Orlando, folks sat on the front porch in the cool of the late afternoon and early evening, …. watching all … reporting all misbehavior to the appropriate parents. It was a civilizing element to an otherwise steamy summer world. It also meant we knew our neighbors – which in the case of my block growing up was fortunate all things considered.

Continue reading →