Sunday Reflection: 

The first Advent Sunday is like New Year’s Day in the life of the church. This day and week finds the church inviting us to take stock of our lives as we live them at one point in time in view of the comings of Jesus Christ over time. The readings focused on wakefulness before judgement and signs of the end time. Our attention is turned, first, to Jesus’ second coming in glory and then, just before Christmas, to the events leading to his birth as Lord incarnate. But in the supporting Old and New Testament readings this week there is conjoining contemplation on the comings of Jesus Christ into our lives individually and corporately in the interim period of the Spirit. By this we are reminded the comings of Jesus are not events to look forward to in the future and to be remembered in the past but to be expected in the present. Advent now.

The Collect

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sunday Reflection: 

Luke 23:33-43 challenges us to expand our notions of who deserves mercy. The passage is structured around three instances of mockery leveled against Jesus (verses 35, 36, 39). These taunts get closer and closer to him, giving the reader a sense that the forces against Jesus are closing in on him. The Jewish leaders are close enough for Jesus to hear them; the soldiers, who had already taken his garments (verse 34b), come up to Jesus as they mock him; and the final act of derision comes from someone right next to Jesus.

Luke’s crucifixion scene shows the wide scope of Jesus’ offer of salvation. Whatever evil or crime one has done is no barrier for acceptance into Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus offers direct access to salvation to persons worthy of the most extreme punishment for their sins. Even those carrying out the crucifixion and the mockeries can be forgiven by Jesus (Luke 23:34a).⁵ And though he responds to the second criminal’s request, Jesus ignores the calls to save himself, because it is through the cross that he comes into his kingdom, where those deemed unrighteous may share in the salvation of the righteous. His reign is not a death-dealing system intent on punishment, but a “paradise” that “today” extends even to those whom we do not think deserve it.  (Taken from Working Preacher).  A. Whitmore

The parable of the dishonest manager sets the scene in true Lukan fashion: “There was a rich man,” thus communicating the privileged corner of society in which the parable takes place. However, the rich man is not the focus of the story; his manager is the main character of this pericope. Having squandered away his master’s property, the manager is set to lose his job. Unable to work and unwilling to beg, the manager searches for a way to fix his predicament. He rushes to two of his master’s debtors and has them cut their debt, one as much as half, so that “people may welcome [him] into their homes” when he loses his job.

As the text continues, the master recognizes the manager’s dishonesty and, in fact, praises him. Why would Luke include a story that seems to valorize dishonesty, even to the point of comparing and contrasting the shrewdness of the “children of light” (i.e., believers) with the “children of this age”?

Perhaps we are called to reflect on the (at least partial) forgiveness of debt that the manager offers the master’s debtors. The story leaves open the details of the transaction, and we are left to wonder: Did the manager falsify records to give to the master, or did he pay them from his own account? This is, admittedly, a generous view of the manager’s last actions on the job, but the fact remains—two substantial debts were cut. Such a level of debt forgiveness can bring with it new life and freedom, and perhaps the debtors were given just that. The redemption found in the Kingdom of God, as the Lukan Jesus’ parables proclaim, comes about in surprising, unexpected ways. Perhaps then, even the manager, if he is welcomed into homes as he hopes, will be redeemed, too.

Have you ever been surprised by the way redemption has come about?

How might we remain open to the possibility of God redeeming that which seems beyond redemption?

Prayer: Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

From Sermons that Work by  Andrew Gordon

Luke 15:1-10
It is never comfortable to see oneself as a Pharisee or a scribe; they are the “bad guys” after all, but that is precisely what we must do if we are to glean all that we can from this passage. We need to see ourselves as those types of hypocrites and sinners to understand that Jesus is not worried so much about the lost sheep as he is about the unity and solidarity of the community. We all need to repent, for we all are sinners, and the sooner we come to terms with that, the better.

This reminds us of the story that is often told at summer camp about “going on a bear hunt” where we come across all kinds of obstacles while going on our bear hunt, and at each one, the refrain is “can’t go over it, can’t go under it, can’t go around it, have to go through it.” The sooner we accept our sinful natures and repent, the sooner there will be “joy in the presence of the angels of God.”
We must also remember that our acts of repentance must include mercy and forgiveness to those who may have acted against us.

Where do you see yourself in this reading?

What steps might you take to “welcome sinners” and unite your community?

How can your attitude of forgiveness and mercy fit into this context?

Prayer: O God, because without you we are not able to please you mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sunday’s Reflection:  Women are present in abundance in Luke’s gospel. The famous story of Martha and Mary is in Luke’s gospel (10:38-42), as is the woman who is a sinner and anoints Jesus’ feet (7:36-50). However, what are the women doing and saying? In this story, the woman does not have a voice.

Healing is an important part of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus empowers his disciples to heal. The word “salvation” is used by Luke to describe what Jesus is doing for the people. Thus, healing is part of Jesus’ salvation. It is not his healing ministry, however, that creates friction in this story. It is that he is healing on the Sabbath, the day of rest, that causes the leader of the synagogue to protest that there are six days available for work and the seventh is the Sabbath as God commanded. Still, throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is healing on the Sabbath (4:39, 6:6-11, 13:10-17, and 14:3-6). And each time, a leader tries to call him out on it, and with wit, each time he poses the question back to them: Is it better to do harm or good on the Sabbath?

·         Whose voices are present and whose voices are silent in your day-to-day life? How can you be more aware of this? What can you do to help silent voices be heard?

·         Do you observe a sabbath? What does it look like? What does it mean to keep it holy? How does or could your time of sabbath in God inform the rest of your week? 

Prayer:  Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Sermons that Work, T.E.C.)

Sunday’s Reflection:  The picture of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel is often seen as the friendly, loving Jesus, but here we find a hard teaching of Jesus. The one we call “the Prince of Peace” is telling us that he has not come to bring peace but division. This is not even a throwaway statement, because it is further enumerated as divisions within families.

How do we receive this contradiction? We can start by looking at the fire which Jesus is bringing. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem saw this as the fire of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, coming to the apostles. This establishment of the church was a revolutionary act, a catalyst demanding individual response. Some accept and cooperate with the Holy Spirit, growing, as Saint Ambrose suggests, in virtues such as charity, faith, and justice. But others reject both the Holy Spirit and those who live in the Spirit. 

Love of neighbor is the result of loving God, but it must be properly ordered, the former subordinated to the latter. Some will chafe at this, and divisions are formed. These divisions can cut across nations, peoples, and even families; no human organization, however good, can determine the individual response to the Holy Spirit.

Where have I seen the Holy Spirit cultivating virtues such as charity, faith, and justice?

Prayer: Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Sermons that Work, T.E.C.)