Ancient Anglican

In this last teaching, he does not give his disciples a list of theological principles to memorize, but he gives them an action to follow and a meal to share. Following after the teaching on the Apocalypse, the Last Supper is the dawn of the New Age.

The heart of the Little Apocalypse speaks to our interior preparation, regardless of the turmoil we see surrounding us in the world and despite even the threats of violence and persecution and natural disaster.

There are four questions and one parable that give us a preview of the remainder of the Gospel and of Jesus’s Death, Resurrection, and Exaltation.

The essential nature of repentance is not about telling God we are sorry and that we will try harder next time. Jesus is not talking about rule-breaking and punishment. Rather, what Jesus is talking about is being in a relationship with God or suffering the consequences of that absence, which is perishing into non-existence. 

Luke clearly shows us that Jesus enters Jerusalem as a triumphant returning King.

Jesus continues to prepare us for the Kingdom by giving us a story on interdependence and a parable on the necessity of faithful reliance.

Jesus gives two parables – one on prayer and one on humility – to teach us how to prepare for the immediate present of the Kingdom of God.

We are merely trustees of any wealth that is given to us, and therefore, we are charged with using that wealth in the service of others.  

Each of these three parables has the same motif – something is lost, there is a search, the lost is found, the lost is restored, and there is a celebration. The protagonist in each parable is not the lost one but the finder.

Within this section, Luke brings together a series of banquet-themed stories. Within these stories, Jesus imparts his wisdom and teaching on the Kingdom of God.

The issue before us is whether to follow Jesus and his way of peace with a reliant faith in God’s Kingdom or to follow the way of the sword with a reliant faith in political change.

In Jesus’s apocalyptic contest between God’s Kingdom and the powers of evil, Jesus teaches that he needs total loyalty from his followers and that his followers must completely reorder their priorities. Although Jesus just told his disciples not to be anxious, here he tells them they do need to be watchful and ready.