This week we will continue our journey through Luke with Luke 7:24-8:39 where we encounter Jesus’ first parables, his teaching on the family, and the storm at sea.
Parable of the Sower: (vv.8:4-15)
In the interest of brevity, we did a deep dive into the Parable of the Sower in our reading of Rev. Robert Capon’s book: Kingdom, Grace, Judgment – Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus. The notes of these discussions are here and here. Of note, Jesus begins his teaching ministry as soon as he returns from the desert in 4:14, and he teaches in the synagogues, in the boat, and on the Plain. However, here is the first time that Jesus uses a parable to teach the crowds. Until now (and until Easter), it appears that Jesus has failed to overcome and correct his audience’s grossly mistaken expectations of who he is as the Christ and what type of Kingdom he is proclaiming. Therefore, instead of teaching directly, he will, for the most part, only teach in stories hereafter.
Parable of the Light (vv.16-18)
We also discussed this parable with Rev. Capon. That discussion is here. Capon writes: The Lamp is the Good News of the sowing of the Word who is the all-sufficient cause of the kingdom; but unless that Lamp is set squarely on the lampstand of a relentlessly paradoxical interpretation of the kingdom, its light simply will not be seen. All the easier, more plausible interpretations – those that try to expound the kingdom as parochial, or, nonmysterious, or merely virtual – are just so many bushel baskets or beds that can only hide the Lamp’s light.
Jesus’ True Family: (vv.19-21)
Jesus’ mother and brothers are outside of a home where Jesus is teaching and want to talk to him. Jesus responds that his true mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. Jesus will later go so far as to teach that “unless you hate your mother, etc.” you cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26. On one level, Jesus is telling us that God is doing something new, and therefore old worldly ways of organizing our lives need to give way. If you remember our discussion of Soren Kierkegaard’s The Works of Love, the Danish philosopher will take this teaching in a more radical direction. Kierkegaard writes that if we are to truly love our neighbor as ourselves as Jesus commands, then we must absolutely forgo any love based on affinity – family, friends, or nationality. For Kierkegaard, Jesus literally means what he says – family is not based on blood, but solely in membership in the Kingdom.
The Calming of the Sea (vv.22-25)
Next, Luke gives us the story of Jesus calming the tempest, not unlike the storm his teaching on family just caused. The story should allow us to recall the story of Jonah – a boat, a storm, the main character asleep, and widespread panic. In the Jesus story, Jesus and some disciples set out across the Sea of Galilee and a tempest arises. The disciples have to wake Jesus up. Jesus tells the wind to stop and then chastises the disciples for their lack of faith. Jesus has authority over natural forces thus reinforcing his teachings that all authority has been given to him. Jesus knows that metaphorical storms will come upon the apostles and the church, and he wants his disciples (including us) to have a faith that trusts God to achieve his purpose even through disorder and apparent destruction.
As an aside, at the Diocesan Convention, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe preached on this text. (I have failed to find the video or transcript.) A summary of his sermon is that “Amidst the tempests of our lives, and recalling Jesus who calms the storm and calls his disciples to put out into deep waters, we are asked to go deep into our hearts and to quiet the competing voices that distract us from that calling. Jesus encourages us as the church, to step off the shore and get into the boat into the roiling waters of differences and divisions, and trust that Jesus our king, will meet us there. Here in the deep in the middle of the tempest, is the faith, resurrection, and reconciliation.”
The Gerasene Demonic: (vv.26-39)
The boat made land in Gerasene on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee which was predominately Gentile. Having dealt with a natural tempest, Jesus and the disciples are now faced with a spiritual tempest of a severely possessed man. As before, the demons recognize Jesus and his authority. Jesus sends the demons into a herd of pigs, who then proceed to drown themselves in the Sea. Unlike the exorcism in Capernaum, Jesus’s actions scare the townspeople, and they ask him to leave.
Jesus goes to leave and the newly freed man begs to follow him. Jesus says “No.” Jesus tells the man to “Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.” Jesus calls all of us, but not all of us are called to go away. All of us are called to be apostles, but most of us are simply called to go home. Jesus does not call everyone to abandon their family as did Peter or Jo-anna, but are called to return to them as a mission field.
Dinner is at 6. The menu is manicotti. Discussion about 6:45. We’ll see how far we get. I’m in Charleston tonight, and Colin is in charge. Compline around 8. Please join us!
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in thee my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
I cry to God Most High,
to God who fulfils his purpose for me.
He will send from heaven and save me,
he will put to shame those who trample upon me.
Psalm 57:1-3