Luke 24:1-12

Luke 24:1-12 (NRSV)

 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in, they did not find the body. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. ⁵ The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. ⁶ Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” ⁸ Then they remembered his words, ⁹ and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹ But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹² But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened. 

Year C

Easter

March 27, 2016

Cross~Wind

Title: Transforming Vision 

Introduction

nasa.gov/ames/kepler/nasas-kepler-discovers-first-earth-size-planet-in-the-habitable-zone-of-another-star. 

I begin with a different kind of search for life among the dead.

My childhood fascination with the results of the explorations of science has remained with me. Yes, the first efforts of launching into space in the 1960s and 1970s had me glued to the television. Whether a spacewalk or a moonwalk, such scientific accomplishments made my imagination soar.

Of course, along with that is science fiction. Traveling through the galaxy or even to different galaxies always gets my imagination going. Yes, I like Star Trek and Star Wars.

I imagine that as long as humans have been looking at the stars, they have wondered if there is life on distant planets. In our imagination, we picture distant worlds where aliens exist -- aliens either who look very much like us, or who look very much unlike us. We might one day get to know such creatures, or, if a lot of science fiction is correct, we may run screaming away from them. If the X-Files are correct, they are already here guiding a conspiracy.

Batman vs. Superman (2016) raises the question of how we would respond to an alien, Superman, if he had great power.

NASA, of course, is always on the case. With new technology like the Kepler Space Telescope, astronomers have been looking deeper into space for more signs of potentially habitable, perhaps life-sustaining, planets that look more like our own. Among the disappointing results is that life is scarce in this universe. Yes, we can detect beautiful patterns and huge distances. We discover amazing things. Yet, most of the universe is empty space, with some bright objects (sun) and some cold, hard rock.

In fact, searching for signs of life in the universe is something like searching for life among the dead.

Thus, imagine my fascination when NASA recently found one such cousin to Earth approximately 500 light years away. Given that light travels 5.88 trillion miles in one year, well, you do the math. It is a long way!

NASA has named the planet Kepler-186f. NASA is looking for planets that are within the habitable zone in relation to its sun so that the planet will be neither too cold nor too hot. It orbits its star every 130 days and the sun at high noon there is only about as bright as it is here about an hour before sunset. No sunscreen needed.

Like with most of these discoveries, however, the scientists do not yet know if Kepler 186-f harbors any life. The surface appears to be rock, unlike earth, which is 71% water, the basic building block of life. The chances for life are slim, but we keep looking for life among the dead stones and craters of those distant worlds. We keep searching for life out there, among the dead.  

Application 

Yes, all of this makes me think of the darkness, emptiness, and death that is so much part of life on this planet.

The close of our Maundy Thursday service is always powerful for me. This year, we took down the Lent symbols in the sanctuary, and took the lighted candles out of the sanctuary, symbolizing the light departing the Upper Room. During the Good Friday service, Adam Speicher noted that we must not rush past this day and Saturday in order to get to Easter. Rather, we need to ponder what the crucifixion means. The cross reveals the overwhelming nature of death and darkness in this world. The cross reveals the sinfulness of humanity in condemning an innocent man. Such sinfulness and violence came from religious people, who thought they were doing the work of God. Such sinfulness and violence came from political leaders, who sought to preserve their power. We feel powerless in its presence. At the Men’s Lent Breakfast at Calvary Presbyterian, Jeff Allen of the Nazarene Church referred to Luke 22:53, part of the arrest of Jesus at Gethsemane. As Jesus faced the guards, he told them, “But this is your time (or hour), when darkness rules.” In fact, even the first Easter, with the discovery of the empty tomb, the response was one of wondering. If the empty tomb stood alone, it would not be the sign of life that it has become.

We live in a world full of sin, darkness, and death. I appreciated so much the prayers which many members of this congregation expressed for what is happening in our world for our prayer vigil. Locally, think of Deputy Karl Koontz and his death in a shootout at a trailer court, simply serving a warrant. Think of the violence through a radical and militant Islam that we have seen again in Brussels. Think of the violence displayed by ISIS against all persons, but especially Christians, throughout the Middle East, where we witness a form of religious genocide. Yes, we live in world of sin, death, and darkness. It seems overwhelming.

 

Yet, Easter changes everything.

            First, Easter changes the way we look at Jesus.

            In the church year, we call this Holy Week. For Christians, this week is holy, precious, different from other weeks, because we recall the events that are the foundation of what we believe and who we are as Christian communities of faith. When the news is about March Madness, terror, or the next President, the church resists and says no, nothing is more important than Jesus is.

Easter is both the most powerful and the most challenging Sunday on which to preach each year. The church asks people to believe things difficult to believe. When Thomas says to the other disciples, 'Unless I see … I will not believe,” we can identify with him.

I understand the difficulty. I have family and friends who will say to me, quite skeptically, almost as if they think I am stupid, “You do not really believe that, do you?” Behind the question is the modern skeptic that always wonders how we can “know” anything to be true. Behind it also is the post-modern question of authenticity. Do you really believe or are you just saying you do?

Well, in I Corinthians 15, we have a list of witnesses to the appearances of Jesus after his death. These witnesses lived and died for what they believed. The first Easter changed their lives, and continues to change the lives of people – like you and me.

Second, Easter changes the way we look at God.

The church makes the claim that if people are to know God, they will have to look to this Jewish man, Jesus of Nazareth. Everything Christians know about God, Christians discover there. In particular, we know that God is love because the Son died for us and received new life.

            Third, Easter changes the way we look at what makes a human life whole.

Even if one could “prove” it, it would not be enough. An historical event does not change your life. What does change your life is when you entrust yourself to its truth. When we come to the resurrection, the church is not asking you to make a historical judgment. Deciding an event is historical does not change your life. The church is asking you to consider your core values and beliefs. The church is asking you to look at what gives your life its meaning and power. The church is asking you to become a disciple, a follower, of Jesus Christ to transform this world of sin, darkness, and death into a place that reflects our creation in the image of God, reflects light, and brings life.

            Fourth, Easter changes the way we look at human destiny.

After all, we live in a world where death is so final.  We live in a Good Friday sort of world.  The friend of these women had died Friday.  They must have experienced the same pain any of us feels when a loved dies.

            One of Suzanne's best friends died suddenly around Easter, 1995.  She was called on a Friday, and we went to the funeral on Saturday. Suzanne has had a long love for horses.  She has even gotten me out on a horse and trail riding. This woman introduced her to that love.  The woman had gone to work that morning, had lunch with her husband, and cleaned the house.  She mentioned she had trouble breathing.  He called the ambulance.  They were there in six minutes.  She was already dead.  While at the funeral, we were at the casket with her husband.  "I don't know what I am going to do next," he said.  That is the way death can be.  It can be an enemy that snatches away a friend, a loved one, right when we least expect it.
 

            For many people, death is the end of the story. 

             God had a different idea.  

Frederick Buechner: “Resurrection means the worst thing is never the last thing.” 

Luke tells us that the disciples did not believe the message of resurrection proclaimed by the women. Gary R. Koester comments this way. 

Unbelief does not mean that people believe nothing. Rather, it means that they believe something else. People say "I don't believe it" because there is something else that they believe more strongly. Yet here is where the Easter message begins its work, by challenging our certainties. Experience teaches that death wins and that even the strongest succumb to it. Experience teaches that life is what you make it, so get what you can while you can because it will be over soon enough. And the Easter message says, "Really? How can you be so sure?" Death is real, but it is not final. In Jesus, life gets the last word.[1] 

Yes, it is difficult to keep the dream and hope alive. Jerome Groopman, in The Anatomy of Hope (2004, xiv), says, 

Hope gives us the courage to confront our circumstances and the capacity to surmount them. For all my patients, hope, true hope, has proved as important as any medication I might prescribe or any procedure I might perform.- Jerome Groopman, The Anatomy of Hope

Easter tells us that it is never too late to have hope. 

Conclusion

Because of this, those who follow the living Christ are always seeing life where others see death. The world is not a cold, lifeless, rocky, death-like, dark place, but a world with a hope and future. We live and work in the present, no matter how darkness seems to rule for its “hour,” with that future in mind. Paul says to the Corinthians, "Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain" (I Corinthians 15:58). God turned over a rock and revealed life. That is the best news this planet has ever received!

NASA is still searching for life on worlds that are so far away that it would take us 500 years to get there if we traveled at light speed. God has brought a new world to our doorstep in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead! In fact, God has brought this life to the door of your heart and mine. All we need to do is open the door, welcome it, and embrace it.

 

Notes that likely will not make it into sermon:

As Paul Tillich (Systematic Theology, Vol. Two, Part III. II. 6) puts it, memorably, I think, “A wrong faith can destroy the meaning of a life; a wrong historical judgment cannot.” The truth of the gospel is not just for the head. The truth of the gospel is for heart and life. Such truth and such change require people to look at their lives in a different way. One must now live life in reference to Jesus, and not just in reference to self.

            Lloyd Douglas, in The Robe, has Marcelus, the Roman centurion who had the robe of Jesus become a Christian and tells his fiancee the story of Jesus.  She responds, "It's a beautiful story, Marcellus, but we don't have to do anything about it, do we?  Let's leave it just where it is."  Marcellus says, "That's just it, I cannot forget it.  Because it happened, things can never be the same for me again." 

            For those who first discovered the tomb empty and for those who saw him after he died, things would never be the same. 

Going deeper 

Luke 23:56b-24:1-12 is the story of the discovery of the empty tomb. The source is Mark.

            Luedemann shows the places where Luke diverges from Mark, which I have put in red.     

In the account of the discovery of the empty tomb by Luke, we find the women coming to the tomb, unconcerned about who will roll the stone away. Luke also has the disciples remain in Jerusalem, where his account of Pentecost will take place in the opening chapters of Acts. Luke stresses the emptiness of the tomb, as well as what others have done to the body of Jesus. His story will end in the temple with the disciples praising God, even as the Passion narrative began in the Temple.  Note the whole of Luke’s account occurs in one day.   

Luke 24:1-12 (NRSV)

 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they [The names of the women differ.  Luke has transported Joanna from 8:3, identified as the wife of Chuza.  He mentions other women, again transporting from 8:2-3.]  [the women] came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. [First, the women see the tomb of Jesus and prepared spices and oil the evening before and then rested on the Sabbath.  In Mark they saw from afar and bought spices to anoint the body after the Sabbath.  There is no mention of the intent to anoint the body.] [Third, the women do not worry about who will roll away the stone.]  ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in, they did not find the body. [There is a stronger stress on the emptiness of the tomb by this reference.] ⁴ While they were perplexed [here is the effect of the Easter miracle. They are still trying to comprehend Jesus in death as they did in life, wholly in human terms.] about this, suddenly two men [Two men, instead of one, who appear again in Acts 1:10.] [this might be a reminder of the Mount of Transfiguration, as Jesus stood transfigured before then with Moses and Elijah on either side. That dialogue focused on the "exodus" or "departure" which Jesus would soon accomplish at Jerusalem.  The empty tomb offers mute evidence that such a departure has now taken place.] in dazzling clothes stood beside them. ⁵ The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? [This proverb had become well-known.] He is not here, but has risen. ⁶ Remember how he told you, [here is the heart of the scene. The purpose is to present Jesus as victor over death.] while he was still in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” [The statement of the angels is slightly different from Mark.] ⁸ Then they remembered his words, [the women have an immediately favorable response.] [Verses 6b-8 differs considerably.  In Mark, they are told to go to Galilee with the disciples, while here they are reminded of a saying of Jesus made in Galilee to the effect that Jesus must suffer and die.] ⁹ and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. [They share the message with others, while in Mark they remain silent.] ¹¹ But these words seemed to them an idle tale, [here is the response of the disciples, contrasting to that of the women. The testimony of the women does not engender faith.] and they did not believe them. ¹² But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, [this seems uncharacteristically cautious and timid] he saw the linen cloths by themselves; [he sees the same thing as the women did] then he went home, amazed [contrast this response to the believing response of the women, so instead of running out with a word to proclaim, Peter slips away “wondering to himself”] at what had happened.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=558

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Luke 15:1-3 (NRSV)

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ So he told them this parable:

¹¹  “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. ¹³ A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. ¹⁴ When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. ¹⁷ But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ ²⁰ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. ²¹ Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. ²⁷ He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ ³¹ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ” 

Year C

Fourth Sunday in Lent

March 6, 2016

Cross~Wind

Title: God the Recycler

Introduction

I came across an article that involves a certain woman, Bilikiss (pronounced BILLY-KEESS) Adebiyi-Abiola.[1]  Her story inspires me. It does not inspire me because of her recycling business. Although I recycle when available, I do not make a big deal of this. Her commitment and passion are inspiring. However, what inspires me most today is how she could look at something that most of us ignore and saw a business opportunity. I see an important spiritual lesson here as well. Bishop Michael Coyner in Indiana has had a focus on “making a difference” in the lives of people. This woman has done that, and the phrase will show up a few times in articles about her. Here is part of her story.

Her home was Lagos, Nigeria. She left family and friends to receive a Masters of Business Administration from MIT. Although one can imagine the possibilities for her in America, including starting a business and a high salary, this was not her dream. After spending 13 years in the United States, part of it with IBM, she was still far from home. Yet, Bilikiss had a moment when she “came to herself.” She realized that “waste” or garbage fascinated her. She had seen people in the United States sort their trash into recycling bins, and learned how this simple act helps preserve the environment. Then, this young woman remembered her home where trash is a problem. "People in the U.S. are very careful about taking care of waste. I thought, Why not Nigeria?" she said.

Lagos, like many large cities, has its problems. Since 2004, Nigeria has seen a 5% increase in the number of people living below $1 per day, despite recently overtaking South Africa as the continent’s largest economy. Of Lagos’s 18 million residents, 60% live in slum neighborhoods that operate as informal, thriving cities of their own. No one collects about 60% of the trash. It sits in piles and sometimes in the street. The trash is not just a nuisance, but also a health hazard, providing breeding grounds for flies and rodents. [Having been to a different poor country, Haiti, I have seen children using the rash on the streets for toys.]

Her new way of seeing trash awakened her to new possibilities. She was not going to use her degree to start just any business. She would return home and focus on trash. She named her new company Wecyclers. She was eager to make a difference for her people. It was not easy. She had little response when she talked about the environment. After all, she was asking people to consider seriously something as trivial as trash. Then, she showed them what paying attention to trash could mean to them.[2] [A good lesson here, but I do not want to sidetrack myself.] She convinced them that money was lying on the street by paying them for it.

She has received many awards and recognitions since her business started in 2012. She was a “lioness of Africa.”[3]

Not only would recycling help the city with their trash problem, and cut down on the spread of disease, it would generate cash -- money that could help people improve their lives in other ways.[4]

The young woman who traveled far from home is changing the way the people of Lagos look at their garbage. What was once trash is now a treasure. 

Sermon approach

Thankfully, the end of the story of the young man in the story Jesus told has a parallel in this story of Bilikiss. The father sees value where others do not. The father invites people to have joy in the recycling or redeeming of this young man. Of course, the story Jesus told is really about God. In sending Jesus, we learn that what people consider as lost, worthless, and waste, is valuable, reconcilable, and redeemable.  

Application

First, let us consider God as the one who recycles a human life. 

When the boy is still far from home, his dad spies him off in the distance. Setting aside his status as a patriarch and landowner, the father hikes up his robes, and sprints out to greet his son. [I can imagine Jesus using some humor and acting this out.] When the young man begins the speech he had planned for this moment, his dad is not listening.  Dad does not want to hear about his son's mistakes. He does not need the young man to debase himself. Instead, the father is overjoyed. The true treasure he had lost when his son left home has returned to him. Calling for robes, rings and fatted calves, the father demonstrates that he sees in his son treasure, not trash. The love of the father transforms the son.  

Many of us can put ourselves in the young man's place. We, too, have a voice inside of us that only wants to dwell on the garbage in our lives. We have made mistakes, and we hear repeatedly that, like a discarded bottle or can, whatever was of value inside of us we have already poured out. Nothing valuable remains.

Thankfully, God is a great recycler. [The more common word we use here is redeemer]. A recycler or redeemer does not just see trash. God has made each of us in the image of God. God is not about to cast us aside and put us in a landfill. 

God sees the value in us even when we are far away. God has not abandoned us. God has not tossed us aside. God loves us and knows our worth. When we turn toward God, God sprints toward us, embraces us and welcomes us home.

Second, God calls the church to recycle.

Unfortunately, you may have people in your life who will continue to reinforce the old message. Sadly, the church too often becomes a partner in that.

Famously, the older brother is going to remind dad and his brother of past sins. He will remind them the boy is trash. We have our terms as well, such as white trash or trailer trash. We have elevated “trash talk.” Of course, dad, also famously, does not listen, pointing to the value of the son. Dad treasures both sons and invites the older son to the party.

Jesus tells this story in order to remind the religious folks that God is all about redeeming sinners. Jesus illustrates the kind of love God has for the lost by the way Jesus lived in welcoming the sinner. In fact, those who are going through the process of recycling – the work is never done – have the mission of inviting others to allow God to recycle (redeem) them. Sadly, religious people have a temptation to label others in a way that suggests dismissal. In those days, labels like sinner, tax collector, Samaritan, adulterer, Gentile, and leper worked quite well. It also meant that they as religious people had no responsibility for them. They could keep a safe distance.

Of course, we do not engage in such unwelcoming labeling. … However, it seems like I recall some who stand on the side of the road with placards pointing out the sins of others. Establishment, elite, status quo, have/have not, the one-percent, progressive/conservative are just a few. We label and dismiss, whether in real life or social media. How long has it been since you had lunch with someone on the polar end of your own political or religious point of view? We seem fearful we might learn something! We cast them out, discard them, and consider them so much trash. 

Conclusion

 When we read the gospels, we find Jesus on the fringes where he meets those whom we might have tossed aside. There, Jesus heals lepers, forgives tax collectors, eats with sinners and welcomes a woman with a questionable reputation who came to a well in the middle of the day. There, Jesus loved a rich young man who lost himself in his possessions. Jesus loved the hardworking laborer of his day, the one who gained his livelihood by fishing. Jesus even loved the political activist who thought the system needed changing through violence. Be careful whom you might label and dismiss. Jesus might be there.

Jesus is the great Recycler (Redeemer), reclaiming the treasure we often miss.

He invites us to join him in this work.

God's way, as shown us in Jesus, is a tremendous recycling program, welcoming younger siblings back home and inviting us all to the party!

The older son missed the party. He refused to see the treasure in his younger brother, choosing instead to focus on the trash.

Are you coming to the joyful party? We have some recycling to do. 

Going deeper

Luke 15:11-32 is the parable of the prodigal son. The source is the material unique to Luke. In context, there is the additional emphasis on God's joy at finding what was lost.  Jesus, the kingdom preacher, expresses the divine willingness to accept the repentant sinner into the kingdom.  Jesus is the herald of a loving Father who shows mercy to the repentant sinner. Pannenberg will say that the heart of the message of Jesus was announcing the nearness of the divine reign, but Jesus called this God the heavenly Father. In Jesus, God shows himself to be the Father who is ready to forgive those who turn to him.[5] He thinks that Jesus regarded the loving and saving address of God to us, and particularly to the needy and the lost among us, as the purpose of his sending. He believed that by his sending, the Father was addressing the lost. In this parable, Jesus is defending addressing his message and work to the lost. The parable portrays God as the one who seeks what is lost and who in so doing displays the self-attesting love of the Father. The search reveals the divine love that takes place through the work and message of Jesus.[6]

Luke 15:1-3 (NRSV)

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” [As Luke sets the scene for this parable, Jesus may purposely test the boiling point of the increasingly disturbed scribes and Pharisees who were keeping a close eye on Jesus' growing popularity. Just as the Pharisees had grumped about Jesus in v. 2, this father "welcomes sinners and eats with them." Immediately preceding this, Luke relates two other parables of "lostness." In 15:4-7, the parable of the "lost sheep," and in 15:8-10, the parable of the "lost coin" introduce themes also found in verses 11-32.  The overarching message speaks of the joy that is felt when one lost sheep, one lost coin or one lost son is found again and welcomed back into its fold, purse or family. All three of these parables serve as Jesus' response to the nasty grumbling of the Pharisees and scribes described in 15:1-2. Jesus' attitudes and actions toward "tax collectors and sinners" are the problem. He not only welcomes them to his congregation; he also welcomes them to his table. The straight-laced righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes found Jesus' behavior quite suspicious, even scandalous. They could never condone social contact with such "sinners." In the face of this stern self-righteousness, the prodigal son parable offers pointed commentary through the unhesitating, exuberant joy exhibited by the father and the wrong-headed, hardhearted attitude of the elder brother.

³ So he told them this parable:

            The body of this lengthy parable contains numerous fascinating nuances that testify to Luke's storytelling prowess and finesse. A brief overview can catch only a few of the author's juicy tidbits. Note how Luke uses Hellenistic images and information to add realism to the story. Jesus sets the stage by observing that a man had two sons. In verse 13, not many days later, he "gathered all he had" --  

¹¹  “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ [Luke uses Greek legal language to describe the younger son's demand to his father that he "give me the share of the property that will belong to me" (v.12). Although it was not unusual for a father to distribute property in advance, as in the case of marriage, Jesus strongly implies that the younger son’s demand is disrespectful, rebellious and foolish — a clear violation of the commandment to honor one’s parents (Exodus 20:12). In a culture where family and community always took priority over the individual, the kid’s self-centered demand would have raised the eyebrows of those hearing the parable for the first time. Yet despite the legalese (or perhaps because of it), scholars still wrangle over what exactly was due to a son who would make such a demand.  In addition, we wonder what legal and moral responsibilities would remain between this father and son once this division of property occurred.  Whatever the cultural standards or legal implications associated with early inheritance, the younger son cast them aside.] So he divided his property between them. ¹³ A few days later the younger son gathered all he had [that is, he converted his inheritance to cash --  and traveled to a distant country, [and left home, family and any obligations far behind.] and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. [The fall of the son is rapid, complete, and catastrophic. "Asotos" can be "extravagantly" or "recklessly." The boy's fortunes deteriorate.] ¹⁴ When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. [This son has spirit.  He moves on to get a job, even as a temporary hireling, working not for wages, but only for the food he needs.  Note that only the extreme desperateness of his situation that finally brings this son to consider returning home. Luke's language in verse 14-16 is coarse and colloquial when he describes how the son would have loved to eat the disgusting food he was giving to the pigs. (Some scholars profess to be able to see signs of a hasty scribal attempt to clean it up).  Working for a Gentile and playing servant to swine was the bottom of all possible Jewish barrels.] ¹⁷ But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! [Luke's phrasing of how the young man "came to himself" is one of the few Semiticisms in this parable. It literally means, "to repent."] ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ [While the son's "confession" sounds contrite and genuine enough, a careful examination of the thought process that led him to this confession reveals only one clear motivating force: hunger.  The son decides to return home and throw himself on his father's mercy only because he feels he is starving to death.]  ²⁰ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. [The father's impetuous forgiveness of the approaching son may appear to offer the boy forgiveness without repentance. Nevertheless, the son had already privately voiced his change of heart and mind. The father's welcome and forgiveness (the embrace and the kiss) occur before the son's confession.] ²¹ Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ [The son admits his sin against heaven and against the father. He does not deserve to be called son. Even more telling is the fact that the earlier Masoretic text has the father cut the son's "confession" off midway, as he excitedly calls his servants to tend to the young man.]  ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. [The robe, ring and sandals the father has the boy decked out in are all marks of the son's fully restored place of honor and authority in the household.] ²³ And get the fatted calf [symbolizing a truly special and festive occasion] and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;  ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate. [The father's reaction is so overwhelmingly joyous, so unexpectedly elated, that the reader is rightly stunned.  Pannenberg also points out that in verses 20-24, the emphasis of Paul on the goodness, grace, and favor of God shown in the Son continues theme of the preaching of Jesus that by his message and in his work, the Father shows us the mercy that pardons our sins.[7] He stresses that the meals Jesus held or shared characterized his coming and the conduct of his disciples, and that when he accepted invitations from others he made known his readiness to grant fellowship with him to those who issued the invitation. The granting of acceptance of table fellowship by Jesus removed everything that separated people from God and his salvation. It meant the forgiveness of sins, so that table fellowship was a real symbol of fellowship with God and of participation in the future of the divine kingdom. The re-acceptance of the prodigal came to expression in the feast that the father prepared for him.[8] He stresses that preaching of the imminence of the rule of God opens up participation in eschatological salvation. In this fact, Jesus sees a demonstration of the love of God that seeks the lost, in keeping with the goodness of the Creator. The goodness of the Creator becomes saving love in the sending of Jesus to announce imminent divine rule, which we see in this parable at the saving of the lost. Forgiving love that has reached its goal finds expression in this joy.[9]

            Jesus had a reputation of making friends with “sinners.” The reception that the son receives seems typical of Jesus, in that he commends throwing a party. The story represents the reconciliation of Judean with Judean. The central figure is the Father.  Originally, Jesus may have intended a story of God's welcoming back a repentant person, not allowing the "faithful" elder brother to hinder that love. 

However, no one had even gone to fetch this older son from the fields where he was working so that he might join in the festivities.  The elder son is not yet a part of this celebration. In fact, apparently, he does not even learn of it or of his brother's return until after he has finished his day's work in the fields.  ²⁵ “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. ²⁷ He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. [The invitation extended to the elder brother is important, for it offers the message of Jesus to the Jewish people. The anger of the elder son is instant. This son is so enraged that he will not even step foot in the house.  Yet, we learn much about the father. The father’s love had driven him out of his house and down the road to welcome home his younger son.  Now, the love the father feels for his older son again pulls him out the door and into the fields to be with him in his anger.]  ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ [The confrontational tone he takes with his father is neither respectful nor obedient. He even refuses to acknowledge his blood relationship to his brother, identifying him only as "this son of yours." The older son pours forth what we might call his "righteous indignation."] ³¹ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ” [The father refuses to be shocked.  His eyes and heart remain firmly fixed on what he sees as the only important fact about this missing younger son - he is found, and he is alive.]             

            The story ends here, leaving a host of unanswered questions for the reader.  What is most shocking about this parable is how it seems to celebrate grace, even at the expense of justice. Like all good parables, we cannot contain the prodigal son story by just one explanation. The narrative takes its meaning and strength from the fact that it is a parable, a story, and as such invites others to participate in it. Fittingly, Luke's story closes with a typical parabolic ending -- which is to say "no ending." We leave the confrontation scene between father and son before hearing the son's response. It is the reader, therefore, who must provide the final reply to the father's invitation to rejoice and join the party.

            We should resist investing this parable with wholly allegorical interpretations, however.

            For example, some scholarship has sought to describe the elder brother as Luke's allegorical representative of Pharisaic Judaism. The testimonies by the father to his eldest indicate that the son is not simply a "stand-in" for Pharisaic Judaism.  Consider verse 31 where the father promises he is "always with" him and that "all that is mine is yours." Nothing here is said about the son's personal need for a repentant attitude -- surely a requirement if he were simply an allegorical Pharisee. Further, the father challenges the older son, not about his self-righteousness, but about his lack of joy. The father's concern is the radical notion of joyous acceptance of the one who was "dead," who was "lost." The need for critical, holier-than-thou attitudes is not an explicit focus of Luke's text. 

            The roots of our term "prodigal" come from the Latin "prodigere" -- meaning to "drive forth or away" or to "waste." We can interpret it as either extravagant wastefulness or liberal generosity. While Luke himself does not call the younger son a "prodigal," the term certainly suits the actions this young man took when he "squandered his property."        .

            The prodigal son is a narrative enactment of the relentless, resourceful way God seeks us and keeps us.  One strand of modernity believes that we are most fully ourselves when we are most detached from any values other than those we have personally chosen.  Some forms of psychology, existentialism, and romanticism suggest as much. Human society is the blockage individuals face in gaining personal fulfillment.  This story of the wayward son who comes home to a party suggests morality begins when we come home. "Your brother is home," or "Son, all that I have is yours."

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[1] You can hear her on Youtube talk about her business. The Huffington Post (November 2014) has an interesting article and interview with her. The Guardian (October 2015) has a very good article as well. She received the honor of being a “lioness of Africa,” that is, one of the great female entrepreneurs of Africa.

[2] She showed them the value of what they threw away. Lagos generates approximately 735,000 tons of plastic each year, worth about $300 million to waste brokers who resell it to recyclers and others.

[3] As the editor of the magazine put it, “We love the fact that one woman entrepreneur had an incredible vision to positively change lives and make a difference in her country, and as a result, is working to successfully change the environmental behavior of a country’s population, one piece of plastic at a time.”

[4] They visit some 6,000 homes each week exchanging cash and household goods for recyclables, collecting 40 tons each month.  

[5] Systematic Theology, Volume I, 259.

[6] Systematic Theology, Volume I, 422-23.

[7] Systematic Theology, Volume I, 433.

[8] Systematic Theology, Volume III, 285.

[9] Systematic Theology, Volume II, 331.

 

Luke 13:1-9

Luke 13:1-9 (NRSV)

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ² He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? ³ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. ⁴ Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

⁶ Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. ⁷ So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ ⁸ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. ⁹ If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ” 

Year C

Third Sunday in Lent

February 28, 2016

Cross~Wind

Title: Truth, Love, and Time 

Introduction

I have a boyhood fascination with outer space. It has stayed with me. I like the idea of exploring and finding out new things. In this case, I learned that 40% of the attempts to have a Mars mission have failed. A reporter asked one of the leaders of the Curiosity mission what would happen if this mission failed. He said we would pick up ourselves and explore again, for something in us accepts the challenge to explore. We want to know our surroundings, understand what is out there, and answer the question, Are we alone? Today, the challenge of exploring what is out there still fascinates me. Back then, I suppose I wondered a bit more about whether we might sometime find evidence of life out there.

Fortunately, the mission of Curiosity did not fail. In the late summer of 2012, the Mars rover "Curiosity" landed on the surface of the planet. It took just seven minutes for the rover to enter the atmosphere and touch down successfully. Its pictures remind me of parts of the American West.[1]

However, whom I am thinking about today are the NASA staff. They had to wait a long time. Many people throughout the world tuned in and took notice of this amazing feat. However, many likely did not think of the engineers who spent roughly 8½ months simply waiting. They waited and hoped they would not lose every dollar spent or crush the dream of Martian discoveries. 8½ months is a long time to wait for a culture that has grown accustomed to immediate gratification.

You could argue that waiting is a lost art in our culture.

Would expectant moms want a way to speed up the process?

We are all part of an impatient, "now" culture. Our culture cannot fathom living in the days when sending a letter from the East Coast to the West Coast took several months, and the Pony Express, which guaranteed delivery from St. Louis to Sacramento in 10 days or less.

We want the laptop that boots the fastest. AVG is a program I have that every once in while asks me if I noticed that it helped me boot my computer a second or so faster.

Even hospitals are now posting the turnaround times in their emergency rooms on highway billboards.

We are a people who increasingly expect -- and demand -- a world without waiting, which can make being a follower of Jesus Christ incredibly frustrating.

We want the moment when “rover has landed” rather than the 8 ½ months of waiting. 

Application

Luke 13:6-9 is a parable of the patience of God. God us like the gardener, who nurtures the soil of a plant so that it will produce fruit. The time in which we live is a time of mercy from God and repentance and bearing fruit for us.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must be among the few who practice the lost art of waiting. We must wait so that the trees -- the people we love or the church we love—we are not among those who cut it down or abandon too early. We must learn to wait so that this world, this nation, this church, and we as individuals, can be fruitful and beautiful works of God.

Waiting is not an easy aspect of discipleship. Scot McKnight in Chapter 7 of The Jesus Creed remarks on the importance of hearing the truth. We need the truth in order to repent. The truth opens the possibility of forgiveness.

Are you ready for some important truth regarding repentance?

First, we must wait with the golden rule in mind.

Jesus tells us this:  

"Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12).  

The point here is to make us pause before we judge others.

Scot McKnight (Day 11) uses this verse to help us reflect on the importance of loving the face in the mirror. One part of the Jesus Creed is to love the neighbor as we love ourselves. We feed and clothe ourselves. We seek friendships. God made us in the image of God, so we need to love ourselves properly. We love ourselves when we forgive ourselves.

Now, let us turn such reflections toward others. We may know the son who we wish would get his life together today; the daughter who we wish respected us now; or the unbelieving spouse who we wish were with us this morning. We have been praying for them, working on them, being patient with them, and we long for something that would change them. Maybe, we are angry that God has not finally "landed the rover" with them. No, we need to do to them, as we would wish others did to us.

Second, we must wait with God's goodness in mind.

We may not understand how God could wait one more minute.  

The longer you are a part of God's family, the more you begin to realize that God is not bound to our obsession with “now” and instant gratification. Our Father who art in heaven, whose name we hallow, and to whom we belong and by whom we are beloved through Jesus Christ the Son, seems to have no trouble with things taking time.

This is especially true in the way God chooses to deal with sinful, broken people.

Bishop Coyner at our Life Together conference (2016) referred to the message on the grave marker for the wife of Billy Graham, Ruth Graham: “Construction is complete … Thanks for your patience.”

I think we need to hear some truth regarding forgiveness.

One of the problems many of us modern and post-modern folks have with Lent is that it talks of divine forgiveness. Many of us no longer believe we are sinners who even need forgiveness. After all, we make errors of judgment. We live under the deprivations of heredity and environment. We do the best we can under the circumstances. We do not really sin, and therefore have no real need of forgiveness.

Maybe one of the most powerful statements we need to ponder during Lent would be this: "For me Christ died." We need to let that sink in today. We are the types of people for whom the Son of God needed to die in order for us receive new life. We are dust, but God has already blessed immensely and immeasurably, no matter how long we wait.

Lastly, we must wait with an end in mind.

Here is uncomfortable truth.

Notice the vinedresser asked for a year, but he did not demand forever. Jesus' point in the parable was that eventually time would run out for the unfruitful trees, the unrepentant Israel, and God would prune them -- judge them -- accordingly. Eventually something will happen. The rover will land. God will act, often in unexpected ways we do not understand. 

By the way, this parable can help us in dealing with sick and destructive relationships. Of course, relationships are often difficult and require work. We also need to have proper boundaries that can give us some guidance in discerning how long we should stay in certain relationships. We may need to learn that it is time to let go. We cannot wait forever. It may well be OK to wish them well, pray for them, and move forward with our life. The important point here is that the relationship ought not to be a prison. 

Conclusion

Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are, quite naturally, impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages, we are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. And yet, it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability and that it may take a very long time.[2]  

Waiting is inevitable. Sure, we boot our computers and share our data faster. However, babies still take nine months, Mars is still 350 million miles away, and God is still giving broken people bountiful amounts of truth, love and time. For everything that happens right now something else remains a "not yet." Our existence on this planet involves waiting. This means that if you have not learned to wait, you have not learned how to live.

May we be a people who afford others the same luxuries and patience we have received from the Lord. May we hold on to divine goodness even when God seems to wait too long. May we trust that though we tap our toes impatiently, eventually a good and gracious end will come. Until then we wait. Amen.

 Going Deeper

Luke 13:1-9 is a pronouncement story concerning repentance. The source is unique to Luke. For the Jesus Seminar, Luke creates the story in order to introduce Pilate and foreshadow the destruction of Jerusalem. In context, this section (12:1-13:9) began with Jesus speaking about judgment in 12:1-3, 13-21, end-time events in 12:4-12, 35-48, 54-56, and end-time divisions in 12:49-53. In these discourses, Jesus emphasizes the importance of discerning the times. If one can see what time it is, then one knows the importance of not being a hypocrite in 12:1, of not being worried when brought before rulers in 12:8-12, and of being continually watchful in 12:35-48. In 12:56, Jesus says that the crowd can interpret the earth and sky, but not the present time. They need to understand in what time they live. Judgment comes unexpectedly, so the right time to repent is now.  

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.[So far, this is the only ancient text to refer to this incident. However, the incident is typical of the bloody, brutish reputation Pontius Pilate had cultivated during his reign. It may be that when Pilate siphoned money away from the temple treasury for an aqueduct project he wanted, he created this fiasco. However, scholars remain puzzled as to why some in the crowd inform Jesus of this event. Are the informers attempting to trick Jesus into saying something judgmental about Pilate in order to bring a charge against him later? Are they attempting to provide Jesus with a real-life example of the type of readiness to suffer about which he spoke at the beginning of Chapter 12?^[4] He urges his disciples not to be fearful of authorities who can kill the body.]  ² He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than [the comparative “para” underscores the belief that those killed were more sinful and deserving of death] all other Galileans?[Regardless of why they brought forth the incident, Jesus relates it to the theme of the unexpected time of judgment. It appears that those who come to him have some knowledge that leads them to think that the Galileans were culpable for their own fate and, therefore, worthy of the judgment of death. The belief that one's sins cause one's suffering and death appears in various places in Jewish literature (cf. Exodus 20:5; Job 4:7; 8:4, 20; 22:5; cf. John 9:2-3). The response of Jesus, however, suggests he rejects such a claim. Among the many problems of this idea is that suffering is so widespread among other living things in the prehumen world and cannot result from human sin.^[5] The Galileans' status as sinners has nothing to do with their fate.] ³ No, I tell you; but unless you repent [the word metanoew occurs in the second person plural, demonstrating the communal nature of repentance], you will all perish as they did. [It seems strange that Jesus does not condemn Pilate for engaging in such behavior. Many of us as readers might prefer Jesus had done that. However, he focuses upon the condition of those whose blood Pilate mingled with animal sacrifice. Were they aware of close their end was? Are you aware of how close judgment is for you? This event foreshadows judgment that will happen at the end of time. Yet, Jesus undercuts the thinking of those who think that one can assign judgment to one group or the other based on the degree of sinfulness. In 12:56, the point is to be aware of the times in which they live in which judgment is coming and therefore repent. The focus shifts from why this happened to the Galileans to the repentance necessary to prevent a similar event from occurring to his audience. Jesus has reversed the issue by saying that his hearers are similar sinners to those killed. Therefore, all will receive judgment at the end of time. Therefore, all need to repent.] ⁴ Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam [the name of a reservoir close to the southeast corner of the walls of Jerusalem, although a tower or its fall there has no confirmation in other sources.[6] Perhaps, these people lost their lives while trying to strengthen the Jerusalem water supply. [7]] fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” [Jesus draws the same conclusion from this event as he does the first event. Those who died in this accident were no more sinful than any others living in Jerusalem were. The degree of sinfulness is not the criterion upon which to judge these incidents. Trying to outguess God's divine time lines of life and death for each of us is not a human capability.  Nevertheless, men and women are capable of making sure they stand before God repentant and trusting in divine love and mercy.] 

            Luke 13:6-9 is a parable concerning the barren fig tree. The source is material unique to Luke. Luke now adds the voice of mercy. Some scholars think of it as another version of the cursing of the fig tree in Mark 11:12-14, 20-22 = Matthew 21:19-22. However, more than likely, the two stories are not the same.[8] In the context of Luke, the Galileans died by malice, the people of Jerusalem by chance, and the fig tree by being unproductive. It correlates to the call for repentance in 13:1-5 and that we hear throughout Chapter 12. 

⁶ Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree [an important food source in ancient Israel and a familiar metaphor of the spiritual condition of Israel] planted in his vineyard; [the owner visits his fields to survey their fruitfulness] and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. [Jeremiah 8:13 has no figs on the fig tree as a sign of judgment from the Lord. Isaiah 5 is about the vineyard of grapes that the Lord tended but bore no fruit, a sign of the disobedience of Israel.] ⁷ So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years [indicating the patience of the owner] I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ [The patience of the owner (God) is ending imminently in judgment.] ⁸ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, [stressing the imminent nature of the judgment] until I dig around it and put manure on it.[The solution of the gardener is to offer the fig tree both the grace of more time and the goodness of a richer environment. It implies hope. The fig tree will receive grace. In the same way, human beings have a short period of grace until divine judgment. ⁹ If it bears fruit next year, [judgment is still coming soon, so the time to repent is always now] well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ” [We should note that the parable ends without the reader knowing if the owner will extend the time or if the extension of time and enriched soil actually worked. The mercy of the gardener and the owner is a great gift. It will not last forever. The parable takes on the nuance of the human life marked by unproductivity. The focus of the parable is still repentance, the same as 13:1-5. Those who need to repent (bear fruit) have a time-frame within which to do so, another sobering indication about the shortness of the time at hand. The connection between fruit and repentance echoes the call of John the Baptist in Luke 3:8-9, who calls upon his audience to bear fruits worthy of repentance and that a tree that does not bear fruit is thrown into the fire. The parable reiterates the call of John the Baptist. The additional year allowed by the owner highlights the owner's merciful response and, by extension, God's willingness to be gracious. As Pannenberg puts it, the restraining of divine wrath is a sign of divine patience that has conversion as its goal. With the themes of time, repentance and mercy, this parable provides an apt summary of Jesus' discourse on judgment up to this point.^[9] What time is it? The question arises from this parable. The time is at hand for repentance and judgment. 

"The fate of the Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with that of their sacrifices, like that of those who perished in the fall of the tower of Siloam, becomes a symbol for the coming fate of all who will not repent. The fig-tree parable identifies Jesus' hearers as being in the last season of opportunity to change their ways."[10]]

 

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[1] You can have a panoramic view of Mars from Curiosity.

[2] --Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Making of a Mind: Letters From a Soldier-Priest, 1914-1919 (London: Collins, 1965), 57.

[4](Laurence E. Porter, New International Bible Commentary, ed. F.F. Bruce [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1979], 1210); Joel B. Green, "The gospel according Luke," NRSV, ed. Harold Attridge [San Francisco: HarperCollins]1880).

[5] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, Volume II, 165.

[6] (John Nolland, "Luke," Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 35b [Dallas: Word Books, 1993], 718)

[7] (Laurence E. Porter, New International Bible Commentary, ed. F.F. Bruce [Grand Rapids, Mich. Zondervan, 1979], 1210.)

[8] (Laurence E. Porter, New International Bible Commentary, ed. F.F. Bruce [Grand Rapids, Mich. Zondervan, 1979], 1210)

[9] Systematic Theology, Volume I, 440.

[10] (John Nolland, Luke, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 35b [Dallas: Word Books, 1993], 719).