Rev. Jean's Bible Study

Luke 5:27-32  Jesus called some working class folk to join him, but he also called some who were more upper class.   Tax collectors were in a position to get wealthy legally by charging what they determined the populace could bear in taxes.   A situation not dissimilar to extremely wealthy executives benefiting from their companies charging ‘what the market will bear.’ In Jesus’ time, a tax collector was the epitome of greed.   Levi was moved by Jesus to leave his former life and follow Jesus’ way, a way that rejected greed as an modus operandi.   Levi didn’t, however, leave all his tax collecting social circle behind.   He gave a great banquet and invited his friends to also meet Jesus.   We are not told if any other tax collectors changed their ways but perhaps they did.   Surely one sign of a mature person is having the confidence in yourself and your beliefs to invite others to join you. The invitation needs to acknowledge the comfort level ...

 Luke 5:1-11   Go Try Again God doesn’t expect anyone, even Jesus, to change the world all by oneself.   Jesus gathered a group of people around him.   During their initial encounter, Jesus called on them to do something that was just not done.   Putting out onto the lake again, once the sun was up, after having fished unsuccessfully all night was a simple waste of time and effort.   They would look foolish to all the other fishers calling it a day.   It was as if Jesus was saying, “humour me.”   It worked.   Jesus is always calling us to do things that are just not done, that won’t work, that pull us out of our routine, out of our comfort zone, that seem ridiculous.   The world is always changing and we need to change with it. Peter, having seen the results of his doing something that ‘obviously won’t work,’ recognized his sinfulness.   Can we understand one aspect of sin to be a refusal to step out of our accepted ways o...

Luke 4:31-44   If we are to read this passage looking for help on our journey to maturity, we will have to set aside the obvious problems of miraculous healing and the reality of demons.   Let’s just say that a ‘force of evil’ was messing with this person and Jesus commanded it to stop.   Similarly, Jesus rebuked whatever was causing Peter’s mother-in-law to become feverish and she became well.   Lots of evil forces can get in the way of our being and becoming healthy, both mentally and physically.   Jesus seemed able to identify those forces and shut them down.   He spoke with authority.   He also used his authority to prevent the evil forces from speaking, even when they were speaking the truth about him.   Maybe he knew that they would somehow misconstrue that truth and use it against him.   It is not always easy for us, mere mortals, to identify the demons that are possessing us and causing us to become hot and bothered.   I...

 Luke 4:16-30  Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash Leaving the desert, still filled with the Spirit, Jesus went to his home region of Galilee, back to Nazareth where he was raised and shared with his friends and family what his being the “Son of God” meant to him.   His mission was the mission of Isaiah. (Isaiah61:1-2) His message was the prophetic message of peace and justice.   At first the people were impressed, amazed by his eloquence, his graciousness. But Jesus didn’t stop there.   He went on to explain that justice and peace are found not only in Israel, not always in Israel.   God will use those on the outside to seek justice when those on the inside neglect their responsibility to ‘love one another’.   Bren é Brown highlights the difference between belonging and fitting in.   Jesus refused to soften his message to ensure that he would ‘fit in’ to his hometown.   Even though it meant that he could no longer belong there. ...