The way of imagination

  “Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.   If he comes during the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.” (Luke 12.37-38)      Jesus and the disciples continue to journey towards Jerusalem.   The number of people thronging around Jesus is increasing (Lk. 11.14, 29; 12.1), and so is the tension between Jesus and the obstinate members of “his generation”.   The tenor of Jesus’ teaching is often severe.   In spite of the fact that Luke has given us the “key” early on in his narrative, many readers of his Gospel continue to interpret passages like this one as referring to Jesus’ second coming (Lk. 12.37-40).   Read this way, these passages become warnings to the (future) Church to be alert and prepared for the unexpected return of Christ (cf. the song “I wish we’d all...

  “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Luke 12.32-34)      Jesus and the disciples continue to journey towards Jerusalem.   The number of people thronging around Jesus is increasing (Lk. 11.14, 29; 12.1), and so is the tension between Jesus and the obstinate members of “his generation”.   The tenor of Jesus’ teaching is severe (cf. Lk. 11.47-51).   However, in chapter 12, Jesus turns his attention to the disciples and exhorts them to be free of fear. ·         “ do not fear those who kill the body” (Lk. 12.4) ·         “ do not be afraid ; you are of more value than many spa...

  “I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,   with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism,   one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4.1-6, NRSVUE )      It’s a dream as old as the first empire – to have one world, with everyone united with a single common purpose, worshipping the same God(s).   But how to unite the world?   Sadly, even today, the answer is usually the same as it’s always been – conquer it!   The typical strategy – in the time of Paul, as in our own day – is for one powerful nation to impose itself on others, thereby “liberating” or “civilizi...

  “So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone;   in him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord,   in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.” (Ephesians 2.19-22, NRSVUE )      A religious world.   Where does one go in order to experience the presence and reality of God/the gods?   For most of human history, the answer was – go to a temple.   The ancient world was indeed choked full of temples, much like the modern world is replete with churches, synagogues, mosques, and various places of worship.   The ancient goddesses/gods were believed to “inhabit” their temples in some way; the image of the god in question symbolized the divinity’s having taken up residenc...

  ·         Biblical texts : Jeremiah 21.1-10; Psalm 89.19-33; Gospel of Luke 11.37-51       Not-so-great expectations .   Have you ever been disappointed by God?   I don’t believe that God can ever really disappoint us (since he’s perfectly good and faithful), but I’ve often felt disappointed because God didn’t do what I wanted him to do or things didn’t turn out the way I would have liked.   Does that sound familiar?   We have a tendency to approach God with expectations.   This is quite natural – we believe that God has the power to intervene in our lives and we approach him with a sense of expectancy that he is going to solve our problems.   However, a better strategy is to approach God with attentiveness – with ears that are ready to listen to his voice and hearts that are willing to obey what he tells us to do.   We see this dynamic at play again and again in both Luke’s Gos...

  “ While Apollos was in Corinth , Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what, then, were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” (Acts 19.1-3, NRSVUE )      Acts 19 begins with this fascinating episode of Paul finding 12 disciples of John the Baptist in Ephesus (cf. Ac. 19.7; Lk. 5.33; 7.18; 11.1).   Of course, there were twelve …this is the last time that John the Baptist is mentioned in Luke-Acts.   There seems to be something “definitive” going on here.   This is the final phase of the transition from John to Jesus, a transition that John had himself alluded to (Lk. 3.15-17; cf. Ac. 1.4-5).   These “disciples” had most probably been converted to John’s baptism by Apollos (cf. Ac. 18.24-25). [...