The way of imagination

“…the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought Jesus to their council.    They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I question you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” (Luke 22.66-69)        As Jesus lies in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea (Lk. 23.50-56), let us reconsider the judicial process that put him there.   Luke – in both his Gospel and Acts – demonstrates a particular interest in both Jewish and Roman jurisprudence and legal proceedings.   Jesus undergoes a series of four hearings – before the Sanhedrin, as well as an appearance before Herod Antipas in between two hearings before Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea.      Jesus’ “trial” by the Sanhedrin is summarized very succinctly – no witness testimony is...

“…the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God , his chosen one!”   The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine   and saying, “ If you are the King of the Jews , save yourself!” (Luke 23.35-37)      As “the day of Unleavened Bread draws near” (Lk. 22.1), the true enemy of the people of God reappears in the Gospel narrative, just in time for the final showdown with the One who had been “anointed” to play a triple role in service to Israel as her King, prophet, and High Priest.   As Jesus takes his place at table with the disciples to eat the Passover meal, he tells them that they are the ones who have stood by him in his “trials” (Gr: peirasmoi : 22.28).   This is the same term used to describe Jesus’ “temptations” in the desert near the beginning of the narrative (cf. Lk. 4.1-13).   At the end of Jesus’ wilderness “trial”, Luke told us that the Devil had “...

“When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him.    He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,   for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22.14-16)      On Sunday, the long (narrative) journey which had begun in Lk. 9.51 finally came to an end.   In a moment poignant with irony, Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem, mounted on a donkey, to the cheers of the Passover pilgrims which echoed those of the angels who had cheered his birth (Lk. 19.37-38; cf. 2.8-14).   It is a moment of joy for the disciples and those who believe that the Messiah has arrived in his capital to set them free…at Passover time, no less.   Every year, as the people of God commemorated the Exodus from Egypt – when Yahweh had delivered them from Egyptian oppression – they hoped that their God would once again act to save them from their enemies (cf...

“Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” (Luke 19.9-10)      Jesus and the disciples continue to journey towards Jerusalem. [1]   The number of people thronging around Jesus is increasing (Lk. 11.14, 29; 12.1; 13.22; 14.25; 19.1-3), and so is the tension between Jesus and the obstinate members of “his generation”.   Besides announcing imminent judgment, Jesus is feasting and telling stories.   Jesus’ “gospel” is bad news for the self-sufficient, smug and vengeful and good news for the poor, desperate and trusting.      The second episode showcasing the reactions of rich men to the challenge of the kingdom is found in Luke 19.   This chapter resonates with chapter 15, as Jesus once again dines with a (chief) tax collector, a notorious sinner from Jericho (Lk. 19.2, 7).   Also, the “punchline” of th...

       A lot can happen in a week.   Just ask Jesus.   While Jesus is, rightly, the centre of attention in the Gospel narratives of Holy Week, I’d like for us to consider this morning the “elephants in Jerusalem”, i.e. the disciples.   What were the disciples experiencing during the final seven days of… “the-Present-Age phase of”… the life of Jesus?   A lot happened for the disciples during Holy Week.   Dreams tittered on the brink of fulfillment, only to be dashed to smithereens and then resurrected in a new form, all in the space of eight sunsets.   Then again, the Bible tells us that God “made the heavens and the earth” in the space of a week… the transition from an empty, watery chaos to an ordered cosmos teeming with life was also quite a change – and perhaps the Genesis story is a worthy template of how life so often goes.   Our lives frequently swing to and fro between chaos and stability, between job loss and the beginning o...