Wednesday 18th January - Luke 13

Today’s chapter is Luke 13

Tom writes:

The Pharisees were happy to care for their animals and (just over in the next chapter) to have rich and delicious food made and served to them on a sabbath. They were happy to enjoy the friends and the fruit of their elevated position on the Sabbath. Yet on the Sabbath they denied a wretched woman her first scrap of hope. That, in microcosm, is what Jesus despised about the kingdom the Pharisees ruled over. Jesus is undeniably clear on this - his kingdom is not like that. In Jesus’ Kingdom any status, any authority, any riches are used like yeast to leaven dough, they grow like mustard trees so birds can perch in their branches. Jesus comes and embodies this Kingdom. He puts his reputation to one side so he can heal a crippled woman. He stands up for the slandered… and he wants his people to do the same. I’m convicted by this. I realise how often I have - like those hypocrites - been delighted with visible virtue but a bit too busy to show sacrificial service to someone smaller than me. I realise how often I have - like Jerusalem - been at the centre of all kinds of religious activity and yet acted with very little compassion.

Jesus invites me - and you - to change. He wants us to take whatever authority we have, to gather together all the status we possess and pour them out on the last, the least and the lost. This might mean befriending the ugly (probably best not to tell them that is your strategy), or the long hard slog of growing our own disciples instead of hopping off to enjoy the worship at the big established church next door. Or it might mean cooking a meal for a new mother, spending years investing in kids or helping an immigrant fill out official forms. All of these may seem a bit “narrow”; a bit restrictive. But these kinds of actions are the fruit that Jesus looks for on the fig tree. These are the kinds of hidden and small actions that will become enormous and significant at the resurrection of the righteous. Living this kind of Kingdom lifestyle may not sound as fun as “just receiving”, “you being you” or “chasing your dream” but in the End it is Jesus’ Kingdom that will last and flourish and fill everything in every way. The other kingdom - you know the self-centered, self-promoting one that loves to be seen - doesn’t end that way and Jesus weeps over all who refuse to leave it behind.

Question for reflection
What authority or position do you hold? Who could you serve with it?