Trinity XIII- Luke 10:23-37

The Gospel for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity is from Luke 10:23-37 and includes the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan. That parable is important, and it encourages compassion and true neighborliness. We always need to grow in such virtues.  However, this time, let us focus on the lawyer whose question leads to the parable in Luke 10: 25-29. The lawyer recognizes the principle of two great commandments, but he wants to justify himself and his views.

Jesus and the lawyer, along with many of their contemporaries, agree on the two great commandments: love God and love neighbor. However, the key difference is in their attitudes. For Jesus, the Law is a helpful guide with spiritual and moral purposes. The Two Great Commandments encourage worshipping God and caring for other people. For the lawyer and other legalists, the emphasis is on the details of rule-keeping. Instead of concentrating on inner motivation, the legalist views the commandments as a checklist for self-congratulation and self-justification. So, Jesus tells a parable that shows good attitudes and actions may be found even among people who don't follow all the rules (such as Samaritans).

This is still a warning for Christians. We know basic commandments, and we can probably check off some rules we have followed. But we should consider our attitudes and opportunities to show mercy. Let us watch our motives and attitudes, and repent of our failures. We must honor the principles of divine Law, and through divine grace, we must seek to apply those principles with sincerity and compassion.

Lent IV- Galatians 4:21-31

 For this Sunday, our attention is drawn to the Epistle from Galatians 4:21-31. In this passage, the Apostle Paul uses a figurative approach to the Old Testament that was familiar in his day but may seem unusual in our time. Abraham's two wives, Hagar and Sarah, along with their sons, are seen as types or models of two different kinds of covenant relationship with God. Hagar and her son Ishmael represent the covenant based on law; Sarah and her son Isaac represent the new covenant based on grace and the promise in Christ. 

St. Paul opposes those who wish to turn the Christian message into some sort of legalistic code. He calls on believers to realize that they serve under a new and higher covenant with God. While the Law has good purposes in exposing sin and promoting goodness, Christ offers a more spiritual relationship with God. Christians have been set free from legalism to serve God as true spiritual sons and daughters.

Christians continue to need this reminder about our relationship with God. On one hand, we live in an age characterized by moral and spiritual lawlessness. In such a social context, people do need to be reminded of the Law and Commandments. Sin should be pointed out. Efforts do need to be made to limit its damage to society and to individuals. People should be called to repentance. In these ways, the Law continues to have useful purposes.

On the other hand, in terms of our covenant relationship with God, the Law is not supreme. And if we do not advance beyond the Law in our moral and religious lives, we are not free or spiritual. Only grace and promise received through faith in Jesus Christ can make us heirs of the higher and heavenly covenant. Law is only a general guide while the work of the Spirit goes further and frees us for true service as children of God.

This general truth has a special application as we look toward Good Friday and Easter. During Lent, Christians focus on preparations and spiritual discipline. Historically, the Church has encouraged certain practices to promote self-denial and deeper devotion. Many may have decided to give up certain things, to read more Scripture, to study a book, to engage in more personal or corporate devotions, to perform some new service for other people, etc. Such disciplines and rules can have useful purposes, but there is also the danger of falling into legalism. We should remain aware that even good and useful practices do not make us holy. We can not earn our way into being God's children. The higher purpose of all devotional practices is to encourage us to be more open to divine grace, the promises of the Gospel, and the workings of the Holy Spirit. May we always live as "children of promise" and "children of the free" (Gal. 3:28, 31)!

Trinity XIII- Luke 10:25-29

The Gospel for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity is from Luke 10: 23- 37 and includes the famous parable of the Good Samaritan. That parable is certainly an important example and an encouragement to compassion and true neighborliness, but this time, I would like to focus more on the context for the parable in Luke 10: 25-29, "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?"

This context shows us the difference between Jesus and His legalistic opponents. Jesus honors the Jewish Law and its chief principles and intentions. Jesus and the lawyer agree on the two great commandments- love God and love neighbor. However, there is a great difference in the attitudes of Jesus and the lawyer. Jesus sees the Law as a helpful guide to worshipping God and caring for other people. The lawyer focuses on the details of rule-keeping. He views the commandments as a checklist for self-congratulation and self-justification. Perhaps, he hopes that Jesus will praise him and say that he has done enough, or perhaps, he imagines that Jesus will just add some little rule to what the lawyer is already doing. Instead, Jesus tells a parable that shows good attitudes and actions may be found even among people who don't follow all the rules perfectly (Samaritans).

Unfortunately, Christians have often been like the lawyer in this account. We know basic commandments, and we might be able to check off some rules we have followed. But all too often, we try to justify ourselves without looking at our attitudes or at new opportunities to show mercy. Even doing charitable deeds has often been transformed into another sort of self-justifying legalism. So let us remain on guard about our motives and attitudes. Let us honor the principles of divine Law, and through divine grace, let us humbly seek to apply those principles with sincerity and compassion.