PRIORITIZING PEOPLE (7)
Scripture: Luke 6:27-38
This content is part of a series.
Prioritizing People (7)
Lectionary, Year C, Epiphany 7
Christopher B. Harbin
Luke 6:27-38
Someone told me years ago that we should use things and love people, not the other way around. Unfortunately, that simple message seems hard for us to live up to. Why is prioritizing people over things so difficult to manage? Why is it easy for us to find so many different ways to excuse our failure to implement such a simple priority we can readily agree with at face value?
The kernel of Jesus' teaching can be found in what we normally call the Sermon on the Mount. It is a bit of a misnomer, as Matthew and Luke disagree on where Jesus was. Then again, there is no reason to think Jesus preached this message only one time and in only one location. He most likely recycled at least parts of it, especially for different crowds who came to hear him at different places over three years of itinerant ministry.
One year while reporting on our mission work in 50 different churches, I cycled through four sermons. I figured I might have some of the same people listening that many times. One weekend while speaking in four different churches, my guide was shocked to find I had more than one sermon to preach. I didn't think that was anything special. I normally preach a different sermon every week. If look back at all my sermons over 30-some years, however, you will find repetition. You would find me repeating some of the same things in one sermon that I said in another, even preaching to the same group of people. Jesus was not so different in that regard. His disciples needed to hear some of the same things over and over and over again. As a mentor once told me, ''It's not important unless you've said it at least three times.''
This is no transcription of Jesus' exact words on one particular occasion. (You've heard that before, I know.) It is a summary of what Jesus probably said multiple times and likely in multiple ways. That's part of the reason we have different version ...
Lectionary, Year C, Epiphany 7
Christopher B. Harbin
Luke 6:27-38
Someone told me years ago that we should use things and love people, not the other way around. Unfortunately, that simple message seems hard for us to live up to. Why is prioritizing people over things so difficult to manage? Why is it easy for us to find so many different ways to excuse our failure to implement such a simple priority we can readily agree with at face value?
The kernel of Jesus' teaching can be found in what we normally call the Sermon on the Mount. It is a bit of a misnomer, as Matthew and Luke disagree on where Jesus was. Then again, there is no reason to think Jesus preached this message only one time and in only one location. He most likely recycled at least parts of it, especially for different crowds who came to hear him at different places over three years of itinerant ministry.
One year while reporting on our mission work in 50 different churches, I cycled through four sermons. I figured I might have some of the same people listening that many times. One weekend while speaking in four different churches, my guide was shocked to find I had more than one sermon to preach. I didn't think that was anything special. I normally preach a different sermon every week. If look back at all my sermons over 30-some years, however, you will find repetition. You would find me repeating some of the same things in one sermon that I said in another, even preaching to the same group of people. Jesus was not so different in that regard. His disciples needed to hear some of the same things over and over and over again. As a mentor once told me, ''It's not important unless you've said it at least three times.''
This is no transcription of Jesus' exact words on one particular occasion. (You've heard that before, I know.) It is a summary of what Jesus probably said multiple times and likely in multiple ways. That's part of the reason we have different version ...
There are 8846 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
