Who Rejoices? (31)
Lectionary, Year C, Proper 16
Christopher B. Harbin
Luke 13:10-17
People respond in all sorts of ways to our actions and decisions. What we do and how we do it has a different impact on different slices of the community around us. We know there is a shortage of housing all around the country, yet people may oppose affordable housing built near their residence. We know there is a need for expanding access to mental health service, yet many would oppose a mental health facility in their community. Who rejoices with our actions, decisions, and priorities can say a lot about how intentional we are about following God’s direction for our lives. Who does rejoice in the effects of our actions?
Hypocrisy gets bandied about a lot. We are rather familiar with the concept. Perhaps we use it as readily as we do, because Jesus used it on various occasions. We feel justified in using the label, since Jesus did. Meanwhile, we don’t quite apply it the way Jesus was wont to do. In today’s passage, he gives it a broader application than we may be used to. We talk about people who publicly blast people for one sin or crime, while they are secretly guilty of the same. Jesus applies it more expansively. He saw hypocrisy in how one synagogue placed a burden on people that he did not place on his livestock. The man elevated a certain class of rules above the needs of people in a way he would not have applied to the animals under his care.
It was not a question of equal application of said rules or principles. In fact, the synagogue leader was guilty of a lesser infraction regarding his animals than the infraction of the larger populace. It’s just that his concerns did not include the needs of that part of the community. Not leading his animals to water would have created a greater threat upon their lives, than Jesus abstaining from healing the people one day a week. That would mostly have just delayed their being made whole. I can see a difference in the ...
Lectionary, Year C, Proper 16
Christopher B. Harbin
Luke 13:10-17
People respond in all sorts of ways to our actions and decisions. What we do and how we do it has a different impact on different slices of the community around us. We know there is a shortage of housing all around the country, yet people may oppose affordable housing built near their residence. We know there is a need for expanding access to mental health service, yet many would oppose a mental health facility in their community. Who rejoices with our actions, decisions, and priorities can say a lot about how intentional we are about following God’s direction for our lives. Who does rejoice in the effects of our actions?
Hypocrisy gets bandied about a lot. We are rather familiar with the concept. Perhaps we use it as readily as we do, because Jesus used it on various occasions. We feel justified in using the label, since Jesus did. Meanwhile, we don’t quite apply it the way Jesus was wont to do. In today’s passage, he gives it a broader application than we may be used to. We talk about people who publicly blast people for one sin or crime, while they are secretly guilty of the same. Jesus applies it more expansively. He saw hypocrisy in how one synagogue placed a burden on people that he did not place on his livestock. The man elevated a certain class of rules above the needs of people in a way he would not have applied to the animals under his care.
It was not a question of equal application of said rules or principles. In fact, the synagogue leader was guilty of a lesser infraction regarding his animals than the infraction of the larger populace. It’s just that his concerns did not include the needs of that part of the community. Not leading his animals to water would have created a greater threat upon their lives, than Jesus abstaining from healing the people one day a week. That would mostly have just delayed their being made whole. I can see a difference in the ...
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