Luke 10:38–42 ESV – Bible Gateway

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As Jesus and his apostles continue on their final journey to Jerusalem, they stop off in Bethany to visit Martha and her sister Mary. Their brother Lazarus is not mentioned in Luke, but in the Gospel of John, we have the only other reference to these sisters along with their brother.

The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture for Luke introduces this story:

Since the parable of the good Samaritan emphasizes love of neighbor, many scholars suggest that this next passage instead highlights love of “the Lord, your God” (10:27; see vv. 39–41, where the title “Lord” is again used for Jesus). Moreover, like the earlier list of women who followed Jesus along with the Twelve (8:1–3), this passage highlights women disciples, Martha and Mary, who happen to be siblings. In typical Lukan fashion, they complement James and John, siblings as well, who appeared at the beginning of the journey (9:54) that now continues. Martha welcomed Jesus, and so the passage further explains what it means to welcome Jesus and his gospel message (10:8) [1]

There have been consistent interpretations of this story as two aspects of spiritual life regarding activity and contemplation going back to at least the early ecclesial writer Origen. In this framework, Martha is seen to fulfill the active role and Mary the contemplation. This interpretation over the years has gained weight in describing two types of religious orders. The contemplation orders, usually cloistered, are dedicated to prayer with less interaction in the world. Active orders, also centered around prayer, have more interaction in the world. When it comes to religious women’s orders, this is where the distinction between nuns and sisters comes from.

This as an interpretation has its good points, but there is a lot more showcased here and the sisters’ interactions with Jesus. Luke introduces Martha as the owner of the house and her sister Mary, “who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.”

Brant Pitre gives us the 1st Century Jewish background on what this phrase means.

sitting at someone’s feet is a Jewish way of describing the posture or the position of a disciple to their master.[2]

Luke later goes on to use this phase in the Acts of the Apostles to describe St. Pauls’s relationship as a student to the rabbi Gamaʹli-el’.

Luke gives us Martha’s state of mind as “being distracted with much serving.” She complains directly to Jesus that her sister is not helping her. She implies she wants him to rebuke Mary directly. Instead, Jesus gives her a light rebuke and provides a proper ordering for all of us. That is when we want to complain about the amount of work others are doing to see if we have chosen the “good portion” first.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

There is much more here than a distinction between the active and the contemplative life here. As is often the case, there is a large both/and here. If we have not put Christ first in our life, we will be anxious and troubled about many things especially when we put all the onus on ourselves in what we want to accomplish. This anxiousness is often a lack of trust in Jesus’ will for us. Or a cry to God to look at us as to what we are doing for him and pointing out others seemingly less dedicated. As Jesus also told his apostles “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on.”

Mary is not being rebuked for her preparation and service, which are laudable in themselves. But, in the attitude, she carried them out. That in everything we do that is in itself a good, we can actively dedicate to God. As St. Teresa of Avila said, “God walks among the pots and pans.”[3] Further as another Carmelite, Brother Lawrence, instructed in the classic “The Practice of the Presence of God” we can unite ourselves and talk with God in all the events of our daily lives.

Peter Kreeft in his commentary regarding Martha’s attitude. [4]

What is wrong with her? She is confusing the means with the end. The work is the means, but Christ is the end. The work is for him, not for itself. He is the one thing needful, the one thing necessary, the one thing that is required. He’s God. Our work is not. It’s for him, not he for it. Martha is dissipating herself and her love and her heart among many little things, splitting herself into all the many little things she identifies with. Her soul is like the little bouncing balls of mercury that fall out of an old-fashioned fever thermometer when it breaks. She has lost her interior unity. She is serving many gods; she is acting like a polytheist. But she can be free of that if only she realizes the simple truth that there is literally only one thing that is absolutely necessary, only one thing, and that is Christ himself. And Mary knows that.

We can be deprived of success in all those many good things that Martha is doing, but we cannot be deprived of success in the one good thing that Mary is doing. She is giving her whole heart and mind to Christ, and that is guaranteed success and reward, while nothing else is; none of the things Martha is doing are guaranteed success.

Luke goes on in the Acts of the Apostles to record an event that shows the correct ordering.

Interestingly, Lydia in Acts makes the right combination, responding like both Mary and Martha. First, she “listened” to the gospel message preached by Paul and then offered hospitality to him and his companions (Acts 16:14–15).[1]

Fundamentally if we are “too busy to pray”, then we are “too busy.” Busy with busyness losing sight of the priority of Christ and how this should inform everything we do. We are all called to live as contemplatives in the world according to our state in life.

In the document Lumen gentium, issued by the Second Vatican Council, under the heading of “The Universal Call to Holiness in the Church” says:

Thus it is evident to everyone, that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity; by this holiness as such a more human manner of living is promoted in this earthly society. In order that the faithful may reach this perfection, they must use their strength accordingly as they have received it, as a gift from Christ. They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things. They must devote themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbor. In this way, the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good, as is admirably shown by the life of so many saints in Church history.

This is put succinctly by St. Teresa of Calcutta:

“We are all called to be contemplatives in the heart of the world — by seeking the face of God in everything, everyone, everywhere, all the time, and [God’s] hand in every happening; seeing and adoring the presence of Jesus, especially in the lowly appearance of bread, and in the distressing disguise of the poor.”

Sources

• The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz
• Catholic Productions, Commentaries by Brant Pitre
• Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C
• The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C – John Bergsma
• Lumen gentium
• Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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1. The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz  ↩
2. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre  ↩
3. Book of the Foundations (1610)  ↩
4. Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C  ↩

Luke 10:25–37 ESV – Bible Gateway

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is unique to the Gospel of Luke and provides another telling example of why this Gospel has been called The Gospel of Mercy.  A scholar of the law—that is, a scribe and teacher of the Torah, asks Jesus a question. In Luke, questions by such scholars are always portrayed negatively and this is no exception. There are immediate clues that his motives are not motivated by other than scholarly interests. That is putting Jesus to the test and that he would attempt to justify himself in further questions.

Jesus knows his motives, but this does not prevent him from engaging the man and trying to bring the conversation along into a fruitful dimension. It is not rare that we also can become involved in conversations that we suspect are not real questions, but gotchas. We should try to follow Jesus here and not write off the questioner, but deepen this into an actual conversation.

Jesus asks him a question for clarification. The scholar answered and quoted from Deuteronomy and Leviticus, with the first reference also used in the Shema prayer that was recited at least twice a day by the Israelites. Jesus tells them that he has answered correctly and that if he does this he will live.

The scholar probably started to wonder how this got turned around on him when he is called on to answer his own question and that he had to live out the answer he already knew. He asked the most important question, the same one the rich young official in Luke will later ask Jesus. In both cases, they are not really happy with the answer calling them to act on what they know.

The scholar then asked a follow-up question as he seemed to desire an answer that limited the scope of what he was called to do. This is such a human reaction that we have all experienced when we sense the immensity of what God is calling us to. When we forgot that we can do nothing on our own without his help and that we should be calling on that help instead.

Jesus could have drawn out this scholar on questions in the Old Testament revolving around how expansive the term neighbor could be at times. Instead, he places the central question into the context of a story to engage the scholar’s moral intuition directly.

Jesus often told parable with a surprise twist to make his point. He focuses first on a Levitical priest, and then on a member of the tribe of Levi as Israelites to be held in regard. Both men, for whatever reason, would pass by a fellow Israelite in need of immediate care. The twist is one of the despised Samaritans would the person who would actually live out what they were called to do themselves. The scholar would also likely have known that this story also closely resembles a story in 2nd Chronicles where leaders of Samaria helped a group of captives of Judah using many of the same descriptions Jesus used.

We are not given the direct reason the two men passed by. It is often assumed it revolved around the issue of ritual purity.

As Brant Pitre notes:

Jesus’ points seems much more focused on the theme not of ritual purity, but of mercy, compassion and love of neighbor. That’s what their debating. What does love of neighbor look like?[1]

The scholar answered Jesus’ question correctly but he is unable to simply reply “The Samaritan”, but had to answer more abstractly.

And, as earlier, Jesus’ words challenge the man not just to know the right answers, but also to do the right things, identifying even with the Samaritan: Go and do (poieō) likewise. If he does, then he too will become a neighbor who gives love, even to his enemies.[2]

There is much that can also be mined on several levels in seeing Jesus as the Good Samaritan and ourselves as the half-dead man lying on the road.

“The whole human race, you see, is that man who was lying on the road, left there by bandits half dead, who was ignored by the passing priest and Levite, while the passing Samaritan stopped by him to take care of him and help him…. In this Samaritan the Lord Jesus Christ wanted us to understand himself.”[3]

John Bergsma in his commentary writes:

I am aware that the Christian tradition of seeing Jesus typified in the Good Samaritan is widely rejected by scholars, but I believe the tradition is correct. Jesus often told parables with multiple levels of meaning, and he was known to tell parables in which one of the characters was an image of himself (see Matt 21:33–41). I believe this is the case also with the Good Samaritan parable.[4]

• Navarre, Saint Luke’s Gospel (2005)
• Catholic Productions, Commentaries by Brant Pitre
• The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C – John Bergsma
• Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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1. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre  ↩
2. Navarre, Saint Luke’s Gospel (2005)  ↩
3. Augustine, Sermons 171.2; trans. E. Hill, cited in Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke , p. 213ø  ↩
4. The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C, John  ↩

Luke 10:1–12, 17–20 ESV – Bible Gateway

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Jesus and the Apostles continue on their final journey to Jerusalem together.

As John Bergsma notes:

The past several Sundays have foreshadowed Jesus’s coming suffering and death, but this Sunday we get a reprieve as themes of suffering recede into the background. We are temporarily caught up in the joy of Jesus’s ministry as he assembles around himself a congregation of disciples who constitute a spiritual “Jerusalem.” In the healing ministry of Jesus and his disciples, we see a fulfillment of certain prophecies of peace and restoration to the “holy city” of the LORD.[1]

Today’s passage is unique to the Gospel of Luke regarding the group of 70 disciples that Jesus appoints and then sends out on a mission to proclaim the Kingdom of God. There are a lot of parallels here, such as with Matthew 10, where Jesus sends out the Twelve to cure the sick, cast out demons, and preach the message of the Kingdom of God.

These disciples were specifically appointed and tasked by Jesus for this mission to prepare the mission field ahead of Jesus’ arrival there. “They are doing what was done by John the Baptist, whose “manifestation” or commissioning (noun anadeixis, 1:80) was for the purpose of going “ahead of” (literally, “before the face of”) him (7:27) to prepare his way.”[2]

Depending on the translation and the source manuscript used, sometimes the number of disciples is listed as either 70 or 72.

Jesus was setting up the new Israel in his ministry, and in addition to the Twelve, who were simultaneously the new Patriarchs, the new Tribal Princes (see Num 7), and the New Officers of Israel (see 1 Kgs 4), Jesus also chose seventy others, who correspond to Moses’s seventy elders over the tribes (Num 11:16–30). Just as Moses had twelve tribal princes and seventy elders, the new Moses has the Twelve Apostles and seventy disciples.[1]

Brant Pitre provides some reasons for the discrepancy:

What’s fascinating is if you look at the Hebrew copies of Genesis 11 and you count up the names of the nations, guess how many nations there are? Seventy nations. Now in the Greek Septuagint, it was translated a little differently and if you look at those copies, guess how many gentile nations there are? Seventy-two. So a tradition arose that the number 70 (or 72) represented the number of gentile nations, the number of peoples that there were, so to speak, in the world. So some traditions in Judaism would see the world in terms of the twelve tribes of Israel and 70 (or 72) gentile nations. [3]

We have an added interpretative layer that builds on Jesus being the new Moses and his picking leaders and commissioning them into a fuller mission territory including the gentiles.

As usual, Jesus does not sugarcoat what he is calling them to do. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Their work is to be founded on prayer and the help of others. That this work is not all on us as individuals. We need the help and support of others and so he sends them out two by two. Sending them out as teams also help to confirm their message as the testimony of two witnesses as specified in Deut 19:15.

As witnesses ourselves we are to use our native intelligence to spread the Gospel, but like these disciples, we are reminded that primarily this is the Lord’s work. In the Old Testament, we have plenty of examples of Judges and Prophets being stripped down of possessions and men to show that ultimately we are totally dependent on God for anything we accomplish. That we are to say “Peace to this house!” and not to be upset when this is not returned in kind. The Gospel still has come nearer to them and everything is in God’s time. As the Lord told Samuel when they demanded a king “for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” Knock the dust off your sandals and move on.

Another facet of Jesus sending them that John Bergsma notes:

The seventy, however, are sent to Gentile and Samaritan territory, so Jesus has to instruct them explicitly on how to handle conscience issues regarding the observation of kosher laws. Gentiles did not keep kosher, and Samaritans had different kosher regulations. Jesus tells them not to be concerned about this: “eat what is set before you” (10:8) without asking questions of conscience.[1]

One aspect of the mission of these disciples is that it is accompanied by deeds of power. Besides, being commissioned to preach and heal the sick they also exorcise demons in Jesus’ name.

St. Bede, a Doctor of the Church, made this observation:

[J]ust as the number of the twelve apostles marked the beginning of the episcopal rank, it is apparent that the seventy-two disciples, who were also sent out by the Lord to preach the word, signify in their selection the lesser rank of the priesthood that is now called the presbyterate. (Bede, On the Tabernacle, 3.112; trans. A. G. Holder)

Part of today’s lectionary reading cuts out a key verse in Luke 10:16.

Returning to Brant Pitre’s commentary:

Jesus says, “He who hears you, hears me. He who rejects you, rejects me, and he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me.” Now that is probably the strongest statement of apostolic authority in the New Testament or in the Gospel (or at least one of the strongest here), because what Jesus is saying is that when he appoints someone and he sends them out to proclaim the gospel, to hear them is to hear him, and to reject a duly appointed emissary of Jesus is not just to reject Jesus, but is ultimately to reject the Father as well.[3]

After the disciples return joyfully they are amazed that “even the demons are subject to us in your name.” Jesus refocuses them into what is their ultimate goal, to be with him forever in heaven. We can rejoice in what Jesus does with us, but we can never lose sight of our final end. Every step along the way must be done in gratitude which will make that joy complete.

There are a couple of interpretations of what Jesus means by “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” There are a couple of different interpretations of what Jesus meant by this:

• That Jesus is talking about the original fall of Satan and the other angels at the dawn of creation. Also points to his pre-existence.[3]
• Another interpretation some scholars are inclined to: “Jesus is saying to the apostles, I could see spiritually what you were doing in a historical sense. I saw the demons falling from heaven as you were casting them out. I saw Satan being overcome in your exorcistic activity.”[3]

Regarding the second one, I agree with Brant Pitre “That’s a possible interpretation. I don’t think we can rule it out, but it seems to me that it doesn’t quite grasp the gravity of Jesus’ words.”

One final note from John Bergsma:

Perhaps one of the reasons deeds of power seem rare these days is the lack of bold action based on faith among those of us who call ourselves Catholic. Heaven and hell are still real. The Gospel of Jesus Christ still confronts every human being. Preaching and evangelistic mission are just as necessary now as they were two thousand years ago. This Sunday let’s pray for revival of the Church’s evangelistic zeal, beginning in our own parishes.

Catechism 787 From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings. Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion between him and those who would follow him: “Abide in me, and I in you.… I am the vine, you are the branches.” And he proclaimed a mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”[4]

Sources

• The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C – John Bergsma
• The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz
• Catholic Productions, Commentaries by Brant Pitre
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition
• Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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1. The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C, John Bergsma  ↩
2. The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz  ↩
3. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre  ↩
4. Catholic Church. (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed). United States Catholic Conference.  ↩

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Luke 9:51–62 ESV – Bible Gateway

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This begins a major section in Luke that is the beginning of the final journey to Jerusalem. He has set his face on this journey. A verse from the third servant song of Isaiah provides key background: “I have set my face like flint, / knowing that I shall not be put to shame” (Isa 50:7). Also in Ezek 21:7 “Son of man, turn your face toward Jerusalem: preach against its sanctuary, prophesy against the land of Israel.”

Brant Pitre writes:

Luke always has his eyes ultimately on the end of his gospel, which is going to be Jesus ascending into heaven. It’s not just the cross; it’s not even just the resurrection. It’s him being taken up into heaven. That’s the culmination of Jesus’ exodus that he’s going to accomplish in Jerusalem.[1]

Jesus sends messengers ahead of him to make preparations before entering a Samaritan village. It is entirely plausible that the Samaritans would be very interested in Jesus and the stories about him that had already traveled to them. The fact that his ultimate destination is Jerusalem is a barrier for them since Mt. Gerizim was established as basically a rival altar that they used instead. Historically there was already conflict between the Samaritans and Israelites over this. This conflict was on the rise. The historian Josephus wrote about Jewish pilgrims being murdered by Samaritans as they passed through and that there was a supposed plot to place human bones in the Jerusalem Temple to defile it during Passover. Likely there was also increased violence against the Samaritans themselves.

John and James react against their refusal to see them in a way once again earning the sobriquet “Sons of Thunder.” A lot is going on here as they reference calling down fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans. We can see this as a reference to Genesis 19, where God rains down fire from heaven upon the Sodom and Gomorrah, and Eli’jah calls down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice. John the Baptist has been killed, and possibly these brothers see themselves picking up John’s role in the spirit and power of Eli’jah.[2]

This question they put forth to Jesus, it seems, they expect a reply for their zeal. They have seemed to forget many messages from Jesus they had heard on their journey involving loving your neighbor. They have let their prejudice override this. It only states that Jesus rebukes them for this and that they move on to another village instead. Some early manuscripts expand Luke 9:55 to include, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of, for the Son of man came not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’”[1] Whether or not this was in the original text, it gets to the heart of why they were rebuked. The Samaritans wanted Jesus on their terms, and James and John also wanted Jesus to react on their terms.

The Gospel continues to relate two encounters with men who either wanted to follow Jesus and one where Jesus called them to follow him. They are examples of the commitment to follow Jesus unreservedly. An interesting aspect is that this also relates to Genesis 19, where Lot’s wife looks back, despite being warned not to. This also relates to the example of Eli’jah and Eli’sha with a difference. In the case of Eli’jah, he grants Eli’sha’s request to say goodbye to his parents and dispose of his property rather quickly. Jesus’ does not give the same type of request to the young man he calls to follow him. His demand supersedes even the love of parents mandated in the Old Testament. Jesus is implicitly revealing his divine identity in doing this. When God indeed calls us to do something, it supersedes all earthly attachments as it is not only meant for our good but for others. There is also a question regarding the man’s request to bury his father because it might be that his father has not yet even passed. Jesus knows us intimately and only calls us towards the good. It is straightforward for us to devise delaying tactics for his call. Delays that in everyday situations are our duty.

Discernment is involved, but once we are intellectually convinced he is calling us for something—we must respond.

Peter Kreeft comments on this passage:

God always has a good reason for asking us every single thing he asks of us. And there is no reason for us to think that we will always recognize what that good reason is. Why should we think we will? Do we think we are as wise as God is? If our God never asked us to do or endure things that we did not understand, it would not be the true God at all because that mind would be equal to our own mind.[3]

If you think Jesus is calling you to maintain a status quo with no changes required, it is not Jesus. If you hear Jesus calling you to a radical change in your life that is not comfortable or reassuring, he is leading you to eternal life.

Regarding Jesus’ comment that he has nowhere to rest, the Catechism says:

544 The kingdom belongs to the poor and lowly, which means those who have accepted it with humble hearts. Jesus is sent to “preach good news to the poor”; he declares them blessed, for “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” To them—the “little ones”—the Father is pleased to reveal what remains hidden from the wise and the learned. Jesus shares the life of the poor, from the cradle to the cross; he experiences hunger, thirst, and privation. Jesus identifies himself with the poor of every kind and makes active love toward them the condition for entering his kingdom.

Sources

• Catholic Productions, Commentaries by Brant Pitre
• The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz
• Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C
• The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C – John Bergsma
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition
• Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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1. Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre  ↩
2. Navarre, Saint Luke’s Gospel (2005)  ↩
3. Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings Year C  ↩