The 7th chapter of Luke may seem to be just
filled with more stories of Jesus healing people and bringing some back from
death. He heals the servant of a Roman
soldier – the Centurion. If that seems strange, it may seem even more strange
that Luke describes the soldier as one who is a good man who believes in the
things Jesus is doing. He brings a widow’s
only son back to life right from his funeral procession! The ministry of Jesus had already included
lots of similar events. Those were miracles
to all who observed them … and told the stories over and over.
In this chapter, though, Luke puts heavy focus on the sinful
woman who came to wash the feet of Jesus.
It is possible that this woman was Mary Magdalene. Many believe that Mary Magdalene was a
prostitute, which made her approach to Jesus even more important. She goes
to him in complete humility, admitting her sins, attesting to her love of
Christ. Jesus forgives her sins. There is no Biblical text that defines Mary
Magdalene as a prostitute. This is
something that was “created” long after she walked with the disciples,
following Jesus. Here again, Luke recognizes
the significance of a woman.
Luke leaves us with a big question in our minds, as we
read this chapter. John the Baptist sent
a couple of his followers to question Jesus.
They told Jesus that John wanted to know if He was in fact the Messiah. The implication is that John questioned the
fact that Jesus hadn’t bailed him out of his mess with Herod and his
imprisonment. There are Bible scholars
who believe the timing of John’s beheading and Jesus’ crucifixion is
misrepresented in the Gospels. Had Jesus
already been crucified and resurrected prior to John’s death? Other scholars suggest that God doesn’t
always relieve us from our misfortunes, therefore John had to deal with
his. This is a question I will have when
I get to Heaven, unless Daddy sends me an answer sooner! He and I certainly had this debate more than
a few times … just as we debated the notion that Mary Magdalene was more to
Jesus than a follower!
I’ll leave you with those two tidbits!
My take-away from this chapter is that it is
absolutely ok for us to not understand everything that happens during our life’s
journey. I’ll mention again that I was
taught from early childhood that everything that happens in life was planned by
God at the beginning of time. That is a
huge concept, but I don’t doubt it. I
was also taught that everything that happens in life, happens for a
reason. If I ever doubted that, and I
don’t remember a time when I doubted that, I certainly believe it now. I have lived long enough to become wise
and it is clear to me that some of my experiences that might not have been
perfectly comfortable … have led to things that were indeed incredibly
positive. I also believe that I still
have time to have experiences that will further confirm that concept.
Let’s Cook!
I’ve mentioned my dad in a couple of my blog posts
about Luke! My parents were good Bible
teachers, but my dad was especially good with children. He taught junior high boys in Sunday School
for many years, and in the opening of each Sunday morning, all classes spent
some time together. I was proud of my
dad always, but one of the best things I ever heard him tell was this story:
“We want you to come to Sunday School no matter
what. If you think your clothes aren’t
nice enough, know that we don’t care and we’ll help you get some new
clothes. If you don’t have
transportation to get here, tell us and somebody will pick you up and bring
you. If you think you need a hair cut,
tell us and we’ll get you one from our church member barber!” The best part of his brief message was this,
“When I was a little boy, my family didn’t have any money. I was invited to Sunday School and the first
time I went, I had a nickel to put in the offering. The second time I went, I had another nickel
to put in. The third Sunday I went, I
didn’t have any money to put in the offering and the teacher asked me where was
my money. I didn’t go to Sunday School
for the 4th time.” Daddy
went on to tell all the kids that they didn’t need money to put in the offering
… they should just come to Sunday School.
I have inherited his story-telling gene, and I am blessed!
He loved pie …
all kinds of pie!
Easy Impossible Buttermilk Pie
Please follow this link to the recipe on my blog!
