Luke 11:34

"Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness."

My old pair of glasses was made of a special flexible material which was designed to protect them from damage. I took great pleasure in scrunching them up and folding them over – until one day they snapped right across the bridge between the two lenses. (As it happens, I was in the middle of a prayer meeting at the time, and everyone who heard them break looked up and burst out laughing. How embarrassing!)

The good news was that I was able to make my way back to my room and get some contact lenses in. The bad news was that I had to buy some new glasses!

My eyesight is fairly poor, and I really do rely on my glasses or contacts to do most things. Without them, I would not be able to read, cook safely, ride my bike, or recognise my friends. I know something of what Jesus means when he talks about unhealthy eyes in today’s reading.

But there is another dimension to this section of Luke’s gospel. Although Luke was a doctor, he did not include this episode in order to dispense ophthalmic advice. Rather, he was demonstrating the spiritual blindness of those who opposed Jesus.

Jesus is the light of the world, and he is no less light for our lives! If we know him and trust in him, our whole bodies and lives will be full of his light. But if we reject him or ignore his words, our lives will be dark because of our spiritual blindness. The great news is that Jesus longs to shine his light into our lives – will you let him? What dark recesses are you keeping hidden? Ask God to shine his life-giving light into you today.

Luke 11:9

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

I recently had a conversation with a friend about times we had been lost. We went on for ages, each telling increasingly embarrassing stories about predicaments we had found ourselves in. He had gone for a lunchtime stroll and returned to work over two hours and several miles later. I had walked so far out of a small city that there were no longer any road signs pointing me back. I am secretly quite proud that I have been lost in almost every city I have ever visited.

Despite being lost so frequently, I have never overcome my shame enough to ask for directions. I wonder how many hours of my life I have spent, and how much time I have spent in a mild panic, because I will not ask for help!

I don’t just bury my head in the sand when I’m geographically lost, though. I sometimes feel disoriented in a spiritual sense. There are things I struggle to understand, or struggle to come to terms with. If you ever feel like that, today’s reading should be a great encouragement.

Jesus uses an ‘if this, then how much more that’ kind of argument to show that he loves to respond to those who call out to him. If we ask, we receive; if we seek, we find; if we knock the door will be opened. It’s no accident that this follows the Lord’s Prayer, which as he taught us is directed to the Father. This is a relational, family prayer. It is asked of the hallowed God who is a loving father. What greater impetus could there be to call out to God, when we know that he is our loving father who longs to give things to us, to find us when we are lost, and to open the door to us when we knock?

Luke 10:29

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Today’s reading contains one of the most famous passages in the whole Bible – in fact, it is one of the best-known short stories of all time. We speak frequently of being a ‘good Samaritan’, and it is right that we should think through how to embody Jesus’ teaching here. ‘Go and do likewise’, he says, so we go looking for ‘neighbours’ to be good to.

We wonder who the 21st century British equivalent of a battered Samaritan on the Jericho Road might be. The homeless? The international student? The moral reprobate? We can all spare our two denarii for them, I don’t doubt, but I can’t help but think that if we are asking who our neighbour is we have missed the whole point of the parable.

The expert the law was seeking to justify himself by pressing Jesus for exactly that answer. He knew the law inside out, and made social capital out of deciding which parts applied in which contexts. He used the law as a tool to condemn others and bolster his pride and self-sufficiency before God. He wanted to know who he should be good towards so he asked who his neighbour was.

Jesus’ answer shows that the expert was asking completely the wrong question! No, Jesus explained, it is not about who your neighbour is but how you can be a good neighbour.

This expert in the law needed to hear that it does not matter if you are a Priest or a Levite if you will not assist someone in need. The most morally impoverished, spiritually unlikely character in the story embodies Jesus’ will while the professionals failed to put purpose to their knowledge of God and his scriptures.

An expert in the law needed to hear that some 2000 years ago, and we need to hear it today. We need to know that Jesus did not send us into the world to calculate who is worthy of our resources, time or assistance. Rather, he sent us to proclaim his gospel and act in a godly, good-neighbourly way with the same kind of indiscriminate grace he has shown us. Praise God for calling neighbours and disciples, not law-makers and self-appointed juries!

Luke 10:21

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

I sometimes find reading the gospels a bit like following a Doctor Who fan site. Everywhere you turn there seem to be spoiler alerts. Sometimes Jesus says something in public and something more specific in private. Sometimes he says things cannot be known yet. Once in a while he even instructs people not to tell anyone what he said or did to them! What are we to make of all this secrecy?

New Testament scholars talk about the ‘Messianic Secret’ in Mark’s gospel, in particular. Mark baked into his narrative a progressive unfolding of the news about Jesus, where his disciples are fairly clueless about his identity until Peter wonderfully proclaims that he is the Messiah in chapter 8. This narrative device fits brilliantly with Mark’s portrayal of Jesus, and matches well with everything else the Bible teaches us of God – he reveals himself in his own way, in his own time, to his own people.

Today’s reading is all about how people respond to the message of Jesus, and it gets to the very heart of what it means to know God. Knowing God is not about being clever or knowing smart arguments, or being able to reference the messianic secret in Mark’s gospel. Far from it – knowing God is about approaching him as children, humbly trusting in his goodness.

Picking up the theme of blessings and woes which we saw earlier in Luke’s gospel, Jesus blasts those who do not follow him for their disobedience while blessing his followers.

Don’t despair today if you feel inadequate before God, for it pleases the Father to reveal himself to little children, those who will respond rightly to his words. But if you trust in your own situation, your wisdom and learning, today’s reading is a stark warning against your pride. It pleases the Father to reveal himself to those who approach him as children, so let’s approach him today as those confident in his blessings and thankful for his work in our lives.

Luke 9:60

Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

If you’re following our Daily Readings sequentially, you’ll see that we are back in Luke’s gospel for the second half. After a few weeks away, I had forgotten just how punchy Luke was. He shows Jesus to be a true radical, a real counter-cultural teacher. If we sometimes think of Jesus in collages and applique, today’s reading brings us back down to earth with a gritty reminder that following Jesus is a shocking pursuit. Jesus’ three responses in verses 57-62 show just how distinctive the Christian life is.

Firstly, it is a restless way of life. As Christians we can never be settled or complacent. We may not undertake an itinerant preaching ministry like Jesus, but we keep moving in our own ways. We keep looking out for our neighbours; keep praying for our enemies; keep building up the church; keep growing in our knowledge of God; keep witnessing to the world.

Secondly, it is a living faith. The gospel is not about death, but life. The Christian life is focussed on the resurrection of Jesus and the hope of eternal glory. As we fix our eyes on the new creation, we know that the death and destruction of this world will not amount to any eternal significance. What counts for eternity is the gospel of Jesus Christ who rose from the grave to save us from our spiritual death.

Thirdly, it is ruthless towards those things which might keep us from worshipping God. The weeds of this life can come and tangle us, distracting us from God and his mission. We can easily become slowed down and preoccupied by the cares of this world. Let’s keep a radical focus on the gospel today, the living hope of glory.

Genesis 26:9-10

So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

History repeats itself, so the saying goes. There is little evidence to back up the theory in geo-political terms because history keeps marching on. Times change, decisive events occur, and the world changes as a result. On a smaller scale, though, patterns of behaviour seem to cycle almost ad infinitum. Destructive lifestyles and other patterns of sin are plain to see all around us. But while Isaac gives us an example of history repeating itself in a negative way, he gives us hope because of the ongoing mission of God in history.

In today’s reading, Isaac finds himself following in his father’s footsteps. He fears for his own safety so risks inviting improper relations between his wife and the Philistines. Back in chapter 20, Abraham had pulled the same trick in order to protect himself, and his son had clearly not learned the lessons of history. How often do we let history repeat itself in a destructive way when we do not learn from times past? The Bible contains plenty of examples of the mistakes of fallen men, like Isaac today, which can act as lessons for our personal ethics.

There is great hope in today’s passage, though. Despite Isaac repeating the mistakes of his father’s generation, God is hard at work across the generations to bring Abraham and Isaac’s family to him. He speaks to Isaac to reaffirm the promise he had made: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham”. God’s mission is not stunted by Isaac’s deception just as it was not by Abraham’s. Rather, God is working without ceasing to fulfil his promise to Abraham. So we can take great comfort today in the knowledge that God is not limited by our sin, but is able to overcome it in order to bring us to a right and loving relationship with him.

Genesis 25:21

Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

Isaac had been a miracle child. His parents were a century old at the time of his birth, which is a staggering age to start a family. In our terms, it would be like a couple at an ante-natal class making small talk with “where were you when Franz Ferdinand was shot?” God intervened in their lives to give them a son. In today’s reading, God again intervenes in the same family tree to usher in a new generation.

When reading the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob it is easy to forget God’s hand in their affairs. Their family relations break down. They trick, cheat and lie. It can feel as though they stumble through the generations with a careless disregard for God’s word or his plan. But God is never far from this story.

God intervenes to usher in each new generation. He is utterly committed to this family; from the moment he calls Abraham to the present day he has cared for every one of Abraham’s sons. He has brought about miracles to bring them into the world, and has worked through them to bring countless people to salvation and an eternal relationship with him.

Often, God intervenes despite their behaviour to bring about his purposes. In today’s reading, God intervenes because of Isaac’s behaviour. He prayed for children and God answered his prayer. How often do we try to do in our own power what only God can do? Let us turn to God in prayer and commit our affairs to him, trusting in him complete every work he has begun in us.

Genesis 24:12

Then he prayed, “LORD, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

How do you fare when you are set a difficult task? I don’t mean an “Ooh, make me a cuppa, would you?” sort of request – more a “find my son a wife” kind of challenge. I struggle with diplomacy at the best of times, so I suspect I would have tried to pass the job off to someone more suitable, whoever that might be. Abraham’s senior servant was set an unenviable task in today’s reading, but he rose admirably to the challenge. He did three things which act as excellent guides to how we ought to conduct ourselves with the tasks we have to conduct today.

Firstly, he prayed. The servant knew that his task was spiritually significant, so he brought it before God before he undertook to finding Isaac a wife. If we were asked to do such significant things today, I suspect we would turn to God in prayer. But what of the more mundane tasks which we have to deal with each day? What of that project at work which has been a nightmare? Or the tricky essay? Or the awkward conversation you know you need to have with your boss? God hears all our prayers and loves for us to meet him in prayer. As the hymn has it: O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Secondly, he asked for success. The servant was not seeking promotion or attempting to curry favour. He did not want success in order to make himself look good. Instead, he wanted to honour God in what he had been asked to do. Are you trying to do a good job because of the career prospects, or are you trying to worship God as you act with integrity in every aspect of your life?

Finally, he prayed for his master. The servant did not see his master as a means to an end. Abraham was not just the source of his income and his social security – rather, he held a deep affection for him. He sought to honour God by respecting Abraham’s authority and seeking to please him by fulfilling the task lovingly. We can often absorb society’s views of hierarchy and class struggle unquestioningly, but this servant reminds us that we need not be so antagonistic. Let us respect those in authority over us, seeking to honour God as we honour them. Then we shall be successful today.

Genesis 23:14-16

Ephron answered Abraham, “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.

In some ways, what today’s reading describes is a typical business transaction. Abraham is the model customer. He is in need of a cave and he wants to pay a fair price to the owner for it. The sale goes through successfully; money changes hands and Abraham is able to bury his wife.

The two main characters are quite unusual, however, meaning that this transaction was far from typical. Firstly, Ephron’s spirit of generosity is instantly noticeable. Even the most kind-hearted of my acquaintances, who might not think twice about giving away their last Rolo, would not offer to give away a slice of land worth 4.6 kilograms of silver. Ephron was happy to lose out financially in order to help Abraham in his difficult circumstances, asking, “What is that between you and me?” How often do we exhibit this kind of generosity? How often do we harbour grudges which set us at odds with people? How often do we seek our own gain instead of attempting to aid others?

Secondly, Abraham acted with integrity. He could have sought a grand burial plot, but he opted for a modest cave in a field. He could have abused his position or pulled strings to acquire the cave without paying, but he made sure to pay a fair price for it. I am reminded of a fantastic scene in the West Wing, where the President’s secretary, Mrs Landingham, causes consternation by paying the full advertised price for a car. Even though most customers would expect to receive some sort of discount from the dealership, for her it was a matter of integrity to pay the advertised price. Abraham’s issue was much more important. He had been promised the land which he was buying, and he trusted that one day his descendants would inherit it. But until that day, he knew that it was not his to own unless fairly purchased.

Let’s take up the example of these two men today. Let’s follow Ephron in his generosity of spirit, and also Abraham in his principled integrity.

Genesis 22:7-8

Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

What do you think of when you read this story of Abraham and Isaac? Our responses tend to fall into one of two categories. Some see Abraham’s behaviour as barbaric. After all, he was knowingly leading his son to his death, intending to kill him as a sacrifice. Others see it as a poignant act of faith. Having been promised a child by God, having fathered him at a miraculous age, having been promised that a nation would descend from him, and knowing that God had not yet failed him, Abraham naturally trusted God that he would act rightly.

If you read this story as one of faith, you are in good company. The writer to the Hebrews explicitly calls Abraham out for his faith:

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. (Hebrews 11:17-19)

Abraham trusted in God’s word to him. He knew that Isaac would be OK because God is a promise-keeper. Things looked bleak, certainly, and I suspect tensions were high after the perceptive Isaac commented that the lamb was conspicuous by its absence. But the incident teaches us about the nature of true sacrifice. It usually looks as if all is lost, and it is certainly painful. But it is always a good thing.

This sacrifice of a lamb in place of an only child also points us brilliantly forward to the sacrifice of God’s only son in the place of the world. His disciples tried to resist his arrest; they exhorted him not to fall into the hands of his enemies. He went to his death, however, in the knowledge that his sacrifice would be sufficient for the sins of the world and that he would rise victorious over the grave. Praise God for Jesus the Lamb of God today!