Lent 2. 2016 February 27th - the Prodigal Son

27^th February

 

(C)Br Luke Efo 2010

Scripture: Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32
¹ Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him. ² The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.”
³ He told them this parable.
¹¹ He said, “A certain man had two sons. ¹²  The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ He divided his livelihood between them. ¹³  Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and travelled into a far country. There he wasted his property with riotous living. ¹⁴  When he had spent all of it, there arose a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵  He went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶  He wanted to fill his belly with the husks that the pigs ate, but no one gave him any. ¹⁷  But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger! ¹⁸  I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. ¹⁹  I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.” ’
²⁰  “He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. ²¹  The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
²²  “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. ²³  Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let’s eat, and celebrate; ²⁴  for this, my son, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ Then they began to celebrate.
²⁵  “Now his elder son was in the field. As he came near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶  He called one of the servants to him, and asked what was going on. ²⁷  He said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and healthy.’ ²⁸  But he was angry, and would not go in. Therefore his father came out, and begged him. ²⁹  But he answered his father, ‘Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed a commandment of yours, but you never gave me a goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰  But when this your son came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
³¹  “He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³²  But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ ”



Reflection:
We have come to know this passages of scripture as the parable of the Prodigal Son.
The father was moved by compassion, by forgiveness and celebrated the return of the son he had thought was lost.  Notice the eldest son was still to inherit everything, the younger son was not going to have part of his brother’s estate given to him.  The father was not focused on material possessions- but the eldest son was.  The father had responded from love, the angry, eldest son from what he thought was his entitlement.
Are there times when we behave like the eldest son?

Your thoughts:

Lent 2. February 26th- times in our lives

26^th February

 

(C)Br. Luke Efo 2010

Scripture: Matthew 21: 33-46

³³  “Hear another parable. There was a man who was a master of a household, who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower, leased it out to farmers, and went into another country. ³⁴  When the season for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the farmers, to receive his fruit. ³⁵  The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶  Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they treated them the same way. ³⁷  But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸  But the farmers, when they saw the son, said amongst themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and seize his inheritance.’ ³⁹  So they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰  When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”

⁴¹ They told him, “He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will lease out the vineyard to other farmers, who will give him the fruit in its season.”

⁴² Yeshua said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,

‘The stone which the builders rejected

was made the head of the corner.

This was from the Lord.

It is marvellous in our eyes?’

⁴³  “Therefore I tell you, God’s Kingdom will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing its fruit. ⁴⁴  He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it will fall, it will scatter him as dust.”

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke about them. ⁴⁶ When they sought to seize him, they feared the multitudes, because they considered him to be a prophet.

Reflection:

There are probably times in our lives when we are like the “wicked tenants”, And other times when we are the vineyard owner’s servants. What moves us from one group to another? The people we are with, some event that causes us to doubt/believe, an experience of grace, a loss, a miracle? The list is probably endless. Look back on your journey, see if you can find the times when you were a “wicked tenant”. Do you know why?

Your thoughts:

Lent 2. February 25th - If they don’t listen to Moses

February 25th

(C) Br. Luke Efo  2010

Scripture: Luke 16: 19-31

¹⁹  “Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. ²⁰  A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores, ²¹  and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²²  The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. ²³  In Sheol, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. ²⁴  He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’

²⁵  “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted, and you are in anguish. ²⁶  Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may cross over from there to us.’

²⁷  “He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house; ²⁸  for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’

²⁹  “But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen to them.’

³⁰  “He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

³¹  “He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’ ”

Reflection:

If they don't listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’ Sometimes no matter what we say and do, people will still not want to listen or indeed to hear. They will not see or understand that the chasm which separated the rich man from Lazarus existed in life, and continued after death. While the rich man ignored the chasm in life, he could not do so in death. When he was alive, the rich man had a chance to be compassionate, to help Lazarus - but he chose to do the opposite. While it can be incredibly frustrating and distressing to see people ignore this chasm and ignore compassion, we can’t force them to listen and act.  So hand them over to God and allow the Spirit to do the work.  Can you?

Your thoughts:

Lent 2. 24th February-Here is the command to serve others

 Here is the command to serve others


February 24th 2016

(C) Br Luke Efo 2010

 
Scripture: Matthew 20: 17-28

As Yeshua was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸  “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, ¹⁹  and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, and to crucify; and the third day he will be raised up.”
²⁰ Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking a certain thing of him. ²¹ He said to her, “What do you want?”
She said to him, “Command that these, my two sons, may sit, one on your right hand, and one on your left hand, in your Kingdom.”
²² But Yeshua answered, “You don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be immersed with the immersion that I am immersed with?”
They said to him, “We are able.”
²³ He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, and be immersed with the immersion that I am immersed with, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it is for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
²⁴ When the ten heard it, they were indignant with the two brothers.
²⁵ But Yeshua summoned them, and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ²⁶  It shall not be so amongst you, but whoever desires to become great amongst you shall be your servant. ²⁷  Whoever desires to be first amongst you shall be your bondservant, ²⁸  even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Reflection:

Here is the command to serve others. To set aside the ego that wants to always be first, at the front, in charge, in control, with the power. The ego often does not want to serve, to be subject to the needs of others. When we allow our egos to remain unchecked, we start to believe that others should serve us. We make demands on them that are intended to only meet our needs and our desires. When we do this then we have forgotten that Jesus focused us on the need to serve others and not to rule over them.  How is your ego?

Your thoughts:

Lent 2. 23rd February -The greatest amongst you will be your servant

23^rd February

(C)Br. Luke Efo 2010

Scripture: Matthew 23: 1-12

¹ Then Yeshua spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, ² saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sat on Moses’ seat. ³ All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do. ⁴ For they bind heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them. ⁵ But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their tefillin broad, enlarge the fringes of their garments, ⁶ and love the place of honour at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by men. ⁸ But don’t you be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your Rabbi, the Messiah, and all of you are brothers. ⁹ Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Messiah. ¹¹ But he who is greatest amongst you will be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Reflection:

“The greatest amongst you will be your servant.” To be a servant requires at least 2 things: someone to serve and a willingness to serve others – to be the servant. Have a look around you, how many servants do you know? Can you see how, and who, they are serving? Are you serving with them? Is there, perhaps, someone serving you?

Your thoughts:

Lent 2. February 22nd Therefore be merciful

(C)Br. Luke Efo 2010

Scripture: Luke 6: 36-38

³⁶  “Therefore be merciful,
even as your Father is also merciful.
³⁷  Don’t judge,
and you won’t be judged.
Don’t condemn,
and you won’t be condemned.
Set free,
and you will be set free.
³⁸  “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.”
Reflection:

“Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful”. When we want some rule, or our own sense of justice, to be applied, then mercy will not be seen or even considered. I’m sure we can all cite examples where mercy was viewed as unimportant when some dogma or doctrine was being defended or proposed. The impact this dogma/doctrine would have on human lives and relationships, was not considered, it did not matter than we were not being merciful?  Perhaps this is because we like to focus on the negative, on the bad, on the sensational, on the error, or failures of others. We don’t concern ourselves with what measure we may get, we just want to limit the measure given to the others. Notice anything wrong with that approach?
Your thoughts:

Lent 2. 21st February Think of the Owner of the Garden as God

21^st February

(C) Br. Luke Efo 2010

Scripture: Luke 13:1-9

¹ Now there were some present at the same time who told him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² Yeshua answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered such things? ³  I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way. ⁴  Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them; do you think that they were worse offenders than all the men who dwell in Jerusalem? ⁵  I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.”

⁶ He spoke this parable. “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none. ⁷  He said to the vine dresser, ‘Behold, these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Cut it down. Why does it waste the soil?’ ⁸  He answered, ‘Lord, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilise it. ⁹  If it bears fruit, fine; but if not, after that, you can cut it down.’ ”

Reflection:

Think of the Owner of the Garden as God, Jesus as the Gardner and ourselves as the Fig Tree. Sometimes in the way we live our lives, or our vocations, we can/could just be wasting the soil. Yet if we allow Jesus to nurture us, we will find that we can produce a harvest. It can be a plentiful harvest, but we will have to trust and allow the fertilising, the nurturing, to take place. This often means letting go of our egos, and this can be hard. Consider though, the alternative is not really a place of happiness.

Your thoughts: