Lenten Readings February 25th, 2016

Reading Guide for Lent

Each day read the Gospel passage for the day and the Psalm passage for the day (you can read them all at once or do one reading in the morning and one in the evening) and use the reflection questions to help process the passage.

The 14th day of Lent

Thursday February 25th, 2016

Gospel Reading:  Luke 14

Jesus at a Pharisee’s House

14      One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. ²There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. ³Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” ⁴But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

⁵Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” ⁶And they had nothing to say.

⁷When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: ⁸“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. ⁹If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. ¹¹For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

¹²Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The Parable of the Great Banquet

¹⁵When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed are those who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁶Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

¹⁸“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

¹⁹“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

²⁰“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

²¹“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

²²“ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

²³“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”

The Cost of Being a Disciple

²⁵Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even life itself—such a person cannot be my disciple. ²⁷And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

²⁸“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

³¹“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³²If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. ³³In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

³⁴“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? ³⁵It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version. 2005. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Reflection Questions:

1. In verses 1-5 Jesus has a conflict about healing on the Sabbath (On the Sabbath people do not doing any work).  What did Jesus want the people there to understand about healing on the Sabbath?
2. Jesus then began teaching in parables.  Parables are stories that illustrate a point.  What is the point of each parable?
3. How do these parables relate to the first story of healing on the Sabbath?  (think about who is getting in the party).
4. Starting in verse 25 Jesus gives a “hard” teaching.  What does it take to be Jesus’ disciple?
5. How does the parables of building a tower or going to war help us understand how serious it is to become a disciple of Jesus?
6. How do verses 34 and 35 help us understand this hard teaching?
7. The passage ends with the phrase “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”  This is used to say – think deeply about these things – it is important.

Psalm Reading:  Psalm 36

Psalm 36

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord.

¹I have a message from God in my heart

concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:

There is no fear of God

before their eyes.

²In their own eyes they flatter themselves

too much to detect or hate their sin.

³The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful;

they have ceased to be wise and to do good.

⁴Even on their beds they plot evil;

they commit themselves to a sinful course

and do not reject what is wrong.

⁵Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the skies.

⁶Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,

your justice like the great deep.

You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.

⁷How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!

People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

⁸They feast on the abundance of your house;

you give them drink from your river of delights.

⁹For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light we see light.

¹⁰Continue your love to those who know you,

your righteousness to the upright in heart.

¹¹May the foot of the proud not come against me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

¹²See how the evildoers lie fallen—

thrown down, not able to rise!

Reflection Questions:

1. This Psalm begins talking about the wicked but in verse 5 it switches to God’s faithfulness.  How does it describe God’s faithfulness and goodness?
2. What is the feast (banquet) like in God’s house?  (vs. 8 and 9 especially)
3. How does this banquet help us understand the parables of Jesus in Luke 14?
4. Why is this feast worth the cost of discipleship?