The Rituals

Luke 5:33-35

“33 Then they said to him, “John’s disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink.” 34 Jesus said to them, “You cannot make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”

The lives of the orthodox Jews were totally ritualized.  Ritual was religion to them.  They fasted on Mondays and Thursdays and whitened their faces so that people would know that they were in fast (the feast with Levi may have been one of thes fast days).  They offered prayers two or three times a day in the morning, at noon and in the evening.  

Jesus fasted and prayed and he taught his disciples these things, but he did not strictly observe the rituals associated with fasting and prayer.  To the Pharisees, this proved that they were not religious.  

Jesus taught that religion was more than rituals and that rituals themselves were useless if performed with a corrupted heart.

For Jesus, the most important aspect of religion was not rituals but the condition of one’s heart.  Praying, fasting, and all the other disciplines and rituals should flow from our love; our love for God, and our neighbor. 

There is a time and place for all disciples to pray, and to fast.  When these are practiced, they should not be done to reveal how holy and obedient we are, but practiced in a spirit of love, and humility.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Tax Collector’s Heart

Luke 5: 27-30

“27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And he got up, left everything, and followed him.

29 Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. 30 The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 

The tax collectors were the most hated people in Roman dominated Palestine.  The tax collector collected the money that the Romans needed to resupply and feed the very armies that oppressed them and because of this the tax collectors were regarded as traitors.

Not only this, but the tax collector was given a lot of leeway by Rome in the collection of taxes.  As long as Rome was given its share, they did not care how much over this amount the tax collector kept for himself.  And so, the tax collectors were also regarded as thieves.

We are not told why Jesus selected Matthew, but it was a decision that raised eyebrows and the concerns of the religious and non-religious alike.  And, in looking upon Matthew, they saw only a sinner who should be shunned.

Jesus, on the other hand, saw Matthew’s heart.

“Jesus answered, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.” 

(Luke 5:31-32)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Forgiveness

Luke 5: 21-26

“21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone? 22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Jesus forgave the sins of the man whose friends had lowered him through the ceiling to be healed.  Sin and suffering were closely linked in ancient Israel and Jews thought that suffering was caused by sin.  Often the person suffering felt a keen sense of sin weighing on them.

This may have been the case with this man.  Without the forgiveness of his sins, the man would not have believed he could be healed.  So, Jesus forgave him.

I have met people whose past sins weigh them down in such a way that they cannot move forward in their relationship with God.  They cannot believe that Christ can forgive them.

Christ came that all who believe and confess their sins can be forgiven.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John:1:9)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Friends

Luke 5:17-20

“17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” 

Everyone needs a friend.  Nothing is better than knowing that if you needed help at two in the morning there would be someone you could call and count on.  Good friends are a blessing given to us from God.

The paralyzed man in the scripture above had good friends who were willing to go to great lengths for him.  They were willing to carry him on a mat to Jesus to be healed.  Arriving at the house where Christ was staying, they found that the crowds were so great that they could not get near Jesus.  

Instead of giving up, they regrouped and thought of a very unorthodox way of approaching Jesus.  They went up on the roof, moved some of the tiles,  and lowered their friend down inside the house to very the feet of Jesus.

We need friends on our spiritual journey; friends who will be there when we need them; friends we can talk to about our faith; friends who will keep us on the straight and narrow… 

friends who will keep us at the feet of Christ.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Jesus the Leper

Luke 5:12-16

“12 Once, when he was in one of the cities, there was a man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” 13 Then Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do choose. Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he ordered him to tell no one. “Go,” he said, “and show yourself to the priest, and, as Moses commanded, make an offering for your cleansing, for a testimony to them.” 15 But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. 16 But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.”

Jesus touched the leper and healed him. He could have healed the leper from a distance as he did in other instances, but he chose to touch the leper.

In Jesus’ time, leprosy was a terrible disease for which there was no cure and certain death. It also meant isolation from family, friends and from society in general.  No one dared go near a leper, let alone touch one.

By touching the leper, Jesus was making himself unclean,in effect becoming a leper himself, according to Jewish law, until He was ritually cleaned.  

Through the touch of Christ, the leper was made whole physically, socially, and spiritually.  

May we all experience the touch of Christ’s hand.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Go Into the Deep

Luke 5: 4-11

“4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.”

Peter and his fishing partners, James and John had fished all night long and were cleaning their nets, putting them up when Jesus came along.  After preaching to the crowd on shore, Jesus told Peter to go out into deep water and put down the nets.  

Peter was an experienced fisherman.  He knew when the fish were not biting and when they were.  He knew when to quit and when to go out.  Yet here was a Rabi telling him how and when to fish.

Peter listened to Christ.  Even though he was tired.  Even though he was frustrated.  Even though it did not make sense.  And they caught so many fish they nearly sank the boat.

Christ came to fill our spiritual lives to overflowing.  And, though we may be tired and frustrated, Christ calls us to go into the deep water with Him…

and to put down the nets.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Familiar and the Unfamiliar

Luke 5:1-3

“1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.”

Christ, looking for a way to preach to the large crowds that were pressing in on him, approached Simon, whose mother-in-law he had recently healed, and asked him to take his boat out just offshore.  

From the boat, Jesus taught the crowd on the shore about the kingdom of God and God’s forgiveness of sins.

Jesus was an improviser; willing to use the things of ordinary life in his parables and sermons; and here we see Him using a fishing boat in order to deliver a message to a large crowd.

Jesus was willing to try different methods, to use the familiar and the unfamiliar… 

for the sake of the gospel.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)