The Way of Love

Luke 10:24-11:13

One of the formative television series from my past is the Kung Fu series with David Carradine. In the opening credits each week, we saw the young 'Grasshopper' learning the Kung Fu secrets of his Master. He spent his days training to be like the Master in a Buddhist monastery. It was a rigorous life of discipline and teaching; modelling and serving. The apprentice's life was dedicated to becoming like the master-- able to snatch the stone out of his hand with eyes closed. It was kind of Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobe stuff. The way of the master is only for those continue to choose it, day after day. Becoming 'as the Master' is their driving passion-- the quest of a lifetime.

The idea is perhaps a little lost in our culture. Not just the King-fu thing, but becoming 'as the master' through a lifetime of discipline and learning. Perhaps this is because we see no one cause as big enough or worthy of dedicating our life to it. We prefer to take a bit of this and a bit of that-- not wanting to miss out on something. Everything in moderation is our creed. Why? Because no one thing captivates us, seems worth putting all our resources into [1] . We are like the merchant before he finds the pearl of great price [2] .

So here's the thing: the more we look at Jesus in Luke's gospel, the more we realise that Jesus meant people to put aside everything else to follow him. This is ultimately what being a Christian is. It is following Jesus the Master. We make ourselves his apprentices, his servants.

Putting it this way helps us. It means that when some one says, 'I believe in Jesus.' We can reply, 'That's wonderful, but who is your Master?' You see, I believe in Martin Luther King, Peter Garrett and the Queen of England—but my life is mostly unaffected by them. To be a 'Christian' means Jesus is your Master and you have become his apprentice [3] .

Last week Jaime introduced us to this part of Luke's gospel as 'boot camp' for Jesus-followers.  The journey towards Jerusalem with Jesus shows that following him will mean rejection and will require unrivalled commitment. And so, when we have learned the lesson that following the King is not an easy or a casual thing, we are now ready to learn what it will mean in a more positive sense.  Following the King means following the way of love.  That is, if we imagine ourself to be the young 'Grasshopper', or perhaps Luke Skywalker, or any other acolyte: we are devotees of Jesus' life of love.

This passage from Luke 10-11 shows three incidents carefully placed next to each other by Luke. They are meant to work together, to resonate with each other and bounce off one another, to show us how 'Following the King' is the way of Love. The first incident concerns a lawyer to whom Jesus addressed the parable of the 'Good Samaritan' in 10:30-37.  We see here that the way of Love means loving our neighbour.

Then, in chapter 11 Luke shows Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray . Prayer, especially bold prayers of faith, are an expression of Love for God. It is what Jesus' followers are to do.

And wedged in between these two other incidents, these two teaching moments for apprentices, if I can call them that, we meet Martha and Mary . What's that about? All we are told is that Martha chose what is better. What does that mean? Well that's one of the questions we want to explore as we look closely at this passage now.

The Lawyer and The Way of Love (Luke 10:25-29)

Jesus' first interaction is with a lawyer who wants to score points at Jesus' expense.  He tries to put Jesus on trial, but by the end of the interaction, we realise that Jesus has put him to the test instead.

Have a look at Luke 10, verses 24 and following, with me:

^{Luke 10:25} On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.  'Teacher,' he asked,  'what must I do to inherit eternal life?' ^{Luke 10:26}  'What is written in the Law?' he replied.  'How do you read it?'

^{Luke 10:27} He answered: ''Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and,  'Love your neighbour as yourself.''

^{Luke 10:28}  'You have answered correctly,' Jesus replied.  'Do this and you will live.'  

The question about eternal life was a fairly typical kind of question that experts in the Jewish Law would use to start off a sparring match-- a sort of lawyers game of one-up-manship. But Jesus simply turns the question back on the expert, who answers straight from the Old Testament [4] . And it's a good answer, too-- the correct answer, as Jesus says in verse 28. But following Jesus is not just about having the correct answers. Look at what Jesus then says to the expert in the Law: he says "Do this and you will live."

Following Jesus means that we actually do Love God with everything we have. The expression in verse 27, 'with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' is a stylised way of referring to your entire self. It's not as though we aren't called to love God with our emotions or our will, just because they are not on the list [5] . The expression uses 'the parts'when it means to refer to our whole being. We are to love God with everything we've got, with all that we are and all that we can muster. But here's the point: knowing the right answer counts for nothing. Jesus says, 'Do this, and you will live.'

And the same is true for anyone who wants to be with Jesus. Following the King is the Way of Love—where you do more that just talk about it, you do it. This is the message that we see running through each of Jesus' interactions with the Lawyer, with Martha and Mary, and also with his disciples as he teaches them about prayer.

The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-39)

And to make that abundantly clear, that's why Jesus tells the lawyer the parable of the Good Samaritan in verses 30-37. The expert in the Law wanted to justify himself, he wanted to prove himself righteous. So he says, "You tell me, Jesus, who is my neighbour." [6]

Remember that, on their road trip to Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples have already had a run in with some Samaritans. Back in Lk 10:52, when they found out that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, the Samaritans refused to welcome Jesus. James and John were so offended, they wanted God to annihilate them on the spot; they wanted to call down fire from heaven on those horrible Samaritans. Jews and Samaritans hated each other, had done for centuries and they still do—we just call them Israelis and Palestinians nowadays.

So Jesus tells the parable, which we know so well—but look at how it finishes. Verses 36-37:

^{Luke 10:36}  'Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?'

^{Luke 10:37} The expert in the law replied,  'The one who had mercy on him.'

Jesus told him,  'Go and do likewise.'

Notice again the repetition of Jesus' command, 'Go and do likewise'. Following the King doesn't just mean having all the right answers. Do it: love your neighbour.

One of the assumptions that we usually make about the parable of the Good Samaritan is that it's all about charity. We instantly think of red-cross donations and putting our worn out clothes into 'Good Samaritan' Clothing Bins. We tend to think of the under privileged--perhaps tinged with guilt--and we might resolve to be a bit more generous to some homeless person. Now if that's what we're thinking, I want to suggest that we need to think again and we need to do so on three counts.

i.         We need to think harder about the need of the victim;

ii.       We need to think about what motivates the Samaritan to do as he did; and,

iii.     And we need to look closely at Jesus' words to the lawyer.

First of all, what was the need of the man that the Samaritan came to help?  In verse 30 he is 'half-dead', literally somewhere between life and death. If nothing is done, this man will surely die. His time is running out. Our neighbours, whom we are to love, don't just need some bandages and second-hand clothes. They need practical love and care that goes beyond the immediate.

As western-middle class Christians we are very good at out-sourcing this kind of thing. Someone has a need? OK, let's call LinC or Anglicare and they can deal with it. I wonder if this out-sourcing be a bit of a cop out at times?

Do you know LinC? It stands for Love in the Name of Christ. There are volunteers from our church and others in the area who give their time to being a neighbour. LinC is simply an umbrella organization to coordinate their efforts. Perhaps you'd like to talk to Elaine Gouldthorpe (she's our LinC coordinator) or call LinC direct (their phone number is on the brochures / on the screen).

But what happens when you call the LinC number? Elaine picks up the phone and takes the details. That's the easy bit. The hard bit is her next phone call. Who will be a neighbour? Who will make the time? (I'm sure the Samaritan had some business being on that road that day—he wasn't just cruising around looking for strangers to help). If your phone rings, will you see a challenge to your carefully planned schedule or an opportunity serve, to be a neighbour, to follow the way of Love?The need is real, and it won't go away.

Next, look at what motivated the Samaritan.  This is the second thing to think about. Both the Priest and the Levite 'saw' the victim but their response was to walk on by. In verse 33, the Samaritan also 'sees' the victim but he is moved by compassion. He feels for the victim. He sees that he really is half-dead, and instead of running away, he loves him as neighbour.

Which of your friends and colleagues need you to be a neighbour? Take a moment to think.

And now, third,  look closely at Jesus' words to the lawyer. He has redefined the question. The lawyer began with, 'Who is my neighbour?' That is to ask, 'What limits are there to love?' Now Jesus asks, 'Which man acted as a neighbour?' That is to say, 'There are no limits on love. You don't define who is your neighbour; instead you must be one!

Jesus' boot camp is meant to change your life. Instead of protecting ourselves from hurt or harm, instead of cocooning ourselves with luxuries or distracting ourselves with trivia, Jesus calls us to love others without limit. It is in the practical stuff—in the horizontal relationships on this earth that we demonstrate that we really are following the King. That is the way of love. Our love for God must be expressed through love for neighbours. Elsewhere in the Bible we read:

^{1John 4:20} If anyone says,  'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

So God's Way of Love is clear.

Prayer: the arena of love (Luke 11:1-13)

Of course, being follower of Jesus is not just altruism or philanthropy. God is central.  Our love for him is the reason we love others. This relationship with our Father is at the heart of being a disciple—the vertical dimension, if you will.

And that's why, in Luke 11, Jesus teaches his followers to pray. Actually, what's happens is that Jesus is praying and his disciples come to him and ask to be taught to pray. Just like John taught his followers to pray, Jesus is asked to teach his followers to pray his way.

And Jesus' school of prayer is straightforward and profound. People do, and we should, spend at lifetime exploring what Jesus teaches us here. For now, though, a few observations.

Jesus wants us to know that the foundation of prayer is relationship. We talk to God, we call upon God, we bring our plea before him as child does a father, or as a friend to a friend. There is relationship: no disrespect, no matey presumption.

The followers of Jesus address God as Father-- Father in heaven. His name is to be hallowed-- honoured and revered as holy. In fact, the extraordinary teaching of Jesus is that the all powerful, all knowing, all seeing Creator invites us to address him as Father.

In the next parable Jesus likens God to a friend-- the kind of friend you can lean upon for help even at the most unlikely, at the most inconvenient time. I call it the parable of 'the midnight knock on the door asking for bread' and it shows us howtaking God at his word like this becomes an expression of our love for him. God encourages us to make our requests boldly. So in verses 5-10, boldness in prayer is an expression of faith in God's word and it honours him.

As we pray, God's attitude towards us is likened to any of the Fathers among us here today. Look again at Luke 11:11 and following:

^{Luke 11:11}  'Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?  ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!'

The basic assumption that under-girds prayer is the kindness and the goodness of God towards his children. He wants to give us good things! He loves you and he invites you to express your love, your confidence and trust in his love, by coming to him in prayer. We express our love for God by calling upon him prayer.

Actually, verse 13 is an interesting one with its reference to the Holy Spirit. What does Jesus really mean here? Looking carefully we see that verse 13 is a comparison from the lesser to the greater, where God is on view. God is the subject of this verse. What is God like? Well he so much wants to give us good gifts, so much more than human fathers, that he'll even us himself, his Holy Spirit. There could be no greater, no more wonderful gift to be given: God himself!That's how intimate this relationship is to be.

I'm sure the disciples who listened to Jesus teaching that day would have gasped with the magnitude of such generosity. Would God be that big-hearted in his response to the prayers of his people? Oh my! Is his love that great? Imagine their response when the day of Pentecost came, when these words were fulfilled! Yes, God is our Father and he delights to give us every good gift--especially himself.

So the reference to the Holy Spirit in verse 13 is primarily about the generosity of God: no less and no more. I say this because I remember a friend of mine coming to share this verse with me many years ago. He said that I was missing out on something if I hadn't especially claimed this verse in prayer so that I could speak in tongues. He said that was the reason my Christian life was ordinary. You see, he wanted this verse to be a command to pray for Spiritual Gifts—and if I didn't claim this verse I wouldn't have any.But we can see now, looking at the verse in its context, that my friend had too small a view of God and that he completely missed Jesus' point. God is not some miserly stinge, keeping himself back from Christian people until they say the magic words, naming and claiming the right verse. Jesus is saying that God is generous. He loves us. Jesus is talking about the attitude of the Father toward us, about his delight to give us good things, especially himself in the person of the Holy Spirit-- which he gave to all Christians on the day of Pentecost.

You see, God's generous and loving disposition toward us is rightly answered by our love for him. That is the way of love [7] : we now love God with everything we've got and we love our neighbour as ourself. Prayer especially is the place where love delights in the other: God in us and we in God.

Martha and Mary and The Way of Love (Lk 10:38-42)

So the way of love has two dimensions. We love God and we love our neighbour and you can't have one without the other. In Luke 11:1-13 we've seen prayer as the arena of God's love for us and our love for him. Before that, in Luke 10:30-37, the parable of The Good Samaritan showed us that love for God must be expressed in loving our neighbour. So what's Martha and Mary doing wedged in between?  Why does Luke sandwich this incident in between?

Clearly, we are meant to ponder the contrast between Martha and Mary. Have a look at it again with me in Luke 11: 38-42:

^{Luke 10:38} As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.  ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked,  'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'

^{Luke 10:41}  'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered,  'you are worried and upset about many things,  ⁴² but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'

So what is it that Mary chose that was better? It's tempting to say that she chose the way of quiet contemplation at the feet of Jesus while Martha rattled away in the kitchen, banging pots and pans. Is Jesus saying that the contemplative spiritual life is so much better than the life of activity and practical things?

Not at all! That would be to approve of the Priest and the Levite and disregard the Samaritan. Jesus has no problem with the exercise of practical love and service. He approves of the activism of the Samaritan—love is nothing if it's not practical like Martha's kitchen work. That Martha provided the practical needs of Jesus is not the problem.

So what is it that Mary had chosen by sitting at the feet of Jesus? To sit at the teacher's feet is to take the position of a disciple. Mary is actively placing herself as a learner, an apprentice, a disciple of Jesus. That's what the phrase means. Paul uses a similar phrase to describe his training under the great Rabbi Gamaliel.

You see, Martha is upset with Mary not just because she needed a hand in the kitchen. Mary has broken a gender barrier and is doing something that only men did in those days. It wasn't reflective adoration and falling in love at the feet of Jesus. She has made herself a disciple. She is being taught, trained and disciplined in the way of Jesus. She is not choosing mystical meditation but active discipleship—she has found the one thing in life worth giving her heart, soul, mind and strength.

Martha on the other hand is distracted. She is worried and upset about many things, as it says in verse 41.

So what about you? Are you Martha or Mary? Distracted or committed to following the King?