Luke

All posts tagged Luke

Mary Had It Worse

Posted by Jim Thornber on February 7, 2011
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 6 Comments

“And a sword will pierce your own soul too” – Luke 2:35

Me and Mom at my wedding

I know it has been a while since I’ve written, but I’ve been in Mississippi the last ten days with my mom. She had been fighting emphysema for years and on Feb. 1, she lost the battle. She died peacefully with me in the room with her, and I’m grateful for the time I could spend with her at the end of her life.

I have to admit, though, that more than once during the week I stood by her side, praying that God would take her quickly and ease the pain of trying to breathe with only 18% of her lungs left. One of the worst possible experiences in life is to watch a loved one slowly die for lack of oxygen. Gasping for air is not a pretty sight, but that was what I had to watch. I prayed and pleaded with God that He would ease her pain and discomfort and take her home quickly. My love and compassion for my mom wanted a comfortable, easy passing, and I don’t regret those prayers. Still, while I stood by her bed and held her hand while she struggled to inhale, it occurred to me that however bad I had it, Mary, the mother of Jesus, had it worse. Continue Reading

Jesus the Prodigal

Posted by Jim Thornber on April 8, 2010
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

“The younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. . .” Luke 15:11-24

Rembrandt: Return of the Prodigal Son

When I first studied this passage back in Bible College, it was easy for me to identify the younger son as those people who have taken their God-given gifts and talents and squandered them for their own selfish reasons. I saw them as the heathens among us who didn’t know that God is waiting to welcome them home.

After some reflection (and a few years of maturity), I began to see myself as the prodigal son – wasteful with my own God-given gifts, lavish in my pride, and extravagant in the ways I used my words, even to the point of hurting others. Yes, in many ways I was like the prodigal son.

Seeing myself (and others) as a type of prodigal son is easy. We’re all selfish sinners bent on having our own way at the expense of those who love us. What bothers me (and may bother you) is to consider this: Jesus is the true Prodigal Son.

Continue Reading

Scriptures That Bother Me — Luke 7:11-17

Posted by Jim Thornber on December 28, 2009
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion, Worship. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

The Opportunities I Don’t See

“Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain . . . a funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son. . . When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion” – Luke 7:11-17 (NLT)

I like this story because it shows how Jesus sees opportunities when others don’t even know He is there. It also shows Jesus is prepared to meet the needs of those around Him, and is even looking for people He can touch. And that’s where this story starts to bother me.

I sometimes think I took too many psychology classes in college. One of the primary teachings among counselors is you cannot help a person unless they want to be helped. And for the most part, this is true. Some people do not want help, and trying to help them anyway ignores Jesus’ teaching about throwing our pearls towards pigs and our sacred advice to dogs who will only bite us back for our efforts (Matthew 7:6).

Still, Jesus saw the opportunities to minister when they presented themselves. Even though the widow may not have known who He was, and may have thought He was just another face in the crowd, Jesus knew this was a divine moment. The widow never begged and groveled and tore at the hem of Jesus’ garment, pleading with Him to raise her one and only son from the dead. Nevertheless, Jesus stopped the procession and ministered to them both.

When you read the Gospels, you’ll see numerous times Jesus seemed to be on the lookout for opportunities to show His love for people by His actions. Continue Reading

Scriptures That Bother Me — Luke 2:36-37

Posted by Jim Thornber on December 14, 2009
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Worship. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

She Kept On Not Leaving

“A prophetess, Anna. . .was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day” – Luke 2:36-37

I’ve been preparing for a series of Christmas sermons, and one of those will be on Anna, the prophet who saw the child Jesus at His dedication in the Temple. All day this one particular phrase has bothered me– “she never left the temple.”

Here’s a woman who has been a widow for more years than I’ve been alive, yet she never left the temple. She never fell away or became faithless. She could have given up on God because she was a widow after only seven years of marriage, perhaps feeling neglected by God and society. She could have turned her back on her religion because life wasn’t turning out as she hoped. She could have shouted, “It MUST be someone’s fault. I’ll blame it on God! That’ll teach Him.” But she didn’t. She chose never to leave the temple.

In the Greek language this literally means, “She kept on not leaving.” She wasn’t too lazy to head for the door; she intentionally and actively engaged in not leaving the presence of God. Have you ever had a visitor to your house who “kept on not leaving”? Continue Reading

Scriptures That Bother Me — James 2:1

Posted by Jim Thornber on April 10, 2009
Posted in: Publishing, Religion, Writing. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

“Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” — Mark Twain

Favoring Myself

“My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?” James 2:1

Yesterday in Sunday school, we studied James 2. Yes, the entire chapter. I don’t know why we talked about the whole chapter, because I had trouble getting past the first verse before I felt convicted.

Most of that conviction came as I felt God reminding me of the way I treat certain people. It seems I’m a master at showing favoritism. How easy it is to favor those who favor me, approve of my ministry or writing and have a similar sense of humor. And I’m always in favor of those who know me best and still, for some unknown reason, choose to not only love me, but also like me.

Continue Reading

Scriptures That Bother Me — Luke 15:11-24

Posted by Jim Thornber on February 2, 2009
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Service, Writing. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 22 Comments

Jesus: The Prodigal Son

“The younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. . . .” Luke 15:11-24

When I first studied this passage back in Bible College, it was easy for me to identify the younger son as those people who have taken their God-given gifts and talents and squandered them for their own selfish reasons. I saw them as the heathens among us who didn’t know that God is waiting to welcome them home.

After some reflection (and a few years of maturity), I began to see myself as the prodigal son – wasteful with my own God-given gifts, lavish in my pride, and extravagant in the ways I used my words, even to the point of hurting others. Yes, in many ways I was like the prodigal son.

Seeing myself (and others) as a type of prodigal son is easy. We’re all selfish sinners bent on having our own way at the expense of those who love us. What bothers me (and may bother you) is to consider this: Jesus is the true Prodigal Son. I wish I could say the idea of seeing Jesus as the prodigal son is original, but it has been around for a long time

Give this concept some time to sink in. One day Jesus took His inheritance and His title, left the home of His Father and traveled to a distant, foreign country. He spent all He had to become a human and emptied Himself of all the previous privileges He held in His Father’s house. In the strangest investment scheme in history, Jesus prodigiously squandered His inheritance by hanging around with sinners and harlots, drunkards and lepers, tax collectors and sundry riff-raff.  After spending all He had, Jesus sensed God’s abandonment (Matthew 27:46), only to return to the Father hungry and thirsty (John 19:28), fresh out of prison (1 Peter 3:19), dressed in borrowed clothes fit only for a dead man.

The word prodigal means to be wastefully or recklessly extravagant or lavish. Jesus recklessly invested everything He had so that we could know His eternal love. As I contemplate this, I’m also challenged by how Jesus gave all of Himself while knowing there would not be a 100% return on His investment. Yes, in the omnipotence of God, He knew how many of us would accept His Divine sacrifice. But as a human, Jesus was spending, if not wasting, His entire self on us. True, He loves His creation; but we sure seem to have a funny way of acknowledging His gift.

Another thing that challenges me about this story is that we often call it the Parable of the Prodigal Son, when in reality it should be called the Parable of the Prodigal Father. The entire story centers around the love, compassion, forgiveness, longing and hope the Father showed in reconciling with the son; or with me, for that matter. Whatever else I’ve been wasting my life on, God knows it is Jim who is hurting, Jim who needs to go home, Jim who needs to know there is still a family ring to wear and an expensive robe to cover my nakedness. And in my first effort to return, God makes the next move and runs to meet me. I don’t even make it all the way home (read that, “heaven”) before I sense the forgiving arms of the Father’s embrace. God the Father is prodigal in His love.

The lesson for me is this: love is never a waste. It can never be too extravagant, overly invested or lavishly spent. At the end of my life, I want people to say of me, “Jim spent all he had to love those around him.” I may have gotten a late start in life on that road home to the Father’s heart, but it is never too late to return.