Levi and Simon

The first recorded meal for Jesus and his disciples was recorded in Luke chapter 5. Jesus had just called Levi ( publican) to be his disciple. Levi in his great joy prepared a great feast for Jesus and invited all his Publican friends to eat with them.

Of course Publicans were despised by the Pharisees who would have nothing at all to do with them and probably accounted for Levi’s great joy in being noticed by the great Prophet Jesus of Nazareth. My guess is that Publicans loved collecting taxes from Pharisees and might even have over taxed them in their glee.

Of course when the Pharisees saw the great Jesus of Nazareth eating with the Publicans they judged and criticized him (according to their standards) implying that a great Prophet would not associate with sinful and traitorous Publicans (who probably loved to spend Pharisee gold.)

The second recorded meal in the Gospel of Luke recorded is in chapter 7 when Jesus was invited into the home of a Pharisee named Simon. A Pharisee was quite the opposite of a Publican. Among other surprising things that happened was a woman who was a great sinner invited herself into Simon’s home and attended to Jesus. Now Simon is associated with a sinner in his own home.

Perhaps she recognized that Simon wasn’t much of a host and didn’t afford Jesus with even a minimal level of hospitality… Simon didn’t greet Jesus with the traditional kiss nor even supplied the basics necessities associated with cleaning his feet before a meal.

Simon despised the woman and it would have never crossed his mind to invite her into his home. He didn’t see anything in her… not even any potential for future righteousness. He was not moved by her tears or her or by any of her emotions. He couldn’t see past her sin.

So why was Jesus’ first meal with a Publican (Levi) and his second meal with a Pharisee (Simon)?

Certainly Jesus demonstrated non-biased hospitality by accepting the invitations of Levi and Simon… no matter their occupations or pseudo religiosity.

Certainly Levi was the better host. Undoubtably he greeted Jesus with the customary kiss and afforded him with the necessities of foot washing (if not washing Jesus’ feet himself.)

Levi did not camp outside of Simon’s house to look for an opportunity to critique Jesus… like why would Jesus associate with those who prayed on street corners, etc. he was too humble for that and he had faith that Jesus could rise to any occasion.

Simon however was not humble and maybe felt himself to be superior to Jesus. He may have even been one of the Pharisees who stood outside Levi’s home criticizing Jesus.

I suppose one of the lessons of these two suppers was to illustrate what true hospitality looks like and the honor that a hospitable person offers his guest… even a guest of the most humblest station.

What would happen if we invited the preacher into our home and he brought a nasty homeless person with him? Would we shun the homeless guy or wash his feet?

I think Jesus ate in the homes of a tax collector and a Pharisee to illustrate that he cared for all people as so should we all.

Amazed and Afraid

In Luke 5 we find that Simon Peter is amazed and afraid when Jesus performs a miracle. Keep in mind that Peter had already seen Jesus cast out demons, heal the sick (including his mother-in-law) and cure all kinds of illness.

And then after Peter had spent all night fishing and was exhausted and frustrated (at catching no fish). Jesus asked Peter to take him out in his boat so he could continue teaching the multitudes. Of course the tired Peter obliged.

When Jesus had finished his teaching and Peter was ready to go home. Jesus instructed Peter to take his boat out and throw out his freshly cleaned nets back in the water. You know the story… Peter caught so many fish that his nets were breaking and both boats began to sink.

Peter drops to his knees in front of Jesus and uttered these immortal words… “depart from me Jesus because I am a sinful man”. The scripture records two emotions of Peter… he was “amazed” and “afraid”.

Of course Peter had seen some miracles performed by Jesus but they didn’t affect him personally and the text does not record that he was amazed by them or afraid or dropped to his knees in front of Jesus.

I guess the fear came from Peter seeing so many fish that his gratitude at that blessing turned to fear when he was so blessed that he suffered from the shock of Jesus’ power and was awed and afraid in the presence of one who could destroy with blessings.

He was also afraid because he felt he didn’t belong in the presence of a Man of God.

Imagine how Peter must have felt when he went fishing with God’s word and 3000 jumped into water to be baptized… no amazement recorded… no fear… no dropping to his knees. Peter was thoroughly prepared by Jesus.

Don’t ever get tired in well doing… always be ready to heed the words of Jesus and “cast your nets on the other side”

Jesus' Two Births

Jesus when he died was just as pure on day he died as he was on the day he was born. How pure was that? Imagine Jesus on the day he was born, brand new to the world… when he uttered his first cry and opened his physical eyes to see the world for the first time.

Born to parents of humble station in a place that was fit only for animals… a manger. Born to a young woman who was barely removed from girlhood herself. Shepherds and wise men traveling to see what? A new born baby born to a teenager who even if he couldn’t care for himself still possessed the great hope that one day he would care for the whole world.

Just what did the shepherds and the wise men know? Probably not many details but just enough to know that God had sent someone very special into the world.

Look through the eyes of Mary. Here was the child that she was promised…born like no other… without the assistance of sexual union with a man. She, like the shepherds and wise men, had few details but just enough information to know that God was blessing Israel but certainly not enough to understand that God was blessing not only Israel but the whole world.

Mary got to view everything about Jesus his childhood, his growth to manhood and his three year ministry and his death.

Undoubtedly when she heard the Jews had finally captured Jesus she waited in agony and anticipation outside of where they held her son. Undoubtedly she viewed him stripped and torn carrying his cross to Golgotha, saw the nails hammered into him and saw the cross lifted up and jolted into the ground.

And she saw that in his last moments on earth that he thought not of himself but of her and was concerned about her when he asked John, the beloved disciple, to care for his mother.

There weren’t any shepherds and wise men present at his death like there were at his birth. Just shocked and stunned disciples and the ruffians and the bullies and the profane. Not rejoicing that God had blessed the world with a savior but rejoicing with Satan in their villainy and hatred.

Mary saw everything. She saw Jesus take his first breath and his last. She heard his first cry as a baby and she heard his last spoken words before he died. She saw all those who were his greatest friends and who rejoiced in his company disappear into the crowd and pretend they didn’t even know hims. And she saw hatred. She saw it all.

And when she saw her first born son fade into the throes of death she saw that he was just as innocent as the day he was born. But the world was far from innocent because the world lost its innocence when it killed God’s gift to them.

Several years ago I was riding my bike going down hill on the side walk. I failed to see a three inch lift in the concrete and when my front tire hit it the bike stopped and I was catapulted off the front end and face planted into the concrete. Even though I was wearing a helmet my face was messed up pretty bad. As I laid there in agony and cars drove by not stopping to help, I got my phone and called Julie to come get me and I snapped a photo of my face. Sometime later I showed that photo to my mother. After she looked at it she quickly turned her head and wouldn’t look at it again. She said it hurt her to see me hurt.

I imagine it hurt Mary to look at Jesus in his agony and suffering too… but she did because I have all ideas that she knew it wouldn’t be the last she would see of him.

She had witnessed with the pain of child birth her son being born and she witnessed with a far greater pain his birth into eternity and on both days Jesus was just as pure as he could be and as we are when we are baptized.