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Todays Gospel is quite different from most others. In this Gospel we have Jesus aggressively driving the money changes and sellers out of the temple. At first glance it is quite different from Jesus’ usual way. There are no immediate teachings, healings or witty dialogue. It is clear that Jesus is passionate about his faith, and he is not willing to compromise. Professor David Landry of the University of St. Thomas and many other biblical scholars suggest that "the importance of the episode is signalled by the fact that within a week of this incident, Jesus is dead”. This event likely functioned as the 'trigger' for Jesus' death. The Scribes and Pharisees tolerated Jesus. They did not like the fact that Jesus was popular with the people, his insightful teachings and the fact that Jesus won every debate with them. It was not until Jesus attacked their financial interests did, they escalate their intentions to stop him. Before I go any further, should you wish to follow up on this theory, I invite you to check out David Landry’s article "God in the Details: The Cleansing of the Temple in Four Jesus Films". published in 2009 in the Journal of Religion & Film.

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There are three stories in the Gospels where Jesus raises someone from the dead. We have the story of Lazarus being raised (John 11:38-44), Jarius’ 12-year-old daughter being raised as recorded in (Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40 and Matthew 9:18-26) and now in today’s Gospel we hear about Jesus raising the son of a widow in a town called Nain. What is interesting in this Gospel is how few facts we have about the story. In the two previous resurrection stories we have names, and we are made aware of some background information, and we are provided teachings but not here. It’s clear that this resurrection was not planned. If Jesus had arrived an hour earlier or the funeral was an hour later there would have been no miracle.

What does this mean?

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So, we overhear the prayers of two very different men. One man, the Pharisees has done a lot and includes what he has done in a list expecting I guess to impress God. He was doing okay until he compared himself to the tax collector. The second man, the Tax collector has said little but admits to his wrongdoing and is truly sorry. It must have come as a shock to the first listeners to this parable. There are several points to this story. Appearances can be deceiving. It’s important not to rush to judgement. Also, despite the tax collector’s past he did have one thing the Pharisee lacked and that is the awareness of who he was. I wonder if being aware of where we need to grow and change in our lives is important for the development of our spirituality. I am not talking about being self deprecating but choosing rather to seek self awareness and humility that might be critical in the development of our spirituality. Likely the Pharisee was not aware that he had completely missed the values of the practice of his faith. Because of his lack of self-awareness, it is likely that he will not see the need for personal growth or recognize opportunities in his life to grow.

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In the Gospel of Luke 18:6-8 Jesus is teaching his disciples to pray always. He uses a short parable of a woman seeking justice from a corrupt judge. The woman successfully hassles the judge, wearing him down to finally getting the justice she was seeking. Jesus makes the interesting point that how much more will God grant what we ask if only we remain steadfast in our prayers. This raises many questions. Why does God often delay in answering our prayers? I seriously doubt that God enjoys watching us wait. I wonder then if there is some value in waiting.

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In today’s Gospel we read about a healing, specifically the healing of ten people with leprosy. Although this account is about people getting healed of a dreaded disease it is what happens after the healing that is most significant. Let’s take a step back to help put this Gospel in perspective. Leprosy or now known as Hansen’s Disease was a dreaded disease back in biblical times. There was no cure, and the method of transmission was not well understood. Individuals suspected of having leprosy were shunned from their family and community. They were required to shout “unclean unclean” anytime they were close to people. As a psychologist I am concerned about the impact this had upon their self worth and esteem. To make matters worse, there was no clear diagnostic criteria, so anyone with a skin issue, hives, eczema, or even acne ran the risk of receiving a diagnosis of leprosy. Because of this lack of clarity, it is not surprising that we read that leprosy was mentioned so often in the Bible.

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In today’s Gospel Jesus is asked by his disciples on how to increase their faith. It looks like the disciples are finally understanding the ministry of Jesus. Remember the story of the rich young man found in Matthew 19:16 who asks Jesus what does he need to do to inherit eternal life? It was a fair question but where is the focus? The rich young man was focussed on getting what he wants. The question on how to increase one’s faith is focussed on deepening the relationship between Jesus and the disciples. That question alone indicates spiritual growth and understanding of the ministry of Jesus.

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus shares a profoundly interesting parable. I would like to examine it further and in detail. In the parable, Jesus introduces the rich man, we do not know his name, but he wears purple, the color of royalty and feasts, not just on special holidays but every day. We then learn about Lazarus, a poor man. Unlike the rich man, Lazarus has a name. We would expect people to describe the rich man as the one having the name, but we know Jesus frequently reversed social order to make a point or have his listeners see the issue from a unique perspective. Remember the line in Matthew 20:16, “the first shall be last and the last shall be first”. Lazarus is very hungry and longed to feed on the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Notice that Lazarus never speaks throughout. He is the example of the poor and voiceless in our society. The rich man likely knew about the state Lazarus was in as Lazarus lived on his doorstep not somewhere on the other side of town. We know the only friends Lazarus had were the dogs who licked his sores. Dogs usually lick the people they like and bite or growl at the people they do not like.

The contrast between Lazarus and the rich man are clear and profound.

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Today's Gospel highlights the importance of consistency and faithfulness, even in the small things. I find Jesus’ teaching about serving two masters particularly thought-provoking. Often, it feels like we have more than two masters competing for our time and energy. From my perspective, many people drift away from their faith not out of rejection of God, but because other responsibilities and distractions take priority. Family, career, and community are just a few of the demands that require our attention. While dedicating ourselves to these is certainly valuable, there are additional aspects of our lives that also deserve careful consideration.

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