He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it’ (Luke 11:28).
Read Luke 11:24–36
Do you read the whole passage or just the focus verse? I would encourage you to read the entire passage each time you see these devotions, whether on social media or by email. There is so much richness in the passages, and today, like many days, it’s a hard choice settling on the focus verse. Today, our passage has a message running through it – don’t just hear the word of God (or read in your inbox, on your newsfeed, or in your Bible – how many places we can access it!).
Hear it and respond.
Do you remember the wickedness of Nineveh? At least they repented – and put their houses in order! Jesus says that they will stand in judgement over those who do not repent and turn from their ways in response to the gospel.
We ensure that our light is put on a stand and remains full of light, not darkness. We are encouraged through baptism to shine with the light of the world, Jesus.
We may feel the world is dark. We are the light. Back to that newsfeed … how are we filling our souls? Are we feeding our soul and mind with the word of God, the Light of the World, and how is that light shining out from within us?
‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it’ (Luke 11:28).
Lord, thank you for the many opportunities I have to hear, read and obey your word. I pray that you will continue to shine through me, that your light will guide those around me to the truth, and that others will come to know you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sal is married to Pastor Matthew Huckel, and they live in Victoria with their six children. Music, theology, literature and languages are passions the family share and explore together. Sal loves writing, speaking and walking to the beach at every opportunity.
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters (Luke 11:23).
Read Luke 11:14–23
It might seem incredible that Jesus himself would be driving out demons, and there would be onlookers divided in whether he is driving them out in the name of the prince of demons or whether it was the ‘finger of God’ (verse 20).
We may often quote the wisdom of Jesus that a house divided against itself will fall’. This is true of families, churches, even businesses. How can Jesus drive out demons with the power of demons? This is what his comment means. If he is driving out demons with demonic power, then Satan truly is a house divided. We know Jesus was driving out demons with the power of God because he is God. No division there! Our God is three in one: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus and the Holy Spirit were present at creation, God is never divided.
Let us model Christ in this regard too. A house divided against itself will not stand. Meditate on this. What does this mean for you today – in your family, church or business?
I am reminded of this hymn:
The church’s one foundation
is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
she is his new creation,
by water and the word.
From heav’n he came and sought her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life, he died.
Elect from every nation,
yet one o’er all the earth,
her charter of salvation:
one Lord, one faith, one birth.
One holy name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.
Though with a scornful wonder,
men see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed,
yet saints their watch are keeping,
their cry goes up, ‘How long?’
and soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song! (SJ Stone, 1866)
Lord, may we be one in the gospel – and undivided – in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
Sal is married to Pastor Matthew Huckel, and they live in Victoria with their six children. Music, theology, literature and languages are passions the family share and explore together. Sal loves writing, speaking and walking to the beach at every opportunity.
Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation (Luke 11:3,4).
Read Luke 11:1–13
Many of us have probably heard about the homeless person walking into the church to ask for help (food, use of facilities or money) but being turned away.
Here, we have the pattern of prayer modelled for us by Jesus – including the petition for daily bread before we even get to the repentance and forgiveness of sins and deliverance from temptation.
Physical needs are important, and we do well not to overlook them. We move on, in the same passage, to a picture of a man asking his neighbour for food in the middle of the night, and finally, a comparison to the request from a son: ‘Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 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!’
Yes, this is a passage that teaches about the Lord’s compassion, mercy and generosity on us. He shows this spiritually and with our salvation and spiritual gifts – but the Lord does not ignore the temporal – the body. He provided food by a physical miracle with loaves and fish. His first miracle for the disciples was a catch of fish. Schools know that children cannot learn when hungry – this is why some schools feed children breakfast for free when their families cannot feed them before school.
Let’s come back to the homeless person knocking at the door. Yes, we are a church. Yes, there are programs out there to help. And yes, whatever we say to them in that moment will be our moment of witness. We are ambassadors. Is Jesus sending them away empty or fuller? Will we ever be able to feed their spirit if we are unwilling to feed their body?
‘You did it to me’ (Matthew 25:40) are Jesus’ words to us in this moment. We pray the Lord’s prayer every Sunday. We ask for daily bread each time we pray that prayer. That might even be the only prayer the homeless person knows. Who will answer their prayer on behalf of our generous, forgiving, gracious God?
Give us each day our daily bread, Lord – and help us deliver this bread to others in need as they come across our path. May we have compassion on others as we have our own needs generously and graciously met by you, just as we pray in the words you taught us. Forgive us for the times we find reasons not to help others, and may we leave judgement to you alone. In the saving, giving and forgiving name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you’. And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ (John 20:21,22).
Read John 20:19–31
We probably cannot comprehend the traumatic effects on the disciples of the death of Jesus and the disappearance of his body. It’s hardly surprising that even after the account of Mary Magdalene they are still locked away in a private place in fear of their own lives.
Reflect for a moment on the healing effect of the words of Jesus: ‘Peace be with you …’, he breathed on them, and repeated it.
They are not just words, they bring the Holy Spirit and healing. Physical and spiritual healing.
We can forgive Thomas. We don’t know why he wasn’t there. We read nothing to show that the disciples believed Mary’s account either. Thomas wanted to experience Jesus himself. In his trauma how can he believe anything right now?
Yet with Jesus’ grace for Thomas, we also read: ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’
That’s us. That’s you and me. We don’t have what we might feel is the ‘luxury’ of the post-resurrection sightings of Jesus, but we have the Holy Spirit in us through our baptism. We have the word of God in the Holy Scriptures, and we have God’s promises and all of these accounts through which our faith is nurtured. We don’t need to hide away in the upper rooms. We are not in danger of our lives when we are identified as God’s people. We are responsible for sharing our faith with others; we are instructed, like the disciples, to forgive the sins of others: ‘… if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’
Outside the upper room, what are we doing with our freedom? Just as Thomas was no good isolated and alone, neither are we. Nurture your faith. We have the freedom to worship in our church family every week and the responsibility to share our faith and God’s love in our daily lives.
Breathe on me, breath of God, fill me with life anew, that I may love the way you love, and do what you would do. Breathe on me, breath of God, until my heart is pure, until my will is one with yours, to do and to endure. Amen (Edwin Hatch 1878).
Sal is married to Pastor Matthew Huckel, and they live in Victoria with their six children. Music, theology, literature and languages are passions the family share and explore together. Sal loves writing, speaking and walking to the beach at every opportunity.
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1).
Read Psalm 133
Imagine going to your favourite restaurant, and sitting at an adjacent table was a bearded man stuffing large pieces of oily pizza into his mouth. And then, as you watched, the grease from the pizza dripped down his beard and onto his clothes. Revolting, right?
Now listen to these first two verses of our reading today: How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.
To our 21st-century imaginations, revolting, right?
Aaron, though, the anointed spokesman of Israel, had oil poured from the top of his head where it flowed down – down to his beard and collar. The blessing of unity is from above and moves from head to heart.
In theory, I get the metaphor – anointing oil, blessing from above… check. I believe there are better metaphors for unity, not to change the wording of the scriptures, but to offer a modern equivalent.
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity. It is like an emptied bottle of champagne at the wedding of loved ones, pouring down into crystal glasses, toasted to God’s blessing and for long life and happiness for the couple.
Have you been to a celebration like that? Unity is the symbol of weddings and, as the gathering joyously celebrates, they recognise that God is in the very centre of the proceedings.
When was the last time you felt unity among God’s people? What is another metaphor you might use for unity?
Heavenly Father, thank you for your blessing from above. Help me to be unified with other Christians and enjoy that blessing. Amen.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, who, together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine, and Greta, have created a Spotify channel (A 13) where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist, maintains the blog ireid.blogspot.com, and regularly contributes to The Lutheran magazine.
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to (Jesus) 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 10:40).
Read Luke 10:38–42
Admit it. Everyone has either spoken those words aloud or shouted them inside our heads when one of our siblings, cousins, or workmates has taken the easy (read ‘lazy’) way out. We address an authority to come down hard and make that person help, right? And while they’re at it, can that authority give me some accolades for doing all the tough work?
Here’s another admission. Martha’s words don’t just apply to cleaning or cooking or working, I have at times said this to Jesus when it feels like super-martyr-me is doing all the God stuff while everyone else is going to the beach. ‘Jesus, don’t you care that everybody else is slacking off while I work by myself? Tell them to help me!’ And while you’re at it, can you announce to them when they come back that I’ve been the most faithful one all along?
When I read this Bible story about Jesus’ closest friends, two sisters and their brother Lazarus, I secretly cheer for Martha every time. It’s the fairest way of looking at things. Once the work is done, THEN we can all settle in for story time with Jesus.
Thankfully, Jesus does not berate Martha, but he gives a different perspective, one that she can hold onto. Only one thing is needed and important at that moment: to be with Jesus. All the other good works that feel important, the religious tasks, slaving over devotions, cooking up some good prayers, cleaning out the spiritual closets, serving worship at church – all these are great things – but only one thing is needed to experience eternal life: Him.
Set down your good works for a while and sit with Jesus. Be with Jesus. Listen to him. It’s a restful new perspective.
Jesus, your words and life are amazing. Give me hope and rest as I listen and search for you. Amen.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, who, together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine, and Greta, have created a Spotify channel (A 13) where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist, maintains the blog ireid.blogspot.com, and regularly contributes to The Lutheran magazine.
But [the expert in the law] wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘Who then is my neighbour?’ (Luke 10:29).
Read Luke 10:25–37
‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’
The expert asks a masterful question; the Master responds expertly. This scenario is pure Jesus and a masterclass on engaging with people about faith.
- Jesus returns the expert’s serve with a question. Instead of answering and closing the book on the question, Jesus invites the expert into a conversation and relationship. That’s what questions do. ‘What does the Law say? How do you read it?’ (verse 26)
- Jesus acknowledges the expert’s opinion (verse 28). Jesus doesn’t shut him down even when the expert tries to justify himself. When we acknowledge different opinions, even if we don’t agree with them, we build a bridge for continued relationships.
- Jesus invites the expert into a story (verses 30–37). It would have been quite simple for Jesus to humiliate the expert’s racism, superiority, and arrogance, but instead, Jesus told a story to help the expert draw the right conclusions. As I read the end of the story, I didn’t get a sense that the expert went away angry, offended, or ready to retaliate on social media. It feels like he leaves to chew on what he has been taught.
Perhaps the question for us is, are we prepared to ask questions of those whose opinions differ? Are we willing to hear the thoughts and ideas of others? Are we willing to invite people into the story of faith using everyday symbols that allow others to draw their own conclusions?
Holy Spirit, thank you for bringing people into my life who ask great questions. Help me to be curious, listen and hear their stories as we journey through life together. Amen.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, who, together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine, and Greta, have created a Spotify channel where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist, maintains the blog ireid.blogspot.com and regularly contributes to The Lutheran magazine.
‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children’ (Luke 10:21).
Read Luke 10:17–24
Seventy-two adults returned from their apprenticeships as ambassadors of peace and healers of the sick. The scripture does not say how long they were away, only what they were to do, and that they went ahead of Jesus. As Luke describes it, I picture the reunion like kids who, when figuring out how to ride a bike, fly a kite, or do something they previously thought unimaginable, they came screaming up to Jesus: ‘You’re not going to believe what we just did!’
Even though Luke doesn’t describe the minute details, I can’t help but imagine a smirk on Jesus’ face, a hand on their backs (you know, like what your mum or dad did when you succeeded at something), and he says to them, ‘Okay, okay, that was fun, I know. Calm down. Don’t let your joy be overrun by what you did; think about the big picture. Your names are written in the Book of Life because of what God is doing. Nothing can get at you. Ever’.
Jesus thinks of the disciples as God’s children. They were excited. Though it was amazing to the disciples that they were given power over the spirits, it would be God’s work in Jesus that would be the final blow to Satan and all his schemes. In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God’s saving work on the cross, every believer, saint and sinner alike, escaped the clutches of sin, death and the devil.
This Easter season, rejoice that the work of Jesus reveals your name in the Book of Life. Nothing can get at you. Ever.
Describe one time in your life when you used your gifts to bring about goodness. How would you imagine Jesus responding?
Thank you, Jesus, for writing my name in the Book of Life. Give me bold strength to use your gifts in the world. Amen.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, who, together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine, and Greta, have created a Spotify channel where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist, maintains the blog ireid.blogspot.com and regularly contributes to The Lutheran magazine.
‘When you enter a house, first say, “Peace to this house”. If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them. If not, it will return to you’ (Luke 10:5,6).
Read Luke 10:1-17
Before COVID-19, there was a part of the service I called ‘The Introvert’s Worst Recurring Dream’. In church terms, the bulletin read … PASSING THE PEACE.
Typically, extroverts would turn en masse to the nearest people and shake hands or (worst case scenario) open their arms for a hug. This ‘passing of the peace’ would last for agonising minutes – lots of ‘Hello’s’ and ‘How are ya’s’, maybe a recap of the week, and finally – mercifully – the pastor would jovially proclaim, ‘All right, you can all go back to your seats now’. I sometimes wondered what the point was. What was ‘passing the peace’?
In our scripture today, Jesus sends out 72 willing, able, and (presumably) peaceful servants who will act as ambassadors for Jesus as they go ahead of him to the towns, to individual homes, to share his peace. As they enter houses, they are to pass the peace (of Jesus) to the inhabitants and, if the residents are promoters of peace, it will stay. If not, it bounces back, I guess.
Is this what happens in churches? Do we herald the peace of Jesus? Do we share this peace which entails confession, forgiveness, grace, and all the fruits of the Spirit, or is it simply a catch-up time for those who might have been late for the service?
I’m tempted to think that the designation of peace, and the passing of it, was to prepare others for Jesus’ coming. As you are promoting peace, think about the words that facilitate the grace of God coming to individual houses. While small talk might be necessary, maybe this phrase could be a later follow-up: ‘No matter what you are feeling or going through at this moment, may the peace of God which passes all understanding guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.’
Holy Spirit, let your peace be upon me. Please help me to be a promoter of peace and one who passes it on to others. Help me not only to feel peace but to be peaceful. Amen.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, who, together with their three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine, and Greta, have created a Spotify channel where they have recorded music. Reid has recently published his seventh novel, A Miserable Antagonist, maintains the blog ireid.blogspot.com and regularly contributes to The Lutheran magazine.