“Rejoice with Me; for I Have Found My Sheep Which Was Lost," Notes on Luke 12

A whole lot of chapters to study for this week, including many parables, prophecies of Christ's second coming, healings, and culminating in the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

Words of Counsel, Comfort and Courage; Luke 12:1-12 (see also Matthew 10:26-33), Luke 12:22-34

Christ warns against the Pharisees and then says that everything will one day be revealed and that "Whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops." This makes me wonder which actions of mine would I be ashamed to own before the world? What do I say in private that I wouldn't want shared publicly? Am I a better person in public than I am in private? Someday we will be called to account for all of our deeds, even those we think are safely hidden away.
Christ then teaches his disciples to show courage in proclaiming His name. He says not to fear those that can kill your body, but those who would destroy the spirit. He says that God is watching over you, just as He knows the sparrows and the ravens and feeds them, even though they have no barns or storehouses. He will watch over you and give you through the Holy Ghost the words to say.
Christ doesn't say "if" you are brought before those in power, but "when." He is preparing His disciples for the hard times and helping them commit in advance to hold to the truth. Will you deny him or confess Him when the stakes are highest?
One of my favorite verses from this section is, "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God." What a great promise!
The rest of this section includes more promises and comfort. I love that He reminds his disciples that they don't need to worry so much about their temporal needs, not because these aren't important, but rather because they need to trust God: "Your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things." God has us in the palm of His hand and we need to trust His grace and guidance instead of in riches.

The parable of the rich fool, Luke 12:13-21

This story is of a rich man who had so much he couldn't even hold it all. So he tore down his barns to build bigger ones to hold all of his wealth, and told himself that now he could live a life of ease and luxury. But God says to him instead, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"
This parable seems to ask the question, "How much do you really need?" and "What are your highest priorities?" This man wanted money so that he could relax and eat, drink and be merry. He cared little for his soul or for those around them.
This reminds me of a story then-Elder Nelson told, "Years ago, I was asked to perform an operation upon a very wealthy man. A surgical biopsy confirmed that he had an advanced cancer that had spread throughout his body. As I reported this news, his immediate response was to rely upon his wealth. He would go anywhere or do anything to treat his condition. He thought he could buy his way back to health. But he soon passed away. Someone asked, “How much wealth did he leave?” The answer, of course, was, “All of it!” His priorities were set upon things of the world. His ladder of success had been leaning against the wrong wall. I think of him when I read this scripture: “Behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is … too late.”13
In contrast to this man, there are many who use their wealth to do great good. When I was in Washington, D.C. last year, I went to the impressive Museum of the Bible. It was made possible by the generous donations of many good people. You wonder what the man in the parable could have done had he said, "I'm grateful I have enough. Now, with my extra, I'm going to do good!"
How to handle wealth or poverty is a huge test in life. It's good to take an inventory once in a while to see where your treasure is and what is most important to you. If we have the attitude that all that we have and are is the Lord's, then we can regularly ask Him to lead us to ways we can serve others with whatever we are blessed with, whether it be time, talents, wisdom or money.

Watch and Be Ready, Luke 12:35-48 (see also Matthew 24:42-51, Mark 13:32-37)

I love that the story told here has a surprise ending. It talks about faithful servants who wait hour after hour for their Lord, ready to open to him immediately when he returns. Then the promise, "Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them." I'm sure Christ's audience did a bit of a double-take. Wait, the lord is going to serve them? Aren't they the servants? But he is talking here about the goodness of God and His matchless blessings to those who will be His servants. He gives us more than we ever give to Him.
Peter wants to know if the parable is just for his closest disciples or for everyone. His question could have many motives. He could be wondering if the disciples will have some special reward because they are servants chosen to wait for the Lord. Or He could be wondering about all the people who don't know that the Lord is coming. What will happen to them?
In response, Christ contrasts wise versus wicked servants. The wise wait and are ready, while the wicked begin to beat the other servants and to eat and get drunk. Then Christ teaches that the harshest punishments will be dealt to those who knew what the master's will was and didn't do it, while those who were also wicked but didn't know the will of the master will receive a lesser punishment. God's mercy and justice are fair and will be given to everyone, each according to his knowledge and understanding and faithfulness. So yes, Peter, this parable is for everyone, and those of you who know me and then do wickedly are going to be in trouble.
Where "much is given, of him shall be much required." This is a sobering statement. I often remind my kids of how blessed they are and how because of that, they will need to be ready to give their all where-ever they are called. They haven't (yet) had to overcome the challenges of crushing poverty, chronic illness, disability, the absence of the gospel, or a broken home. God will therefore expect more of them than one who is trying to overcome those and other deep problems. We, of course, will also experience our trials and some of them may be harder than others, but I so hope that my kids will never think that they are better than someone else, but that instead, they will see their abundant blessings as God-given to them to bless others.

(Luke chapter 13 was included in the chapters about the Sermon on the Mount. See this post for my notes.)

Healing on the Sabbath (again!), Luke 14:1-6

Do you get the impression that Christ is trying to make a point about the proper use of the Lord's day with all of these healings? This time the healing takes place in the home of the Pharisees. It's possible that the man was brought there just as a test to see what Christ would do.
Christ reminds the group that if their animals are in a pit on a Sabbath, they are rescued. This man is also deserving of rescuing.

Humility, Luke 14:7-13

Then Christ watches the jockeying for position and prominence among those at the feast. He tells them that instead of trying to have the best seat in a house, they should go to the lowest place and then wait to be asked into a higher.
I love this! I think sometimes we think that certain careers or callings in the Church are more important than others. Christ teaches us that we shouldn't be concerned with our standing in the world or before others. Instead, we should care about humbly serving wherever we can.
That reminds me of this poem by an unknown author:

Father, where shall I work today?

And my love flowed warm and free.

Then He pointed me out a tiny spot,

And said, “Tend that for me.”

I answered quickly, “Oh, no, not that.

Why, no one would ever see,

No matter how well my work was done.

Not that little place for me!”

And the word He spoke, it was not stern,

He answered me tenderly,

“Ah, little one, search that heart of thine;

Art thou working for them or me?

Nazareth was a little place,

And so was Galilee."

I am also reminded of a story told by Elder Stanley G. Ellis: "Another question is “Where are we needed?” For 16 years I served in the presidency of the Houston Texas North Stake. Many moved to our area during those years. We would often receive a phone call announcing someone moving in and asking which was the best ward. Only once in 16 years did I receive a call asking, “Which ward needs a good family? Where can we help?”
Sometimes when I sign up to clean the Church, I think to myself, "I never want to be too good to clean the Lord's toilets." Though, truthfully, I'm always happy when someone else has already taken that job and I can just vacuum. :)
Last year, I was released as the gospel doctrine teacher in my ward and put in the Primary presidency. At first, I was disappointed. I was learning so much about the Old Testament and I adored teaching. But I prayed specifically that this new calling would be my new favorite one and it was only a few weeks into it that I realized how much I love serving in the Primary. It's a very special place to be with those little ones and teaching the basic principles of the gospel. I can't tell you how many times I get choked up over the words of a simple Primary song or when I get to say something like, "Jesus loves you!"
Are we seeking to go where we are needed? Or are we more concerned about prominence or position? Where we serve is not nearly as important as how we serve and why.
Verse 11 remind us, "For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

The Parable of the Wedding Feast, Luke 14:12-24 (see also Matthew 22:1-14)

Just before this parable, Christ tells those who invited him to the feast that if they really want to do good and receive a reward in heaven, they won't invite their friends, family and rich neighbors. Instead, they will invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. He says that those who invite friends have their friends reciprocate and therefore, they are paid. But those who invite and do good to those who cannot reciprocate are rewarded in heaven instead. This reminds me of the Sermon on the Mount where Christ says those that do their alms to be seen of men get their reward, presumably by being seen of men and getting their accolades, while those who do their alms in secret will be rewarded by God openly. I'm also reminded that Christ teaches that it isn't praiseworthy to be nice to your friends -- even the most wicked people do that. Instead, we need to love our enemies.
Sometimes I think I am doing so much service for others when I watch their kids or bring them a meal, but most of the people I do that for will reciprocate in kind in the future. Which is not a reason not to do those things, but it does remind me that I need to be looking out for those who don't have friends, who don't have the means to reciprocate and serve them as well.
This parable has some very different details in Matthew. There, it is specifically a wedding feast, the people don't just refuse to come, they slay the servants sent to invite them, and one of the guests is cast out because he wouldn't wear a wedding garment.
Otherwise, the story is the same. A man (Luke) or king (Matthew) prepares a feast and invites his honored guests. Instead of coming, they make excuses. So the man/king tells his servants to go into the streets and alleys and invite the poor and disabled and fills his house with people.
This is an allegory of the kingdom of God, where when the wise and learned and rich reject the invitation, it is then taken to the poor and beggars and they accept it.

Counting the Cost of Discipleship, Luke 14:25-33

This parable is one I've been thinking about a lot. It wasn't one I remembered until reading it a few months ago. Christ says that those who build a tower are going to first make the plan and make sure they can afford it lest they start and have to abandon it half-finished, to the mocking of their neighbors. He also says a king doesn't jump into a battle until he counts the odds of winning. If he is clearly going to lose, he makes a treaty instead.
In telling this to His disciples, Christ is telling them that they need to count the cost of being His disciples and be willing to give it. Then He tells them exactly what it's going to cost: Everything! "Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
If we really want to be Christ's, we need to love Him above anything else. And we should go into our covenant relationship with Him knowing that full and total commitment is what is asked.

Three Parables about the Lost, Luke 15:12-32 (see also Matthew 18:12-14 for the first one)

* In this chapter, the Savior gives three parables about lost things. All the stories are told in response to the Pharisees, who criticize him for eating with sinners. Christ is teaching them about the joy and rejoicing we all should find in seeking out those who are lost and being with them. Instead of avoiding those we consider to be in sin, we should seek them out and bring them home.
* The first parable is about a lost sheep. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine in the sheepfold and goes after that one that is lost. We've talked a lot about sheep and shepherds the last few weeks. See the beginning of this post for information about why sheep get lost.

The next thing that is lost is a coin, probably lost through carelessness of the woman. So she sweeps the house searching for it and rejoices in its recovery and tells all her neighbors of her joy.
Unlike the lamb, which wandered off of its own accord, the coin was not an agent in its loss. Sometimes people just don't know any better. This could point to those who are lost because of the foolish actions of another. Just as we should seek not to be offended, we also need to seek not to offend.

The last story is about two sons who were lost. We call the story "The Prodigal Son," but the second boy is also quite lost because of his pride and his disregard for his father.
I read a fascinating book last year about how we sometimes misinterpret scripture because we have cultural blinders on. One point it made was about this very story. "Mark Allan Powell had twelve students in a seminary class read the story carefully from Luke’s Gospel, close their Bibles and then retell the story as faithfully as possible to a partner. None of the twelve American seminary students mentioned the famine in Luke 15:14, which precipitates the son’s eventual return. Powell found this omission interesting, so he organized a larger experiment in which he had one hundred people read the story and retell it, as accurately as possible, to a partner. Only six of the one hundred participants mentioned the famine. The group was ethnically, racially, socioeconomically and religiously diverse. The ‘famine-forgetters,’ as Powell calls them, had only one thing in common: they were from the United States. Later, Powell had the opportunity to try the experiment again, this time outside the United States. In St. Petersburg, Russia, he gathered fifty participants to read and retell the prodigal son story. This time an overwhelming forty-two of the fifty participants mentioned the famine. Why? Just seventy years before, 670,000 people had died of starvation after a Nazi German siege of the capital city began a three-year famine. Famine was very much a part of the history and imagination of the Russian participants in Powell’s exercise. Based solely on cultural location, people from America and Russia disagreed about what they considered the crucial details of the story. Americans tend to treat the mention of the famine as an unnecessary plot device."
A famine isn't on our radar, but to an ancient people, the hunger, pain, death and devastation it wrought were all in their collective memories. Desperate times can humble people and lead them back home, even if only for the physical nourishment they might find there.
Reading that book has helped me to try to overcome my own context to try to understand how a story would be understood at the time it was given. Fortunately, there are many who have worked to put the story in the context of its time. This article is particularly interesting. Some of the insights I found most helpful pointed out how both sons insulted and disgraced their father but he still reached out to both. The article also points out the significance of the father putting a robe on his son and giving him a ring and feasting.

The older son could very much be like the Pharisees that Christ is talking with. Instead of rejoicing in the repentance of the sinners Christ eats with, they are resentful and expect something for themselves for their "faithfulness."
I listened to a Jewish scholar talk about these three parables once and she talked about how she sees the third one a bit differently. The shepherd counted his 100 sheep and sought out the one that was lost. The woman had ten coins and made sure to find all ten. But the father, who had two sons, made a feast for one and forgot to invite the other. She called this the "parable of the father who forgot to count." We usually think of this parable with the father as being our Heavenly Father and this interpretation doesn't quite fit with that understanding, though it does make you think. Why is it that the father doesn't send a servant to get his older son to join the feast? Why does he have to find out from a servant the cause of the party?
Elder Holland spoke movingly about the second son and how he was lost in his jealousy, resentment, and anger:

This son is not so much angry that the other has come home as he is angry that his parents are so happy about it. Feeling unappreciated and perhaps more than a little self-pity, this dutiful son—and he is wonderfully dutiful—forgets for a moment that he has never had to know filth or despair, fear or self-loathing. He forgets for a moment that every calf on the ranch is already his and so are all the robes in the closet and every ring in the drawer. He forgets for a moment that his faithfulness has been and always will be rewarded.

No, he who has virtually everything, and who has in his hardworking, wonderful way earned it, lacks the one thing that might make him the complete man of the Lord he nearly is. He has yet to come to the compassion and mercy, the charitable breadth of vision to see that this is not a rival returning. It is his brother. As his father pled with him to see, it is one who was dead and now is alive. It is one who was lost and now is found.

Certainly this younger brother had been a prisoner—a prisoner of sin, stupidity, and a pigsty. But the older brother lives in some confinement, too. He has, as yet, been unable to break out of the prison of himself. He is haunted by the green-eyed monster of jealousy.2 He feels taken for granted by his father and disenfranchised by his brother, when neither is the case. He has fallen victim to a fictional affront. As such he is like Tantalus of Greek mythology—he is up to his chin in water, but he remains thirsty nevertheless. One who has heretofore presumably been very happy with his life and content with his good fortune suddenly feels very unhappy simply because another has had some good fortune as well.

Which son in the parable do you relate to most? How can we learn to "come to ourselves" and return to God when we are in error and sin? And how can we learn to be happy for the good fortune of our brothers and sisters and put aside our envy and competition?

The Parable of the Unjust Steward, Luke 16:1-13

At first, I had a hard time understanding this parable, which is only found in Luke. A man has been a steward over a rich man's treasures. He has been dishonest and his employer discovers it. Knowing he will soon lose his job and feeling desperate about what he will do, he goes to men who owe debts to his master and reduces their debt. This is so that they will owe him and will want to take him in when he is fired. The master returns and commends the steward for his prudence.
As I studied more, I learned that the steward had the power to reduce debts without being in the wrong. But that isn't the real point of the story. The real point is what Christ says about the parable. He seems to be making several points:

"The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." If a dishonest man can see far enough ahead to know he's going to need friends when he's in trouble, the disciples should also look ahead and be prudent. It sounds to me as though Christ is also saying to remember to be good to those who might do you a favor someday.
"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." I started reading a book recently called Duped. The author had been caught up in the lies her fiance had told her, spinning a story of being a spy and a hero when it was a lie. So the author, a journalist, researched people who live double lives and their motivations. It hasn't been that great so far and I probably won't finish it, but I did find the attitude of the author fascinating. She distinguished between little lies and big ones, excusing a sexual dalliance on a business trip as "simply an escape from reality," and that she was going to talk about the big deceptions instead. Her attitude was counter to what I have seen and what this scripture teaches. People who justify themselves in small things are primed to justify themselves in big things. The little things ARE the big things.
"And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?" If we expect God to reward us, we need to be faithful in whatever we have been given in life. We follow the rules and laws of the world we live in, knowing that one day we will live in a more just and beautiful place.

Interaction with the Pharisees about kingdom of God, Luke 16:14-31

I love the story of the rich man contrasted with Lazarus.
It's interesting that the rich man begs to be allowed, Jacob Marley-style, to have Lazarus go to his five brothers and warn them of what awaits them. ("I wear the chains I forge in life!"). But the response is instructive and prophetic: "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
Sometimes we might be tempted to think that a big show of God's power and force will persuade someone to believe. But that's just not the case.
In just a few short months, a man named Lazarus will be raised from the dead and the hard-hearted Pharisees will use that act as justification for killing Christ, not for believing. Miracles don't cause people to believe, they follow those that already believe.

Unprofitable Servants, Luke 17:5-10

Luke likes to contrast addresses to Christ's critics with what Christ taught to his friends. Addressing his disciples next, Christ warns them of sin, encourages forgiveness of those who repent and talks of faith as of a mustard seed.
Then he talks of masters and servants. Servants don't expect to come home from their work out in the fields and have their masters serve them. Instead, they will come and serve at home.
We should not think that we should be catered to and thanked for doing what is right. The reward is in the work. Doing what you are supposed to do is a start.
As King Benjamin says, "I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his fcommandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him. And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bbless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

Ten Lepers Healed, Luke 17:11-19

"Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?"
There were ten lepers healed, but only one was made fully whole, and that was because he went to the Source of His blessings in gratitude. The others, presumably, were too anxious to get to the priests and be declared clean so they could rejoin society. There'd be time for thanking Jesus later, perhaps some thought. Or perhaps they didn't think at all.

The Coming of God's Kingdom, Luke 17:20-37

The Pharisees ask about the kingdom of God and when it will come and are given a short answer. Then later, Christ expands on the teaching to His disciples. Just as some were oblivious in Noah's day, there will be many who will be that way in the last days.
I think many of his disciples and the Pharisees still believed that Christ would set up his kingdom in their day. They expected a conquering Messiah who would deliver them from their Roman overlords and establish the throne of David again. They didn't understand yet that the kingdom, with Christ set up as our actual and ruling King, wouldn't come until the last days and Christ's Second Coming.
Elder Holland spoke about having faith during the last days. I loved this exchange he had,"Against that backdrop [of terror and turmoil in the world today], I know that many of you have wondered in your hearts what all of this means regarding the end of the world and your life in it. Many have asked, “Is this the hour of the Second Coming of the Savior and all that is prophesied surrounding that event?” Indeed, sometime not long after 9-11, I had a missionary ask me in all honesty and full of faith, “Elder Holland, are these the last days?” I saw the earnestness in his face and some of the fear in his eyes, and I wanted to be reassuring. I thought perhaps an arm around him and some humor could relieve his anxiety a little. Giving him a hug, I said, “Elder, I may not be the brightest person alive, but even I know the name of the Church.” We then talked about being Latter-day Saints."
Warning against being fearful of the events to come, he later says, "Drawing upon my vast background of children’s bedtime stories, I say you can pick your poultry. You can either be like Chicken Little and run about shouting “The sky is falling; the sky is falling” or you can be like the Little Red Hen and forge ahead with the productive tasks of living, regardless of who does or doesn’t help you or who does or doesn’t believe just the way you believe."

Lazarus Raised and the faith of Mary and Martha, John 11:1-44

This is the culminating seventh miracle/sign in the gospel of John. Lazarus is the brother of Mary and Martha.
Christ has raised the dead before, but more quietly, like with the daughter of Jairus, and more closely to the time of death, as with the widow's son. This time, the healing is public, it is near Jerusalem where the leaders of the Jews seek a pretext for his death, and Lazarus had been dead and in the tomb for four days. The Jews believed that a person's spirit stayed near the body for the first three days, so waiting this long, as Jesus deliberately did, shows complete and total power over death -- no "mostly dead" excuse can be made here!
Knowing the danger that awaits in Jerusalem, and perhaps remembering what Christ has said concerning his death, Thomas, often given the nickname Doubting, shows his character and courage, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." Whatever fear or disbelief he displayed after the resurrection, he was willing to die with Christ. We need to remember people for their best moments, even while we learn from their worst.
Mary and Martha demonstrate great faith and testimony.
I love Martha's exchange with Christ:

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

Her powerful declaration is as powerful as Peter's earlier in the scriptures.
When Christ declares His power, she doesn't respond with faith in the what, but in the Who. She knows that Christ has all power and that if he had come earlier, he could have saved Lazarus. She believes that he is the Son of God. But she doesn't know what will happen with her brother and her grief. But faith isn't trusting in a certain outcome, it is believing that God has us in His hands and that He has perfect love.
I want to have faith like Martha's.
Mary then meets Christ and also declares that if He had come, He would have saved Lazarus. It is easy to picture the hope and agony of those days as they waited for the healing power that they believed Christ would bring with Him. But He doesn't come and Lazarus grows worse and then dies. Their hearts are broken, and perhaps they have questions about why He delayed.
And then we have those three beautiful words, "Jesus wept." Knowing what was to come and the joy His actions would bring, He still took the time to feel their pain and to mourn with them. We, too, should throw our arms around our grieving brothers and sisters and weep with them. Platitudes about how things will all work out or that their loved one is in a better place might not be as comforting as simply showing our love.
Christ thanks His Father for hearing Him. We, too, should give glory to God when through our hands He performs His miracles.

Increasing Persecution, John 11:45-57

The Pharisees, after hearing of this miracle, decide that if Jesus is allowed to continue, everyone will believe in him and that the Romans will come and destroy their nation for setting up a new king. So they justify themselves in their bloody plans by saying that it is better that Christ should die than that their nation should be oppressed or destroyed by Rome. I wonder how much of their justification they actually believed.

Hands full and loving it (mostly)

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