Hear God's Word and Obey

TUE EP Reflection 102522 Luke 11:27-36 Hear God’s word and Obey While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!’ But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!’ When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ‘This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise at the judgement with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! ‘No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar, * but on the lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. Therefore, consider whether the light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays.’ Look at this woman’s focus: “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” Of course, like her we would think of Jesus family. That’s what we do. We glorify people and their families, we put them on a pedestal (I see staunch royalists following every detail of the royal family or even those who are obsessed with the lives of the Kennedy family) and Jesus knowing this, makes a slight correction in the focus. He said: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” In God’s Kingdom scheme of things, those who listen and obey God’s word are definitely of much greater value, since the Kingdom heals and forgives, it encourages us to be in right relationship with God and our neighbor. To illustrate his point, Jesus began to open the scriptures and explain. He brought up the story of Jonah to teach us more about our power to listen, discern and make correct changes. In those days, Jesus told them that this generation is an evil generation because it asks for a sign but no sign will be given to them, except the sign of Jonah. In other words, look at Nineveans and learn: They listened to God’s word and repented! This is a good point because Jonah became a sign to all of us since people did listen and repented. If we don’t change, it means we are ignoring Jonah’s story as a sign for us. Why do we want a sign anyway? Could it be that like the people in Jesus’ time, we are hungry for what the future holds for us? Could it be that we feel powerless with uncertainty and we want a sign so that we may misbehave as long as we want and shape up when we know the time is closer? Something is wrong with that picture. To be honest it’s like kids in elementary school behaving only when the teacher is in the room. Jesus also talked about the Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon. Her quest for wisdom brought her face to face with YHWH the God of Israel. Now we have Jesus, who clearly is much greater than Solomon. Why aren’t we flocking to listen to this divine wisdom? Could it be that we fit the description of an evil generation because we are not listening and we are not interested in divine wisdom. Unfortunately, we are more interested in the desires of the world than we are in God. I was always fascinated by the story of Noah. People were told to shape up/repent months ahead, before disaster struck. They did not listen because they fit Jesus’ description of an evil generation. They laughed at Noah and his family. They insulted them and ridiculed them. I wonder in what ways this generation has began a long walk of ridiculing divine wisdom and the words of Jesus as we know them in Holy Scriptures. The letter of James asks: “What is causing quarrels and fights amongst you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it…” How sad that this trend is inside the church of God as well. Mind you, James is writing to Christians! Examine yourselves and discern why you are involved in fights that have no connection with the Kingdom of God. Some people believe that what they wish to see, will not happen if they don’t fight. Unfortunately, this view betrays a stunning lack of faith in God almighty. If you want to win at all costs, then your methods will undoubtedly display ungodly tactics, whereas, by leaving it to God, we display an unmistakable faith in God’s power to intervene. What did Jesus teach us? The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We need God’s grace and mercy to overcome by faith. If we are a light, we need to shine so that others may come out of the darkness and see. Our eye is a lamp to our body. The healthy our eyes are, the more intense is the light that the body emanates. So, repent/shape up! Listen to God’s word and obey.