We need to finish up Luke (I’m a bit behind in the blog, our readings are already into 1 Corinthians!). As we get into the crucifixion narrative of chapters 22 and 23, we come upon Judas:

Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd. (Luke 22.3 – 6, ESV)

Judas the betrayer. There’s not much about him in the gospels. What was his motivation? For joining the disciples, then for betraying Jesus? It does say he embezzled funds so he wasn’t a good guy. And enjoying money, the betrayal was a way to get some. And “Satan entered in Judas…”

One thing leads to another, and soon a person is doing things he would have considered unimaginable earlier. 

Here is a list of all I’ve found on Judas in the Gospels:

• Sent out (Matthew 10.4)
• Chosen as one of the 12 (Mark 3.19, Luke 6.16 – Jesus “…spent all night in prayer to God.” Whom do I choose? This one, that one? Not that one? Judas Iscariot? Really? Some are called for what turns out to be a negative purpose. Or, not everyone we invest in turns out well. )
• Acted as treasurer (why not Matthew? Because Peter wouldn’t have trusted him?) (John 12.4 – 7)
• Spoke up about “wasting” money (John 12.4 – 7)
• Embezzled funds (John 12.4 – 7)
• “Satan entered into him” (Luke 22.3)
• Made the arrangement (Luke 22.4 – 6)
• Betrayed Jesus (Matthew 26.25, 47, Mark 14.43, Luke 22.4, John 18.2-5)
• Committed suicide (Matthew 27.3, 4)

There’s one more thing, and it’s very important. After the resurrection and ascension…

In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out….For it is written in the Book of Psalms, ‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it;’ and ‘Let another take his office.’…

And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. (Acts 1.15 – 20, 26, ESV)

Judas is one of the twelve. He…

• Betrays Jesus
• Kills himself
• Is replaced…and the work goes on!

Sometimes it’s good to recognize the people God gives us as gifts. Men and women who bless us by living lives of excellence. Vin Scully, voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team for 67(!) years was such a man. Vin passed away recently at age 94, having retired just a few years ago at age 88. Here are a few snippets from Jason Gay’s tribute, published in the Wall Street Journal, August 3, 2022.

There was nothing like Vin Scully, and never will be again. Better than the ballgame itself. Scully…was not just a defining broadcaster, not just the narrator of a franchise’s seismic journey from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, not just the melody of a baseball era, but eras. 

He called Hank Aaron’s 715th (“There’s a high drive to deep left center field…”) He called Kirk Gibson (“And look who’s coming up…”) He called Bill Buckner (“Little roller up along first…”) He called Don Larsen’s perfect game (“Got him! The greatest game ever pitched!”) and Sandy Koufax’s as well (“2-2 to Harvey Kuenn, one strike away…”)

He also called doubleheaders and snoozers and blowouts all the spaces in between that make a baseball season such an epic. Scully at the microphone was an event unto itself, so much so he called many games by himself. He had a novelist’s command of language, a gift with metaphor (“He pitches as though he’s double parked,” he said of Bob Gibson) and, critically, he knew when not to speak, and let a moment breathe. (Note his wordless treatments after Gibson’s and Aaron’s iconic home runs.)

I recommend the article in its entirety.

But what struck me were these two paragraphs:

When I met him in 2016, I asked him if he felt lucky to have arrived in baseball when he did. He shook the question off like a veteran fastballer. 

“Oh, no, not lucky,” he said. “Lucky is too cheap a word. I really feel blessed. I truly believe God has given me these gifts. He gave it to me at a young age, and he’s allowed me to keep it all these years? That’s a gift. I say this because I believe it: I should spend a lot more time on my knees than I do.”

God has people everywhere doing all kinds of things to enrich our world.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4.10, NIV)

Jesus said a lot of confusing things in what we call The Olivet Discourse, but the application is always there!

But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21.34 – 36, ESV)

Live intentionally! Stay awake. Pray. 

I was talking with a pastor friend of mine over lunch the other day about the model of ministry that the pastor is supposed to “soak in the word” all week so he’ll have something to give to the people. I know many pastors and seminary professors who subscribe to that. One fellow told me that he was taught in seminary to spend 20 – 30 hours every week for his 30-minute sermon. Sounds excessive to me. Most people aren’t taking notes even if they are listening – and some are only pretending to listen!

Hugh Halter, author of Tangible Kingdom, told me he gives Sunday morning about two hours of preparation. I attended a service of his “Adullam Community” in Denver when it was active, and it was one of the best Sunday morning experiences I’ve ever had. (The name came from 1 Samuel 22.1, 2 – look it up!)

Back to the lunch…my friend’s leadership accuses him of not being in the word enough. (Meaning, I think, you didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know.) That’s why they like his associate pastor who does precisely that. He studies all those hours. Why? He wants to get it right. My friend said he just wants them to hear it. I would have wanted them to do it!

When the apostles said they were “giving themselves to the Word and prayer” (Acts 6.4), I don’t think they meant 30 hours of study for a 30-minute sermon:

And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. (Acts 5.42, ESV)

Francis Chan, when he was in the pastorate, originally subscribed to the long-preparation model, but he realized that he couldn’t really do his job of equipping believers and discipling men if he spent all his time in the study. He cut way back on his preparation time so he could spend time with people. Dr. Jim Singleton, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Colorado Springs, said, “Preaching is my day job; my real ministry is investing in men.”

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2.1, 2, NIV)

PS If you’re not a pastor, pray that your pastor will find the right balance among sermon preparation, ministering to the needy, and investing in people.

Last week, I was privileged to share with some high school kids in western Colorado about how to have time with God. One of the themes will be “discipline for a lifetime.” That is, form a discipline when you’re young that will serve you your entire life. The day before we left to drive out there, our daughter Melody and family moved to their new teaching assignment on Grand Cayman Island. Melody posted on Facebook her first morning there:

First morning in our new home. I thought I’d try sitting out on my porch for my quiet time (read my Bible and write in my prayer journal). Well… let’s just say it’s a little distracting out here. [because of the chickens looking for handouts!]

One of Melody’s friends wrote, ” What’s a prayer journal?”

Melody responded:

After I read a chapter or two, I pray and think about which verse or verses are speaking to me most. Then I write them down in my journal, and I write out a prayer. I talk to God about everything, and writing down my prayer kind of helps me to focus. sometimes I go back and read my old journal entries. It’s really cool to look back and see how God was working in my life. I’ve been doing this since I was in high school.

Melody is now 47. Discipline for a lifetime indeed.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. (Psalm 5.3, NKJV)

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3.14, 15, NKJV)

Continuing with observations from Luke’s gospel, my friend and fellow church discipleship coach shared with me what the Lord told him from Luke 12:

And [Jesus] said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all kinds of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12.15)

“All kinds of covetousness” – Ray said that when he read that, he asked the Lord, “What kind of covetousness am I guilty of?” And the answer came immediately: “Ministry envy”

Pastors are always comparing church sizes. Those of us in more relational disciple-making ministries compare the numbers of people we are working with and their quality. “Ministry envy.”

One mega-church pastor who didn’t finish well was once urged to seek out a mentoring relationship with a particular, more experienced pastor. His response? “He can’t teach me anything. My church is bigger than his church.”

Ray has had some health problems recently, and a friend loaned him some books to read. One was about Alaskan sled dogs. The author said that often at the beginning of a race, one is tempted to look over at the other guys’ dogs. “Wow. He has a better-looking set of dogs than I do.” The author then wrote that the #1 motto of sled dog drivers is this:

You can only drive the dogs you have, not the dogs someone else has.

That’s a good word…for pastors, for disciple-makers, for anyone who leads a team. Ray’s daughter once played basketball at the college level. Her team didn’t do all that well, partly because her coach didn’t know how to build a team around the strengths of the players she had.

And [Jesus] said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all kinds of covetousness…” (Luke 12.15)

For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. (2 Corinthians 10.12, NKJV)

Speaking of “getting by on good behavior,” the basketball legend Bill Russell passed away on July 31 at the age of 88. Many “good white people” in his day weren’t even getting by on good behavior – they were outright hostile because he was black.

I remember him well when he started playing for the Boston Celtics in 1956, having won the NCAA basketball championship with the University of San Francisco in 1955 and 1956, and the Olympic gold medal. My dad was in awe: “He’s got springs in his legs!”

It didn’t occur to me until I started reading tribute articles what a tough time he had. Here are some snippets from Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal. His article is worth the read in its entirety.

He was ruthlessly honest. He came of age in Louisiana, then Oakland, at a time when blunt racism, segregation and vestiges of slavery were norms, and moved from college (where the sport tried to curb his dominance by widening the foul lane) to the NBA in an era when a rival club owner could discuss quotas and whether or not Black players should be allowed to guard white stars. Some stories are well known—Russell and teammates boycotting a game in Kentucky after being refused service at a restaurant; Russell returning to his home in the Boston suburbs to find it trashed, a racial epithet scrawled in excrement on his wall. There were other humiliations—the way white coaches asked Russell to pal around with Black players, assuming they would be fast friends; A restaurant guest flipping Russell her keys, thinking he was the parking lot valet; A Boston neighborhood petitioning to try to stop Russell and his family from moving there. 

He moved there, nevertheless. 

“He was a man.” It was not a declaration of modesty, but a demand of basic respect. Russell…is inarguably one of the greatest athletes in the history of team sports, collecting 11 titles in 13 seasons with the Boston Celtics. But Russell’s essential legacy is his lifelong insistence on being rendered as a complete human being, with all rights, privileges, fears and frailties—“a man, nothing more,” as he put it more than five decades ago. – Jason Gay, Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2022

Howard Bryant of ESPN wrote:

When Russell arrived in Boston, widely considered the most racist city in America, he did so only because neither the ownership of the St. Louis Hawks nor its white fan base wanted a star Black player as its face…The [Celtics] belonged to the coach, Red Auerbach, and his star, [Bob] Cousy, who basked in being the leader, the hero from the local college (Holy Cross) but could not accept — as most great players cannot — that he was being eclipsed by a better teammate. Cousy won six titles with Russell, but none without him. Auerbach won nine titles as a coach, but none as a coach without him. The city responded to the Celtics’ greatness by failing to draw attendance, by humiliating Russell and revealing whenever it could, the racial double standards of feting white stars while merely appreciating its Black ones. Russell won two college championships at the University of San Francisco… He won a gold medal for a country whose Black children several months later required national guard protection to go to school in Little Rock, Arkansas. [I wrote about a similar event that happened in New Orleans in 1960.] Later that season, in 1957, Russell would win an NBA title for a city whose racial inequalities were so pronounced that by 1974, Boston would resemble Little Rock from 16 years earlier. – Howard Bryant, ESPN, August 1, 2022

These are painful memories. Where were the people who should have called their compatriots out on these injustices? Some of them were in church on Sunday, no doubt, “complacently getting by on good behavior.”

People conceived and brought into life by God don’t make a practice of sin. How could they? God’s seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It’s not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin. Here’s how you tell the difference between God’s children and the Devil’s children: The one who won’t practice righteous ways isn’t from God, nor is the one who won’t love brother or sister. A simple test. (1 John 3.9, 10, MSG)

So cut away the thick calluses from your heart and stop being so willfully hardheaded. GOD, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing. You must treat foreigners with the same loving care— remember, you were once foreigners in Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10.16 – 19, MSG)

Yesterday we looked at the strange parable of the Shrewd Manager and reflected on verses 8 and 9 as it appears in The Message:

Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior. (Luke 16.8, 9, MSG)

Unfortunately, that’s what a lot of us do: “Complacently just get by on good behavior” instead of really living. Going to church is good behavior. Leaving a conversation with your friend so you can meet someone new might be “really living.” Cutting your grass so your yard isn’t an eyesore is good behavior. Cutting your neighbor’s grass if they’re sick or on travel might be really living.

Here’s a stunner: I’ve never heard anyone tie the story of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus at the end of Luke 16 with the parable of the shrewd manager at the beginning of Luke 16.

“Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteousness wealth…” (Luke 16.9, ESV) The rich man did not make friends with his wealth. He could have helped Lazarus who would then have received the rich man at Abraham’s side. 

“They have Moses and the prophets” who are clear about how we should take care of the poor. The rich man was “complacently getting by on good behavior.” There’s no record that he cheated to get his money or was mean to anyone. He probably went to synagogue every week. He just didn’t extend himself. Maybe he just wasn’t paying attention. He certainly didn’t take any action. And, by the way, he ended up in hell.

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3.17, 18, ESV)

We come to the strange parable of the shrewd manager (Luke 16.1 – 9) which ends:

The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. (Luke 16.8, 9, ESV)

The dishonest manager was commended for his shrewdness! Really? And verse 9 leaves us confused – “make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth.” What does that mean? I like Eugene Peterson’s take on verses 8 and 9 as recorded in The Message:

Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior. (Luke 16.8, 9, MSG)

He was commended for his shrewdness. For his creativity. His shrewdness was illegal, but Jesus apparently thinks shrewdness and creativity are better than always “coloring within the lines”! We need to engage in “creative survival” not just “good behavior.”

What’s the application? Jesus was outside the lines. That’s what the Pharisees criticized him for. He didn’t meticulously obey every law at the expense of meeting needs. “Good behavior” is attending synagogue. “Creative survival” is healing someone while there, even if it is the Sabbath. 

And there might be a connection between the opening of Luke 16 with the dishonest manager and the closing of Luke 16: the story of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar. Stay tuned.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5.13 – 16, ESV)

We interrupt this blog to bring you a word from our Creator:

It’s the last of this year’s super moons. I had to go out Thursday night and found myself at the perfect spot as it rose, orange, bigger than life. If you missed it, it’s not too late. Friday’s is supposed to be almost the same.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8.3, 4, ESV)