Luke speaks loudly and boldly as he portrays the ‘FAITH of Jesus’. Far more than any of the other Synoptic Gospel Writers, he gives a continuous reporting of the Faith Encounters that Jesus has as he speaks this new Faith as a belief system to the masses of persons who sought he out for the healing and restoring of life. Continuing the summation of Luke’s use of Jesus’ Faith in his Gospel.
8th the single tradition ‘The Healing of Ten Lepers’. The one returning leper ‘falling on his face’. The ‘seeking God’s face’ gave meaning to daily living in the Old Testament. The ‘face’, the ‘countenance’, the ‘presence’ of God, the ‘face to face’ encounter with God is the prayer and longing of the believer in securing the grace and peace given in a right relationship with God. ‘Falling on one’s face’. To surrender the most important part of the body— while in praise and thanksgiving to God for cleansing from disease. Ten were healed. One came back. But then, ‘face to face’… with Jesus, he ‘falls on his face’!
9th a single tradition parable,‘The Unjust Judge’. Luke has indicated that it’s effect should be in direct relationship to ‘proseuchomai/prayer’ (without ceasing) and ‘egkakeo/not loose heart’. ‘Egkakeo’ has at it’s root ‘kakos/evil’! In raising the ‘problem of evil’ in this parable, this Judge, Luke records Jesus saying, is ‘adikias/unrighteous’ ‘a violator of law’; which is soon used for those who ‘uphold the law as violators of law’. “When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
So very timely this week to return to Jesus’ Saying on “The Unjust Judge”. What with perhaps the most filthiest political climate that modern America has yet seen. There is no parallel to this Parable so to iterate again the boldness of Luke.
What we see simply as ‘loose heart’, is of far greater consequence than what meets the eye. The word ‘egkakeo/not loose heart’ is rooted in ‘kakos/evil’! In raising the ‘problem of evil’ in this parable, Luke has opened the door to a major dialogue on ‘That Part’ that we, even as The Church, allow to have dominion— (why can’t we cast it out? No thought, no practice in combating EVIL)! Contrary to the ever popular belief and teaching (in the Christian Church???) on an ‘external source’ of evil… (d)evil/Satan???— Jesus has clearly regarded the (hu)man heart as the source and seat of evil! When the Heads (of Nation, of State, of Church, of Household, of School) does evil, the effect is that— ‘when I would do good, I too…’!
To distinguish ‘proseuchomai/prayer’ from the various other words used for prayer in New Testament scripture, this word is more indicative of prayer as ‘phenomenon’; ‘a lifestyle’; to ‘call on God’ without content nor intent; ‘a piousness’. To live in a ‘state of prayerfulness’— “My House shall be called a House of Prayer”! It is not a ‘petition’ nor ‘asking’ when in need. It is not a small thing that when trouble comes, when sickness and adversity comes, the believer and the non-believer alike ‘call on the same God’ —BOTH the Saint and the Sinner… Prays! ‘Proseuchomai/prayer’ has the sense of calling on God for PRESENCE at all times, allowing the Will of God to be done without having to indicate to an Omniscient God what needs to be done. It’s ‘lifestyle’— it’s ‘homestyle’!
10th a triple tradition ‘The Healing Of The Blind Man At Jericho’. A man with ‘no sight’, with keen sense of ‘hearing’ knew that something was going on and when he came to know ‘who’ was in this crowd’ he cried out to him with a title that released rebuke. Jesus stopped, turned to him and said, ‘What do you want me to do for you?” ‘Blepo’ the term used here for ‘to see’ is used three times in this text with each occurrence being the form ‘anablepo/to see again’. Not the physical sight that is being wished for, it is clearly something that he once had, but has now lost— “Lord I want to see Again!
11th is ‘Peter’s Denial Prophesied’. You can chose god at any point of the pyramid image, but any point below THE single and solitary TOP, will require you to work out and rationalize your opposite point— your ‘enemy’, your ‘satan’. (Kinda’ schizophrenic by nature?) Do you want to be made whole?
In this the final use of ‘pistis/faith’, it is noteworthy to see in ‘epistrephas’ the word used here for ‘turned again’— the root, ‘pist/ in faith! Never could have seen it based upon translation. (True meaning of the saying ‘lost in translation’). To be sure it is a compound word, ‘epistrephas’, which has a long history by the time we see Luke as the primary user in New Testament. It has the sense of ‘to convert’; ‘to change’; ‘to turn one’s attention to’; ‘to pay regard to’. ‘To return to the ground of being or to oneself’; ‘necessary change in inner attitude’. And when you have… strengthen your Brethren. ‘Sterison’— “to make fast’; ‘to support’; ‘to fix so that it stands upright and immovable’; ‘make firm’; ‘ground’; ‘hold steadfast’. Over and over again I am confronted with persons whom I knew (or whom I thought I knew before their ‘rise to power??”)— forget to remember! Peter, I know that you will ‘loose yourself’, but, when you do ‘get back to yourself’… strengthen your brethren!
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