In Luke 10, we never find out the end result in the lawyer's life. He starts off testing Jesus, but in the end he is the one who receives the test. Will he receive God the Samaritan's neighborly mercy? Will he stop trying to justify himself, admit he is the deadened traveler, and let Christ be the one to justify him - that is, heal his wounds and bring him to the inn of the Church? Luke does not tell us. Perhaps because to your individual life it does not so much matter how that lawyer responded, but how you respond to the Good Samaritan.
The same could be said for two Old Testament figures Christ mentions in Luke 11. Jonah is upset over Ninevah's repentance and so God rebukes him. King Solomon marries foreign wives, builds temples to their gods, and worships with them. Does Jonah join in the rejoicing of the angels over the great city that repents? Does Solomon return to true faith before he dies, and thus the angels rejoice? Or do they respond sinfully to God's correction? The writing ends without telling us. Again, perhaps it is so that the question is posed to us.
The other connection I saw is this - in Luke 10, you have Jesus with a private audience of Mary and Martha. In Luke 11, in a very public setting, Jesus teaches the same devotion to the Word as He highlighted in Mary. Blessed is the womb that bore you is not very far from the mindset that led Martha to grumble - the most important thing being what we do for Jesus. But true and eternal blessedness can only come to us as we listen to the Son. Let us not be too busy to receive Your words of eternal life, O Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment