What are the lessons here? Be slow to label who or what is good or bad . . . or who is one of “us” and who is not.
Eventually, I noticed that Jesus did not look into the heart of the paralyzed man but “saw their faith”—“they” being the group of determined friends.
By bringing the need of his servant to Jesus, the centurion makes it possible for him to receive healing. As followers of Jesus, are we not called to do the same?
What Jesus observed was something different. A poverty-stricken widow furtively dropping a couple of coins in the box, hoping not to be noticed.
When I opened the gift, I was devastated. They were the ugliest shoes I had ever seen! I grunted “thanks” and started to walk out of the room.
Luke’s Gospel places before us a nameless biblical woman of protest and persistence, she has no standing and presumably no rights in her community.
At this moment in time, death and loss are all around us, and the fragility of life is abundantly clear.
If there were anxious people listening to Jesus on this day, they probably went away very worried indeed.
Though we set out with others, our friends may desert us. We will not always be welcome.
