Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and Levites –
everyone, that is, whom God had inspired to do so – prepared to go up to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. All their neighbors gave them help in every way, with silver, gold, goods, and cattle, and with many precious gifts besides all their free-will offerings. Ezra 1:5-6
everyone, that is, whom God had inspired to do so – prepared to go up to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. All their neighbors gave them help in every way, with silver, gold, goods, and cattle, and with many precious gifts besides all their free-will offerings. Ezra 1:5-6
Jesus said to the crowd: "No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away." Luke 18:16-18
or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away." Luke 18:16-18
Piety
What a wondrous time is spring when all the trees are budding.
The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming.
That's how it is with God's love.
Once you've experienced it. You want to sing; it's fresh like spring.
You want to pass it on.
Study
Are you in danger of misinterpreting Luke 18:18 as a part of the Prosperity Gospel? Do some people assume that Jesus and Luke are talking about capitalism when in fact they refer to something else? What do Jesus and Luke and the translators mean by “more?”
To explore what “more” refers to, look at what Jesus said right before that sentence. Just a few verses before is the parable of the sower. That concludes with this interjection: “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’” (Luke 8:10)
After that comes the parable of the lamp which starts with the line “No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel.” Throughout this chapter, Jesus talks about people who understand the word of God and what they do about that understanding.
To anyone who has ears to hear, more understanding will be given.
To anyone who has an understanding of the meaning of the parable, more understanding will be provided.
Think about this passage not in material terms but in terms of knowledge of the Kingdom. In the first reading from the Hebrew Bible, Cyrus leads the effort to build a temple brick-by-brick because he understands what Jeremiah preached. According to the decree of Cyrus, the Lord – through the understanding of the words of the prophet Jeremiah -- charged him to build a temple in Jerusalem. A physical house – a temple – out in the open – where everyone can see it and take part in building it with their gold, silver, goods, livestock and voluntary offerings.
When you understand what the Lord asks of you, you do it publicly just like Micah explained. “You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (6:8)
Action
Sr. Joan explains how to separate those who view Luke 18:18 in terms of prosperity and those who view it as humbling. This comes within her comments about Humility (Chapter 7 in the Rule of St. Benedict):
Just as false, though, is the idea that "getting ahead" and "being on top" are marks of real human achievement. Benedict says that in the spiritual life up is down and down is up, "we descend by exaltation and we ascend by humility." The goals and values of the spiritual life, in other words, are just plain different than the goals and values we've been taught by the world around us. Winning, owning, having, consuming, and controlling are not the high posts of the spiritual life. And this is the basis for a social revolution in the modern world.
Cyrus is the spark to get the temple built. Jesus told the disciples that they – by example – can shine a light on the way to live for others.
What can you give away to the hurricane victims in Puerto Rico and the earthquake relief in Mexico? What will you gain by subtraction?
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