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So, we overhear the prayers of two very different men. One man, the Pharisees has done a lot and includes what he has done in a list expecting I guess to impress God. He was doing okay until he compared himself to the tax collector. The second man, the Tax collector has said little but admits to his wrongdoing and is truly sorry. It must have come as a shock to the first listeners to this parable. There are several points to this story. Appearances can be deceiving. It’s important not to rush to judgement. Also, despite the tax collector’s past he did have one thing the Pharisee lacked and that is the awareness of who he was. I wonder if being aware of where we need to grow and change in our lives is important for the development of our spirituality. I am not talking about being self deprecating but choosing rather to seek self awareness and humility that might be critical in the development of our spirituality. Likely the Pharisee was not aware that he had completely missed the values of the practice of his faith. Because of his lack of self-awareness, it is likely that he will not see the need for personal growth or recognize opportunities in his life to grow.

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In the Gospel of Luke 18:6-8 Jesus is teaching his disciples to pray always. He uses a short parable of a woman seeking justice from a corrupt judge. The woman successfully hassles the judge, wearing him down to finally getting the justice she was seeking. Jesus makes the interesting point that how much more will God grant what we ask if only we remain steadfast in our prayers. This raises many questions. Why does God often delay in answering our prayers? I seriously doubt that God enjoys watching us wait. I wonder then if there is some value in waiting.

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In today’s Gospel we read about a healing, specifically the healing of ten people with leprosy. Although this account is about people getting healed of a dreaded disease it is what happens after the healing that is most significant. Let’s take a step back to help put this Gospel in perspective. Leprosy or now known as Hansen’s Disease was a dreaded disease back in biblical times. There was no cure, and the method of transmission was not well understood. Individuals suspected of having leprosy were shunned from their family and community. They were required to shout “unclean unclean” anytime they were close to people. As a psychologist I am concerned about the impact this had upon their self worth and esteem. To make matters worse, there was no clear diagnostic criteria, so anyone with a skin issue, hives, eczema, or even acne ran the risk of receiving a diagnosis of leprosy. Because of this lack of clarity, it is not surprising that we read that leprosy was mentioned so often in the Bible.

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In today’s Gospel Jesus is asked by his disciples on how to increase their faith. It looks like the disciples are finally understanding the ministry of Jesus. Remember the story of the rich young man found in Matthew 19:16 who asks Jesus what does he need to do to inherit eternal life? It was a fair question but where is the focus? The rich young man was focussed on getting what he wants. The question on how to increase one’s faith is focussed on deepening the relationship between Jesus and the disciples. That question alone indicates spiritual growth and understanding of the ministry of Jesus.

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus shares a profoundly interesting parable. I would like to examine it further and in detail. In the parable, Jesus introduces the rich man, we do not know his name, but he wears purple, the color of royalty and feasts, not just on special holidays but every day. We then learn about Lazarus, a poor man. Unlike the rich man, Lazarus has a name. We would expect people to describe the rich man as the one having the name, but we know Jesus frequently reversed social order to make a point or have his listeners see the issue from a unique perspective. Remember the line in Matthew 20:16, “the first shall be last and the last shall be first”. Lazarus is very hungry and longed to feed on the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Notice that Lazarus never speaks throughout. He is the example of the poor and voiceless in our society. The rich man likely knew about the state Lazarus was in as Lazarus lived on his doorstep not somewhere on the other side of town. We know the only friends Lazarus had were the dogs who licked his sores. Dogs usually lick the people they like and bite or growl at the people they do not like.

The contrast between Lazarus and the rich man are clear and profound.

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Today's Gospel highlights the importance of consistency and faithfulness, even in the small things. I find Jesus’ teaching about serving two masters particularly thought-provoking. Often, it feels like we have more than two masters competing for our time and energy. From my perspective, many people drift away from their faith not out of rejection of God, but because other responsibilities and distractions take priority. Family, career, and community are just a few of the demands that require our attention. While dedicating ourselves to these is certainly valuable, there are additional aspects of our lives that also deserve careful consideration.

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Today’s Gospel from John focusses on a conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus. To give you some important background information, Nicodemus was a Pharisee. Scripture scholars remind us that despite the negative portrayal of Pharisees in the Gospels not all the Pharisees were against Jesus. Yes, there was a small group that were against Jesus and looked for every opportunity to discredit him. But, there were a few like Nicodemus who were drawn to Jesus’s message and wanted to understand his ministry. Of course, there was likely a larger group who were quite indifferent to Jesus and his message. One of the points I am trying to make is that Nicodemus was different from the usual followers of Jesus. He was well educated in Jewish law and was dedicated to grow in his faith. Jesus challenges Nicodemus in a very different way.

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For someone not familiar with Jesus’ style of teaching this Gospel would be shocking. I suspect the Gospel would be shocking for the first listeners. It completely contradicts the 5th commandment about honouring one’s parents Exodus 20:12. While there are no actual scriptural references from Jesus there are Gospel references of Jesus showing love to his parents. In Luke 2:48-51, Jesus as a boy shows respect and honour to Mary and Joseph, his earthly parents by returning to them after being found in the temple and submitting to their authority. In John 19:26-27, from the cross, Jesus shows care and concern for his mother by entrusting her to the disciple John, demonstrating his protective love.

We have talked about this style of teaching before.

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