"[Jesus] said another parable to the guests, observing how they chose the first places." Luke 14. 7

"[The guests] all began to apologize unanimously. The first ... said : I bought a field, and I must go and see it ; I pray you, hold me for excuse ..." Luke 14. 18

 

Invited to eat with a Pharisee, Jesus observes the guests. He quickly noticed that they were endeavoring to seize the places of honor and distinction around the table. Everyone believes to be a personality and wants to be recognized as such. This vanity of appearing important is already denounced by a proverb (Prov. 25, 6, 7). On the other hand, the Creator of the worlds, God manifested in the flesh, has vanquished himself to the point of taking a human body to serve, to die and to save his creature. As a man, Jesus lowered Himself to the last place.

Nothing is more opposed to the character of the Lord on earth than pride and vanity. "Debut and humble of heart" (Matthew 11:29), he invites us to imitate him by warning against pride and by encouraging us to humility : "Whoever rises will be humbled, Which lowers itself will be high "(Luke 14: 11).

The Lord continues his teaching by the parable of the "great dinner" (second verse of the day). He identifies himself with this man who organizes a great reception and invites "many people" : it is the feast of grace, it is the call to receive the gift of God. But if many people crowd with an important Pharisee, many refuse to sit at the table of Jesus who offers salvation. All possible excuses are cited : material goods, occupation, occupations or business. . . Everything passes before the invitation of grace. Even the seemingly most legitimate circumstances of life may be a pretext for refusing God's call and rejecting Jesus as Savior and Lord. The master will still fill his house with the redeemed who accept his invitation ; But those who refuse it will be lost eternally. "Do you despise the riches of his goodness, of his patience and of his long support, unaware that the goodness of God leads you to repentance ?" (Romans 2: 4).

Two feasts, two fates ... there is still time to choose !

Source (Please the Lord)

"Support the needs of the saints; Apply yourself to hospitality." Romans 12. 13

 

The Gospel has made remarkable progress through hospitality and hospitality. Here are some examples :

- In Bethany, a village near Jerusalem, Martha generously opens her home to Jesus and her disciples (Luke 10:38). We discover Mary, the sister of Martha, sitting at the feet of the Lord. She listens to all that can come out of the lips of the Son of God. Later Mary threw herself at Jesus feet to speak to her of her brother Lazarus already in the tomb (John 11: 32) ; It is also on her feet that she will pour a perfume of pure nard and of great price "for the putting into the tomb" (John 12: 3), with this promise of the Lord : "Wherever this Gospel is preached in the The whole world, we shall also speak of what this woman has done in remembrance of her "(Mark 14: 7). It's done. The smell of this perfume is spreading to us today.

In Philippi, Lydie, a purple merchant, is so attentive to the message of Paul that the Gospel seizes her. She converted and offered hospitality to Paul and his companions, Silas, Timothy and Luke. This is where Paul and Silas will find the necessary comfort before leaving Philippi in the aftermath of severe persecutions (Acts 16:40). Lydia is the first person who converts to the Lord in Europe. A multitude of others followed, beginning with his "house" (family, servants and other addicts).

- The believers are not the only ones to advance the Gospel through the reception ! After a terrible storm, the ship that carries the prisoner Paul and his companions runs aground on the only beach on the island of Malta. The Maltese demonstrate an "unusual humanity" by their hospitality (Acts 28: 2). They light a fire to dry and warm the 276 castaways who come out of the sea stripped of everything. Their generosity lasted for three months. Paul finally arrives in Rome where he remains imprisoned for two years. His ministry continues to this day by the epistles he wrote during this first imprisonment in Rome (Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon).

- The apostle John is pleased to learn that Gaius, his spiritual son, opens his house to those who have gone to proclaim the Gospel and offers hospitality not only to those he knows but also to Evangelists whom he never met (3 John 5: 7). If John writes to Gaius, it is to make sure that he can always count on him to accommodate itinerant preachers. What if this letter was addressed to me ?

Source (Please the Lord)

"Immediately on leaving the synagogue they went with James and John to the house of Simon and Andrew. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay with fever ; They immediately spoke of her. As he approached, he took her by the hand and raised her ; Immediately the fever left her ; And she served them. "Mark 1: 29-31

 
This Sabbath, Jesus teaches in the synagogue of Capernaum and delivers a demoniac, then he goes to Simon Peter and Andrew, accompanied by James and John.
Pierre's mother-in-law is stretched out, a prey to "a high fever," said Luke ; This suggests that his illness is serious, perhaps even fatal. During the Sabbath it was forbidden to bring the sick to the feet of the masters. Perhaps it was not forbidden to speak to them ! Mark simply said : "They told her about it" ; Luke : "He is asked to do something for her" (Luke 8:38). The forms are respected, and the Master is at home !
The Lord approaches her, takes her by the hand and makes her rise. The fever disappeared. Normally the fever, even after falling, leaves the patient weakened. Here the healing is instantaneous, complete. No sequelae ! "Miracles are not a rupture of the laws of the universe, but often they appear as a return of order in disorder" (D. Vernet). That day, at the synagogue, the devil came out of the possessed man ; In the house of Peter, the fever has left her mother-in-law. Here it is as if the disease had never existed !
What is the first use which this woman makes of the forces which have just been restored to her ? It is to serve the Sabbath meal to Jesus and His disciples.
For Peter's mother-in-law, as for us, gratitude is seen in service : saved to serve, yes, saved to serve the Lord, as Matthew states : "She arose, and she served him" (Matt. 8. 15), that day and probably on the following days.
Jesus is always ready to be received in our homes and to grant us his deliverances. Like the disciples, let us talk about what concerns us. The house of Simon and Andrew will become, in a way, the "headquarters" of Jesus in Galilee (Mark Mark 2.13.20, 9.33, 10.10).
 
Source (Please the Lord)

"God said to Moses : I AM THAT WHO IS. And he said, Thou shalt say thus unto the children of Israel : I AM sent me to you.

"Jesus said to them," Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. "

 
The Lord reveals himself to Moses in a burning bush and confides his decision to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt where he is enslaved.
But under what name should God make himself known to Israel ? Until then, he had not revealed himself to his people in bondage. God asks Moses to present it to the people as : "I AM THAT WHO IS" (Yahweh in Hebrew). It is the proper name of the one true God, the One who is "The Same" (Deut.32.39), who remains faithful to his promises. This is the most used divine name in A.T. (More than 6,500 times). It is developed in the Apocalypse by these words : "He who is and who was and is to come" (Rev. 1: 8).
This name expresses two things : on the one hand the presence of the One who is not a creature but the creator who exists by himself eternally, on the other hand the fact that he enters into relation with his creatures.
When God presents himself in this double aspect before the believers, all fear can disappear from their thoughts, for their faith then relies on the stability and blessing of what God is.
Like every creature, the body of man changes in the course of time: cells grow old and disappear. In his inner being, his thoughts and feelings are constantly evolving. While God affirms himself as the absolute "I am", immutable, eternal in the love that is his very nature.
In the gospel according to John, Jesus often comes under a similar name : "I am ...", most often accompanied by an attribute such as truth, life, the door ... We will talk about these next Sundays.
In the second verse of the day, the "I am" is expressed without complement by the Lord and corresponds in its absolute to the name revealed to Moses. He introduces himself :
- on the one hand as the Word which, being God, exists from all time,
On the other hand as the Word which became flesh to approach men and bring them deliverance.
On this first day of a new year, what assurance, for us who are so changing and ephemeral, to have as Savior and Lord, that which is "the same yesterday, and today, and eternally" (Heb. 13. 8) !
 
Source (Please the Lord)

"The true light was that which, coming into the world, enlightens every man." John 1: 9

"I am the light of the world ; He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. "John 8: 12

The earth is a small marble in space. It describes around the sun an immense ellipse of nearly one billion kilometers in a year at a speed of about 100,000 km / h, or 30 km / s.
The earth is similar to a spaceship with 7.5 billion human beings on board. Where do we come from, where are we going, carried away on this little ball ? It seems lost in immense spaces, launched at a dizzying speed around an incandescent star. Are we sailing towards a blind destiny ?
These questions remain without satisfactory answers, except those which Jesus Christ Himself gives us. After two thousand years, his words always resonate with the same authority, the same clarity : "I am the light of the world." What does it illuminate ?
- Our origins : "From the beginning of creation, God made them man and woman" (Mark 10: 6).
- Our degradation : "From the heart of men come evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, wickedness, fraud, fornication, wicked eyes, insults, pride, madness" (Mark 7:21, ).
- God himself and his salvation intentions : "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3 .
- The author and the means of salvation : "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd leaves his life for the sheep" (John 10:11).
- The consequences of the acceptance or not of this offer : "Who believes in the Son has eternal life ; But who disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him "(John 3:36).
- The destiny of believers : "I will come again, and I will take you with me, that where I am, you also may be" (John 14: 3).
At the end of 2016, Christians, we learn that despite our insignificance in the universe, we are the objects of all the interest of God our Creator. Our life has a meaning, we have a definite goal : "Christ Jesus our hope" (1 Tim 1: 1).
 
Source (Please the Lord)

"Listen. Behold, the sower went out to sow. As it sowed, it happened that some grains fell along the way ; The birds came and ate everything. Others fell on the rocky ground where they had not much land ; And at once they lifted up, because they had not a deep earth; When the sun rose, they were burned, and because they had no root, they dried up. Others fell among the thorns ; The thorns went up, stifled them, and they gave no fruit. Others fell on good ground, and rising and rising, they yielded fruit, and brought forth one thirty, another sixty-one. "Mark 4: 3-8

 
This parable first applies to the way in which someone receives the proclamation of the gospel, perhaps for the first time. But she also addresses me, redeemed from the Lord :
- 1st field, the way : I read the Bible but I am distracted. I forget as I read what I read. The Word will not bear fruit today in my life.
- 2nd ground, the rockery : the Word enters a little. My emotions are touched and I sing a hymn. But the impression is fugitive, and when trial or temptation occurs, it disappears like dew in the sun (Hosea 6: 4). The word had no real effect to lead me to act by faith according to what I read.
- 3rd ground, the thorns : the Word touches me more deeply. I grasp the significance of it, I understand its meaning, but now my work and my worries invade my thoughts. What I read has no effect on transforming my life. Why ? Because God does not have the first place in my life. This reading is fruitless.
- 4th ground, the good land : the Word enters and descends into my heart which it embraces with deep emotion. It penetrates my mind that it impresses durably. It stimulates the energy of the new man and my willingness to act to please the Lord. The teaching I have just read, I apply it by faith : it bears fruit to the glory of God.
The lesson is clear : since the grains all come from a single hand in the parabola, the final result depends only on the nature of the soil, in other words the state of my heart. The seed may not germinate at all, or it may not grow or grow up to a hundredfold. What is my choice ?
 
Source (Please the Lord)