Luke
Chapter 6
On the Sabbath
One Sabbath, Jesus was walking through a grain field, and his disciples began to pick heads of grain, crushing them in their hands to eat.
Some of the Pharisees asked them:
“Why do you do what is forbidden on the Sabbath?”
Then Jesus spoke up and asked them:
He entered the house of God, took and ate the bread of the offering, and even gave some to his men, even though only priests are allowed to eat that bread.”
And Jesus added:
“The Son of Man is Lord and rules over the Sabbath.”
But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to the man:
“Get up and stand in the middle.”
Then he spoke to them:
“I want to ask you: what is allowed by the law on the Sabbath? To do good or to harm, to save a life or to destroy it?”
And Jesus looked around at them all.
Then he said to the man:
“Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out, and his hand was restored, becoming as healthy as the other.
But they were furious and began to discuss with one another how they could deal with Jesus.
Judas, son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would later become the traitor.
The entire crowd tried to touch him because of the power that flowed from him and healed everyone.
Raising his eyes towards his disciples, Jesus said:
“Fortunate are you who are poor,
for the kingdom of God is yours.
Fortunate are you
who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
Fortunate are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Fortunate are you when people hate you, when they reject you and insult you and number you among criminals, because of the Son of Man.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. Remember, that is how the ancestors of the people treated the prophets.
But alas for you
who have wealth,
for you have been comforted now.
Alas for you who are full,
will go hungry.
Alas for you, who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Alas for you when people speak well of you, for that is how the ancestors of the people treated the false prophets.
Love for Enemies
Jesus said to his disciples:
I say to you who hear me:
Give to anyone who asks, and if someone has taken something from you, do not demand it back.
If you only lend when you expect to be repaid, what kind of grace do you have? For sinners also lend to sinners, expecting to get something back.
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend without expecting anything in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
give, and it will be given to you—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive.
Jesus told his disciples a parable:
“Can a blind person lead another blind person? Surely both will fall into a pit.
A disciple is not above the teacher; but when fully trained, he will be like the teacher.
How can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me remove this speck from your eye,’ when you can’t remove the log from your own? You hypocrite! First, remove the log from your own eye, and then you’ll see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbor’s eye.
Each tree is recognized by its fruit: you can’t gather figs from thorn bushes or grapes from brambles.
Similarly, a good person brings forth good things from the good stored in his heart, while an evil person brings forth evil things from the evil stored in his heart, for the mouth speaks from what fills the heart.
I will show you what the one is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them.
That person is like a builder who digs deep and lays the foundation of his house on the rock. When the river overflows and the stream crashes against the house, it cannot be carried off because the house is well built.
But the one who listens and does not act is like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation. The flood burst against it and the house fell at once, and what a terrible disaster that was!”
Commentaries
On the Sabbath.
The choice of life always takes precedence over any law, even the Sabbath (1-4). Verse 5 asserts Jesus’ lordship over the Sabbath. In fact, Jesus acts with complete freedom both in the synagogue and in the timing of the Sabbath. His freedom contrasts with the lack of freedom experienced by the men and women of his community, who are entirely paralyzed by the rigidity of a law that, at its core, is about freedom but becomes restrictive in its interpretation and practice.
Heals on the Sabbath.
The Sabbath, with its 39 rules for ‘correct’ observance, and the 613 commandments derived from the Mosaic Law, made Jesus’ contemporaries incapable of living freely, paralyzed by the law’s rigor. That is why Jesus acts quickly: rather than waiting until sunset (cf. 4:40), when the Sabbath ends, he heals the man with the paralyzed hand. The power of the kingdom of God is revealed because the time of salvation is ‘today,’ and the Sabbath must be restored and healed by God’s mercy.
The Twelve.
Jesus chooses the Twelve, but first, he spends the entire night in prayer. He makes his decision at a crucial moment in his ministry, just before the ‘Sermon on the Plain,’ which, although it lacks the content and scope of its counterpart in Matthew (the ‘Sermon on the Mount,’ Mt 5-7), still represents the life mission for those who want to follow him and spread his Gospel.
A Large Crowd Approaches – Sermon On the Plain: Blessed and Unblessed.
Luke highlights Jesus’ beatitudes through four difficult aspects of life: poverty, hunger, weeping (sadness), and persecution. And not because they are divine will, quite the opposite. That is why we can understand his woes as a prophetic lament—essentially, a warning to those who promote and perpetuate injustice, indifference, inequality, and marginalization. With these woes, Jesus denounces the mean-spirited attitude of those who have based their lives on possessions and goods without considering those who have nothing; of those who consume and gorge themselves without thinking of the hungry; of those who enjoy life and have fun without acknowledging those who weep and suffer; of those who chase fame and comfort instead of standing against injustice. What is the meaning of a life lived this way?
Love for Enemies.
Jesus’ project, the project of the kingdom, aims for a new, reconciled, and fraternal society. To achieve this, he provides his disciples with the following tools: love (27); blessing, starting with enemies; prayer (28); active forgiveness, which involves overlooking an offense if the offender recognizes the harm caused and changes (29); generous sharing as a response to greed (30); and the firm rejection of greed and usury as core causes of injustice (34f). In essence, it involves treating others as we would like to be treated ourselves (31).
The Blind Leading the Blind – The Tree and its Fruit – Rock and Sand.
The disciple is called to live a life devoted to the Master’s goal. Jesus indicates that, in following him, mediocrity and lack of self-criticism are the main barriers to experiencing the kingdom. It is very easy to declare Jesus as ‘Lord, Lord,’ but without any commitment, not even the slightest awareness of his demands (49). Faith, renunciation, and commitment are three attitudes that the disciple must demonstrate.