バイブルクラスが行われました

 

Bible class on Saturday july 9th 2016

Luke 14The Message (MSG)

14 ^1-3 One time when
Jesus went for a Sabbath meal with one of the top leaders of the Pharisees, all
the guests had their eyes on him, watching his every move. Right before him
there was a man hugely swollen in his joints. So Jesus asked the religion
scholars and Pharisees present, "Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath? Yes or
no?"

^4-6 They were silent. So he took the man, healed him, and sent him on
his way. Then he said, "Is there anyone here who, if a child or animal fell
down a well, wouldn't rush to pull him out immediately, not asking whether or
not it was the Sabbath?" They were stumped. There was nothing they could say to
that.

Invite the Misfits

^7-9 He went on to tell a story to the guests around the table. Noticing
how each had tried to elbow into the place of honor, he said, "When someone
invites you to dinner, don't take the place of honor. Somebody more important
than you might have been invited by the host. Then he'll come and call out in
front of everybody, 'You're in the wrong place. The place of honor belongs to
this man.' Red-faced, you'll have to make your way to the very last table, the
only place left.

^10-11 "When you're invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. Then
when the host comes he may very well say, 'Friend, come up to the front.' That
will give the dinner guests something to talk about! What I'm saying is, If you
walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your
face. But if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than
yourself."

^12-14 Then he turned to the host. "The next time you put on a dinner,
don't just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of
people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out,
the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You'll be--and experience--a
blessing. They won't be able to return the favor, but the favor will be
returned--oh, how it will be returned!--at the resurrection of God's people."

The Story of the Dinner Party

¹⁵ That
triggered a response from one of the guests: "How fortunate the one who gets to
eat dinner in God's kingdom!"

^16-17 Jesus followed up. "Yes. For there was once a man who threw a great
dinner party and invited many. When it was time for dinner, he sent out his
servant to the invited guests, saying, 'Come on in; the food's on the table.'

¹⁸ "Then
they all began to beg off, one after another making excuses. The first said, 'I
bought a piece of property and need to look it over. Send my regrets.'

¹⁹ "Another
said, 'I just bought five teams of oxen, and I really need to check them out.
Send my regrets.'

²⁰ "And
yet another said, 'I just got married and need to get home to my wife.'

²¹ "The
servant went back and told the master what had happened. He was outraged and
told the servant, 'Quickly, get out into the city streets and alleys. Collect
all who look like they need a square meal, all the misfits and homeless and
wretched you can lay your hands on, and bring them here.'

²² "The
servant reported back, 'Master, I did what you commanded--and there's still
room.'

^23-24 "The master said, 'Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find,
drag them in. I want my house full! Let me tell you, not one of those
originally invited is going to get so much as a bite at my dinner party.'"

Figure the Cost

^25-27 One day when large groups of people were walking along with him,
Jesus turned and told them, "Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of
father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters--yes, even one's own
self!--can't be my disciple. Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow
behind me can't be my disciple.

^28-30 "Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn't
first sit down and figure the cost so you'll know if you can complete it? If
you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you're going to
look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: 'He started
something he couldn't finish.'

^31-32 "Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king
without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to
face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can't, won't
he send an emissary and work out a truce?

³³ "Simply
put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or
people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple.

³⁴ "Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it's useless, good
for nothing.

"Are you listening to this? Really
listening?"

 今日（2016/7/9）のバイブルクラスは4名の参加でルカ福音書の14章を学びました。

先回バイブルクラスでメンバーから提供されたThe List of Christ（キリスト年表）によると、この個所はYEAR OF OPPSITION（対立の年）という区分に位置づけられ、その年の秋から冬にかけての時期に当たり、イエスの最後のエルサレム入城と十字架の受難は間近に迫っていることがわかります。

今回の学びの個所では、イエスはわざわざ律法の中でも特に厳格に守られていた安息日を選び、敵対するファリサイ派の指導者の家での会食に出かけていきます。そこで安息日論争や神の国の考え方、しいては本物の信仰とは何かについての問で彼ら指導者たちをを挑発します。そして、ついにはファリサイ人や宗教指導者に対して厳しい結論を言い渡します。

"Let me tell you, not one of those
originally invited is going to get so much as a bite at my dinner party.'：「 ...あなたがたに云っておく。わたしの晩餐にあずかることのできる人は元々招待されていた人の中にはいない。」

身分や教養のあるなしにかかわらず、全ての人に例外なく悔い改めの実行が求められていることが改めてわかります。それにしてもイエスの語り口調は益々厳しく過激です。また同様にイエスに従ってついてきた弟子たちや群衆に対してもまるで彼らをふるいに掛けるかのようにその教えの厳しさは増し加わっているように思います。

また、当時の会食は特別な意味をもつ機会だと思いますが、イエスは様々な人たちと食事を共にし、特にこの場面では敵も同然のファリサイ人や宗教指導者と同じテーブルについています。イエスと云う方はどんな人とでも食事の機会を大切に用いて交わりを持つ方だということが良くわかりました。

Figure
the Cost

One day when large groups of people were walking
along with him, Jesus turned and told them, "Anyone who comes to me but refuses
to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters--yes, even
one's own self!--can't be my disciple. Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross
and follow behind me can't be my disciple. ある日、大群衆の人々がイエスについてきたので、イエスは振り返って彼らに言われた、「誰でも私について来るのであれば、父、母、配偶者、子供、兄弟、姉妹たち、（さらには）自分自身をも手放すのを拒否する人は私の弟子ではありえない。」「だれでも自分の十字架を背負ってわたしの後に付いて来ない者は，わたしの弟子になることはできない。」

これら戒めの言葉はルカ福音書の9章や18章、また他の福音書にも複数回出てきて、弟子はじめイエスに従う人の覚悟を問う場面が何度も記されています。

またその後に続いて説く、（自分たちの）資産や能力を確り見積もらずに大事な事に当たろうとする間違いへのイエスの教訓も身につまされる思いがしました。

if you're not willing to take what is
dearest to you, whether plans or people, ... you can't be my
disciple.

"Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat,
it's useless, good for nothing.

"Are you listening to this? Really
listening?"

　教会といえども、人・モノ・金・時間など神から与えられた大切な資産の現在許容量を的確に知ったうえで事業を展開しなければ、いたずらに多忙で成果に無頓着な、まさに塩気のない教会生活に陥ってしまうことを教えてくれているように思いました。

次回は7月16（土）15：00から教会会館で行います。