“On His way, and ours”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, June 9, 2025
Luke 18: 31-43 (Forward, p. 42) CEV p. 1087
Sometimes it’s a bit confusing just to try tracking Jesus’ movements, namely because the gospel writers do not always make this explicit. Today’s passage where Jesus once again predicts His upcoming death and resurrection, His passion prediction, says nothing about where it takes place, whereas both Matthew and Mark indicate that Jesus and His disciples were on route to Jerusalem at the time (see Matthew 20:17 and Mark 10: 32). This does make sense, sort of, as verse 35 in Luke says that He was ‘coming’ close to Jericho, in the next segment, chapter 19 v. 1, that He was going through Jericho, and then in verse 11, that He was ‘getting close to Jerusalem’.
What this says to me is that an awareness of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and ours as well—for we are bid to follow Him, is part of the journey, part of our journey. That Jesus died for our sins, and then, by His resurrection, erased them forever and gave us new life, is part of the package. And furthermore, that this is not something that is in the abstract but is real and actual. In our baptism we, and our past and sin and guilt and shame, are buried with Him, and thereafter we ourselves rise to a new life, a new existence, and new possibilities.
But this is not all there is to this journeying with Christ; it is also a time of encounter, just as it was for this blind beggar in Jericho. As he became aware of the commotion, and realized that it was Jesus, he was not content to let Him pass by. He cried out to Him and would not be silenced. Jesus heard him and commanded that he be brought to Him. The beggar knew what he wanted, and said so, and was immediately healed. Furthermore, he immediately went on with Jesus. To me, this says that there are many that we might encounter on our journey with Jesus. It suggests that they may also want to meet up with Him and feel a need to be touched by Him in some way. Sadly, we may sometimes be like that crowd that tried to
deter the blind beggar, perhaps not so intentionally, but still so in other ways—maybe through how our churches ‘come across’, maybe through our actions or words, or maybe just through our busyness or our desire not to be disturbed or put out of our way. But finding those others who ‘want to come along’ and helping them to join Jesus, and us, is also part of our time with Christ, our journey with Him. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said” (verse 34).
“It is easy to criticize the disciples for their lack of understanding. I mean, they were in the physical presence of Jesus, the great teacher. How could they not understand? But we all know that sometimes, true understanding only comes from experience.
“Living in Kansas, I am no stranger to severe storms. When a tornado warning is issued, people are advised to seek shelter immediately because of the potential for imminent damage to life and property. But when I was young, I wanted to stand outside and watch for the storm regardless of the warning.
“I learned to listen to the sirens, especially after a tornado struck my hometown in 1991; the destruction was unbelievable. Since then, whenever I hear a siren, I immediately pack up everyone and head to the basement. Hearing the warnings and even seeing the footage on TV in no way prepared me for what was to come. Like the disciples, I had to experience the horror and devastation to understand the warnings.”
Moving Forward: “Pray for understanding.”