Luke 24 (CEB)
44 Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law from Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.
Followers of Jesus understand scripture through the lens of Jesus.
Here are some questions for discussion:
1. Do disciples need full understanding in order to follow, or does understanding emerge through faithful participation? What does this reveal about the role of trust, uncertainty, and lived experience in the formation of faith?”
2. How might your upbringing, culture, and community have shaped what you assume scripture means? What have you inherited without examining? What might you need to release—control, certainty, pride—to truly receive new understanding? Do you trust enough to let your perspective be reshaped? Have you done so in the past? Are there areas you are growing into right now?
3. The word disciple means “a follower or student of a teacher” but it also includes the Latin definition as “scholar” or someone that teaches. How might this double meaning of the word support the idea of being open to change or learning?
If you’d like to dig a little deeper, consider the following:
1. The whole truth is that God loves us wholly and completely. We have been told many partial truths on the issue, but to what end? Do these partial truths bring us closer to God or a greater understanding of God?
2. When scripture is interpreted within systems of power, how do we discern whether it is being used to guide people—or manage them? What are signs of each?
3. Some of the prophecies were simply fulfilled because they were prophesied. These were no more than finding an understood common vernacular on which to build dialogue and instruction. What does this process tell us about the need for (some) people to have certain steps taken before they can believe? Consider this from the perspective of the speaker and from the perspective of the audience.
4. When reading these fulfilled prophecies we find often that the prophecy was often little more than a mnemonic trigger. What is something from your past or recorded history you know that would be the final linchpin in your understanding or belief in something?
5. Respect for the person or people you are speaking with helps to build successful communication. The term “pontificate” has taken on a negative connotation over time. What share of the burden in our communication with others is preaching as opposed to teaching? How do you respond to others that pontificate when talking with you?
6. Why do we as a society and/or as individuals cling to the partial truths we have heard instead of embracing the full truth? How do you discern which are whole truths and which are partial?
For further contemplation, consider these prompts:
1. “If the concept of God has any validity or use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him.”(James Baldwin.) We can’t simply get rid of God like this so what does it mean to “get rid of Him?”
2. Is there a gap between what you say you believe and how you actually live—and what might that reveal about what you truly understand? Where does your life contradict your stated values? What truths have you acknowledged but not yet embodied?