The Joy of a Third Class Ticket - 07.12.15

Jesus’ parable from Luke today is really not one that is easy to grasp the meaning of. It would be easy to look at this and say it is a lesson in social skills. But it’s not. Jesus is challenging those present to look at their life in a different way. He was subverting social norms. What do I mean? I mean, at that time, there were clear distinctions between classes of people – how food is distributed by Roman soldiers for example. Who and how much depended your social status. You knew who was above you and who was beneath you in the social order. We still have some of this today, it’s not as clearly defined, or maybe it is, but in a Democracy it not supposed to be...nevertheless, it is still with us today. Our emphasis on brands or logos, for example. The car we drive has a way of saying something about us. The logo or brand of a piece of clothing, shoes, accessories says something. It’s not just about the brand, but what the brand means or stands for. Flying first class or coach on an airplane is another example of how we are treated differently depending on a “class”. Some of us may fly coach, but may secretly long to fly first class someday. 1 Jesus is trying to get us to think differently. This parable is not about false humility either – it is calling into question the way we order our world. Let me explain further by using the example of the old stagecoach practiceVisit our website for the video of this message.Northplace Church on FacebookNorthplace Church on InstagramPastor Bryan Jarrett on FacebookPastor Bryan Jarrett on InstagramPastor Bryan Jarrett on Twitter