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Explanation of Luke 16:13

За Brian David

‘Brother Juniper and the Beggar,’ by Spanish Baroque painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Juniper, one of the original followers of St. Francis of Assissi, was renowned for his generosity. When told he could no longer give away his clothes, he instead simply told the needy, like the beggar in the painting, that he couldn’t give them his clothes, but wouldn’t stop them from taking them.

Up until now, this parable has advocated gleaning true ideas from evil sources. This, the final verse of the parable, warns that we have to make sure we take only the ideas, and not the evil they inspire in others. Ultimately they have to fit in as part of knowledge from the Lord, not knowledge from the world.

A "servant" here represents exterior things – our actual actions. They are controlled by a "master," or a system of ideas.

There are two potential masters here. "God" represents truth from the Lord; "mammon" represents truth from other sources, without any connected desire for good. Ultimately, we can only use one to guide our external actions. If we choose to follow the Lord (by "loving the one") we will feel an aversion to ("hate") the jumble of disconnected ideas represented by mammon. If we decide to trust ourselves to figure what's good (being "loyal to one"), we will lose touch with real truth and see little value there ("despise the other).

So we might benefit from mammon in the short run, but God has to be the ultimate master.

(Посилання: Apocalypse Explained 847 [3]; Arcana Coelestia 3875 [3], 9093 [2], 9210 [3]; True Christian Religion 437)

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Matthew 11:7-15

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7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.