Gospel Study - Gospel of Luke

reported by John-Peter Gernaat

The Gospel Study began the study of the Gospel of Luke in the second half of 2022. Luke explains in the introduction that he sets things in a certain order in his gospel, from which we can understand a certain way. This way reveals an eight-fold path. The fourth path is the Path of Right Action. This is demonstrated in the sending out of the 70 disciples: it is not that the demons listen when instructed, but the purpose of right action is the change to the inner self; and further demonstrated by the question of who is one’s neighbour, to which Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan and instructs the questioner to “do likewise”; and again further demonstrated by Mary, the sister of Martha, who acts on a true inner feeling unlike Martha who is busy for the sake of being busy and is becoming anxious and troubled – our actions should bring us into an inner harmony; the path of Right Action is consolidated in the meal with a Pharisee where Jesus reprimands the Pharisees for acting in accordance with the law while their souls are perverse instead of purifying the soul and acting from the inner place of Right Action.

Then we moved onto the next path which is the Path of Right Livelihood or Right Living (the Right constitutional condition for Life on earth). This is about ordering one’s life. The parable of the two servants became clear when we understood that the master is not another person in this imagination; the master is the I-constitution (which was about to become an incorporated part of the human constitution through the Mystery of Golgotha) and the servants are the astral body and the etheric body. The I-constitution must be master over the soul or the soul will tear the human being in two, one part following the desires of the soul and the other trying to act out of a place of Right Action. Christ makes it clear that this need to align with one’s conscience will divide families, as individuals stand for what they have come to know and do not act as a part of a tribe or group.

This path of Right Livelihood will be further explored in March and everyone is welcome to join the Gospel Study to come to an understanding of the Christian Eight-fold Path.