Saturday

“In your lifetime you received good things...”

Read Luke 16:25.

I have a really blessed life. I have a warm, safe, charming home, plenty to eat, clothes to wear, a great job, a family who loves me, dear friends…I could go on and on. There are many others around me who are not as blessed. They haven’t had opportunities for education, they don’t have enough to eat, they are in loveless homes. Sometimes I am frozen with the enormity of the injustice and inequity. The rich man lived in luxury daily. Lazarus…did not. And after they died, Abraham attended to Lazarus and the rich man was separated from Jesus. Is that same fate in my future because of the wealth I have been given?

Reading more closely, though, it becomes clear that not only did the rich man have nice things, but he seemed unconcerned about the poor. This was his downfall. Luke tells us earlier in his gospel that “from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (12:48). This is both a relief and a weight. The relief in knowing that being blessed in this life does not mean being cursed in the next. But the weight in knowing what a hefty responsibility I have. I have been entrusted with much and mightily blessed by God. And in turn I have a responsibility to use those blessings to God’s glory.

During Lent we often focus on service and helping the poor. Not out of compulsion. Not out of duty. Not out of ritual. But as an outpouring of our gratitude to God for all he has given us. It is a time for me to examine anew how I am using the time and resources God has given me. -AB

Lord, thank you for your blessings. Help us to know how to best bless those around us. Amen.

Friday

“Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed...”

Read Luke 16:26.

When I was in high school our drama department put on a production of Godspell. Michaela was one of our best actors and she did a marvelous job in this production. In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, she (as father Abraham) delivered this line with much volume, grandeur, and gesturing: “There is a great chasm fixed between us!” Only she mispronounced “chasm”, only to be corrected by the actor playing Lazarus; they then went ‘round and ‘round arguing about the correct pronunciation, providing comic relief.

The laughter was much needed, since this is a pretty somber parable. In a world of second (and third…and fourth) chances, the finality of verse 26 is striking. No one can cross that chasm between heaven and hell. If that’s the case, I sure don’t want to be on the hell-side looking back over to heaven, wishing I’d made different choices but unable to do anything about it.

When I was little I was taught that the most important thing was asking Jesus into my heart so I could go to heaven. And I should probably pray and be good and all those things, but really that just sort of added rooms on my palace in heaven. What this thinking did not leave room for was the total transformation of mind, thought, attitude, and actions that takes place (albeit over a lifetime) when I make the choice to be a Jesus-follower. As I’ve grown in my faith I’ve come to appreciate both the journey and the promise of being in heaven. -AB

Lord, transform me completely and continually into someone who is more like you. Help me to be motivated by love for you and act in response to your love for me.

Thursday

“They will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

Read Luke 16:31.

One night recently my older daughter came across a piece of paper with a list written on it. She asked her daddy to read it to her, which he dutifully did, line by line. When he got to the end, she was silent for a moment, then said, “I’m going to ask Mommy to read it to me. She’ll tell me what it really says.” In that moment, apparently Mommy-credibility won out over Daddy-credibility. But even when I told her that his reading was accurate, she was still dubious. She can’t read yet and so she couldn’t confirm with her own eyes that what we said was true.

In the same way, Abraham kept pushing back on the rich man in this story. He knew how blind and stubborn we humans are and reminded the man that his relatives had the teachings of scripture to tell them the truth, but if they wouldn’t heed that truth, they would not even believe it if someone came back from the dead. Raised-from-the-dead-person credibility might outweigh Moses-and-the-prophets credibility but until they saw the deep chasm between heaven and hell with their own two eyes they would not believe.

Are we waiting to see for ourselves? I hope not, but I know I doubt what I cannot see. I wonder sometimes what my mom would say to me if she could call me from heaven. How would she tell me to reprioritize my life based on the amazing reality she now knows? I cannot wait until I see with my own two eyes. I have to have faith. -AB

Jesus, you rose from the dead and yet we still do not always fully believe. Please forgive us for our unbelief. May we heed the words of the scripture and the truth you have placed in our hearts. Amen.

Wednesday

“Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger…”

Read Luke 15:22-23.

I have formal training as a counselor. In my master’s program we spent significant time talking about boundaries—how to define them, establish them, maintain them. We discussed codependency. We touted the progression of children obtaining independence from their parents, rather than their parents enabling them to live a life of dependence. And then we met with clients whose lives were messy.

In this world, Jesus’ parable of the lost son in Luke 15 would end with the younger son ruining the best robe, selling the ring at a pawn shop, losing the sandals, and taking the fattened calf and culinary accessories to party with his own friends. Dad would have less than he started with, a cranky older son who resented both dad and the younger brother, and a younger son who knew he could take advantage of dad whenever he wanted to.

So what truth can I pull from this story? I’m not going to give up my boundaries or my desire to raise my children to be independent, highly functioning members of society. But maybe, just maybe, I can mimic God’s abundant grace, steadfast love, and eternal commitment to me. A sinner. Someone who has at times behaved as ungratefully as the younger brother in this parable. Maybe what I gain from this passage is not a call to show more mercy to others…maybe what I realize is that I am the younger brother. The one who has sinned. The one who is no longer worthy to be called a child of God. But yet God’s promises stand firm and his grace is sufficient for me. -AB

Jesus, as we read your words, give us eyes and see and ears to hear where we fit in the story. Thank you for your unending mercy.

Tuesday

“But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered...”

Read Luke 15:1-2.

My mother once wrote a letter to Dr. James Dobson explaining how happy she was that I was such a compliant child. I was a rule follower, a “good” kid…and the kind of student everyone wanted in their group in a school project because they knew I’d do the work correctly. And I took some level of pride in this behavior when I was young, because I was set apart and admired by adults in my life.

If I were in the Luke 15 story, I would most likely be with the Pharisees—the “good” group of rule-followers. And I would also most likely be muttering along with them about how Jesus is eating with all the rebels and rule-breakers and about how unfair it is that he’s not eating with me, since I’m the “good” one. I love how the NIV translation says that the Pharisees muttered. I can just picture them all grouped together with their Torah scrolls, grumbling under their breath to each other about how Jesus was eating with sinners.

As I follow this chain of thinking, I realize the Pharisees are far worse off than the “sinners” in the story. Not only do they not get to eat with Jesus, but their hearts are full of jealousy, bitterness, and judgment. (Is that my heart too?!) All of their “good” behaviors were completely for naught, as their hearts weren’t right. Jesus warns against this repeatedly in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). It rarely seems fair when “sinners” get chosen over people who do the right thing most of the time, but we all sin—in things we’ve done and things left undone—and so we can delight in knowing that Jesus chose us! -AB

Lord, thank you for your grace, compassion, and kindness. Amen.

Monday

“Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.”

Read Luke 15:8-9.

My older daughter is not terribly attached to her possessions. She certainly likes her toys, but operates with an “easy come, easy go” sort of mentality. Just the other day she was bemoaning the loss of a piece of costume jewelry she received for her last birthday. When I recommended we start searching for it in likely places she said, “It’s ok mommy. We’ll just buy another one.”

I try to instill a sense of responsibility in my girls. I do not automatically replace items that are lost or broken, despite her comment’s implication to the contrary. But, fact of the matter is, we live in a disposable society, many of us with disposable income. I find it can be hard to think about the intensity of searching that the woman with the coins engaged in, in order to find the one missing coin. Maybe that’s because if I drop a quarter or a dime, I only make a vague attempt to look for it.

But changing this story to percentages and putting ourselves in her shoes, we can imagine this: losing 10% of our entire net worth (in a way that can be found again, not, say, in the stock market). You’d better believe we’d be looking for that and I’m pretty sure I’d be telling everyone that I’d found it. In this same way, Jesus tells us in verse 10 of Luke 15 that heaven rejoices when a sinner repents. This speaks of the breadth of God’s grace and the depth of God’s caring about us as individuals. Spreading the Good News really matters. -AB

Lord, remind us to spread the Good News of you to all the earth, and to our neighbor. Remind us that though we cannot reach everyone, we can reach someone beside us. Give us eyes to see as you do. Amen.