Saturday

“Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’”—Luke 18:38

Anyone who’s ever been within earshot of a child under five will be well acquainted with the power of persistence.  “Daddy?  Daddy.  Dad-dy?!  DADDY!!!!”—and so it goes, until the offending parent finally summons the enthusiasm to respond to and acknowledge whatever the child may be doing. 

In much the same way, the blind beggar is making something of a nuisance of himself.  Shushing does no good; he keeps screaming for Jesus to pay attention to him, to heed his cries.  He may well have been desperate—a condition that can cause us all to lose our sense of decorum.  More deeply and profoundly, however, the blind beggar’s pleas are an indication of trust.  He believes Jesus will hear him and offer mercy with the same unquestioning trust that children have in their parents.

We’d do well to learn from the blind beggar.  We all are blind in our own ways, but in our prayers we can cry out in the sure knowledge God will hear us, too. -- LG

Lord, please grant me the faith of the blind beggar.  Just as you heard him, so I know you will hear me.  Help my heart to truly know what my head might understand.  Amen.

Friday

Blind man sits by the road and he cries

Blind man sits by the road and he cries

Blind man sits by the road and he cries

Oh-oh-oh show me the way-ay-ay! 

Show me the tru-u-uth!

Show me the li-i-ife, the way to go ho-o-ome.

—Luke 18: 35-38 (paraphrased)

The lines above are the first verse in a song I still remember from Confirmation Camp.  I connected with this song because it was catchy (I remember softly harmonizing with the engine hum of our Aerostar on a family vacation the week after), but I suspect I remember it still because of what happens in the last verse. 

            Jesus sits by the road and he cries

            Jesus sits by the road and he cries

            Jesus sits by the road and he cries

            Oh-oh-oh I am the way-ay-ay!

            I am the tru-u-uth!

            I am the li-i-ife, the way to go ho-o-ome.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, but also, essentially: Jesus cries.  Jesus identifies.  We have a Savior who understands what it is to be human.  What a tremendous gift. -- LG

Help us remember you heal us, Lord, just as you heal the blind beggar.  Our faith can make us well.  We thank you for your healing power.  Amen.

Thursday

“Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.’”—Luke 18:31

We’ve all met those people (we may be those people) who need to test things out for themselves—even when they’ve been informed in no uncertain terms that the stove is hot, the step is broken or the door is locked.  This passage makes it clear that Jesus’ disciples are those types (our types?) of people, too.  He could not have spoken more clearly about what would happen.  News of Jesus’ resurrection must have occasioned both overwhelming joy and a profound head-slap.  They were told; they heard; and yet they did not understand.

Luke tells us that what Jesus told the disciples was “hidden from them.”  I’ve always had a little trouble with this phrase—if anyone has ideas, let me know—but my best guess is that it was simply too much for them to absorb.  After all, this was what needed to happen, however awful, and painful, and seemingly disastrous until the sun rose on that triumphant third day.  How could they face it all if they knew?  And could they ever summon the strength to let it happen?  He needed to walk this road, and so did they.  All would become clear—once they had experienced it for themselves. -- LG

Lord, help me to hear your word and obey, but thank you for your patience with me when I fail to understand.  Bring me ever closer to your perfect understanding.  Amen.

Wednesday

“But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a letter in the law to be dropped.”—Luke 16:17

It’s my birthday and I am, quite frankly, cheating.  I’m meant to be writing once more about Lazarus and instead, I’ve found myself captured by something Jesus says just before he tells the Lazarus story.  Jesus’ words must have been rather depressing for the folks who heard him.  It’s easier for the world to end than for one letter of the law to be eliminated?  The law, which gives many good things, but demonstrates, too, our failure ever to achieve perfection?  What a frustration, to strive for so hard and so long and to always fall short!

How much differently this reads for those of us who know what comes next.  It was hard to give us this life-granting gift.  Crucifixion hard.  Three-days-overcoming-Hell hard.  Only the Son of God was capable of doing it.  But he did.  He did!  And on my birthday or yours, whatever our days may bring, we live in the assurance that our law is now leavened with the essential ingredient of God’s grace. -- LG

Thank you, Lord, for giving us this hardest of gifts.  We can never repay you, but we hope we might serve you.  Instill in us the freeing power of your grace.  Amen.

Tuesday

“He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment….[Abraham] said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”—Luke 16:27-28, 31

As a historian, I look for a paper trail of evidence to substantiate my claims.  If I’m claiming a group of people expressed specific political beliefs for a specific reason, I’d better be able to show you a document—or better yet, several—that explains The So-and-So’s Society’s political platform and how members Ex and Why put it into action.

We humans like explanations.  We like to see proof.  Whenever I get into discussions with students about source reliability, someone always suggests that the only folks who really know what happened are those who were there.  That may on some level be true, but it’s a slippery slope to travel.  After all, if the subject under discussion first arose more than a few decades ago it’s a good bet Ex and Why are dead.

In the Lazarus story Jesus indicates we all may need to think a little more like historians.  We have a record of instructions—it’s called the Bible.  We use our evaluative tools—prayer and God-given reason—to analyze it.  In the end, however, we must believe the source evidence if we are to become heirs to the promises it contains. -- LG

Lord, help us to trust in your promises—even when we cannot see the eyewitness evidence for ourselves.  Thank you for your written record.  Amen.

Monday

“In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.”—Luke 16:23

One of the most chilling interpretations of Hell I’ve heard is that Hell represents complete separation from God.  Such a definition is subject to a constellation of interpretations.  Is it a place or a state of being (or unbeing)?  Does it lie in the future or can we live in Hell here on earth?

I’ll leave such deeply theological questions to the experts, but I will observe that the story of Lazarus paints a picture of a man utterly and inexorably separated from Abraham, Lazarus—and God.  He can see them but he cannot reach them.  As Jesus explains in verse 26, Lazarus and the rest of the angels could not reach the rich man now if they tried.  What desolation he must have felt.  Thanks be to God that we have been forgiven all the many sins which might cause us to wind up with a similar fate.  The story of Lazarus compels me to live a life of thanksgiving. -- LG

Thank you, Lord, for refusing to allow our sin to separate us forever from you.  We offer you our thanks and praise.  Amen.