If he sins against you seven times in the day ...
And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
It is a fact of life that people, even religious people, can lead us astray. Who you allow into your life, who you allow to influence you, can have disastrous affects on your life. Jesus paints a severe image of the one who brings temptations into the lives of others. And before we cast stones at the drug dealers and pimps it would do us well to remember those who cause us to disparage others because of the things that they say from the pulpit. We are all guilty.
Even so, Jesus paints another image, a bigger picture, of the way that we must respond to those who sin against us. Ever notice the disciples' reaction to Jesus command to forgive seven times in one day? They seemed to understand that a "seven times in one day" style of forgiveness required a kind of faith that they did not feel they had. Yet the Lord responds saying that it is not the largeness of faith that counts but simply the existence of it.
Lead me today Lord in ways that encourage those around me to repent, to be forgiven and to follow you.
Neither will they be convinced ...
And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
Yesterday I shared a bit about the apathy and indifference of this wealthy man towards a hurting man named Lazarus. In these last few sentences of the parable the man reveals that he has five brothers that he loves - interesting that no mention is made of their families. The story reminds me so much of the tale of Ebeneezer Scrooge and how poorly he treated everyone in his life. In the end, Scrooge was given a gift of repentance but this rich man died unrepentant.
What Jesus told this man is such a hard message. I think that we all feel like we are special and should receive some sort of miraculous invitation to follow Jesus. To that sentiment Jesus shows us in the gospels his nail pierced hands and wounded side. He invites us to say yes to the Holy Spirit's call to humbly follow him. We all want to believe that our friends will repent if they witness a miracle. Yet Christ here tells us that information is not the problem.
Help us to fully accept the gospel Lord. It is enough that you came, lived, died and rose from death.
Carried by the angels ...
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.’”
The temptation when we read this passage is to go all theological about the afterlife. When we do I think that we miss some important points. Firstly, faith or love are not implicitly mentioned but it seems that the rich man had neither when it came to how he treated this man who was in excruciating pain. This parable further reveals the state of many who are wealthy, both in Christ's time and in ours. The indifference that this unnamed man had is an abomination.
Do you not think that it was God's plan all along that someone on earth would comfort Lazarus, take him to their side and care for him? Does it concern you that this care only came after he died? Is it not a condemnation on each of us who see such people and do nothing presuming that God will care for them as if he can do it apart from us? This parable is way more troubling than any message about heaven and hell. To whom much is given much is required.
Help us Lord to care for the Lazarus' of our time. May we be more like you than the rich man in the parable.
You are those who justify yourselves ...
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
The phrase that caught the Pharisees' attention was "You cannot serve God and money." Their reaction was understandable since many of them were fairly wealthy. They had a choice - ridicule or repent ... and they chose the former. It is a sad fact of history that religious institutions hoard wealth in the form of buildings and property. One Christian denomination owns more land globally than any other organization on the planet. So sad but so true.
The phrase "but God knows your hearts" set the context for his words about "The Law and the Prophets". These who ridiculed the teaching of Christ exalted the outward performance of the law but inwardly they scorned it. I suspect that some of these very people divorced their wives because the Law allowed. This is the way of man-made religion but not of the Kingdom of God. What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. So sad but so true
I am so sorry for the times I justified myself chosing religion over you Lord. Please forgive me and renew my heart.
This man was wasting his possessions ...
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’
...
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
How we deal with money says a lot about us spiritually. Our relationship with money and what it buys speaks volumes about our values and our relationship with God. In this parable Jesus communicates to us the idea that we are but mere managers or stewards and that God is the owner of all that we have. I can see him looking directly at the religious leaders when he said "you can no longer be manager" then went on to describe their dark management styles.
I have to believe that "one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much" was an indictment of the spiritual management of the religious elders. Yet we miss the message in this parable if we do not understand that it teaches us of the importance of being faithful in the seemingly little things that God has entrusted us with. Our faithfulness in small things reveals who our master really is. It is true that we cannot love and serve God if we love and serve money.
Purge me Lord of every desire for more things. Help me to be content and faithfully serve you where I am.
All that is mine is yours ...
“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
Act III of the prodigal's story begins (see the last two days for Acts I and II) with the return of another son. This elder brother returns from his work in the fields to the sounds of merriment and laughter. His reaction to his brother's return was so different than that of his father. He was angry and maybe, from a human perspective, rightly so. He was the one who had to take on extra duties when the young son left. How could the father throw him a party?
Though this son had never left his father he seems to have never really known the father at all. It is as if both of these sons never really knew the father's heart. One son felt that he needed to grovel to get the father to take him back while the other felt that he was right in challenging the father's love. The story paints a dark picture of humanity and a spectacular image of our Heavenly Father. We are all lost prodigals in need of his embrace.
Cause all jealousy and envy to depart from me Lord. I repent of it. Help me to celebrate with others.
When he came to himself ... they began to celebrate.
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
This Act II of the parable of the Prodigal son (see yesterday's post for Act I) and the state of the young boy is changing as he begins to think of his father. What a compelling image he gives us as he rehearses words of brokenness, repentance and humility. Thoughts of shame embrace him as he considers what he has done to his father and the awful way that he has acted. His entitled and hedonistic thinking is long gone. Such is the state of one who repents.
And yet he was clueless concerning how his father would react to his return home. Does not your heart soar as the father takes off running towards his son? I am brought to tears just thinking about the love that this father had for his son. As both a son and a father I can so relate. Can you not see the ring and the robe being placed on the son? Can you not smell the roasting of the calf? Such is the image of a soul who was once dead and is now alive towards God.
No one is like you Father. Words are inadequate to describe the love that you have for us. We praise you.
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