DAILY READINGS. August 10 14

Transcription

1 DAILY READINGS August 10 14

2 Day 1 The Law and the Prophets Scripture Reading Luke 16:14-18 We return to the Gospel of Luke this week, to the middle of chapter 16. The parable Jesus has just told the Pharisees, about the shrewd manager (verses 1-14, which we will be looking at next week), was essentially to do with a master (God) and his servant (Israel) who is his rather wayward property manager. The servant has failed in his task; what should he do? Be even more of a stickler for the rules (as the Pharisees would advise)? Or throw caution to the wind and make friends where he can (as Jesus would seem to suggest)? The shrewd manager was a parable about money, using money as an illustrative tool in the service of the wider point about God and his people, followed by teaching about money, which, after verses 15-18, will lead into another story that is both a parable about money and teaching about money. The Law and the prophets are part of a sequence in God s plan that continues with the ministry of John the Baptist and then into Jesus own ministry, a ministry in which God s kingdom comes in a new way. Something new is happening with Jesus, but that doesn t mean that the Law and the prophets are now irrelevant and to be done away with. They are signposts pointing to what God is doing. Jesus will be their fulfilment, not their destruction. The same God who had worked through Moses was now working through Jesus. What is your view of the Law and the prophets? What place do they play in our lives now? What is their importance for today? Loving Father, thank you for your word and for your Son. Thank you for your faithfulness to your people and your creation. Amen.

3 Day 2 Everyone Has a Name Scripture Reading Luke 16:19-21 What significance should we read into the fact that in no other parable that Jesus tells does he actually name individuals in the story? Is this not a parable then? Is it a case history, a real example using real people that Jesus knows or has heard of? Or does it represent an earlier story, a traditional tale that Jesus is adapting? We don t know. But perhaps this naming of Lazarus should make us stop and realise that everyone is someone, everyone has a name. For the rich man, there was no Lazarus, there wasn t even a real person, just a beggar at his gate. Maybe for us, the many homeless people we see on our streets, or the masses of starving, destitute, poverty-stricken people we see on our TV screens are just that: a mass, a nameless, undifferentiated group of people that we have placed in the category of poor or homeless or far away. Every single person wherever they are, whatever their circumstances is a person, a human being, with a name, a story, a life. Each is a human being with worth, deserving of dignity and bearing the divine image of their Creator. Whatever the reasons that have seen Lazarus reduced to begging at the gate of the rich man, we know nothing of them. Jesus names him and this affirms him as a human being. What stops you from seeing people as individuals loved by God? Do you ever put labels on people? Why? How can this be stopped? Heavenly Father, help me see each individual in this world the way you see them. Forgive the times when I only see the crowd or the circumstances rather than the person. Teach me to love all the way you love all. In Jesus name, Amen.

4 Day 3 Selfless, Not Selfish Scripture Reading Luke 16:22-24 The rich man was not in torment because he was rich (and neither was the beggar in the bosom of Abraham because he was poor). If this were so it would be a bit of a contradiction for Abraham to be shown as righteous, considering how wealthy he was by the end of his life. The rich man was in torment because of his selfishness. All his life he had only lived for himself, and seen his riches as only for his own use and enjoyment. He may have lived a life where he could honestly say I never hurt anyone. But he never helped anyone either. He never used what he had been given for the benefit of others. The earlier part of the parable showed us that the rich man did not go out of his way to help Lazarus. Anything Lazarus received were merely the leftovers from the rich man s table. Actual active charity was not evident. The rich man s selfishness has put him where he is now; living for himself was enough to condemn him. The parable is thus a warning about human conduct and attitude. How we use what we are given, even how we view what we are given counts significantly in the eyes of God. How we respond to or fail to respond to other people, especially those in less fortunate circumstances than ourselves, shows how seriously we take the message of our God, and how closely we cleave our thoughts and actions to his heart. How are you using what you have for the benefit of others? Almighty God, all I have is yours. Make this a reality for me, not just words. Help me share what I have of yours with all who need it. Make me selfless, not selfish. In Jesus name, Amen.

5 Day 4 Signs Not Enough Scripture Reading Luke 16:27-30 The rich man finally realises that nothing can be done for him, so his attention turns to his brothers. And because he knows that his family do not take seriously the Law and the prophets, something else will be needed in order to get through to them: a messenger from the dead (a common motif in much ancient literature). This is the first indication we have that the rich man (or should it be dead rich man?) is even capable of thinking of someone other than himself. (Pity it s too late.) Yet his attitude to Lazarus still shows that not much has changed. He thinks of Lazarus as merely a messenger, someone to be ordered about for his (or his family s) benefit. This also exposes the fallacy that seeing wondrous signs will automatically bring people to faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. A friend of mine back in high school used to say that he would believe in God if God gave him some miraculous sign. I used to ask him what made him think he was so special that he would automatically believe. Most people who saw Jesus perform miraculous signs and wonders during his time on earth did not end up as his followers, otherwise there would have been a lot more than just 120 people in the upper room when he appeared to his followers. Why do you think people are often so keen for a miraculous sign? What is the actual purpose of signs and wonders? Holy God, you are a God of miracles and wonders. But may I never put such signs and wonders ahead of my love and devotion to you. In Jesus name, Amen.

6 Day 5 Ambassadors of the Kingdom Scripture Reading Luke 16:31 We have seen how the parable is a moral tale about riches and poverty, and it should certainly be viewed this way, but not only this way. There is a wider, deeper view of the kingdom that Jesus is revealing here. It s a parable after all, a story designed to reveal a truth about the reality of God s coming kingdom. Hence Jesus harsh words to the Pharisees: they were treating the people that Jesus was welcoming into the kingdom the same way that the rich man treated Lazarus. Jesus is urging them to change their ways before it is too late, and they end up like the rich man. He s exhorting them to act like the steward earlier in the chapter, who, facing the loss of his stewardship, took action just in time to avoid catastrophe. Otherwise (hint, hint) not even someone rising from the dead will bring them round. This final sentence of the parable highlights two things. Firstly, that Jesus is only asking people to do what Moses and the prophets had always asked them to do: love God and love your neighbour. And secondly, it points towards the way that the mission of Jesus is the culmination and fulfilment of the entire Israel and, ultimately, the world story. Jesus himself, in his death and resurrection, will usher in God s new age, an age where everything will be put right. An age that we, his followers, are to testify to in the way we welcome others. How are you and your community welcoming others into the kingdom of God? What kingdom growth are you seeing in your community? Heavenly Father, may I be a welcoming ambassador of your kingdom, always seeking to invite and welcome in those who do not yet know the king, your son Jesus. In his name, Amen.

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