The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection GPS Guide for Wednesday, 27 January 2021

 The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection GPS Guide for Wednesday, 27 January 2021

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection <info@mc.cor.org>

Wednesday, 27 January 2021

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection GPS Guide for Wednesday, 27 January 2021

A pointed parable—about how to live now

Daily Scripture:

Luke 16:14, 19-31

14 The Pharisees, who were money-lovers, heard all this and sneered at Jesus.

...

19 “There was a certain rich man who clothed himself in purple and fine linen, and who feasted luxuriously every day. 20 At his gate lay a certain poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 Lazarus longed to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Instead, dogs would come and lick his sores.

22 “The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 While being tormented in the place of the dead, he looked up and saw Abraham at a distance with Lazarus at his side. 24 He shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I’m suffering in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things, whereas Lazarus received terrible things. Now Lazarus is being comforted and you are in great pain. 26 Moreover, a great crevasse has been fixed between us and you. Those who wish to cross over from here to you cannot. Neither can anyone cross from there to us.’

27 “The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father’s house. 28 I have five brothers. He needs to warn them so that they don’t come to this place of agony.’ 29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They must listen to them.’ 30 The rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will change their hearts and lives.’ 31 Abraham said, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, then neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”

Reflection Questions:

Some Christians read this story Jesus told as telling us what literally happens in the afterlife. But this was a parable (like “sheep” and “goats” meeting before God’s judgment seat, which was clearly about people, not livestock). The parable’s point was not to teach us details about the afterlife, but to challenge a flawed view about the values we follow on this earth as Luke made plain in 16:14.

Jesus told about “a certain rich man” and Lazarus, a beggar. (In his culture, it was unusual that the poor man, not the rich, got the dignity of a personal name.) The rich man shared nothing with Lazarus “at his gate.” Jesus’ story used ideas about the afterlife common in his day. The “place of the dead” was hades in Greek; the fire imagery came from Gehenna, Jerusalem’s garbage dump where things were always burning. How did those images teach that this life’s choices have eternal results?

Luke said Jesus told this story mostly for a sneering group of “the Pharisees, who were money-lovers.” He said Moses and the prophets could show the rich man’s brothers (or, in real life, the self-enriching religious leaders) a better way to live (16:27-31). What helps you build your social, financial and spiritual values on the teachings of Moses, the prophets—and Jesus? What forces resist those values?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, give me a heart receptive to the life-giving principles found in the Bible. Help me to always read its messages in the light of your loving, generous life, death and resurrection. Amen.

Want more reflection on today's GPS?

Read the GPS Insight by Caleb Berciunas

Caleb Berciunas

Caleb was born in San Diego, but calls KC home. He's been married to his wife Maddison since 2013 and their three daughters keep them on their toes daily. He is a graphic designer on Resurrection’s staff as well as a life-long musician and self-proclaimed coffee snob.

This parable always brings back a weird memory for me. When I was a young kid I remember watching a Christian kids cartoon show (I’m not sure if at another church or at home) that portrayed an animated version of this parable of Lazarus and the rich man. I think the show was about many of Jesus’s parables, but this episode stuck out in particular, I think because of its dark nature and the feeling of fear it left me with.

I remember the grim, dark tone of this cartoon and feeling caught off guard by it. Images of Heaven and Hell and a fall from grace were played out in as kid-friendly a way as the show’s producers could think of, I guess. I remember sad music, bubbling lava surrounding the rich man in Hell and God (or Abraham) portrayed as a judge in the clouds basically saying, “It’s too late now, no mercy for you. Not even a drop of water.”

I might have missed the point that this story was actually a parable of Jesus and understood it as another Bible story as I watched it. At that time, I had been taught that most all stories from the Bible happened as literal, historical events and to believe them as so.

As a kid, the message I took away from that show was that God is judging your every move while on Earth. Don’t be selfish, and don’t lose your faith, or else there will be no mercy in the terrifying afterlife and it will be too late to change.

Portrayed in that way, it wasn’t a very loving, hopeful or redemptive message for anyone. And I couldn’t help but feel sorry for that rich man.

I can appreciate reading this parable again as an adult. I’ve read it a few times since then, and have grown in my understanding of the Bible a bit. I understand now how Jesus was talking about earthly values versus our spiritual values and how we tend to prioritize them in unbalanced ways.

Understanding Jesus as a gracious and wise teacher, I can visualize him telling this same story to us today—maybe in some clever metaphor that would relate to our current social norms. I believe he would explain to us that it’s perfectly normal (the human condition) to struggle with prioritizing our spiritual lives below other things in life that feel so immediate, tangible and readily enjoyable.

This parable now leaves me thinking (as I think Jesus intended) about how my eternal values can be aligned (or misaligned) to my goals in life. It serves as a good reminder, not because my ‘afterlife’ depends on it, but more my life in the here and now. And Jesus always lovingly speaks grace into our human struggle.

Like this post? Share it!

Like A pointed parable—about how to live now on Facebook share on Twitter

If you have a question or comment about today’s GPS or Insights blog, you can send it to GPS@cor.org. We read them all, but because of the number of responses we receive, cannot guarantee replies.

You might also like:

The God of “faithful love” doesn’t want anyone to perish

Our choices separate us from God

Prayer Tip: The Love of God and the Logic of Hell

The Bible’s central message: Jesus

The spiritual purpose of the Bible

Or download this week's printable GPS.

FACEBOOK TWITTER INSTAGRAM

©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.

Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection

13720 Roe Avenue

Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States