Daily Meditations for Lent 2006

Mar. 16 - Thursday

Luke 16:19-31

Readings

The rich man in this parable had it all: fine clothes, the best food, and, we can assume, servants to attend to all his needs. As he told this story, Jesus said that this man “feasted sumptuously every day” (Luke 16:19), to show that he lacked nothing for a good life. This man was so rich and powerful that he may have even had his own copy of the Torah. With such plenty before him, and Scripture behind, he certainly had no excuse for ignoring the needs of the poor man at his gate. But ignore him he did.
The rich man’s fault was not that he was rich. Rather, it was that he was so caught up in himself that he didn’t allow the words of Scripture—or the cry of the poor—to pierce his heart. As the word of God, Scripture has the power to pierce our hearts and open us to the truths of the gospel and the promises of God. This is just as true of the Old Testament as it is of the New Testament. Abraham told the rich man that his brothers had “Moses and the prophets” to teach them about God, his commands, and his love—and that this should have been enough for them.

All Scripture has the force to touch and change us. “Happy are those,” says the psalmist, whose “delight is in the law of the Lord” and who meditate on it “day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2).

Our days are busy, crowded with the needs of our families, with the demands of work, and with a seemingly endless list of household chores. These are good and necessary responsibilities. If they become our sole focus, however, they can easily crowd out the “Lazaruses” in our lives and leave us, like the rich man, consumed with ourselves. God wants so much more for us. If we but open our hearts and yield ourselves to him, we will find boundless riches in his word, riches we can feast on sumptuously every day. May we always be open to receive them!

“Holy Spirit, give me an open, teachable heart. I may be very busy today, but I still ask you to help me yield my time and my focus to you, so that I may be touched by your word.”

posted by Thomas Cagurangan @ 8:46 PM