Ordinary Time

Pause

Make room for the real important stuff.

Tigger (in Disney’s The Little Book of Pooh-isms)

Listen

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

Luke 16:27-31

Think

Today’s scripture continues yesterday’s story of Lazarus, the poor man, and the rich man who both die and enter the next realm. Lazarus, the beggar, is now comforted, and the rich man has become the suffering beggar. The rich man, once unconcerned for others, wants Abraham to send a miraculous sign to his brothers to save them from the same fate. Abraham refuses, reminding the rich man that they have had God’s law all along. But they, like him, have ignored it.

I’ve never received a flashing sign from God or a visit from the dead, like the rich man asks Abraham to send. I’m not saying that God doesn’t or can’t get our attention in loud, miraculous ways. But God gives us all we need to know about how to live and treat others. We have scripture, the example of Jesus, and the Spirit’s quiet leading if we’re listening. We won’t do it perfectly, but if we make listening to God a priority, we’ll often get it right and others will see God in us.

Stella Perrin

Pray

Loving God, thank you for extending your grace to me and inviting me into a relationship with you. Thank you that I don’t have to figure out this life on my own. Quiet my heart and mind to hear your voice through scripture and the Spirit’s leading so I might follow you faithfully and love as Christ loved. Amen.

Go

Today, make room for God to reveal God’s self to you through the people you encounter, the beauty of God’s creation, and the quiet whispers of God’s Spirit.

And as your soul is filled with the reality of God’s limitless love for you, may it crowd out all the unimportant stuff that weighs you down, freeing you to share that love with others.