One of the most common refrains I hear from people is how busy they are. I’d almost go so far as to say it’s the defining complaint of my generation. And it kind of makes sense to me that the rise of busyness has coincided with the accelerating pace of technology and the information overload that it has produced. More options, more access and more social media fueled FOMO than ever before has created a hyperbolic schedule-to-time ratio that more often than not leaves us exhausted and depressed.
Category: Live
I’ve been thinking this weekend about how the timing of the coronavirus has coincided with the season of Lent. Lent doesn’t seem to get a lot of press this day and age, unless you’re Catholic or are part of a more liturgical Christian persuasion, but it can be very instructive in times like these.
Where I’m writing from, we’re at the end of the first real week of a fundamental shift. This is the first week of working exclusively remotely and of not having access to toilet paper. The first week of not being able to run out to a restaurant for lunch or catch up on my email in the coffee shop a block away. The first week that virtually every event on my calendar for the next few months was cancelled.
I love breakfast. But it’s one of those meals that is so easy to shove off to the side when I’m in a hurry to get out the door for work and I feel like I’m already behind. Problem is, when the morning starts off in crisis mode, the whole day tends to follow that pattern, for me at least. There’s something cathartic crafting a breakfast experience that’s a little outside the norm and that forces a pause in the morning before the chaos begins. Of course, that requires a little effort and planning to pull off mid-week, but maybe that’s a discipline I need a little more of!
This post is a reflection on the Parable of the Persistent Widow and the Unrighteous Judge in Luke 18. But before considering this parable, I’d like to start by reflecting upon a Psalm:
Actually, this morning we come to the Parable of the Prodigal Son, probably one of the more famous parables that Jesus told. It’s a fairly straightforward parable that concludes a trilogy of teachings about the heart of the Father towards his wayward and sinful children. To refresh your memory from last week, we’ve been looking at Luke chapter 15.
This morning we approach the parable of the Great Banquet. This is a continuation of the same event that we studied last week. To refresh your memory, it is the sabbath and Jesus has been invited to the home of a ruler of the Pharisees. While there, he starts off with what is to them is a scandalous action: recall that he heals a man and then challenges them on whether or not such a healing is among the works that should be counted as a violation of God’s sabbath (as opposed to their customs). Then, after exposing their hypocrisy, he proceeds to instruct them in true humility.
We’re continuing a study on the parables of Jesus as recorded in the gospel of Luke and once again, last week it was my turn to teach a lesson on Luke 12:35-48, which is a short passage, but a surprisingly challenging one! Depending on your version of the Bible, you might have a heading before this section that reads “You Must Be Ready” (or something similar) or maybe one that says “The Faithful Servant & the Evil Servant”. So let’s jump right in and study this passage….
I had the opportunity to teach my Sunday school class this past Sunday as we’re going through a study on the parables in the gospel of Luke. Here’s the text of my lesson if anyone would like to refer back to it.
