Jesus was a master of the story form known as parables. One of the most memorable parables can be found in Luke: the story of Lazarus and the Rich man (Luke 16:19-31). The parable starts simply enough: “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores.” Very quickly in the parable the two men die. The unnamed rich man goes to a fiery afterlife of torment while Lazarus rests in the arms of Abraham, awaiting the day when Jesus will open the gates of Heaven for the faithful. Continue reading
Labor Day
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Habits of the Soul. Discipleship is thus an all-consuming vocation. It must be accepted with mature deliberation. Discipleship is not periodic volunteer work on one’s own terms and at one’s convenience. Yet what are the marks of discipleship? 
The Olympics are over…. alas. I have to tell you, I watched every moment of the Rio Swimming that I could. US Swimming, not expected to be all that strong, was amazing – record numbers of gold and total medals. There were a few races that had me on the edge of my seat. It was so much fun. That being said, I can totally beat Michael Phelps.* 
The priest I lived with in Kenya was away for a much-needed break. He assured me it would be a quiet week. Which is of course a guarantee that something will happen. Perhaps not monumental in the way of things, but yes indeed is was a memorable week. It was the week the Kenyan Security Forces came looking for the leaders of the Rwandan refugee community – of which my name was on the list. We were all in a meeting when they showed up. We all slipped out the windows in the back of the church. All very dramatic, but in truth I don’t think they tried that hard to catch us. Still, kind of memorable to be on a top ten list if even for an hour. But that wasn’t the most memorable. 
friarmusings 