Each day read the Gospel passage
for the day and the Psalm passage for the day (you can read them all at once or
do one reading in the morning and one in the evening) and use the reflection
questions to help process the passage.
The 16th day of Lent
Saturday February 27th, 2016
Gospel Reading
The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting
his possessions. 2 So he called him
in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your
management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My
master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to
beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that,
when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He
asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 ”‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly,
and make it four hundred.’
7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
”‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he
had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing
with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain
friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into
eternal dwellings.
10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be
trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be
dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been
trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy
with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate
the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15
He said to them, “You are the ones who justify
yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued
among men is detestable in God’s sight.
Additional Teachings
16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John.
Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God
18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman
commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine
linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with
sores 21 and longing to eat what fell
from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels
carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he
looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham,
have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool
my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your
lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but
now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm
has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can
anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my
father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let
him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let
them listen to them.’
30 ”‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the
dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the
Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version.
2005. Grand Rapids , MI
Reflection
Questions:
- What does Jesus teach about trustworthiness?
- What happens when you serve two masters?
- The “Law and the Prophets” and “Moses and the Prophets” are another way of saying the Scriptures – the Bible. How will the Bible help us?
- What is the warning in verse 31? If we don’t read the Bible what won’t we be able to believe? Remember this when Easter comes.
Psalm Reading
33 Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees;
then I will keep them to the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I will keep your law
and obey it with all my heart.
35 Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.
36 Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.
38 Fulfill your promise to your servant,
so that you may be feared.
39 Take away the disgrace I dread,
for your laws are good.
40 How I long for your precepts!
Preserve my life in your righteousness.
Waw
41 May your unfailing love come to me, O LORD,
your salvation according to your promise;
42 then I will answer the one who taunts me,
for I trust in your word.
43 Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth,
for I have put my hope in your laws.
44 I will always obey your law,
for ever and ever.
45 I will walk about in freedom,
for I have sought out your precepts.
46 I will speak of your statutes before kings
and will not be put to shame,
47 for I delight in your commands
because I love them.
48 I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love,
and I meditate on your decrees.
Reflection
Questions:
1. Highlights the
parts of this Psalm that relate to the reading in Luke 16 today.
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