Daily Devotion for Lent - Day 16

Scripture Reading: Luke 9:37-62

Disciples usually come to a place where they have to push on through difficulty in order to continue to follow their teacher.  The challenges they face may cause them to stumble and fall away.  They may not understand the teaching correctly which may also lead to "doing it wrong."

Today, we open with a challenge as they are unable to exorcise a demon.  Jesus seems cranky in his response.  If his rather pointed question is directed at the father, it comes across as cruel.  Since we don't ascribe cruelty to Jesus, we then must assume that it is directed to the hapless disciples.  Teachers get frustrated from time to time with their students.

It is interesting to see that after the failure to exorcise and the failure to understand the saying of Jesus, Luke has them arguing over which of them is the greatest.  Luke is likely using the placement of this incident to make a point.  Our own understanding of hierarchy in the world is false.  How do we ascribe greatness today?

I like the irony of the disciples complaining over the successful exorcist after their previous failure.  Jesus tells them to quit worrying about what someone else is doing.  Maybe we need to turn our gaze inward rather than outward to see how we can better respond.

They miss the boat again when they seek to use power for vengeance against the Samaritans and get rebuked for their trouble.  

But then Jesus shows them their value in that he is not going to just take anyone as a disciple.  To follow him takes true commitment.  It takes priority over everything else.  These disciples who made the cut had to feel a little better at this point about all their prior mistakes.

As I think about the oral traditions that the Gospel writers put on paper for us, I thought about these stories of the disciples.  Who would have relayed them if not the disciples themselves?  It reminds us that they may have finally understood.  They may have embraced true humility as to welcome a little child among them or a fellow exorcist who seemed to be doing good things.

As we move through Lent, how do we have the humility to be a life-long learner?  How do we admit our wrongs - our sins - our mistakes?  How do we learn not to define ourselves by them?  

Prayer for the day:

Merciful God, we ask for forgiveness.  Forgive us for our failures and our misunderstandings.  Forgive us for our conflicts with one another.  Forgive us for not offering this same grace to others.  Forgive us for leading with being slighted rather than looking for the reasons behind the offense.  Bless us as we begin to see that we are all little children.  Amen.

Photo by North Carolina Digital Heritage Center via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.