ABRAHAM'S CONCERN...

Concern for the One,
BYU Center for Teaching & Learning

What does it mean to have concern for another human person, especially for those who seem to have beem struck with misfortune through no direct fault of their own?

How do we respond in a world where fortune can have dual results, good or bad? What does it mean to speak up for others, to set our plea before God?

“The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole.” (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Concern for the One,” Ensign, May 2008.)


How do we find the worth in each other? In today's lesson from Genesis we look at the story of Abraham's plea for those of the cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah. What is significant about this plea?
Are there differences in how Abraham pleas from how we might today? Where is the concern for the one?
 
Genesis 18:20-32

18:20 Then the LORD said, "How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin!


18:21 I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know."


18:22 So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the LORD.


18:23 Then Abraham came near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?


18:24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it?


18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"


18:26 And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake."


18:27 Abraham answered, "Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.


18:28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."


18:29 Again he spoke to him, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it."


18:30 Then he said, "Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."


18:31 He said, "Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it."


18:32 Then he said, "Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."


Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line

What Is Our Focus?

Stereo image by Gary W. Priester, Eyetricks.com

How do we maintain our focus on what is important in our lives?

Are we even looking in the right way to see what is before us?

The image at top right is a stereo image. Relax your eyes on the image and see if you can discern the word "FOCUS" embedded stereo-optically.

The old saying that life happens while we are making other plans or carrying out the daily duties of our lives occurs to us all. How do we maintain a vision of purpose and initiative as we struggle to be all we are supposed to be in God? How do we recognize the opportunity before us to truly live?

But most important, how does this affect what we believe? Can our own beliefs be distractions to true growth in God?

In our lectionary lesson from the Gospel of Luke 10:38-42, we meet Martha, distracted by both the everyday and the routine of her beliefs about what is appropriate in belief and behavior. While the passage is short, the lesson possesses many connotations. To begin, how are we like Martha?

Luke 10:38-42

10:38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.


10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying.


10:40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me."


10:41 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;

10:42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."
 
Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line

What must I do...?

"What must I do to inherit eternal life?'"
asks the lawyer of Jesus in Luke's gospel. 




The idea of an afterlife has always been one open to debate. Not everyone in Jesus' time believed in an afterlife. The Saducees, who were the ruling class of priests in Israel did not believe in an afterlife or resurrection to come for those who had died.

In the Greek-Hellenized world, contemporary with Christ, there was belief that the Soul or Psyche, symbolized by the butterfly's metamorphosis from the caterpillar to a winged beauty, represented our own human progression from physical being to a higher spiritual existence to come.

Of course, Christianity is not the only religious expression that purports a life of meaning after this one. There are variations on this theme throughout history as well as across our present day human beliefs, whether we are speaking of a heaven, a hell, or a series of incarnations we must endure to  reach our penultimate existence.

However, whether we speak of the ruling Priestly class of Saducees or the Law interpreting Pharisees (the lawyer in the Lukan passage could easily be a Pharisee) who believed in an afterlife resurrection, for the most part a faithful Jew was occupied with his present day life rather than the one to come.

In fact, even though a Pharisee believed in resurrection into an afterlife, he believed this life was key to his/her inclusion in the next. It was his conduct in this one that affected the next. This interpretation agrees with virtually all religious or philosophical expressions of a life after this one regardless of Jewish, Christian, Hindi, Wicca or other afterlife beliefs.

In the Lukan passages 10:25-37 for our study, we see how Jesus illustrates through the story of the Good Samaritan how this life calls us to live in an eternal manner. How the questions of life and neighbor are both eternal in their significance as they are continually posed to us generation after generation after generation.

Luke 10:25-37

10:25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

10:26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?"

10:27 He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

10:28 And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live."

10:29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

10:30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.

10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

10:32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

10:33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.

10:34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

10:35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.'

10:36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?"

10:37 He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."


Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line

Drawing the Christian Life in Many Colors

How does an artist's expression become unique?

How is the pursuit of  Chritian life an art? Are we artists expressing our own masterpiece before God for the benefit of others?

How does your art of life express and blend with the other colors in the box in this age of multiculturalism?

Just as the four evangelists of the Gospels colored their different views of God's story for us, how are you drawing yours?  

Today we look at the story from the gospel of Luke about sending the 70 to tell others of the nearness of the kingdom.
How do we see this in light of our present day experience and Chrisitan history?

How are the passages below colored by the disciples times?


Luke 10:1-11, 16-20


10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.

10:2 He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

10:3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.

10:4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road.

10:5 Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!'

10:6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.

10:7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house.

10:8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you;

10:9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

What do these first 9 verses say about hospitality in the time of Jesus?


10:10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say,

10:11 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.'

10:16 "Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

Jesus has sent his agents and they have been refused. What did that mean for the town's inhabitants of this day?


10:17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!"

10:18 He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.

10:19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you.

10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."


Returning to the Chrisitan life as an artistic work, we should each personally express the life of God through us to others. In rendering your masterpiece how would you color the last four verses on your canvas?

Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line