Daily Scripture: Luke 18:9 Also, to some who were relying on their own righteousness and looking down on everyone else, he told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Parush and the other a tax-collector. 11 The Parush stood and prayed to himself, ‘O God! I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, immoral, or like this tax-collector! 12 I fast twice a week, I pay tithes on my entire income, . . . ’ 13 But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes toward heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God! Have mercy on me, sinner that I am!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home right with God rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Reflection Questions:
”To most people, the tax collector in Jesus' story didn’t seem a good prospect for the Kingdom. Yet Jesus saw more value in his “mustard seed” faith than in the Pharisee’s big ego. Luke said Jesus told this story “to some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else.” The Pharisee couldn’t exercise faith in God’s mercy—it never crossed his mind that he needed any!
- Which character in this parable are you more often like: the Pharisee, looking down on everyone else, or the tax collector, feeling a deep sense of personal need for grace? How can God’s love and grace help you maintain a healthy sense of spiritual need, yet avoid contempt either for others or for yourself?
- An “examen” is a prayer for the end of the day, a way to review the day through God’s eyes. Why not try it at the end of this day? Talk to God about these questions: at what points today did I feel better than someone else? How did that affect the way I related to them? At what points today did I have a sense of spiritual failure, of a deep need for God’s grace? Did I turn to God to seek the grace I needed?
Today’s Prayer:
O God, Hebrews 4:16 invited me to come before you “with confidence,” not because I’m good, but because you are. Help me live confident of your grace, but never arrogant about my goodness. Amen. .Insights from Mike Wilhoit
O God, Hebrews 4:16 invited me to come before you “with confidence,” not because I’m good, but because you are. Help me live confident of your grace, but never arrogant about my goodness. Amen. .Insights from Mike Wilhoit
Mike Wilhoit serves at The Church of the Resurrection as Local Missions Director.
Did you ever watch (or hear about) the movie The Blues Brothers? Some of my buddies and I saw the movie several times when it came out. It had some parts that, well, probably wouldn’t be a great fit in a church setting! And yet, I think if Jesus were around, he might have made a parable out of, at least one part of the Blues Brothers’ story. It might have gone something like this:
Brothers Jake and Elwood Blue grew up well-loved. Their parents spared no expense in supporting their boys. Mr. and Mrs. Blue invested in their relationships with each of their sons. They helped their boys with homework, took them on special outings and taught them all the skills they would need to live a good life. The Blue family was happy and whole.
Then everyone got older. As adults, Jake and Elwood struggled for the first time as they each faced the trials that growing up can bring. The boys responded differently to their challenges. Things came to a head when Mrs. Blue passed away suddenly. After the funeral, Jake and Elwood sat down with their father to discuss the money their mother had left for each of them. Jake demanded more. His brother Elwood gave him his share.
The Pharisee in today’s parable, like Jake, thought he deserved his father’s blessing because of who he was. On the other hand, the Tax Collector, like Elwood, knew he had done nothing to merit all the blessings his father had poured on him over the years. Jake responded with a narrow smugness while Elwood responded with a broadened gratefulness.
How would you respond? How do you respond?
Insights from Taylor Breckenridge
Did you ever watch (or hear about) the movie The Blues Brothers? Some of my buddies and I saw the movie several times when it came out. It had some parts that, well, probably wouldn’t be a great fit in a church setting! And yet, I think if Jesus were around, he might have made a parable out of, at least one part of the Blues Brothers’ story. It might have gone something like this:
Brothers Jake and Elwood Blue grew up well-loved. Their parents spared no expense in supporting their boys. Mr. and Mrs. Blue invested in their relationships with each of their sons. They helped their boys with homework, took them on special outings and taught them all the skills they would need to live a good life. The Blue family was happy and whole.
Then everyone got older. As adults, Jake and Elwood struggled for the first time as they each faced the trials that growing up can bring. The boys responded differently to their challenges. Things came to a head when Mrs. Blue passed away suddenly. After the funeral, Jake and Elwood sat down with their father to discuss the money their mother had left for each of them. Jake demanded more. His brother Elwood gave him his share.
The Pharisee in today’s parable, like Jake, thought he deserved his father’s blessing because of who he was. On the other hand, the Tax Collector, like Elwood, knew he had done nothing to merit all the blessings his father had poured on him over the years. Jake responded with a narrow smugness while Elwood responded with a broadened gratefulness.
How would you respond? How do you respond?
Insights from Taylor Breckenridge
Taylor Breckenridge is an intern for RezLife student ministries this summer. She goes to school at the University of Arkansas where she is double-majoring in Spanish and Sociology. Her end goal is to do ministry in some shape or form, so we’ll see where God takes her! Until then, she can probably be found at the nearest coffee shop or off the grid exploring outdoors. She accepts company either way!
Today’s GPS poses the question, “Throughout history, people of faith have felt a tension between addressing ‘big issues’ related to faith and acting concretely to relieve human pain and suffering. In which direction do you most often lean?” Jesus’ example of balancing the two concepts models for us an example of living in the tension. I tend to lean toward the “big issues” end of the spectrum. I could sit for days and discuss the questions we will never have answers to and read as many books as I can get my hands on. Learning about theology and God’s Will for me, as well as mankind, is a topic that will never lose my interest. But today I am reminded of the importance of action, and most importantly the fusion of action and thought. One of the easiest sins I fall into is remaining stagnant or comfortable. Jesus calls us to act: to run in uncharted territory, not walk at a comfortable pace with my dog through my neighborhood’s sidewalks. The “big issues” we work through personally and as a community hold immense weight for all of us, and are the fuel by which we run. As a reaction to God’s solution to these “big issues,” we run. We act.
Jesus told his disciples in verse 29, “this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” Prayer is the most powerful action we can take as followers of Christ. Recently, I’ve been learning how sacred the gift of prayer is. By being in communion with the creator of the universe, we can experience Him in the most real way available to us in this life. Action can be working tangibly with people who need their “demons cast out,” but it can also be encountering and pleading with the Most Powerful one. It’s the most influential work we can do, as well as the most vital. Our power being immeasurably less than God’s is changed completely when we approach Him. Jesus exemplifies the process of encountering God, and then acting in response. Our actions, though, are not separate from our previous encounter, but an extension by which we continually seek Him and work as His tool.
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Today’s GPS poses the question, “Throughout history, people of faith have felt a tension between addressing ‘big issues’ related to faith and acting concretely to relieve human pain and suffering. In which direction do you most often lean?” Jesus’ example of balancing the two concepts models for us an example of living in the tension. I tend to lean toward the “big issues” end of the spectrum. I could sit for days and discuss the questions we will never have answers to and read as many books as I can get my hands on. Learning about theology and God’s Will for me, as well as mankind, is a topic that will never lose my interest. But today I am reminded of the importance of action, and most importantly the fusion of action and thought. One of the easiest sins I fall into is remaining stagnant or comfortable. Jesus calls us to act: to run in uncharted territory, not walk at a comfortable pace with my dog through my neighborhood’s sidewalks. The “big issues” we work through personally and as a community hold immense weight for all of us, and are the fuel by which we run. As a reaction to God’s solution to these “big issues,” we run. We act.
Jesus told his disciples in verse 29, “this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” Prayer is the most powerful action we can take as followers of Christ. Recently, I’ve been learning how sacred the gift of prayer is. By being in communion with the creator of the universe, we can experience Him in the most real way available to us in this life. Action can be working tangibly with people who need their “demons cast out,” but it can also be encountering and pleading with the Most Powerful one. It’s the most influential work we can do, as well as the most vital. Our power being immeasurably less than God’s is changed completely when we approach Him. Jesus exemplifies the process of encountering God, and then acting in response. Our actions, though, are not separate from our previous encounter, but an extension by which we continually seek Him and work as His tool.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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