Good Morning Friends,
This last week the Jewish holiday based on the book of Esther called Purim was celebrated. The history of the story in many ways reflected the events that are taking place now in the Middle East. Both involve at the core the issue of human rights and who decides what these rights are. And whether all this was orchestrated by God or by people I will leave up to you to decide. But in considering the lectionary of the day I am contemplating where God’s people will stand when the vulnerable are threatened with their lives. Lives have been threatened. You see in our own moment—marked by division, fear, and rising antisemitism—these texts ask us: Who is the Lazarus at our gate? Where is God calling us to stand?
Scripture Summary of Jeremiah 17:5–10
Jeremiah describes two kinds of lives: Those who trust in human power become like a desert shrub, dry, isolated, unable to thrive. Turning away from God leaves them without real strength or hope. Those who trust in the Lord are like a tree planted by water, rooted, steady, and fruitful even in heat or drought. Their life draws from God’s sustaining presence. God reminds the people that the human heart can be deceptive, but God sees clearly and judges each person by the truth of their actions.
Scripture Summary of Luke 16:19–31
Jesus tells the story of a rich man who lives in luxury while a poor man, Lazarus, suffers at his gate. The rich man never helps him. After death, their situations reverse: Lazarus is comforted with Abraham. The rich man suffers and realizes too late that a great chasm now separates them.
Message: Purim tells the story of Esther—a woman who found courage not because she felt strong, but because she knew silence would cost lives. Jeremiah speaks of two kinds of trust: one rooted in human strength that withers, and one rooted in God that flourishes even in heat. Jesus’ parable shows a rich man who stepped over Lazarus so often that he no longer saw him at all. Jeremiah 17:5–10 and Luke 16:19–31 together draw a sharp contrast between trusting in human strength and trusting in God, and they show how that trust shapes the way we treat others.
And So, these stories meet in a single truth: trust shapes vision. Trust in power narrows our world. Trust in comfort blinds us to suffering. Trust in God opens our eyes and strengthens our hearts. Purim reminds us that God often works quietly, through ordinary people who choose courage. Jeremiah calls us to sink our roots deep. Jesus urges us to see the person at our gate before the chasm grows.
Pray our God of courage and compassion, plant us by living water. Pray God give us Esther’s boldness, Jeremiah’s trust, and Christ’s eyes to see the vulnerable. Pray God make us a people who interrupt the harm we see in our daily lives by embodying your steadfast love.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 