The Sin of One Person
We have reflected on the original sin of Adam and Eve. Now we consider the effect of sin on one person—a person who chooses definitively against God. The person is the rich man in Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus. We imagine what it would be like for a person to be totally closed off from God’s love.
Use your imagination as you reflect on this parable. You may want to craft a parable of your own, replacing the rich man and Lazarus with modern-day counterparts based on the current century’s sad history of sin, violence, genocide, and injustice.
The Grace I Seek
I pray for the following grace: a healthy sense of shame and confusion before God as I consider the effects of sin in my life, my community, and my world.
Can I say that I think the health care system is an excellent portrait of the effects of sin in my world? The over $400K that my insurance company paid out for K's treatment last year, and the over $6K we paid out of pocket...and
1) he is still not "fixed" and
2) WHAT IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT COVERAGE?
At this point I am angry and frustrated and also feel guilty for complaining. We have had good care from (mostly) reasonably kind and sympathetic people. However, this morning there was a new commercial on for Cancer Treatment Centers of America (you've seen their commercials), featuring the caregiver. She (it was a wife) talked about how CTCA was so fabulous, and outlined their care protocols, and showed them interacting with various staff members.
I turned to Ken and said, "Damn, it might have been worth it to go to Tulsa for your treatment (that's the closest CTCA to us) just to have one of the staff hug me at some point." As they did in the commercial. I'm kidding. Kind of.
Now let me say that the eefus in his throat that has rendered him miserable and almost unable to eat at all for the past two weeks seems to be lifting. The steroid and antibiotic are working. I'm grateful for modern medicine, really, I am.
And I'm grouchy too. Lord, help my grouchiness.
