For the last two and a half chapters in the gospel we call Luke, Jesus has been building up this teaching on faithfulness and action. It began with the crowd when he told them three parables about things that were lost and found. Each was lost, redeemed, and forgiven. Powerful stories that we often take as GOD’s forgiveness.

Then it shifts to the disciples, who get a troubling story of faithfulness in action that seems much the opposite. But Jesus introduces the idea of faithfulness by suggesting that one who is faithful in a little is actually faithful in much–as they are dishonest in a little, are dishonest in much. Then he slams it home by saying you can’t put your faith in GOD and security.

He turns to face the Pharisees who are mocking Him and he tells them the parable of the nameless rich man and Lazarus the poor man. The two are separated by a chasm. It is the rich man’s lack of faith and action in refusing to love Lazarus that exiles him away from the family.

Lastly, turning back to the disciples, Jesus pushes them to see the relationship of faith and action. What is fascinating to me is that the text gives us a marker to show how his followers move from following to doing.

Eating Scripture is a short video series in which we explore the juicy and the crunchy in this week’s gospel in four minutes or fewer.