“And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'" Luke 16:30-31 (ESV)
I heard a message on the Lutheran Hour recently that used the above passage for one of their morning devotions; that I read every single morning and the wonderful thing about losing memory is that they are always new. The message they gave is different from mine, as the passages in Luke struck a different cord in my mind this time around. The parable Jesus was teaching was about a rich man and Lazarus, and he asked that Lazarus should be brought back from the dead, because then this miracle would make believers of those who were witnesses of this wonderful moment.
Jesus told them that their ancestors had Moses and the Prophets and the people did not listen and if He raised Lazarus from the dead, they would still not change their evil ways. Do you ever wonder what you would have done if you had been wandering in the desert, following the pillar of smoke and eating manna; what would you have thought? Did you ever think that if you had been there when Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb how you would have reacted? Surely, we would have believed and not turned away or fell asleep in the garden as Jesus prayed before he was arrested.
The children in the attached photo attend Ecole Lutherienne in Osse and they like you, have heard the story of the Son of God and the miracles He did on earth. Before they learned of Jesus they had heard about Erzule Dante and all the other evil spirits that are called upon by the local vodou priest. Those are the memory lessons planted in their minds by their parents and relatives, who learned them from their parents from the beginning of their lives.
We are blessed with an opportunity to share what we have been taught and know with the children in Osse so that they can go out and share it with the rest of Haiti that relies upon satan and the vodou priest each day. They live in doubt, fear and hopeless. In John 20:29 Jesus tells us “Blessed are those who have not seen but believe.” Thank you for helping to bring that message of hope in a risen Savior to the lost in Haiti.
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay