This morning I was up early to get some coffee at my nearby Starbucks and then go to church with my family (we go to different churches, but they are near each other). On my way, I saw this wonderful site from the road and had to stop and take a picture.

It just made me think of how beautiful nature can be.

In church, the gospel from a few weeks ago was Luke 16, 19-31 which I'll reproduce here:

Luke 16:19-31New International Version (NIV)

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. ²⁰At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores ²¹and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²²“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

²⁵“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. ²⁶And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

²⁷“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family,²⁸for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

²⁹“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

³⁰“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

³¹“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Now, why would I bother with a gospel passage? Well, I did not remember ever hearing this particular passage and it's very compelling on several fronts. One is that we all have had "pacts" with someone that if they die first, we'll come back and tell them what the other side is like (hopefully while not scaring them). Per this passage, that won't be possible and based on this passage, it's unnecessary. I love the cynicism of Abraham here towards humans: even someone coming back from the dead won't convince people (and Christians believe this has already transpired once!). There's also no way to help those in hell, even if you're in heaven at the right hand of the Lord. That's disappointing.

While at church, St. Rays in Joliet, I saw this display in the foyer of the church:

That Cardinal, Daniel Kucera, is the one who presided over my confirmation. Just an interesting note.

While Marissa was at school one morning last week and I was on daddy duty, I sat out back with coffee while Thomas sat out back on the stoop with a snack. It was a good morning.