Daily Devotion:

Title: The Parable of Dinazade*

Date: May 20, 2013

The Dinazade is one hundred and sixty feet long, and ranks among the finest luxury sailing yachts in the world. She cost seventy million dollars to build. Designed and built in a Maine yard by artisans and launched a decade ago, she boasts sophisticated and integrated hydraulics, a state of the art winch sail handing system, and a top notch navigational system, all run electronically from the cockpit. Below decks she is hand-sculpted with gold fixtures. Dinazade is the finest kind of yacht and is a graceful, dexterous giant under sail. It’s a treat to step aboard her, and the daydream of countless sailors to sail her.

On the Intercoastal Waterway, with a new-moon, and a fourteen-foot-deep, extra-low tide, Dinazade was making for Fort Lauderdale, FL. Unhappily, Dinazade’s hull draws fifteen feet. She drove hard aground, struck a bridge, stopped traffic, closed the waterway, and knocked her owner and crew to the deck. Police and Sea Tow boats arrived, fixed cables to her, and jarred Dinazade free, with no damage done whatsoever.

Once Dinazade sailed again, a hue and cry arose aboard the yacht to have her captain fired for an unforgivable act. In this real world, the owner fired him, but in the parallel world of holy parables, the owner forgave him. No damage had come to Dinazade.

Unforgivable acts. Are there any? Isn’t God forgiving, merciful and loving? 

Let’s Pray: Dearest God, we do not want to run aground, but we do. Let no damage come, but if it does, forgive us our damages as we forgive those who damage us. Amen.

Today’s Thought Is: Most Merciful

Sources:

*Dinazade is the sister of Scheherazade, a legendary Persian queen and the storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherazade)

**The Gospel of Matthew, 20:1-16, NRSV, The Parable of the Generous Employer