Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday, September 26th, 2010click here for past entriesLoving God, you rouse us out of our complacency to come and live as full participants in your kingdom. Fill us with your love by the power of your Holy Spirit, that others might be drawn to you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
You may have noticed this morning that there are an awful lot of rich people in our readings for today. Amos describes people who are lying on beds of ivory, lounging on their couches and feasting on the best food and wine. Timothy is warned about those who want to be rich, but is also given instructions for how those who are rich should live. And then Jesus tells a parable about a rich man who “feasted sumptuously every day” and dressed in all of the finest clothes (Lk. 16:19).
One could almost get the impression that having money is a sin. However, a closer look at today’s readings soon reveals that simply being rich is not the problem. In fact, the letter to Timothy assumes that there will be people who believe in Jesus and also are rich (1 Tim. 6:17-19). On the other hand, the love of money is certainly identified as a problem and as the root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10). No – the sin is not simply being rich, but failure to help the poor.
As is often the case in the parables that Jesus tells, the people listening would have been making certain assumptions about the people in the story. In the case of today’s parable, the people would have been aware of other stories that told about the reversal of fortunes in the afterlife. Yet, at the same time, they would have made certain assumptions about Lazarus.
For one thing, given that Lazarus was poor and sick and had to beg for food, most people would have believed that he was being punished for some great sin. After all, God rewards the righteous, right? And so it would have been a huge shock for Jesus’ listeners when it is Lazarus who ends up at the side of Abraham in the presence of the angels. “We thought he was just being lazy. We thought he just didn’t work hard enough. We thought he was a drunk, or a criminal, or a panhandler. We thought that he was getting what he deserved for his sins.” And Jesus says, “No. He was a person in need whom you ignored.”
And yet, the focus of the story isn’t really on reward and punishment in the afterlife. In many parables, the crux of the story comes at the end, and this one is no different. There are, after all, the five brothers, who are apparently suffering from complacency, and apathy, and indifference. They have Moses and the prophets - they have the Hebrew Scriptures - which speak over and over again about God’s concern for the poor and the orphans and the widows. They have the Scriptures that speak over and over again about justice and mercy and generosity and caring for those who are unable to care for themselves. They have the Hebrew Scriptures, but they are content to ignore God’s call to justice and mercy.
And the irony at the end of the parable is so very obvious. The rich man says to Abraham,
‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ (Lk. 16:30-31)
One can almost imagine God saying to the complacent among us: “He rose from the dead. What more is it going to take?”
For our part, the Scriptures give us a vision of the life that God intended for all of us – “the life that really is life”, as the letter to Timothy says (1 Tim. 6:19). The simplest way to describe that life comes to us from Jesus: to live in love. We were created to be in a relationship of love with God and with the people who are around us. And by the grace of God, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, and through our faith in Jesus Christ, we continue to grow up into Christ, learning to love as Jesus loved.
In this relationship with God through Jesus Christ is our calling and our motivation to make God’s priorities our priorities. God’s message to us today is not one of fear – in other words, “look after the poor or you’re going straight to hell.” Rather, God calls us today to listen and to repent and to be generous and to share and to “take hold of the life that really is life.” God calls us today to be aware of the needs of the people around us and to share out of what we have. God also calls us today to recognize that the people in need can be right outside our door or around the world.
One of the things that Lutherans have actually done pretty well over the years is to care for people around the world through Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) and through their international partners. I mention this today, not only because today has been designated as “CLWR Sunday,” but also because I believe that the work that continues to be done through CLWR is worth supporting.
I’m also wondering how many of you are aware that St. Luke’s Zion provided a well, two cows and a plough, and a flock of chickens to a community overseas this year? We did this at our annual meeting back in February, using funds from the Kicenko estate, and I’d like you to imagine for a moment the difference that each of these things makes in a community.
Imagine walking 4 or 5 hours every day simply to get water, and then being given a well in your community that you can use. Surely you could use all that time for something else! Also, imagine the difference that it makes to have safe and reliable water, both for personal hygiene and for waterborne diseases. Imagine having to plow a field by hand, as opposed to having a pair of oxen pulling a plow behind them. Wouldn’t you be able to plant a far bigger field with the help of the oxen and the plough?
And as for the chickens, I seem to recall somebody asking how many chickens you get in a flock. Well, today I can tell you that a flock is approximately 40 chickens, which can be kept as laying hens or as roasters. Either way, a flock of chickens provides a significant source of protein, as well as a way for families to generate income for other necessities.
These things are all part of something that is called development work. It is not simply charity for the poor, but it helps people to develop a sustainable future. A handout is only a temporary solution for most people. Development work provides for an entire community for years into the future.
On the other hand, there is “relief” work – giving people the necessities of life when they have been hit with disaster. Whether it is flooding in Pakistan or an earthquake in Haiti or a tsunami in southeast Asia, CLWR is there along with other organizations, working through their trusted partners in order to bring relief to those who need it the most.
Because of the fact that we work together, whether as Lutherans or as Christians, we are able to do so much more than we would be able to do as individuals. Of course, this is not to say that we can simply ignore the needs that are right in front of us, and things like the Urban help us to provide for needs right here in Winnipeg.
Ultimately, each one of us as Christians needs to wrestle with the best way for us to respond to God’s call to justice and mercy. However it may be that we decide to do it, those who have are always called to share with those who don’t have. In closing today, here are some exhortations, or encouragements, from 1 Timothy: “Do good.” “Be rich in good works, generous and ready to share.” Store up for yourselves “the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that [you] may take hold of the life that really is life” (1 Tim. 6:18-19). Amen.
Lectionary 26(C) Luke 16:19-31
September 26, 2010 1 Timothy 6:6-19
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church Amos 6:1a, 4-7
Pastor Lynne Hutchison
© 2010 Lynne Hutchison All Rights Reserved
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