Luke 16:19-31
Some years ago I was talking with some
people about what the Bible says about wealth. We had just read a passage from
Luke where Jesus says, “Woe to you who are rich.” We wondered if he really
meant that. Because, is it really that bad being rich?
Most of us who are not rich would like
to be, if we had the chance.
I can hear your objections already. “I’m
not interested in being wealthy. I’m not the kind of person who wants big fancy
houses and yachts and cars.” And maybe you are not. But it seems to me the most
appealing thing about having wealth is to not have to worry about money. The
thing that most of us would probably like the most is to never have to worry
about whether we have enough money for the things we need or want.
In that conversation about wealth, one
woman said this. “There was a time when I was poor, but now I am not. I thought
about money a whole lot more when I was poor than I do now.” It is a privilege
to not have to think about money all the time. Of course, you still can if you
want to. Kim keeps a close eye on our retirement funds, for which I am
grateful. You are free to spend as much time as you like thinking about your
money; you can even be like the old cartoon character, Scrooge McDuck, who
enjoyed taking a daily bath in his money. But, the point is that you don’t need
to if you don’t want to, when you have wealth. You don’t have to think about
whether you have enough to pay for the prescription or the groceries or your
child’s school supplies. And that is a privilege.
But today I am suspending that
privilege and, once again, asking you to think about money, along with Jesus
and the Pharisees.
Last week we heard a parable Jesus
told to his disciples, which was intended to be overheard by the Pharisees and
scribes, sinners and tax collectors. We know they did hear him, because
immediately after he finishes the parable of the dishonest manager, ending with
the words, “you cannot serve God and wealth,” the Pharisees ridicule him. The
text doesn’t say how. I had to imagine what they might have said. I figure it
was maybe something like this: “Oh! Look who knows so much about wealth now!
Mr. Big Shot!” And I’m not saying it was that. But, you know, it might have
been something like that.
In any case, at that moment the
Pharisees put themselves back in the game – right back in the bullseye, in fact.
Jesus turns to them and says something like, “Well, you know the law and the
prophets, right? Leviticus and Deuteronomy? Isaiah, Jeremiah – you’ve heard of
them? Amos? You are familiar with them, are you not? Or are you using something
else, some alternative scriptures, to justify yourselves?”
Are you using some alternative
scriptures to justify yourselves? Interesting question.
And then he launches into another
parable. This one is for the Pharisees. It’s about the rich man and Lazarus.
Guaranteed to make them – and us – feel uncomfortable.
There is a rich man who lives in a
great house, wears fine clothes and eats sumptuously every day. And there is a
poor man named Lazarus who lies outside the rich man’s gate.
Normally, Jesus doesn’t name the
characters in his parables. It is unusual that he does here – he names Lazarus.
But the rich man does not have a name.
He is merely a rich man; it seems that that’s enough for us to know. You may
have a vague recollection that you heard somewhere that he does have a name,
that his name is Dives. But Dives is simply a Latin word that means rich.
This is all interesting because
usually it’s the important people who get to be named in any story. Jesus has
decided that this poor man – Lazarus – is important enough to be named; that
he’s someone worth knowing.
The rich man, however, call him Dives
if you like, seems to treat Lazarus as though he were not worth knowing. Every
time he goes in and out through his gate, Lazarus is there: weak, covered with
sores, starving. Every time Dives passes Lazarus, he neglects to give him
anything at all. As he dines at his sumptuous table, he doesn’t seem to give a
thought to Lazarus outside. He acts as though Lazarus is nothing. Nobody.
But we are surprised to learn he does
know Lazarus – he knows his name! When the two men die, Lazarus is gathered up
in the arms of Father Abraham, but Dives is sent to Hades. Hell, if you wish.
And from where he is in Hades he sees
Lazarus way above him, up in heaven, and he calls out for help. “Father
Abraham, send Lazarus to bring me water. I am in agony here in these flames.”
But the answer he receives from
Abraham is not what he hoped for. “You have received your good things already.”
And this is enough to make anyone who
has enjoyed any material wealth in this life squirm.
Most people in America, if you ask
them whether they are rich, will say no. We all like to think of ourselves as
middle class. That’s why politicians are forever and always talking about the
middle class. We all want to be middle class, even while we also want riches.
I never hear anybody call themselves
rich. Maybe they will say, “We’re comfortable,” or “We do alright.” But not
rich.
Yet, we have to know that, by the
world’s standards, Americans are rich. We, who call ourselves middle class, are
rich.
And there is nothing inherently sinful
about being rich. But this is where it gets tricky.
The scriptures, both the old and new
testaments, have a lot to say about wealth. Aside from the parts where Jesus
says, “Woe to you who are rich,” you can also find many scriptures that will
tell you wealth is a reward for faithfulness.
But the scriptures will also tell you
that how you use your wealth is critical. It is quite clear that the God of the
Old Testament cares how Israel treats the poor, the outcast, and the aliens
among them. The law of Israel is repetitive on this subject, in fact, lest the
people of Israel ever forget just how much God cares about the poor, the
outcast, the alien in their midst.
Wealth, the Bible says, is a great
blessing – a blessing that comes with great responsibility. Jesus doesn’t
trouble himself to say that wealth is a blessing, because that is something
they already know. He is more concerned with what they might have forgotten.
When Jesus reminds the Pharisees that
he is preaching the very same law they are concerned about, he seems to be
suggesting that they might have forgotten what that law really says. It seems
so easy to forget what the scriptures say about the responsibilities of those
who have wealth toward those who do not.
In the parable, Father Abraham reminds
the rich man that he was not duped, he was not tricked unfairly, because he had
the law – it was not hidden from him. He had the law and the prophets, as do
his brothers who are still alive. And if they do not heed the law and the
gospels, what else can be done?
Because the law is clear, if we are
willing to see it. And the prophets are clear, if we will listen. In our
passage from Amos today, we hear these words: Alas to those who are at ease in
Zion. Alas to the Dives of the world, who lie on their couches, eat, drink, and
make merry.
Amos was speaking to a nation that had
found wealth and forgotten the law. In their newfound comfort, in their elation
over their prosperity, they had turned their backs on the poor among them. In
this way, they had turned their backs on God. Alas, things will not go well, in
time, if you fail to appreciate the humanity of those who suffer want.
This is a truth that the world has
seen borne out in many times and places. When comfort steals away our
compassion for others, our empathy for those who suffer, we are at risk of
losing our souls as well – our very humanity. We find ourselves back at, “Woe
to the rich.”
Is there any hope at all for the rich?
Wealth is complicated – a double-edged
sword. It is both blessing and burden.
The truth is that all we have received
is a gift from God. We find ourselves in the position of being stewards of the rich
resources of this world. God has entrusted the management of these riches to
us, and has expectations that we will manage them well. But God does not leave
us without guidance to do so.
For, as Abraham tells Dives, you
always have the law and the prophets to tell you what is right. The law and the
prophets can show you the way.
And they will show us that the poor
ones who lie at the gates of the wealthy, desperate for a small kindness, are
worthy of being seen. The Lazaruses of the world, are worthy of our attention.
Some like to say Jesus came to comfort
the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. If you are feeling afflicted right
now, take comfort in the assurance that there is hope for the rich. It is the
gospel – the very gospel that gives Lazarus a name.
Photo: Scrooge McDuck diving into his treasure
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