| September 30, 2001 Amos 6:1 7 + 1 Timothy 6:11-16 + Luke 16:19-31 |
| Like you, I have heard this parable countless times. It is so familiar that any of us could finish the story if it were stopped after the most brief of introductions. Over the years, I have come to respect this one in torment, at least to suspect that he was a decent man. After all, when his request is turned down by Abraham, he is at least thoughtful enough to care about his brothers and hope that they might not share his torment. It is important to realize that he is not condemned because he is rich..He finds himself in never ending torment because he never saw Lazarus. It isn’t that he refused or that he did something evil. It is simply that he never saw Lazarus. |
| One of the saddest aspects of this parable and one of the most sobering is the fact that the rich man raised his eyes and saw Lazarus only when it was too late for him to redeem himself. Insulated like him by our gates, security guards; burdened with out own day to day responsibilities, the desperate needs of others often never figure into our thoughts. We easily justify ourselves by insisting we’ve done nothing wrong, when the truth is we’ve done nothing at all, which is just exactly what put the rich man of the parable in such torment. We sanitize poverty and it’s primary cause: Injustice by hiding in privatized religion. This age in which we live has reduced religion to worship on Sunday and a very small area of morality Be kind, Be chaste, Try to stay married, Don ‘t quarrel in front of the children. Pray Nowhere do we hear the voice of the prophets that cry out: “Be Just!” or “Be Passionate”, or “Do something about the injustice that oppresses most of this world’s inhabitants. |
| Being tidy, temperate, and chaste is nice, but it is not enough to make one fully a good person or a disciple of Jesus. Every generation raises up another church going Christian who makes a personal fortune off underpaid workers who have no health care, no rights, and no hope. |
| Being unaware of injustice is not compatible with disciples of Jesus. They will be aware of every Lazarus in every generation and nation. They will be aware of what the Prophets have said about justice, and restless agitation and action will mark their behavior For them, religion is love and justice. Religion is love of neighbor as one’s self. Religion is blessing the food at meals and bringing the blessing of food to those without it. Religion is worshiping God. on one’s knees as it were, but on one’s knees washing the feet of the poor. |
| “The poor you will always have with you.?’ is not an excuse for saying: “That’s just the way it is.” It is a reason for never becoming unaware or ceasing to look everywhere for them. They will always be there, so we must always find them, be aware of them, and never cease being aware of the sufferings of others. Never listening to the prophets, the rich man found himself in unending misery Never listening to Jesus, we run the same risk. This story is told to the Pharisees, those good, law-abiding, religious folks who prayed in the synagogue and sacrificed in the Temple. Yet, they were not aware of who was in their midst, and they were deaf to what he asked of them. |
| The rich man failed to remember one great truth, that he was a steward of God’s gifts, and that everything he had was only on loan from God to whom he would one day give an account. He thought it was all his, and it made him blind, and deaf, and unaware of what and who was right at his doorway |
| The great abyss of regret and unrealized good intentions threatens us all, and it continues to keep us from one another all too often. Disciples of Jesus hear the master’s words. Aware of His presence and His Gospel, they become aware of injustice as corporate sin, as evil done by government, business, industry, university, and sometimes by church. They recognize its evil and are not unaware of their share in it and responsibility for it. They do not insulate themselves with a puny, private religion. They are always aware of the gifts of God’s love and mercy they are given to dispense. |