September 25, 2016
Amos 6:1a, 4-7
Psalm 146
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Luke 16:19-31
Please pray with me,
May the words of my mouth
and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our
rock, our strength and our redeemer.
Amen.
Today’s readings overflow with a
central theme: recognizing that all we have is a gift from God and what we do
with it is an expression of our faith in God – lies at the center of a life of
discipleship. St. Augustine in his writings differentiated between the terms
“use” and “enjoy.” God gives us the things of this world to use for our benefit
and the benefit of our neighbors, not to enjoy as ends in themselves.
The only true object of our
enjoyment, in this ultimate sense, is our relationship with God. Both Amos 6
and 1 Timothy 6 illustrate Augustine’s point that it is to our detriment that
we fall to the temptation to view wealth and possessions as ends rather than as
means to the greater end of living as God’s agents of blessing to those around
us.
Surely that is the great tragedy of the unnamed rich man in Jesus’ story. He has been so blinded – we could even say, intoxicated – by the abundance of his material possessions that he fails to notice the proximity of one of God’s creatures in need. This story is perhaps the most prime example of the great reversal of fortunes that is a central theme of Luke’s gospel. We hear about this reversal from the very beginning of the Gospel, when Mary sings her song that the lowly shall be lifted up, the rich sent away empty….We know from that point that Luke’s gospel will have a theme that God will turn the world upside down. (the world turned upside down….)
Surely that is the great tragedy of the unnamed rich man in Jesus’ story. He has been so blinded – we could even say, intoxicated – by the abundance of his material possessions that he fails to notice the proximity of one of God’s creatures in need. This story is perhaps the most prime example of the great reversal of fortunes that is a central theme of Luke’s gospel. We hear about this reversal from the very beginning of the Gospel, when Mary sings her song that the lowly shall be lifted up, the rich sent away empty….We know from that point that Luke’s gospel will have a theme that God will turn the world upside down. (the world turned upside down….)
The rich man had a life. No doubt
he had the benefits of religious instruction. He heard the part about his
abundance being a sign of God’s blessing. He missed, however, the lesson about
those blessings having a purpose. As a result he never got to experience the
greatest joy that wealth and possessions bring; namely, the joy of using these
things for the sake of others, especially those in need of a tangible reminder
of God’s never-failing love.
It seems to me that part
of what is at stake in Jesus' parable is the link between our wellbeing and
that of others. If we cannot feel compassion for others we have lost something
that is deeply and genuinely human. In time, the wealth that has numbed us to
the need of our neighbor deludes us into imagining that we ourselves have no
need, are sufficient unto ourselves, and can easily substitute hard work and a
little luck for grace and mercy. At that point, we are, indeed, lost.
But I think the reverse is also true – that as we become more responsive to the hurts, hopes, and needs of others we become more acutely aware of our own humanity, of our own longings and insufficiency and thereby can appreciate God's offer of manifest grace in Christ, the one who took on our need, our humanity, our lot and our life, all in order to show us God's profound love for each and all of us.
We, too, have the law and the prophets to direct us to care for the needs of our neighbor. Yet deep down I suspect that when confronted by the One who was put to death for our sins and raised for our justification we might just be cajoled from our numbness and drawn back into relationship with both God and each other. At least I hope so. Or, maybe I should say, I trust God to make it so.
But I think the reverse is also true – that as we become more responsive to the hurts, hopes, and needs of others we become more acutely aware of our own humanity, of our own longings and insufficiency and thereby can appreciate God's offer of manifest grace in Christ, the one who took on our need, our humanity, our lot and our life, all in order to show us God's profound love for each and all of us.
We, too, have the law and the prophets to direct us to care for the needs of our neighbor. Yet deep down I suspect that when confronted by the One who was put to death for our sins and raised for our justification we might just be cajoled from our numbness and drawn back into relationship with both God and each other. At least I hope so. Or, maybe I should say, I trust God to make it so.
What does it take…to see
the transforming love of the resurrection in our lives? In our world?
How are we called to proclaim a word love love…a word of grace…a word of
forgiveness to a divided nation and a hurting world?
The good news is that God has
given us all the gifts we need…God has provided us with all that we need…God is
taking care of us by giving to us the means, the time, the talents and the
treasures to continue on God’s mission in the world around us.
Here’s a story that you
may have heard before….but in a way it echoes our gospel lesson for today.
The rains had begun and a
flood warning was in effect. The police
were driving through the neighborhood evacuating people from their homes before
the waters began to rise. They knocked
on a door…and the man who answered it said, oh, don’t worry about me. God will take care of me. They urged him to leave his house, but firm
in his faith, the man remained at home.
Several hours later the
man was on his porch and a boat came by, rallying the last of the people still
in their homes. They urged the man to
get in the boat, but he said, nope. I
have a strong faith, and God always takes care of God’s people, God will keep
me safe, God has saved people in worse situations, God will save me. Try as they might, the rescuers could not get
the man to get in the boat. So they
motored away.
In the evening, the waters
had nearly covered all the houses in the neighborhood. Yet before nightfall, a helicopter was flying
around to make sure everyone had been evacuated. They flew over the man’s house and shouted
down to him, as he was now on the roof, and said…hey, climb up the ladder, we’ll
save you…the waters are expected to rise through the night, you MUST come with
us! The man was still insistent that God
would save him and he refused to climb into the helicopter.
Well, the waters did rise
through the night, and the man remained with his house, and drowned.
When he got to heaven, as
we all do, saved by God’s grace and all, he said, hey…I had firm faith. I knew that you would save me…I waited and
waited and waited…and you never came to get me.
God said to him, I sent a
police car, a boat and a helicopter…what more did you want?
Similar to the parable….we
hear that God has sent prophets to teach and preach to us about the abundance
in our lives and how we are called to share that with others.
It’s not just about having
faith….it’s about trusting in that faith that we are able to think about
others…to open our hearts and minds to the needs of others in our community and
world. And when our hearts and minds
and eyes are opened…we will be transformed.
We will know the healing power and saving grace of a God full of love
and compassion. We will be moved to
share that love and grace in our world, so that others may know it…feel it….and
see it around them.
Having faith is one
thing…but we don’t just hope and pray that it will keep us from trouble and
harm’s way. We have the faith and the
gifts from God to continue God’s mission in this community through this
congregation.
We are called to use what
we have, what we have been given by God, to continue to share God’s grace and
love with others. We cannot just hope
and pray that the time, talents and treasures will come from somewhere…we have
all that we need…how will we respond out of this abundance?
And now may the peace,
which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and
let all God’s people say, amen.
