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Pentecost 17

26 September 2004

Luke 16:19-31 The love of money...
Background
This is a parable which is found in several cultures. It is a popular folk tale which probably originated in Egypt. It is not meant to be taken literally in terms of rewards and punishments after death. It is a parable about rich people, intended for rich people.

Jesus’ has given it his own unique slant - his audience is the Pharisees who loved wealth within a theological framework that justified their position. Jesus and the Pharisees differed on their theological interpretations of wealth and poverty (as some do today). In a world where wealth was regarded as blessing, prosperity as a sign of God’s favour, this parable would have had been shockingly effective.

The word ‘plousios’ is used in relation to the rich man – meaning rich, wealthy, opulent – this is blatant consumerism. “Purple” was cloth dyed with a very costly dye. It would be used for the outer garment and the “fine linen” for the undergarment. The combination is the ultimate in luxury.

Pluto was the god of the underworld and was seen as the wealth giver. The rich man ends up with the god he knew and served in his life. He was not a bad person, his sin was that he did nothing not that he did wrong; he lived only for himself. He was totally blind to the needs of the poor at his gate – the gulf between himself and the poor was so great that he was completely unable to recognise it. He had all he could want in life and lived in considerable comfort - the poor simply did not figure in his world.

Lazarus – the name means “God has helped” – is the only character given a name in Jesus’ parables. (The rich man is sometimes called “Dives” but this is simply Latin for “rich man”.) He lay at the rich man’s gate – obviously the residence was very large, even palace like. He is covered with sores, perhaps the result of malnutrition. He lacks everything the rich man has.

It is of note that when the rich man finally shows some interest in others it is in his brothers – he still sticks to his own; he arrogantly assumes Lazarus can be sent on the errand; he implies he has been unfairly treated – if he had been given all the information he needed he would have acted differently! By contrast Lazarus neither complains, nor gloats, nor expresses resentment. He accepts what God sends him.

Wherever some eat and others do not there the kingdom does not exist. The person of faith and the person of wealth are judged by the same scriptures they had used to justify their life styles.

In preaching
In a context of an ever widening gulf between the affluent and the underprivileged how do we see this polarisation? What is our attitude to those who for whatever reason need to rely on the generosity of those more fortunate? What other kinds of riches might apply here? Are we thinking locally, regionally, nationally and internationally? How might we open blind eyes to the hunger of others in all these contexts?

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
Jeremiah, out of favour with King Zedekiah for his prophecies against Judah and the King, is imprisoned. Nebuchadnezzar is laying siege to Jerusalem. Yet Jeremiah continues to remain open to God’s word - even in prison he prophecies and buys a field at Anathoth – in full view of onlookers. This seems a crazy move when the land was most likely to be lost to the Babylonians – but it shines out as a beacon of hope in what seems like hopeless times – trusting in God, Jeremiah affirms confidence in the future of Judah.

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16
A psalm of confidence in God’s protection. “You who live in the shelter of the most high…..you will not fear……” “Those who love me I will deliver….”

There is a relationship of love and trust in these two readings – typified by Lazarus in the Gospel reading.

1 Timothy 6:6-19
The love of money is a root of all evil. Human worth and dignity do not rely on the accidents of possession or social status. The insight of faith is the paradox that all creatures stand before their Creator in utter emptiness before the awesome fullness of God who at the same time provides for us richly.

Contrast the riches of God’s creation and God’s goodness, with worldly wealth.

Prayer suggestion

God, help me to know myself:
what I am and what I can become.
Enable me to see the good in myself
and rejoice in it,
to see flaws and change them.
Teach me to live with myself,
to accept myself.
Remind me that becoming
what you would want me to be
is more like cultivating a garden
than chopping down a forest.

‘Be Our Freedom Lord’ Terry Falla Openbook Publishers 1994 p.435