16th Sunday after Pentecost

In the last few weeks, we’ve heard a lot of parables from Jesus.
And if there was any doubt that Jesus is concerned about how you use your material
resources:
Your money: the last few weeks should put that to rest.

Jesus has quite a lot to say about wealth, poverty, and how we who have:
Are to treat those without.

We heard last week about how the use of money is to build relationships:
That money is not just to be hoarded.

Well now we get this story that indicates (quite clearly) what kind of relationships money
should be used for:
Money should be used primarily to serve others as disciples of Jesus.

In today’s story:
Jesus tells a parable:
One that unlike last weeks:
Is much more of a ‘moral lesson.’

There was a rich man:
So rich that he was dressed in purple.
This little detail is meant to show that he is as rich as a king.
In Jesus’ time, purple was reserved for royalty because of the expensive and labor
intensive process of extracting the dye from a certain kind of shell.

So the point of this detail:
is that this man had more than he ever could have needed.

In contrast:
Lazarus, a severely poor man:
Obviously NOT dressed in purple:
But instead dressed in sores:
Waited outside the gate hoping for scraps from the rich man.

But rather than giving from his abundance:
Or even from his waste:
The rich man simply ignores Lazarus:
Seeing him as an inconvenience to step over:
Seeing Lazarus: not even as a human:
But as some kind of societal “sore” like the sores on his body.

Let me pause here and be clear that this is not the same Lazarus that was Jesus’ dear
friend.
This is not Lazarus who was raised from the dead:
Not the brother of Mary and Martha.
Even though the name “Lazarus” sounds unique to us:
It was a common name during Jesus’ time.

Anyway: Back to the story.
Both Lazarus and the rich man die.
Lazarus goes to heaven.

And the rich man is buried and goes to hades.

Now, here we have to remember that this is not:
As some have supposed:
Primarily a parable meant to show us what the afterlife is like.

This isn’t about “good people” going to heaven:
And “bad people” going to hell.

Recognize that we learn NOTHING about whether Lazarus is “deserving” or
“undeserving of heaven.
We know nothing about whether he made “bad decisions” or was just down on his luck.

Instead: this parable is about God’s preference for the poor.
We can tell this just by the mere fact that Lazarus is named:
And the rich man has no name.

But even then: It’s not clear that the rich man is “punished” so much as the separation
and torment are extensions of his own inward focus:
His selfish inward turning.
He’s not in hades because he’s rich.
He’s there because he only cared about himself.
And because Luke does not give him a name:
He is a sort of “unself.”

The point here seems to be that the money we have:
Especially our excess:
Is not only not to be hoarded:

But is also not to be wasted on selfish spending and excess, and luxury.

If we have more than we need:
We are called to aid those who do not have enough.
And it is likely that too much wealth has the potential to turn is into these sort of
nameless “unpeople” like the rich man.

In just a month:
We’ll be entering our annual stewardship campaign.
And as we begin to think about stewardship:
We must be very careful about not hoarding our wealth.

And we also must recognize that we live in the riches country in the history of humanity.
We must remember just how rich we all are compared to the rest of time and bistro.

Remember that John the Baptist tells people to give away your second cloak if you have
one:
Because having two cloaks was excessive!

So what can we do?
In addition to giving to the church as a reminder of our dependence on God:
We should specifically give to those who do not have enough.

This may be giving to relief groups or programs that help the poor.
But we should also be prepared to give directly.
Jesus says to give to all who ask of you:
Not “give if they seem deserving enough.”

We should be hyper vigilant:
About not turning “inward”
And using our resources only for ourselves.

We should consider praying before we spend money:
Especially on big purchases.
We should pray and ask whether this is something that we really need for our
flourishing.
We should be finding the places where we indulge more than necessary.
What extra streaming services, or eating out could we discontinue and instead give to
the poor.

All in all:
We need to remember that even this does not save us.
Instead: we give because we are followers of Jesus:
Not to gain a space in heaven:
But to do what Jesus wants of us.
We do it to be aligned through the power of the holy spirit.
We do it to ensure that we are not so closed in on ourselves:
But instead open ourselves and our resources to others.

It’s our job to see Christ in all of humanity:
In the poor:
The sick:
The Lazarus’ of our world.

And we do this: not to win reward in heaven:
But to remain truly human:

To remain selves.
To remain named.
(Unlike the unnamed rich man in today’s story.)

Remember at the resurrection:
Mary sees the risen lord:
And doesn’t know who he is:
UNTIL:
He speaks her name.

Let us give: out of what we have:
Out of our gracious abundance:
Not to save ourselves:
But to remain selves:
To continue to be humans:
Who bring glory to God.

Amen.