Trinity 1

Luke 16:19-31 - Trinity One - June 22, 2014
Fear, Love, and Trust in God

It’s easy to oversimplify things and imagine a certain virtue in poverty and a certain vice in wealth.  And so it is tempting to judge peoples’ hearts according to what we see.  This is because it is often true that poverty grants the opportunity to consider what is most important in life.  That’s why Jesus encourages us to fast, for instance —because denying ourselves certain pleasures helps us to consider the value of heavenly things over earthly things.  And if poverty aids a man in his piety, so it is even more often true that wealth corrupts a man and makes him stingy and materialistic.  That’s why Jesus says that it is very difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. 

But this is not a hard and fast rule.  Poor people are very often among the greediest, aren’t they?  Just look at how many people figure that if they don’t possess very many nice things, that makes it OK to covet the nice things that others have – as though it’s only fair that they give up a piece of the pie.  And they’ll even appeal to those in authority to take it from them by force in a way that only appears right.  Well, that’s greed if there is such a thing.  And then on the other hand, rich people are often among the most generous.  Just consider the endowments and offerings made by wealthy Christians to build schools and beautiful churches, and to support the preaching of the gospel in their own congregations and around the world – not to mention their personal contributions to the need they see around them. 

We shouldn’t judge vice and virtue by what we see, because we can’t see the heart.  Only God can.  Rich people are not necessarily bad; and poor people are not necessarily good.  The story that Jesus tells in our Gospel lesson shouldn’t be interpreted to teach otherwise. 

Trinity 1

Luke 16:19-31 - Trinity I - June 10, 2012 

Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart

The parable of Jesus that we just heard is the only parable that Jesus ever told where he named one of the characters.  The name Lazarus means, “My God helps.”  There’s no way of knowing for sure, but perhaps the reason Jesus chose to name this particular character was because of his friendship with the brother of Mary and Martha.  His name was Lazarus too.  Consider how Jesus helped him.  And what greater need for help could there have been than his?  He was dead.  Out of love for his friend, Jesus wept.  And, out of the same great love, Jesus raised his friend from the dead. 

The Lazarus in Jesus’ parable died too.  But he did not have to wait until his death to become acquainted with his need for help.  He was a beggar.  His very livelihood daily required him to come to full grips with how much help he needed from others.  And even then, he was afflicted with public scorn, with infection and hunger, and with utter loneliness.  It seemed as though even God had rejected him!  The filthy dogs who ate the crumbs he desired from the rich man’s table were his only companions as they licked his open sores for dessert.  Disgusting, yeah.  This man was the lowest of the low.  There was nothing he had to call his own on earth.  He was not worth knowing.  But here is the beauty of the fact that Jesus gave him a name.  God knew him.  It is as Jesus said to his disciples, admonishing them not to place their confidence in what they can see, but in what remains hidden: “Do not rejoice in this,” he said, “that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”