September 29, 2013

When we hear that someone has an “ulterior motive,” we are likely to be on guard, increasingly sensitive to something sinister or diabolical going on.  That’s not always the case, despite our suspicions, for in the lesson we hear from Luke today, I believe that Jesus has an “ulterior motive,” both for those who heard this parable from his lips centuries ago and those who hear it from the lips of preachers today.

          We who hear this parable of Jesus today are wise to remember that when he told this story in first century Palestine, he was speaking simultaneously to two quite different groups.  The Gospel writer Luke crafts his gospel with a special sensitivity to the poor of ancient Rome.  Keep in mind that it is Luke who begins his gospel with Mary, the mother of Jesus, proclaiming in the Magnificat, that God “has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.”  That God “has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” 

          Luke records Jesus telling  parables that have a special sensitivity to the suffering of the poor.  In those days, the Roman Empirewas well known for its oppressive taxation of all, both Roman citizens and those foreigners who lived in the territories they ruled.   And the poor in those days lived with the weight of worry and fear that was overwhelming.

          And so the lesson we hear today is on one level, a parable of encouragement.  To the poor, Jesus seems to be saying, “have faith, your day is coming.”  To the rich and insensitive, Jesus seems to be saying, “there’s still time.  Repent and change your ways, for your day is also coming.”  At one level, this is a story of divine justice, of the tables being turned in the life to come, of karma taking place, where the good that one does in this life is returned to them in the next, with the same principles of justice applying to the evil and sin we are responsible for in this world.

          But with Jesus, there is an “ulterior motive.”  Notice that our lesson today is a continuation of a series of lessons, which begin back in the early part of chapter 15.  As the tax collectors and sinners were coming and encircling Jesus, a few paces behind them all and also encircling Jesus were the Pharisees and scribes.  And to all of them, Jesus begins to tell some stories, some parables.  First the ones about the shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep in pursuit of the one lost one, then a story about a poor widow who throws a party when she finds her one lost coin.  Then Jesus tells the story of a son who demanded his inheritance, which he spent foolishly, leaving him poor and desperate.  He returns home humble, begging for the chance to work for his daily bread and is given a royal welcome.  Then Jesus tells the parable of the dishonest steward, the lesson we heard last Sunday, a lesson which  begins “there was a rich man,” and then, one more parable,  today’s lesson, which also begins with the words “there was a rich man,” but which has not a joyful ending like the shepherd finding one lost sheep or like a prodigal son returning home, or a hopeful ending like the dishonest steward, but a haunting one of a desperate rich man, left to suffer and endure a life devoid of mercy. 

          In the parables which we find in chapters 15 and 16, Jesus is sending one message, a message of hope to the poor of those days and a second message, a message of warning to the Pharisees and scribes.  There are some parts to this lesson which are quite special.  It is the only parable where the poor man is given a name-Lazarus.   It was quite likely that in Jesus’ time, the poor were neglected and overlooked at times and given a condescending name at others.  Part of the emotion over our current national discussion about immigration rises out of the label some use--“illegals,” an adjective with no noun attached, used to describe and demean some of those who in desperation come to our nation seeking a way out of their poverty.  That same emotion was likely in place at Jesus’ time, and so by giving the poor man the name Lazarus, Jesus is acknowledging, in a simple and basic way, that this poor broken man was also a child of God, deserving the dignity of a name.  The last part of our baptism liturgy is giving the new child of Christ a name.  Names means so much more than labels in giving a person value and worth in our eyes.

          Conversely, the other main character in this story is left nameless-“the rich man.”  At one level, labeling this man takes him down a notch or two, but as is so often the case with the parables of Jesus, there is more at work here.  With this simple label comes the reminder to all who hear, we are or are capable of becoming “the rich man.” 

          I suspect, that like most of you, I never really feel as if I’m rich.  I try to live simply but comfortably, with an occasional indulgence and guilty pleasure.  In researching today’s lesson, I came across a website, www.global rich list.com.  It’s quite a simple website to use.  You type in your after-tax, annual income in US dollars, click the button and find out where you stand among the world’s people.  I typed in my income the other day and found out there were 24, 759, 564 people in the world earning more this year than me.  Well, most of my daily needs are met and I enjoy what I do each day, so I am certainly rich beyond my deserving, but I couldn’t help grumbling and wondering where I might stand if I had studied a little harder, had chosen to go to law school rather than seminary, and my eye was drawn to a chart on this webpage.  There may be 24+ million people who earn more than me this year, but according to the chart on this website, I am still in the upper one per cent of the world’s richest people.  And to help compound things, there is a chart there that computes one’s hourly income, which dwarfs the 39 cents per hour wage in Indonesia and the 8 cents per hour wage in Ghana.  Please don’t mistake this for bragging, for it is humbling.  I’d encourage all you who have computers to see where you stand among the world’s population and see if it doesn’t give you pause to think.

          Earlier today I said that this lesson had a series of meanings for those who first heard it as well as for those who hear it today.  Keep in mind that this was the parable that moved a scholarly New Testament professor and gifted pianist to leave the comforts of academic life and become a missionary.  You know him as Albert Schweitzer.  When Schweitzer heard and digested this lesson, he moved to Africa and lived his life as a medical missionary, despite his formal higher education and gift in the arts.

          I think most of us are challenged by Jesus today, to open our eyes and see the Lazarus’ laying outside our gates.  The opportunities afforded us to be part of the misson outreach here at Spring Glen Church are abundant.   Once again, we were blessed with an abundance of volunteers to help out serving at Columbus House this past Thursday.   And  we have opportunities as simple as picking up some disposable diapers for the diaper drive or some much needed food for the Hamden Food Bank .  And as you begin, as Schweitzer did in the early part of the last century, to let the inner lesson of this parable touch your heart, keep in mind that it wasn’t what the rich man did that got him into trouble, it’s what he didn’t do.

          One of my favorite lessons with confirmation classes is to give them a list of familiar sayings and challenge them to determine which are found in the Bible and which are not.  It’s always great fun and often surprising.   One of the sayings, that almost everyone can recall Jesus saying is, “the poor will always be with you.”  So often, when people say that, they do so with resignation in their voice, as if this is a given and not something that does not need to be.  I don’t believe that Jesus is here condemning us to a world where there will always be some rich and some poor.  Instead, I believe that, given when and where Jesus is saying this, he is instructing the disciples and the church today to be that place where the poor are welcomed and respected. 

          Jesus is not resigned to a world or any economic system that requires there to be a class of people we label poor.  No, I believe Jesus is challenging the church to be the place for those in need; to be sanctuary and hope in a world where so many seek peace and encouragement.  Jesus is calling us to fulfill the words of his mother Mary in the Magnificat, to be that place where “the hungry are filled with good things and the rich sent away empty.” 

          The story is told that Mahatma Ghandi was once asked if he were a Christian.  In response, he was heard to say, “Ask the poor.  They will tell you who the Christians are.”  (The Irresistible Solution, the Church of the Saviour, Washington DC)

          As we are challenged by Jesus today to begin to give thought to what we do with what we are blessed with, I am reminded of the lessons that surround us in nature as to how God’s creation was created to work.  I read a story recently of a beautiful lake that had begun to lose its vitality.  Algae was growing thick and this once clear lake, to which children came to swim and deer came to drink, was rapidly growing cloudy and murky.   Someone probed around and discovered that some debris from the heavy spring rains had clogged up the dam, fertilizers from the lush green lawns had been washed into the lake by rains and encouraged algae growth, all of which  were preventing the free flow of water.  Water was able to come into the lake, but not to flow easily out.  The debris was removed and the water began to flow freely again, resulting in the lake quickly returning to its original state.  You see, it was critical for water to flow in and out in order to keep the lake pure.

          So it is with us.  The blessings of God were never intended to flow to us and stay.  In the kingdom of God, the blessings flow through us.  Our lives are enriched by that which we receive and pass on, not merely by what we give, but which we allow to flow through us.  (Richard Patt, All Stirred Up, CSS Publishing)

          As we began today, I remarked that in telling this lesson, Jesus had an ulterior motive.  In telling the series of parables which make up chapters 15 and 16 of Luke, the last one of which we hear today, Jesus is telling one story to two audiences with the hopes that each audience will hear that story in different ways.

          So it is today.  Some will hear this lesson as a parable of hope and comfort while others will hear it as a warning and a challenge.  God calls us in Jesus to know the wonder and fullness of life.  Part of glorying in the life that Christ came to know is finding our purpose, finding our niche.

          The story is told of a Sufi mystic who was troubled by the poverty he saw in the lives of those near to him.  He cried out to God, “Why don’t you do something for all these people who are suffering and in need?”  God replied, “I did.  I created you.”  (Shane Clairborne)

          May we each hear these words of Jesus as he intends for us to hear and digest them.  And in hearing them, may we be moved to follow in his way, now and forever.  Amen.