Readings for Proper 21C:
Lk.16:19-31; Amos 6:1-7
September 30,2001
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
I am often surprised at how fundamentalists can open up the Scriptures, point to one or two passages, and claim to know exactly how to handle current world affairs. Recently, they claim to have biblical knowledge as to what kind of military action needs to be taken in light of the events of September 11th. They have also have offered a detailed analysis on why, how, whom, and what God is punishing or blessing. Perhaps they have an "inside" knowledge of the Bible that I do not have. But my hunch is, that they have difficulty struggling with ambiguity and pain. Therefore, they take the easy way out, and opt for black and white solutions to complex problems. Some fundamentalists misuse Scripture, proof-texting certain passages to justify their "all ready made up position." Then they try to promote this position "in the Name of God." We have recently experienced the absolute certainty of Islamic Fundamentalist Zealots, who, in the Name of God, have forced their position on the United States. American Christian Fundamentalists have responded to this with equal certainty.
Unfortunately, the Scriptures, the Christian Scriptures in particular, is not a systematic theological treatise. Instead, the Bible contains stories about God and God's people written down by Jews and Christians. It is a love story about the relationship between God and people over the centuries and of God's constant effort of love in calling us back into relationship with the Holy. Our Scriptures contain some very primitive understandings of how God operates in the world. But as we move through the Books of the Prophets into the New Testament, this theological thought process matures. Finally, we arrive at "The Sermon on the Mount" which calls us to perhaps the highest level of consciousness in the entire Bible. Most Christians have not quite reached this level of consciousness, yet the Sermon on the Mount remains there as a signpost. Our Bible is not a military manual, a marriage manual, or a science manual. To use it as such, is a total misuse of its purpose. The purpose of the Bible is to help us understand our past, guide us into faithfulness, and allow God's Word to transform our heart, mind, and body.
The Bible contains many differing theologies, differing ways to be in community, differing ways to respond to the use of force, differing ways of understanding how God operates in our world. However, there are certain principles that are constant throughout the entire Bible and to which we need to pay close attention. These principles are: love and compassion, caring for one's neighbor, justice, mercy, righteousness, forgiveness, faithfulness, healing, repentance, human dignity, stewardship and generosity. All of these themes are incorporated in today's gospel. Let's take a closer look.
A story is told about a poor man, Lazarus, who dies. We don't know whether he died of starvation, disease, or from being attacked by hungry dogs. But we do know this. During his life, Lazarus was covered with sores and ulcers. The rich man was clothed in purple and fine linens. The rich man feasted sumptuously every day. Lazarus had nothing to eat. The rich man would wipe the grease from his hands onto bread and then throw it onto the floor for the dogs to eat. Lazarus would have gladly eaten that bread thrown to the dogs but since he was outside the gate, he had no access to the crumbs. Finally, both men die. Justice is served. Lazarus ends up in the bosom of Abraham (which in 1st C Jewish terms means the place of "highest bliss") while the rich man ends up experiencing eternal torment.
If I were preaching this text in the Middle Ages, I might continue my sermon with espousing the need to be good on earth so that in the life hereafter, we may experience the bliss of heaven and avoid the pains of hell. But since most people today are not very concerned about what happens after they die nor do many believe in a heaven or hell, such preaching would be in vain. Besides, at our level of consciousness and our commitment to the baptismal covenant, eternal punishment does not seem like an appropriate focus of motivation. The acknowledgement of human suffering does!
We are living in a very small world today. What we do, how we spend our money, how we spend our time, where we place our priorities, how we express our compassion, all have global consequences. Our global neighbors are very close indeed. Let me give you an example. After the war in the Balkans, the fighting in North and Central Africa, and the internal turmoil in Malaysia, there have been reports of entire populations being plagued by chronic depression. When a people are afflicted by chronic depression and are left untreated, they can not function. They can not work. They can not take care of their young children. They can not be active participants in a society. What will happen to those societies who have been massively affected by the despair of tragedy and human suffering? Will they be abused by the more p owerful? Will their economies collapse from lack of support? Will their children grow up to be violent and abusive due to early neglect? And how will our nation deal with this instability? One thing is for sure. How those societies move through or do not move through their chronic depression, will have an impact on our nation in the future. Will we respond or will we wait? This is a question of stewardship.
Caryl Polk, one of our parishioners, was recently reflecting on how to respond to the suffering in New York. She said that she didn't have much money to offer for relief efforts but what she did have was an expertise in dealing with people who are suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. So on Tuesday, she flew to New York with a medical delegation from Kaiser Permanente HMO, to offer her gift as a therapist to work with those who have been traumatized by the events of September 11th. This act of freely sharing one's gifts is at the core of stewardship.
Some people respond to today's gospel by identifying either with the rich man or with the poor man. But the real purpose of this story is for us to identify with the rich man's brothers: those people who still have time to share their resources (i.e. time, talent, and treasure) in order to alleviate human suffering and to make a difference in this world. God has given us all that we have, not to hoard, but to share and make a difference. This is what is at the core of stewardship.
The Gospel according to St. Luke does not say that people should not have money. It simply says that we should not worship money. Money is to be used to bring forth the Kingdom of God on earth. And by Kingdom of God, I do not mean some place in the heavens. The Kingdom of God means living a life guided by the principles of love and compassion, caring for one's neighbor, justice, mercy, righteousness, forgiveness, faithfulness, healing, repentance, and generosity. It is a matter of stewardship. For where one's treasure is, there is one's heart also.
| Updated 10/1/01 |
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