30th September, 2007
[Whether to be rich on Earth or In Heaven] : Luke 16:19-31

1. Is wealth a blessing or a condemnation ?

The last week we meditated upon wealth in reading Paul’s epistle to Timothy, in which Paul says: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6 10).
Paul does not really condemn money in itself, but if the rich use money in an egocentric way, then it could be considered as a root of evil. Therefore, under these conditions, not only the rich person but also others too will stand condemned.
This concept of wealth comes from one of Jesus’ parables, the story about the manager of a rich man. As we look at the scriptures today, and in particular Luke 16, we will have the opportunity to learn much about wealth.
The manager in this story was afraid that his master would dismiss him because he was accused of wasting the master’s possessions. So, he thought it would be wise to make friends of people who would welcome him into their houses when he lost the job.
So he called in each one of his master’s debtors and discounted their debts by a half for one, or by twenty percent for another. Rather unexpectedly for us, Jesus praised the manager by saying: “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings “(Luke 16:9). For the manager had acted shrewdly, even in a dishonest way, not to make benefit at the present time but to prepare for the future .
Jesus continued: “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Luke 16:13).
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard this and were sneering at Jesus because they thought they could serve God as well as money. They considered wealth as material proof of God’ blessing accorded to hard work:
“The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you “(Deuteronomy 28:8).
This is a popular concept, even today, and according to which the Japanese government keeps it’s economic policy - “market fundamentalism-self responsibility principle ”, enhanced by the last two prime ministers. And yet this theory results in increasing the gap between rich and poor.
In fact poverty occurs, not necessarily from bad luck or lack of personal effort, but very often from the social structures. How do we deal with the rich and the poor problem? Its a perennial question which has haunted governments and societies for centuries. However, many would say that the answer to this question was answered by Jesus some two thousand years ago in following parable.

2. The Rich Man and Lazarus

The parable is developed in three scenes and the first part starts thus: “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores” (Luke 16:19-21).
The rich man’s money was not gained illegally, nor was it acquired by exploiting his servants. But, he uses his wealth exclusively for himself without any thought of helping the poor man suffering a miserable existence just outside of his gate.
The second part of the parable takes in verses 22 to 26: “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell,where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’"((Luke 16:22-26)
Abraham indicated that the last judgement was irreversible and those who lived in an egoistic way would not enter into God’s kingdom.
The third part commence from verse 27: “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment ¡Æ¡È(Luke 16:27-28).
At that moment the rich man, for the first time in his life showed interest in the care of other people. But Abraham refused the request: “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them’” (Luke 16:29).
What we must do, and how to live is written in the books of Moses and the Prophets, so we have nothing other than to respect their teachings. But the rich man insisted: ¡ÆNo, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’"(Luke 16:30).
And Abraham refused one more time: “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead’ “(Luke 16:31.
God’s will is clearly expressed in the Bible, and if people do not listen and obey His will, nobody will ever be convinced.

3. Be Openhanded Towards the Poor

This parable does not justify the theory of cause, result, nor resignation to this present life simply by hoping the future will be happy for us.
Let’s look at the meaning of the name Lazarus, which is the personal name mentioned numerous times in Jesus’ parables. Lazarus, (Eleazar in Hebrew) means my God has helped, or one who lives on God’s help.
Lazarus lived on God’s mercy and is now in heaven. The reason the rich man now suffers in Hell, it not because he was rich on earth, but because he did not share his wealth. The Scripture confirms:
” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.(Luke 19:8-9) The rich man went to Hell because he didn’t care for others at all.
We chose Deuteronomy 15:11 as today’s invocation verse. “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.”
Perhaps the Pharisees read this verse and diverted the message with their selfish interpretation, and believe that its not necessary to give their money to the poor.
But we must remember that our life, money, and time - all are lent to us, not given by God. Therefore, we should conduct ourselves as good managers. The Bible teaches, when we use our time and talents as if we personally owned them - we will be punished !
Albert Schweitzer was a well known medical doctor, and he was famous for his devotion to the health of African people. In one of his autobiographies, he explained his decision to learn medicine and go to Africa. He was inspired when he read about, ¡Èthe Rich Man and Lazarus¡É in the Bible, at the age of 30. He even abandoned his then current post as professor of the university to take up his missionary activity.
Though, we do not all follow in the foot-steps of Albert Schweitzer, we should all feel moved to such commitments after today’s reading!
Whether we are real Christians or not depends on our attitude toward our neighbors. To love our neighbors is to be attentive to their needs, their ill health, their suffering, all of which dictates how we will spend our money and our time.
Deuteronomy teaches us: “You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).
In that way we should be rich in the Kingdom of God. The rich in the secular world are in fact unhappy, because they are too satisfied with their way of life to seek the truth.
So Jesus says: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets” (Luke 6:24-26).
Here, Jesus cultivates a new way of making sense of the world in which salvation is characterized as a reversal of fortunes.
We learn through experience the ways of poverty, deceptions, and difficulties. We have made decisions, and received our baptism into the Christian life, which encourages us to lay-up treasure in heaven.
Now, let’s take one further step in order to be rich in Heaven by helping our neighbors with what we have on earth - here and now!

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