For Sunday, September
29, 2019 ~ 16th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C, Readings:
Amos 6:1a. 4-7; Psalm 146, 1 Timothy 6:6-19, Luke 16:19-31
Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory,
and lounge on their couches…but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph…they
shall now be the first to go into exile and the revelry of the lounger shall
pass away. [Amos
6:4a, 6b, 7]
The Lord loves the
righteous…cares for the stranger…sustains the orphan and widow but frustrates
the way of the wicked. [Psalm
146: 8]
But those who want to be rich, fall into temptation and are
trapped by many senseless and harmful desires…the love of money is a root of
all kinds of evil...some have wandered away from the faith...But as for
you...fight the good fight of the faith...command them...to do good, to be rich
in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up...the treasure of
a good foundation for the future...take hold of the life that really is
life. [1 Timothy 6:9a, 10a, 17a, 18-19]
But
Abraham said, "Child remember that during your lifetime you received your
good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted
here, and you are in agony...between you and us a great chasm has been
fixed…" [Luke
16:25, 26a]
We hear so much familiar phrasing in these
readings, we may be surprised to remember or to discover their origins. For
example, just in 1st Timothy we are given:
-we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take
nothing out of it.
-the love of money is a root of all kinds of
evil.
-Fight the good fight...
-King of kings and Lord of lords
Then in Luke comes the
more precise wording that gives us: ...storing up for themselves the
treasure of a good foundation for the future...
All of the readings for
this week give us the direction we need to reach the final destination of
our own choosing. Amos warns that those who care only for their own ease and
comfort in this life will find themselves on a different side of eternity at their
mortal end. The first letter to Timothy gives us clear definitive steps to take
us to the ultimate life to which we are called by God. We are to pursue
godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. And Jesus, in the
parable in Luke's Gospel tells us that we have been given all the instruction
we need for eternal life through Moses and the prophets - and for us
as Christians, Jesus is the foremost Prophet as our Redeemer. All we need
are eyes to see, ears to listen, and a willing soul.
And there are many subtleties amidst
the clarity. Money itself is not evil - it is the love of money that
is the issue. When do we realize that though our needs are fulfilled our wants
have turned to desire for more and more and more? Ironically, when the
"more" falsely seems so easily available to the many, more and more
of humanity falls into desperate poverty ~ fueling rage, violence, and war. The
western "lottery economy"* gives otherwise rational people a
heightened and sometimes addictive and ruinous clamoring for the artificial
opulence in lifestyles of celebrities or mega-gazillionaires. One spin of the
wheel, one more right number, one roll of the dice, one more square to scratch
and you, too, will be rich beyond measure, all the while depleting ever lessening
resources in the pursuit of total ease and comfort. We have wandered away
from faith.
Nothing new here - see Timothy
again: But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are
trapped by many senseless and harmful desires... We, the people of
God, never seem to have those eyes and ears aimed properly. We are often
oblivious to the movement of our own desires, longings, and eagerness to have
much more than we need. We know that we can’t take it with us yet
we keep on seeking more. Timothy continues to awaken us as we, and especially
the already rich, are gently admonished not to set our hopes on the
uncertainty of riches, but rather on God...and the teaching tells us to
do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share. And
therein lies the path to storing up our treasure in heaven. Life is busy, life
is full, life is hard, life has its good days and its not so good, but, all in
all, whether you are feeling like Lazarus or the Rich Man today, LIFE.IS.SHORT.
We are given the Way and the knowledge to choose sides. Will we take
hold of the eternal life that really is life or will we be among the
first into exile where all thoughts perish? Which
side of the chasm will we choose?
*A nod and thank you to A.K.A. Adam, Tutor in New Testament,
Oxford University, England for his term "lottery economy."
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O Lord our God, You
give life to all things ~ seen and unseen. Deliver us from the traps of harmful
and senseless desires of this temporal life and guide us to fight the good
fight of the faith in Christ Jesus.
Almighty
and Eternal God
RESPONSE: We put our trust in You
~ O Lord our God, command
the hearts of all with political power across this Earth to govern with
justice, mercy, and peace, sustaining the needful and frustrating the ways of
the wicked. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Almighty
and Eternal God
We
put our trust in You
~ O Lord our God, grant
hope to the hopeless, love to the loveless, and lighten the burden of pain and
anguish for all who suffer in any way. We now join our voices to pray aloud for
those in need…
Almighty
and Eternal God
We
put our trust in You
~ O Lord our God, shelter
and ease the hearts that grieve, as our loved ones, carried to Abraham by the
angels, now take hold of the life that really is life, in Your eternal comfort.
We pray especially for…
Almighty
and Eternal God
We
put our trust in You
~ O Lord our God, we pause
in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…
Almighty
and Eternal God
We
put our trust in You
~ O Lord our God, may all ordained as the prophets
in our time exemplify to us Your purpose in this world, and find continuing
strength in the grace of Your ever-constant Presence. We pray especially
for: add your own petitions
Almighty
and Eternal God
We
put our trust in You
The Celebrant adds: Living God of Promise, heighten our
awareness of the chasm before us at this life’s end that we persevere in good
works, generosity, and sharing. Help us to store up our treasure of a good
foundation in the true and eternal life after life to which we are each called. We
ask through Jesus, our Sovereign King of Kings, and the Holy Spirit, the Sacred
Breath in our souls, who together with You are One God, now and forever and
ever. Amen.
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