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, and gentleness. Jesus, in the parable in Luke's Gospel tells us of the fate of the beggar Lazarus and of a Rich Man. His point, to the Pharisees who were lovers of money [Luke 16:14], is 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 more 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. In that 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 this Lazarus or the Rich
Man today, LIFE.IS.SHORT. It may end at any moment, whether we are healthy, wealthy, and wise, or unhealthy, poor, and otherwise. We are given the Way and the knowledge and the free will to choose our own path. Will we take hold of the eternal life that really is life or
will we be among the first into exile where we will struggle to warn those left behind to change their life’s
direction? Which path will we choose? The Archbishop of
Canterbury, The Most Reverend Justin Welby, in his message at the funeral of
Queen Elizabeth II, put it this way: "People
of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are
still rarer. But in all cases, those who serve will be loved and remembered
when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten."
*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 living things ~ seen and unseen.
Deliver us from the traps of harmful and senseless desires in 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… add your own petitions
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 truly is life, in Your loving
and eternal comfort. We pray especially for… add your own petitions
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… add your own petitions
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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