For Sunday, September 28, 2025, Readings: Amos 6:1a. 4~7;
Psalm 146, 1 Timothy 6:6~19, Luke 16:19~31
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, if not always well reasoned, 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 more roll of the dice, one
more square to scratch off 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, and for many
just downright terrible, 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, unhealthy, wealthy, poor, wise or
otherwise. 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 we will struggle to warn those left behind to change their life’s direction? Which
side of the chasm will we choose? Who is ready for the great reversals of
fortune?
The then Archbishop of
Canterbury, 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 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 and financial power across this Earth to govern with justice, mercy,
and peace, sustaining the needy 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 hearts to pray 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 as our
loved ones now take hold of the true and eternal life of 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 Your purpose for us 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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