It's Only a Test
Sermon text for September 23, 2007:
Luke 16:1-31
A rich man was in agony and those around him were likewise tormented. As he surveyed his situation he became more and more anxious. His insides felt empty, and the heat, the awful heat! It was almost more than he could bear. His situation was made even more desperate by a heavenly vision of comfort and serenity. He began to panic when he realized that he was in Hades, and there was no way out.
“Why me God?”, he wondered. “I lived a good life and always tried to do my best. I never hurt anyone, and I was faithful in my prayers. I loved you God and I thought you loved me too. You certainly filled my life with many blessings. I had a good business, a nice family, and a beautiful home. Everybody said I set one of the nicest tables in all of Israel. I thought that being so blessed meant that you were on my side. So why am I here being tormented?”
From the details that Jesus gave us in the story, the rich man has a right to question his fate. Nowhere are we told that he was dishonest, or that his wealth was ill-gotten gain. The only negative thing that we can say about him is that his wealth created a blind spot so that he couldn’t see the poor man at his gate.
Then again, maybe he did see him, but thought that Lazarus ought to get a job, or join the other poor folks gleaning in the fields. Maybe he just didn’t believe that anyone had any claim on what was his. But mostly I think he just didn’t see. He had a blind spot.
Jesus told this story to go side-by-side with the parable of the dishonest steward that we also find in Luke 16. The parable of the dishonest steward is one of the most difficult passages in the Bible to interpret, but thankfully Jesus tells us what it means. He says that the way we use money determines the kinds of spiritual gifts we receive in this life. And he says that we can invest money and other resources in the Kingdom of God now, to assure a place in God’s heavenly home.
This is something that the rich man in the parable didn’t know and hearing it may cause us to bristle. We believe that eternal life is God’s free gift to us. And that of course is true. But the way we use our money and other resources is a true test of the depth of our faith, and therefore determines whether or not we receive what Jesus calls “true riches”.
The Bible says that when the pharisees heard the parable of the dishonest steward, they “ridiculed Jesus” because they were lovers of money. They didn’t want to believe that money was a test. They wanted to believe that their wealth was a sign of God’s blessing, no more and no less. So Jesus told the parable of Lazarus and the rich man to help them understand that wealth can cause blind spots and that what we do with what we have has consequences.
You and I need to listen to Jesus when he teaches about wealth, precisely because it makes many of us uncomfortable. I’ve found that the place of my discomfort is usually where I need to grow. So when a teaching makes me uncomfortable, I know that if I want to mature in faith, I need to pay attention.
Jesus tells the story of two men, one who is incredibly rich and another who is incredibly poor. We know nothing about either man’s character, only that one feasts “sumptuously” while the other goes hungry. One dies and goes into the bosom of Abraham, and Jewish idea of heaven, while the other goes to a place of eternal torment. The only clue we have as to why the rich man went to the place of torment is that he apparently did not share with Lazarus. His wealth left him with a blind spot.
This passage and others like it gave me a new idea. It occurred to me that perhaps wealth is not a blessing, but rather a test (okay, hear me out on this). If I am right, then wealth is morally neutral, but how we use it determines how faithful we are, and if we pass the test. Jesus wants us to believe that the rich man failed the test that God put before him because he did not use his wealth compassionately.
This is the kind of message that you and I can easily ignore. We may like the idea that our wealth is morally neutral, while refusing to consider the idea that God uses wealth as a test of our faithfulness. The first part of the test is the tithe - ten percent of our income. The average Presbyterian gives right around 2%, so right now many of us are not getting a passing grade. Our only defense is to pretend that God didn’t mean what the Bible says.
Some years ago my family was in Washington D.C. and we took part in a real life reproduction of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. We were about to go into a fast food restaurant when a dirty man in tattered clothes begged for whatever change I could afford to give. I walked right past him, careful not to make eye contact. I did not trust him and in truth I was a little bit afraid. We got our meals and were about to sit down when we saw that same man in line at the check stand. Someone else invited him in and paid for his meal. I felt ashamed because I had clearly flunked the test of compassion.
My prayer for you is that you will meditate on the parable of Lazarus and the rich man – that you will ask God where your blind spots are. And seeing them, you will ask God to help you see the invisible people whom God loves.
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
Luke 16:1-31
A rich man was in agony and those around him were likewise tormented. As he surveyed his situation he became more and more anxious. His insides felt empty, and the heat, the awful heat! It was almost more than he could bear. His situation was made even more desperate by a heavenly vision of comfort and serenity. He began to panic when he realized that he was in Hades, and there was no way out.
“Why me God?”, he wondered. “I lived a good life and always tried to do my best. I never hurt anyone, and I was faithful in my prayers. I loved you God and I thought you loved me too. You certainly filled my life with many blessings. I had a good business, a nice family, and a beautiful home. Everybody said I set one of the nicest tables in all of Israel. I thought that being so blessed meant that you were on my side. So why am I here being tormented?”
From the details that Jesus gave us in the story, the rich man has a right to question his fate. Nowhere are we told that he was dishonest, or that his wealth was ill-gotten gain. The only negative thing that we can say about him is that his wealth created a blind spot so that he couldn’t see the poor man at his gate.
Then again, maybe he did see him, but thought that Lazarus ought to get a job, or join the other poor folks gleaning in the fields. Maybe he just didn’t believe that anyone had any claim on what was his. But mostly I think he just didn’t see. He had a blind spot.
Jesus told this story to go side-by-side with the parable of the dishonest steward that we also find in Luke 16. The parable of the dishonest steward is one of the most difficult passages in the Bible to interpret, but thankfully Jesus tells us what it means. He says that the way we use money determines the kinds of spiritual gifts we receive in this life. And he says that we can invest money and other resources in the Kingdom of God now, to assure a place in God’s heavenly home.
This is something that the rich man in the parable didn’t know and hearing it may cause us to bristle. We believe that eternal life is God’s free gift to us. And that of course is true. But the way we use our money and other resources is a true test of the depth of our faith, and therefore determines whether or not we receive what Jesus calls “true riches”.
The Bible says that when the pharisees heard the parable of the dishonest steward, they “ridiculed Jesus” because they were lovers of money. They didn’t want to believe that money was a test. They wanted to believe that their wealth was a sign of God’s blessing, no more and no less. So Jesus told the parable of Lazarus and the rich man to help them understand that wealth can cause blind spots and that what we do with what we have has consequences.
You and I need to listen to Jesus when he teaches about wealth, precisely because it makes many of us uncomfortable. I’ve found that the place of my discomfort is usually where I need to grow. So when a teaching makes me uncomfortable, I know that if I want to mature in faith, I need to pay attention.
Jesus tells the story of two men, one who is incredibly rich and another who is incredibly poor. We know nothing about either man’s character, only that one feasts “sumptuously” while the other goes hungry. One dies and goes into the bosom of Abraham, and Jewish idea of heaven, while the other goes to a place of eternal torment. The only clue we have as to why the rich man went to the place of torment is that he apparently did not share with Lazarus. His wealth left him with a blind spot.
This passage and others like it gave me a new idea. It occurred to me that perhaps wealth is not a blessing, but rather a test (okay, hear me out on this). If I am right, then wealth is morally neutral, but how we use it determines how faithful we are, and if we pass the test. Jesus wants us to believe that the rich man failed the test that God put before him because he did not use his wealth compassionately.
This is the kind of message that you and I can easily ignore. We may like the idea that our wealth is morally neutral, while refusing to consider the idea that God uses wealth as a test of our faithfulness. The first part of the test is the tithe - ten percent of our income. The average Presbyterian gives right around 2%, so right now many of us are not getting a passing grade. Our only defense is to pretend that God didn’t mean what the Bible says.
Some years ago my family was in Washington D.C. and we took part in a real life reproduction of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. We were about to go into a fast food restaurant when a dirty man in tattered clothes begged for whatever change I could afford to give. I walked right past him, careful not to make eye contact. I did not trust him and in truth I was a little bit afraid. We got our meals and were about to sit down when we saw that same man in line at the check stand. Someone else invited him in and paid for his meal. I felt ashamed because I had clearly flunked the test of compassion.
My prayer for you is that you will meditate on the parable of Lazarus and the rich man – that you will ask God where your blind spots are. And seeing them, you will ask God to help you see the invisible people whom God loves.
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
posted by Dwight Blackstock | 6:14 AM
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