To Appreciate God's Blessings, Give!

PPLP Pentecost + 16 Proper / Lectionary 26

25 September 2022

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

1 Timothy 6:6-19

Luke 16:19-31

Holy God,

you reach out in love through Jesus Christ to save us.

Unchain us from our desire for wealth and power,

so that we may release others from prisons of poverty,

hunger and oppression. Amen.

_________________________________________

Today’s gospel shows us not only a clear delineation between classes but also between the levels of faith found within each class, still today.

In the gospel we’re told that the rich man feasts sumptuously each day. He wears fine clothes. His house is well built and well maintained, including a security fence. He has money, and assets, and property aplenty.

What he doesn’t have, as we discover listening to Jesus, is an active life of faith. Instead, he thinks all of this largesse in his life is because of his own skill and cunning dealing with the ways of the world.

On the other side, at the gate of the rich man, is the poor man, Lazarus. He begs for scraps of food, crusts of bread, and the occasional coin. He owns only what is on his back, and nothing more; and he knows that absolutely everything that comes to him, that comes his way is a gift from God, a mark of another’s faith, love, and generosity.

Jesus tells us: “19 ‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.” (LKk 16:19-21)

And realistically there are many parallels that we are able to draw looking at the world around us in the light of this parable.

We are able to look to the news for the actions of the arrogantly rich. Likewise, how many of us have fallen into the mindset that we’re well off in our own lives because of what we’ve inherited? Or by what we’ve managed to save? Or even by how well our personal investments portfolios have done giving us a comfortable lifestyle, a retirement nest egg and something to leave to the next generation?

And how many of us have thanked God at each blessing received, each boon that has come our way, or each way in which our life has been and continues to be blessed?

I remember when my husband and I decided to get married. We set the date; we began the planning process. But weddings aren’t cheap, so we decided to start a company to help us to achieve what we’ wanted for the wedding.

It wasn’t easy. Contracts weren’t coming our way, and when they did, they didn’t have much of a profit margin or timeline and we were getting tired, and a little frustrated by it all.

But then we got some advice. We were asked if we had given anything back to God for the work that had come our way? Had we tithed from the blessings that God was sending to us?

The answer, at that time, was ‘no’ because we were trying to get more work and to save for the wedding and giving to God wasn’t in the top three of where we wanted to put the profits from the contracts.

A great human response, right?

The man asking the question acknowledged our answer with a nod, and he carried on his way.

After that day, we made the conscious choice to give 10% of the profit margin of each contract to the church, to God. We chose to tithe from what we were receiving, and in that thought, then pray that the rest would fall into place, as we needed.

And the contracts, from that point on, started to pour in; the timelines were manageable, and our goals were able to be met.

I’d like to say that it was because our turn had come to be successful had finally arrived, but I know better.

We succeeded because at each turn we intentionally thanked God for God’s blessings, not with the pocket lint of our lives, but with the first fruits of each contract.

We gave intentionally from each profit margin because we remembered that they originated from God. A great response as we see in the letter to Timothy, right?

“10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Tim 6:10-12)

Something that some of the more notoriously wealthy in our world, or the rich man in today’s gospel don’t seem to be acknowledging.

Yet at the other end of the spectrum, is still the poor man, named Lazarus. The only character whose name we know.

And yet, Jesus includes Lazarus’ name in his parable, so such an inclusion needs to be remarked upon.

After we were married, and I continued to be a student, there was a man begging on Bloor Street who I passed every day. He was always in the same location. He was always in a good mood, and he was on great terms with all of the other homeless in the area. I will say that at one point, I knew his name, although I’ve forgotten it now.

This was a man who asked for nothing, but what you would give: a smile, a kind word, a donation of food or clothing, or bedding, or even a few coins. He really didn’t want much and was always glad for what came his way.

I remember him still because he wasn’t aggressive, and because he always gave thanks, and a smile for what he received.

Today’s gospel shows us what happens when, for whatever reason, we take life, a gift form God, for granted.

Jesus’ parable reminds all of his listeners that the law of God and the words of the prophets are there for our edification, for our enlightenment, and for our spiritual growth, still today.

As the rich man, from the depths of hades, petitions for his family’s salvation, in the face of his time away from God’s light: “29Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” 30He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” 31He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” ’” (Lk 16:29-31)

It tells us what to expect when we forget to give thanks for what we’ have when we fail to tithe from the first fruits of what we receive.

Instead, we are able to return to the gospel, for today, we look at what Jesus is hinting at, that our ability to be grateful for all that we’ve been given encourages us to share that sense of gratitude in ways that have the power to enhance the lives of all around us.

At the same time, the Letter to Timothy tells us: “10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

11But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Tim 6:10-12)

The author reminds us of the many ways in which our attention is able to be easily drawn from the love of God, from the sacrifice of Christ because of the lure of wealth over the beneficence of sharing that wealth throughout the world.

However, if we continue to put God first, to put the harvest blessings of giving from the first fruits of what comes to us, then we live more fully into our faith, our humility as people of God. We are in the world but not of the world.

We live into the offering prayers that we’ve heard, recited, and participated in throughout our time together as a community of faith.

“We offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us – our selves, our time, and our possessions, signs of your gracious love. Receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (WOV pg 21)

Paul goes on to tell us: “17As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, 19thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.” (1 Tim 6:17-19)

To be ‘comfortable’ to be ‘wealthy’ isn’t a crime. Its what we do with the wealth in our lives that determines whether or not our use of what has blessed our lives is to God’s glory or to man’s.

Maybe more if more of us recalled how it is that God has blessed our lives, then we would be as generous as the man on the street?

As Paul has said: “those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim 6:9-10a )

Jesus encourages us to avoid such pitfalls and to always consider even the least of those in our midst. And in such a way, we are able to be greeted with the smiles of those benefit from our generosity, we are blessed beyond measure and are so able to be a blessing to those in need.

Amen.