Proper 21: Amos 6: 1 – 7; Psalm 146; I Timothy 6: 11 – 19; Luke 16: 19 – 31
Given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; and at St. John’s Church, Centralia, IL (Contemporary service)
“There are no U-Hauls in heaven!”[1] [2]
If only the Pharisees, at whom today’s parable, the “Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus”, is directed, had taken this central reality of life to heart: “There are no U-Hauls in heaven!”
You see, the Pharisees had been standing around, listening as Jesus instructed His disciples in last week’s Gospel reading, the “Parable of the Shrewd Manager”, which ends with Jesus’ teaching that “no one can serve two masters…you cannot serve God and money!”….
But then, Luke reminds us,[3] that the Pharisees where “lovers of money”. And so Jesus sees through their façade, saying to them “You are those who justify themselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God.”[4]
And so, the stage is now set for our hearing of today’s parable…..Knowing the context[5] enlarges our understanding of this text, which goes far beyond the idea that if a person “has it ‘good’ here in this life, they won’t have it ‘good’ in the next life.”
At issue in today’s Gospel is this constant theme, which we have been hearing in one way or another quite a few times as Our Lord made His way to Jerusalem, to His passion, death and resurrection: the really important issues of life are the spiritual ones.
“There are no U-Hauls in heaven!” That is to say, what ever we have in this life: possessions, wealth, relationships, prestige (all of the stuff that the Pharisees seemed to put a great deal of stock in)….all of these will pass away when we depart this life. The only thing that will endure is our relationship to God. So, it behooves us to cultivate that relationship here and now. That’s the “bottom line” of Jesus’ teaching, it seems to me.
And, in the context of Jesus’ teaching, cultivating a relationship with God consisted (for the Pharisees and for all observant Jews of the first century) of keeping the Law of Moses. Jesus explains the importance of faithful observance in verses 16 – 18 of chapter 16.
Now, we turn to some of the details of the text:
- Very strong verbs in the Greek: the Greek verbs are quite strong: the verb in verse 14, translated in the NRSV[6] as “ridiculed” is actually quite a bit stronger: the Greek says the Pharisees “mocked” Jesus.[7]
Then, the feasting[8] that the rich man engaged in has the sense of an extravagant banquet, not just a good meal. - The rich man’s wealth: Jesus describes the rich man as having been clothed in purple. Purple cloth was difficult to make, and hence, expensive. In ancient times, the Romans even had regulations about who could wear purple, and how much, depending on their station in life. Jesus’ description of the rich man denotes a man of very high rank, possibly even a nobleman. (Note the contrast with Lazarus: just as the verb forms used are very strong, so is the contrast between the rich man and Lazarus quite strong.)
- The interior dialogue: Jesus allows us to hear the interchanges between the rich man and Abraham, a characteristic of Luke’s Gospel account.
We might be tempted to take some small comfort in Jesus’ treatment of the Pharisees…after all, the Gospels all paint a pretty dismal picture of them: lovers of money,[9] seekers after prestige, power, rank and status, concerned chiefly with outward appearances,[10] but inwardly spiritually dead.[11]
Isn’t it good that they were the target, and not us?
Actually, no.
We are the target as well!
Why? The answer is simple: we are made of the same raw material as the Pharisees were. Being human beings, we are prone to the same spiritual diseases, and we fall prey to the same unseen, spiritual viruses as they did.
All of the Pharisees’ maladies can easily be our own.
Part of the human condition is our constant immersion in a world of people and things…..Our possessions, our wealth, or relationships, all of these create a reality which can be seen, touched and experienced.
But the reality we can see and can touch can block out the unseen reality: our spiritual life, the life lived in God.
And that focus, on the unseen things of God, is the central message that Jesus wants us to “get” today.
For we, like the rich man (or the Pharisees who resemble the rich man), can focus in our own welfare, to the neglect of God and of others, who are given to us that we may minister to and support them in service to God. We can easily get to the point where we think, “this is all there is, so I’d better enjoy it while I can!”. We can begin to believe we’re going to “take everything with us” when we depart this life.
But the reality that Jesus wants us to see is that there are “No U-Hauls in heaven”. Only what is done for God will travel with us into eternity.
May the Holy Spirit enable us to have God’s perspective in view, that we may cultivate our relationship with Him, for the glory of His name, our own spiritual health, and the wellbeing of others.
AMEN.
[1] This quip isn’t an original one, but I cannot remember where I heard it, or from whom.
[2] This text, like almost all of Luke’s accounting of Jesus’ teaching, is quite complex. Treatment of this – and all other of Luke’s texts – could take any number of different approaches. Today’s sermon concentrates on only one possible approach to the text.
[3] Luke 16: 14
[4] Verse 15
[5] Context is always an important part of understanding the meaning of any Scripture text.
[6] New Revised Standard Version
[7] The same verb is used to describe the mocking that Jesus received on the cross. See Luke 23: 35.
[8] Verse 19
[9] Verse 14
[10] Verse 15
[11] In Matthew, Jesus describes them as being “whited sepulchers”.
