The Rich Man and Lazarus Luke 16:19-31

A major theme in Luke’s Gospel is ‘reversal’. We see a clear example of this in today’s Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Notice how the rich man is not given a name. This is significant as names were important for people who were considered to be of high status, it gave them recognition. It is the poor outcast beggar who does have a name – Lazarus. Names are significant. Lazarus means “God helps”. The lives of these two men are radically different. The rich man wears purple robes, the most expensive colour dye at that time, and he feasts every day. A gate also separates these two men, the rich man is far above Lazarus in terms of status and wealth. The rich man does not even see Lazarus. When they die, their situations are completely reversed and we are reminded of the Magnificat in the first chapter of Luke (1:52-53) “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty”. The rich man is unwilling to change, even in the afterlife he wants Lazarus sent, ordered, to go to his brothers. It is not proof or special signs that they need. Their vision has been blinded by wealth and dreams.

“The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out” (James Baldwin).

Sunday 22nd Sept ~ Gospel Economics

One of the most scandalous economic stories in the Gospels is the teaching in today’s parable. A manager is about to get fired by the CEO because he has not made the highest profit. But is Jesus really condoning using money to buy friends and stealing from employers?! What is the manager doing? He is telling his debtors to falsify their bills so that they can be free from their debt. Some owe huge amounts. The manager is using the position he is in to recklessly release people from debt, to even up the tables. This will of course win him everlasting friends, their hearts and minds.

The manager is praised for his astuteness, he has his priorities straight, he is happy to let debt go, to redistribute the load. Ok there is still some self-interest there but Jesus is telling us that the only value the money really has is in the way it is disposed of – to make friends with the poor. The manager won’t be the most successful man on the planet compared to the ‘children of the light’ who are more concerned with accounts than with real people. He can be trusted to value what is really important. Yes he is a bit of a scoundrel, but Jesus liked scoundrels, once their efforts were put to good use.

“If a white-collar criminal is smart enough to pull off this sort of stunt, imagine what the children of God can do! It is an invitation to holy mischief.” (Shane Claiborne)

Lost and Found: Lk 15

In today’s Gospel, we hear three parables, all about things that are lost and found. We see the ‘searcher’ portrayed as male and female as Luke strives for gender equality followed by the very human story of the Lost Son. These three parables of things lost and found emphasise the unending forgiveness of God and his rejoicing when we return to Him. But as with all parables, we are left thinking and wondering, disturbed even. A sheep and a coin we can rejoice over, but when it is a person who has done us harm, hurt us in some way, it is much easier to behave like the elder brother in the third parable.

The elder brother tries to disown his younger brother by saying ‘this son of yours’… the response he is given is ‘this brother of yours… was lost and now is found’. God restores all things, the sheep to the shepherd, the coin to the woman, the son to the Father and it is a frantic search in each parable. We are encouraged to search, to be ‘seekers’, to discover the lost and, when we need it, to let ourselves be found.

“The sheep may be lost in the fog or wandering aimlessly but the shepherd is always in search of it. No matter how desperate our plight we may always rely on the love which will never tire of seeking us out.” (Cardinal Basil Hume)

The Cost: Luke 14:25-33

This account is troubling. Surely Jesus does not expect us to hate our families, friends and even ourselves in order to be his followers? Maybe he didn’t really mean it? Crosses and possessions, we can understand that bit. Perhaps Jesus is making a point here about how we attach ourselves to things and to people, even to images of ourselves. Attachment can cause all sorts of suffering in our lives. If we are to grow, we move on from the comfortable. If we are to be agents of change, we let go of the familiar, and that can often be painful whether it be old rituals, a group we were once part of, friends who don’t understand. The two parables in this story remind us to think things through and weigh up the cost involved. This Kingdom of God stuff does involve sacrifice even though we would prefer to skip the bits that make us uncomfortable. It’s not so simple Jesus…. I find it difficult… and sometimes it feels like 20,000 against 10,000.

So this passage is a call to conversion and we read it from the various forms of discipleship that we are in: parenting, advocacy, political life, social work and so on. In order to achieve our goals we make sacrifices. Jesus ‘turned to them’, he is speaking from experience. Jesus’ words are harsh, but spend time with this text today, his words can be interpreted as passionate, urgent, focused and even offer us a great freedom and encouragement in whatever form of discipleship we have chosen.

September 1st: Luke 14:1, 7-11

Jesus is at table eating and drinking more times in Luke than in any of the other Gospels. In today’s Gospel Jesus is at the house of one of the Pharisees for a Sabbath meal. The parable which Jesus tells them concerns humility as he watched the guests take the places of honour at the table. The host in the parable is obviously the insightful one, one who is able to expose phoniness in the community. This doesn’t always have to be a negative, sometimes we need people like that to show us our weaknesses, to help us grow. In today’s world real humility can be interpreted as low self-esteem or even a false humility. Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple said, “Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all.”

Hospitality to the stranger is the next topic of conversation as Jesus urges those present to invite, not those who are known to them, but those who are poor, crippled in some way. Real hospitality is the second lesson of this story, to invite people in and to do so without expecting reward. Through real hospitality to the stranger, humility is there.

“If we only pride ourselves on our service record and nothing more, we end up going wrong…We have to be humble, but with real humility, from head to toe” Pope Francis.