SERMON, PROPER 21C, LUKE 16:19-31

Today is our annual pet blessing. Normally this would happen closer to the actual feast day of St. Francis (October 4), but Convention got in the way this year. Someone said to me, "Isn't it interesting how your celebration of St. Francis coincides with a gospel lesson where dogs lick the sores of Lazarus?"

That got me thinking: Just how are these two intertwined?

Let's start with the parable of Lazarus. This parable is a follow-up to last week's story about the dishonest manager and is addressed to Pharisees rather than disciples. It's set up by pointing out that the Pharisees had heard the previous story - You can't serve God and wealth - and ridiculed Jesus because they "were lovers of money."

This is not to say they were greedy; because, in fact, they were following their interpretations of the Law. They did have a theological context for their position. That context comes right out of Deuteronomy 28 which basically says that if you observe all the commandments of the Law you will be blessed in all things. And the sign of God's blessing and favor upon a person is obviously shown by their bank account and possessions. Is anyone else thinking abut "The Prayer of Jabez" right about now?

"God loves me so much that He bought me this new Hummer." Right.

But that's the idea. The blessed will prosper and the wicked will be cursed. And you will know who is blessed and who is cursed simply by looking at them. Jesus, however, turns this upside down when he says that the rich man goes down to eternal torment while the poor beggar is raised up to heaven.

Now before you go thinking that this is an anti-money parable or sermon, it's not. Do not take this parable as proof that God condemns the rich to hell and rewards the poor with heavenly comfort. What this parable has to do with is right living and right interpretation of scripture.

No matter what our position, left or right, liberal or conservative, we cannot simply choose those few favorite passages that support our view and disregard all the rest. Those are often called "clobber passages" because they spell out in black and white our favorite position and they are used to end all discussion and study.

A right reading doesn't stop with the passages that we like. A right reading includes all of scripture, and a right interpretation tries to live within those vast guidelines. So you will be blessed if you obey the law. But the law also includes instructions on caring for the poor, widowed and orphaned. It includes sharing one's harvest with the transient. It includes welcoming the stranger. Isaiah talks about bringing the homeless into your home, striving for justice and freeing the oppressed. Jesus sums all this up by saying, "To whom much is given, much is required."

Luke, remember, is very much concerned with reversals. It started in the Magnificat and continues up through this parable and beyond. We are called on to care for and protect those less fortunate than ourselves, the "least of these." This parable of Lazarus and the rich man isn't about reversing the eternal fortunes of rich and poor because they were rich and poor; this parable is about misreading scripture and the failure of the rich man to care for -- the failure of him to even see -- Lazarus.

And this brings me to St. Francis. He was the son of an exceedingly wealthy merchant, who, like most fathers, wanted to see Francis succeed in life and wanted to hand down the family business. As Francis traveled through the area, he met beggars and lepers and, for the most part, avoided them.

One day, however, he decided to interact with these less fortunate and socially outcast people. Now the story is obviously much more detailed, but you get the idea. Shortly thereafter, and against his father's wishes, Francis gave up all material possessions and vowed to serve the poor just as they were -- poor. The Franciscan order was born.

The order grew quickly and in about ten years Francis was no longer in direct control of it. The rule of strict poverty was relaxed and it never quite maintained that ideal of Francis. His biography in LFF states, "Of all the saints, Francis is the most popular and admired, but probably the least imitated."

Francis, while extreme, had a right reading of scripture. He realized that it is the duty of those who have much to care for those who have little or nothing. "The least of these" became Francis' focus.

And, in case you're wondering, that focus extended to all of God's creation, including animals. Animals aren't here simply for our pleasure, to use and abuse as we see fit. According to the second story of creation, animals were created to be our helpmates and partners to care for the earth. And like Lazarus, animals have no voice and are often ignored. St. Francis was concerned with the least of these, from people to animals.

What I would like you to take home today is an awareness on avoiding selective scriptural interpretations and a willingness to emulate St. Francis in his concern and passion to care for the least of these. And then, thinking on that, how might your time, talent and treasure help our parish reach out to those who we don't normally see? How might your time, talent and treasure help our parish reflect God's kingdom and include the excluded? How might your time, talent and treasure help us thrive?