If you remember, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. Ever since Chapter 9, verse 51 “when the days drew near for him to be taken up,” Jesus has set his face to Jerusalem, his Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension everything in Luke from that point forward will lead us to Holy Week and beyond. The overall context of this long section in Luke is to prepare the followers of Jesus (including us) for both Holy Week and life beyond.
It makes sense, then, that as Jesus is preparing not only himself but us for his departure, he’s getting us to think about priorities. This is one reason why Jesus talks so much about money. A quick run through Luke gives us roughly 20 instances, give or take, where Jesus speaks about money. Chapter 16 provides two long parables for us – last week’s dishonest manager and today’s story of Lazarus and a rich man.
Last week’s parable of the dishonest manager was addressed to the disciples and laid the groundwork for using wealth in appropriate ways. Not only to use wealth in appropriate ways, but to understand that wealth can corrupt us, reminding us we can’t serve God and wealth.
We don’t get this in today’s gospel, but it seems the Pharisees overheard that parable and, because they were lovers of money (according to Luke), they ridiculed Jesus for what he said. Their comments lead Jesus to tell today’s parable directly to those Pharisees. Once again we see that wealth and prosperity cast a long shadow over society and leads to gross disparities that could be easily remedied.
Today’s parable is complicated. On one hand it can be used to unequivocally say that the rich go to hell and the poor go to heaven. But that is overly simplistic and really not what Jesus was going for. Instead of seeing the Pharisees and the rich being punished by God for being rich, Jesus is attacking them for their misreading and misuse of Scripture.
There was, and is, a theological position that basically says if you are wealthy you are blessed by God, and if you are poor you obviously did something wrong to be punished by God in such a way. This interpretation was present in Judaism and, unfortunately, has been advocated by certain Christian groups and pastors. It’s probably best known as the prosperity gospel which states, basically, that God wants you to be rich and will bless you if you have enough faith.
Using that reasoning, the Pharisees in today’s story were claiming that they didn’t have to help those in need if they obeyed the rules and pledged their money to the synagogue. It’s that reasoning that those Pharisees (as well as some Christian groups today) defend not helping the poor because they would be interfering in God’s desire to punish wicked people by making them poor.
Again, Jesus isn’t attacking the Pharisees for being wealthy, he’s attacking them for misreading and misusing Scripture. Because while they used Scripture to justify their positions and their refusal to aid the poor and needy, it is a fact that those positions violate the same Scriptures they claim to follow.
Mosaic Law requires harvests to be shared with the poor and transient. It requires one to open their hands to the needy. Isaiah proclaimed we should share our bread, open our homes, and clothe the naked. And God himself commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Ignoring the vast majority of commands from God to help those in need in favor of a few that can be used to promote selfish gain is nothing short of heresy.
In today’s parable it’s not being rich that gets the rich man in trouble, it’s in his lack of concern for those in need. It’s in his refusal to care for someone literally lying at his doorstep. It’s in his refusal to even see that other person. And it’s in his (read, “Pharisees”) use of Scripture for personal gain.
From the beginning, Jesus’ ministry is all about the proper understanding of, and use of, Scripture. The Devil tempted him with scriptural quotes. He healed foreigners and outsiders who were welcomed by God but shunned by religious people and authorities. He healed on the Sabbath because God cares more about healing than rules. He interacted with women because God made both male and female. And the list goes on.
Jesus has set his face to Jerusalem and is moving ever closer to his Passion, death, and departure. In this movement to Jerusalem he is preparing those who follow him for those events. He is preparing his followers for the life beyond . . . beyond his physical presence and beyond what we see here. One way of doing that is by helping us get our priorities straight.
Within these teachings on wealth I think there are two important takeaways.
First, are we using our wealth selfishly, only concerned with ourselves? Scripture reminds us over and over again that the people of God are to care for each other and in doing so those who are wealthy have a greater responsibility. As our Epistle reading pointed out, it’s not riches that are the problem, it’s the love of money that is at the root of evil. What are we rooted in? What, or whom, do we love?
And second, we are warned by both prophets and Jesus of the importance of using Scripture appropriately. Love your neighbor. Feed the hungry. Welcome the stranger. This is what God is asking us to do. But if we cherry-pick scripture to reflect and affirm our own biases, prejudices, and willingness to harm others because “the Bible says so,” we are doing it all wrong. We can’t quote scripture from our mouths while our hearts are full of hate.
Because ultimately, it will be on these two points for which we will be judged. How are we, then, preparing ourselves for life beyond?
Amen.
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