Some years ago I was talking with some people about what the Bible says about wealth. We had just read a passage from Luke where Jesus says, “Woe to you who are rich.” We wondered if he really meant that. Because, is it really that bad being rich?
Most of us who are not rich would like to be, if we had the chance.
I can hear your objections already. “I’m not interested in being wealthy. I’m not the kind of person who wants big fancy houses and yachts and cars.” And maybe you are not. But it seems to me the most appealing thing about having wealth is to not have to worry about money. The thing that most of us would probably like the most is to never have to worry about whether we have enough money for the things we need or want.
In that conversation about wealth, one woman said this. “There was a time when I was poor, but now I am not. I thought about money a whole lot more when I was poor than I do now.” It is a privilege to not have to think about money all the time. Of course, you still can if you want to. Kim keeps a close eye on our retirement funds, for which I am grateful. You are free to spend as much time as you like thinking about your money; you can even be like the old cartoon character, Scrooge McDuck, who enjoyed taking a daily bath in his money. But, the point is that you don’t need to if you don’t want to, when you have wealth. You don’t have to think about whether you have enough to pay for the prescription or the groceries or your child’s school supplies. And that is a privilege.
But today I am suspending that privilege and, once again, asking you to think about money, along with Jesus and the Pharisees.
Last week we heard a parable Jesus told to his disciples, which was intended to be overheard by the Pharisees and scribes, sinners and tax collectors. We know they did hear him, because immediately after he finishes the parable of the dishonest manager, ending with the words, “you cannot serve God and wealth,” the Pharisees ridicule him. The text doesn’t say how. I had to imagine what they might have said. I figure it was maybe something like this: “Oh! Look who knows so much about wealth now! Mr. Big Shot!” And I’m not saying it was that. But, you know, it might have been something like that.
In any case, at that moment the Pharisees put themselves back in the game – right back in the bullseye, in fact. Jesus turns to them and says something like, “Well, you know the law and the prophets, right? Leviticus and Deuteronomy? Isaiah, Jeremiah – you’ve heard of them? Amos? You are familiar with them, are you not? Or are you using something else, some alternative scriptures, to justify yourselves?”
Are you using some alternative scriptures to justify yourselves? Interesting question.
And then he launches into another parable. This one is for the Pharisees. It’s about the rich man and Lazarus. Guaranteed to make them – and us – feel uncomfortable.
There is a rich man who lives in a great house, wears fine clothes and eats sumptuously every day. And there is a poor man named Lazarus who lies outside the rich man’s gate.
Normally, Jesus doesn’t name the characters in his parables. It is unusual that he does here – he names Lazarus.
But the rich man does not have a name. He is merely a rich man; it seems that that’s enough for us to know. You may have a vague recollection that you heard somewhere that he does have a name, that his name is Dives. But Dives is simply a Latin word that means rich.
This is all interesting because usually it’s the important people who get to be named in any story. Jesus has decided that this poor man – Lazarus – is important enough to be named; that he’s someone worth knowing.
The rich man, however, call him Dives if you like, seems to treat Lazarus as though he were not worth knowing. Every time he goes in and out through his gate, Lazarus is there: weak, covered with sores, starving. Every time Dives passes Lazarus, he neglects to give him anything at all. As he dines at his sumptuous table, he doesn’t seem to give a thought to Lazarus outside. He acts as though Lazarus is nothing. Nobody.
But we are surprised to learn he does know Lazarus – he knows his name! When the two men die, Lazarus is gathered up in the arms of Father Abraham, but Dives is sent to Hades. Hell, if you wish.
And from where he is in Hades he sees Lazarus way above him, up in heaven, and he calls out for help. “Father Abraham, send Lazarus to bring me water. I am in agony here in these flames.”
But the answer he receives from Abraham is not what he hoped for. “You have received your good things already.”
And this is enough to make anyone who has enjoyed any material wealth in this life squirm.
Most people in America, if you ask them whether they are rich, will say no. We all like to think of ourselves as middle class. That’s why politicians are forever and always talking about the middle class. We all want to be middle class, even while we also want riches.
I never hear anybody call themselves rich. Maybe they will say, “We’re comfortable,” or “We do alright.” But not rich.
Yet, we have to know that, by the world’s standards, Americans are rich. We, who call ourselves middle class, are rich.
And there is nothing inherently sinful about being rich. But this is where it gets tricky.
The scriptures, both the old and new testaments, have a lot to say about wealth. Aside from the parts where Jesus says, “Woe to you who are rich,” you can also find many scriptures that will tell you wealth is a reward for faithfulness.
But the scriptures will also tell you that how you use your wealth is critical. It is quite clear that the God of the Old Testament cares how Israel treats the poor, the outcast, and the aliens among them. The law of Israel is repetitive on this subject, in fact, lest the people of Israel ever forget just how much God cares about the poor, the outcast, the alien in their midst.
Wealth, the Bible says, is a great blessing – a blessing that comes with great responsibility. Jesus doesn’t trouble himself to say that wealth is a blessing, because that is something they already know. He is more concerned with what they might have forgotten.
When Jesus reminds the Pharisees that he is preaching the very same law they are concerned about, he seems to be suggesting that they might have forgotten what that law really says. It seems so easy to forget what the scriptures say about the responsibilities of those who have wealth toward those who do not.
In the parable, Father Abraham reminds the rich man that he was not duped, he was not tricked unfairly, because he had the law – it was not hidden from him. He had the law and the prophets, as do his brothers who are still alive. And if they do not heed the law and the gospels, what else can be done?
Because the law is clear, if we are willing to see it. And the prophets are clear, if we will listen. In our passage from Amos today, we hear these words: Alas to those who are at ease in Zion. Alas to the Dives of the world, who lie on their couches, eat, drink, and make merry.
Amos was speaking to a nation that had found wealth and forgotten the law. In their newfound comfort, in their elation over their prosperity, they had turned their backs on the poor among them. In this way, they had turned their backs on God. Alas, things will not go well, in time, if you fail to appreciate the humanity of those who suffer want.
This is a truth that the world has seen borne out in many times and places. When comfort steals away our compassion for others, our empathy for those who suffer, we are at risk of losing our souls as well – our very humanity. We find ourselves back at, “Woe to the rich.”
Is there any hope at all for the rich?
Wealth is complicated – a double-edged sword. It is both blessing and burden.
The truth is that all we have received is a gift from God. We find ourselves in the position of being stewards of the rich resources of this world. God has entrusted the management of these riches to us, and has expectations that we will manage them well. But God does not leave us without guidance to do so.
For, as Abraham tells Dives, you always have the law and the prophets to tell you what is right. The law and the prophets can show you the way.
And they will show us that the poor ones who lie at the gates of the wealthy, desperate for a small kindness, are worthy of being seen. The Lazaruses of the world, are worthy of our attention.
Some like to say Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. If you are feeling afflicted right now, take comfort in the assurance that there is hope for the rich. It is the gospel – the very gospel that gives Lazarus a name.
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Photo: Scrooge McDuck diving into his treasure
