“Life As We Know It … and other illusions”

29 September 2019

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31

Why do you suppose Jesus, who says He is “the way, the truth, and the life”, seems to refer to Moses and the prophets in this parable in such a way that suggests the Law and the prophets are “the way, the truth, and the life”; that if the rich man had paid more attention to Moses and the prophets, he would not find himself condemned? 

The story of poor Lazarus and the rich man is preceded by another exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees that may help us to understand the prominence of “Moses and the prophets”.  Jesus said to the Pharisees whom Luke referred to as “lovers of money”, “You are those who justify yourselves 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.  The Law and the prophets were in effect until John came; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone tries to enter it by force.  But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to be dropped” (Luke 16:15-17).

To attempt to “enter by force” may imply an attempt to side-step the Law and the prophets and enter by some other means, such as “self-justification”.  That is, making up our own rules, deciding and settling on our own standards of goodness and justice apart from what is revealed in The Eternal Word; the “weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy, and faith” (Matthew 23:23); the things these teachers of the Law should have known, taught, and practiced. 

Jesus, however, says, “BUT it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to be dropped”.  This is consistent with John’s proclamation of Jesus as “the Word which became flesh” and Jesus’ own declaration that He did not come to do away with the Law but, rather, by “fulfilling” the Law and the prophets, showing us what it looks like “in real life”.   REAL life; not the illusion that is apart from “Moses and the prophets”.

The rich man is not named as a thief, a murderer, or an adulterer.  In our language and according to our own cultural standards, it may well be said he was a “good ol’ boy”.  In his own mind, as with many others then (as the Pharisees) and now, he probably considered himself “a good person”.  It may be the religious teachers affirmed this false narrative by falling all over themselves trying to get chummy with him, to curry his financial favor.  We do this now.  How can we believe it would not have been done then? 

Yet it does not seem this man was cursed only because he was wealthy.  He may have even tithed faithfully, such as the Pharisee proclaimed in Luke 18 (9-14) in comparing his own righteousness with that of the lowly tax collector who only confessed his sin and asked for mercy.  The confession of the tax collector was received by the Kingdom; the declaration of self-righteousness was utterly rejected. 

There are a lot of assumptions we can make, of course, but we have to read this entire chapter in the broader biblical context of Moses and the prophets because wealth – in and of itself – is as relative as “feasting sumptuously” (Luke 16:19). 

So the parable is not a blanket condemnation of wealth; it is rather a warning, a tale of caution to those of means, whether much or little.  In terms of material possessions, it seems more a condemnation of those who become possessed by and obsessed with their possessions.  The rich man was far more aware of his wealth, his comfort, and perhaps his social status than he was aware of Lazarus sitting at his very gate. 

Because the rich man was possessed by his possessions, because he had surrendered and dedicated himself to his own comfort and had effectively become his own ‘god’ with his own moral standard, he was rendered incapable of seeing anyone or anything that was of no use to him.  To paraphrase what Paul wrote to the Romans, “[He] is without excuse; for though [he] knew God, [he] did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him but became futile in [his] thinking, and [his] senseless mind was darkened” (1:20b-21). 

I bet you thought the first chapter of Romans was dedicated only to that “issue” which has the entire United Methodist Church in a twist.  We can be sure, however, that “issue” is no worse than the lust and the evil Jesus is referring to in the story.  In fact, that false narrative which has been co-opted by a relative few has probably clouded our minds and hearts to the “weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy, and faith”.  Even the dogs that licked Lazarus’ sores were of more comfort than the rich man!

In his torment, however, notice another element of the rich man’s anguish.  Having been so possessed and exalted by his wealth, his status, and his power, and still seeing Lazarus much in the same way as before his death, the rich man requested Lazarus be sent to serve him, to comfort him even though he would not comfort Lazarus.  When Abraham denied that request, he then asked that Lazarus be sent to his brothers.  In a manner of speaking, he perhaps still thought of Lazarus as somehow beneath him, so possessed by a life he once knew but would not know again, the temporal life he chose for himself over the fullness of life offered through the “weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy, and faith”. 

We cannot conceive of the misery endured by Lazarus nor can we empathize, but we must not casually dismiss his suffering in such a way as to surrender ourselves to the temptation of declaring, “There but for the grace of God go I”. 

Instead of simply being grateful that we do not share the fate of Lazarus, we are compelled by Moses and the prophets to use what we are grateful for to relieve the suffering of those who sit in Lazarus’ place today, to satisfy the longing (rather than the covetous lust) of so many who would be grateful for our table scraps, those who could live easily and well on what we choose to throw out.

The Way, the Truth, and the Life that is the Anointed One of The Father IS the Law and the prophets taught and fulfilled; that which Jesus personifies; that which our Shepherd perfects.  The Way we must journey together, the Truth of the Eternal Word which “is the same yesterday, today, and forever”, and the Life we are called and consecrated to live through our baptism and confirmation – that Life which is without end. 

We may not be of the Chosen People, but we are no less chosen for our Lord’s purposes as Christ Himself proclaims, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last …” (John 15:16); just as He also proclaimed to those who were of the tradition and faith of Moses and the prophets, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

Rather than “There but for the grace of God I go”, it must become for us, “There by the grace of God I must go”.  For the place of Lazarus is the very heart of Moses and the prophets, the very place of Christ Jesus Himself (“Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for Me”).  This is the Life for which we are saved, the Life to which we are called.  Anything short of this is only an illusion which will soon fade into oblivion – as the rich man who had no name and no real life at all.  Amen.