22 Pentecost (Year C)
Luke 20 27-38
St. John’s, West Seneca
November 9, 2025
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
This is one of those narratives that could begin with “in today’s episode we have the Sadducees trying to trick our hero Jesus with a ridiculous scenario." Remember that from days of old television? It’s ridiculous because the Sadducees ask a question about the resurrection and they didn’t believe in the resurrection.
And that is how Luke begins this encounter. First a bit of terminology. Now, during the time of Jesus, there were four sects within Judaism: Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and Essenes.
The Zealots need no further definition, fervent, sometimes violent. Among Jesus’s disciples, there wss a Simon the Zealot. The Essenes were an ascetic group living in the desert and it is believed John the Baptist may have been an Essene.
The Pharisees and Sadducees were similar in their views and how they kept the religious law. But there were two key differences. The Pharisees upheld the oral Torah along with the written Torah, believing that the oral traditions had been revealed to Moses, along with the written. At the time of Jesus, these traditions were oral, but many have since been written and preserved in the Mishnah. The Sadducees did not believe in the authority of the oral tradition and instead upheld only the written Torah. (This emphasis in their teaching may be hinted at in Luke 20:28 where they state "Moses wrote ..." rather than "Moses taught ..." or "Moses commanded ....")
As for their name, “Sadducee" is the Greek rendering of the English term "Zadokite," or the descendants of Zadok, David's high priest. “In the competition between the priestly houses in ancient Israel, the Zadokites were the decided winners. It is believed that they are responsible for the codification and preservation of most of the Old Testament legal material; so it is not surprising that it is this group which approaches Jesus with what they believe is a flaw in his logic about resurrection.”
As they approach Jesus with this question, we realize that the law is straightforward, but the Sadducees propose a scenario in which the consequences are confusing: A woman is passed through the hands of seven brothers without having children with any of them. The Sadducees ask Jesus, then, whose wife the woman will be in the resurrection. The question, of course, is a setup The Sadducees do not believe in a resurrection, and their question is put so as to trap Jesus into giving an answer to show that the belief in the resurrection is inconsistent with the law of Moses.
Jesus speaks and shows that the scenario that they suggest is the wrong question. Jesus points out that "those who belong to this age" differ from "those who are considered worthy of a place in that age,” with regards to marriage. Jesus brings in the divine, God as the divine parent, not a human parent.
And he goes on. The Sadducees had been hoping to trap him into admitting that the idea of a resurrection was incompatible with this. But Jesus trips that up by invoking Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God’s power is life-giving, so even the ancestors live as children of God. God continues in relationship, and resurrection life will be quite different from this one. What makes someone alive is not biological, but a relationship with the living God.
Turning to what we think about heaven, in our limited capacity, we tend to imagine it as a simply more glorified version of what we have here and what we have experienced here. Hence the question about marriage in the first place. In a more contemporary take on this question : Whose wife will this 7-time widow be in heaven? Maybe Jesus responded: What makes you think women will be treated like men’s property in the next age?” What makes us think that all will be the same?
It will not be the same. In other words, in Technicolor and no mistakes, no rain on a newly washed car, no bad hair days. But you see, everything will be different. Everything will be made new. The love we have here will continue but with a completely different focus and understanding. That’s what Jesus is saying: it will be beyond whatever scenario we can cook up, beyond what we can imagine.
Enough of the scholarly stuff. Let’s look at the Sadducees. A colleague wrote on FACEBOOK: “They did not believe in an afterlife – just this life – in which they were privileged so they were keepers of the status quo. Jesus was not a status quo kind of guy so he scared the Sadducees – a lot. The temple was their power base, until it was torn down 50 years after Jesus died and they disappeared from history.”
If the Sadducees were asking the wrong question, maybe we are as well. For example, in certain areas, we have seen smaller and smaller and smaller churches our entire lives. Are we going the same way as the Sadducees? Is this our “spot” where nothing can change? Are we the status quo when the God we worship is not a status quo God? Is church still a place to find meaning for our life or not?
Those are the questions that we should be asking. Because…
If we believe this is the place where God meets us, a place where God lifts up all people, offering his very presence, forgiveness and grace, why do so few come? Is our witness for Christ, our enthusiasm, our joy not being seen by others who may be curious about our joy? How are you a “little Christ” in your daily life?
Why do you come? Is it listening to the Word in the liturgy, in the readings, or the prayers? Is it because of confession and forgiveness, the hope of a better life? Is it knowing we need to pass the peace with those we really don’t know? Is it because together, in this place, our soul feels its worth?
Way back in 1989, an executive vice-president of the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptists, argued that our institutions need to be changed into the likeness of Christ.
"The names of the actors have changed, but the first century drama is still playing. Sadducees versus Pharisees are present in interchurch, intrachurch, and parachurch rivalries. From bases of tradition or doctrine or praxis, the competition has escalated until today there are more than 22,000 denominations… The validity of one is questioned by the other, resulting in competition and conflict. Clergy-laity battles rage which siphon spiritual energy. They fail to capitalize on the availability of gifts and commitment that could become the salt penetrating a lost world. Modern Zadoks are grasping 'my church, my tradition, my movement.'"
--Alan Nichols, ed.,The Whole Gospel or the Whole World (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1989), 107.
It rings true for me. We need to get to the real thing. We, like the Sadducees, may be missing the point. The promise is waiting. We need to be salt and light in and to a world that needs both. We need to bring the kingdom here, where all people are accepted, regardless of job, or education, or marital status, where those on the margins are welcome. That is how the first disciples did it, with no permission from the Sadducees. Not with clever scenarios, but with a true witness based on the love of God and the promises they had experienced and wanted to share. We must do the same. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Reformation Sunday (Year C)
St. John’s, West Seneca
October 26, 2025
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
I’ve been preaching Reformation Sunday since 2001. While I began at Holy Trinity in 1996, I did not preach on this Lutheran high holiday as that was the duty of the senior Pastor to preach Reformation, as well as Christmas Eve.
I remember being excited when I first preached in the fall of 2001, but after all these years, I think I’ve used my best material and repeated myself. I’ve spoken of history most often, putting the Reformation into perspective. But time and time again, I have returned to Martin Luther’s words on just how the Reformation happened:
“While I have been sleeping, or drinking Wittenberg beer with my friend Philip and with Amsdorf, it is the word that has done great things…I have done nothing, I have let the Word act. It is all powerful, it takes hearts prisoner.”
Not only do we see that Luther enjoyed a beer with friends and a good night’s sleep, we also see that he had faith that God would do what God would do.
It is the Word that has always held my attention. Luther brought the Word of God to the people, no longer hidden, protected and doled out only by clergy. One of Luther’s many accomplishments was translating the Bible into German, and offering the Mass in German as well, so that all could understand.
And so today, I invite you to look into this gift called the Bible. While the words remain the same, our circumstances do not, and many is the time that I, looking over a text, see something that I hadn’t noticed before, but for some reason, piques my interest.
We are not as familiar with Scripture as our older relatives and ancestors, something that frustrates me…and most pastors. There is such a wealth there: great epics, history, poetry, wisdom, parables, life, death, and resurrection, and God’s eternal promise of salvation. It’s a banquet for the soul.
Many of us quote Scripture, even if we don’t realize that it is Scripture.
- "Do not fear" or "fear not": Or some variation, appears dozens of times
- "Be strong and courageous": Found in Joshua 1:9 and Deuteronomy 31:6.
- "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want": From Psalm 23. Phrases about morality and ethics
- "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you": The "Golden Rule" from Matthew 7:12.
- "Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.": From Micah 6:8, it's a concise summary of righteous action.
- "Let all that you do be done in love": From 1 Corinthians 16:14, a guiding principle for behavior.
Beyond that, many of the sayings and idioms that we have today come either directly from the Bible (depending on the version), or speak to a theme. Which ones do you use?
- "A drop in the bucket": Meaning something insignificant.
- "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth": A principle of retribution found in Exodus and quoted by Jesus in Matthew 5:38.
- "Apple of my eye":
- "Faith will move mountains": from Matthew and Mark, a testament to the power of faith.
- The skin of my teeth: from Job
- "The handwriting on the wall": comes from Daniel 5 and is sign of impending disaster.
- "The truth will set you free": A well-known saying from the Gospel of John.
- “Rise and shine: My mother’s morning greeting telling someone to wake up and be cheerful. It is from Isaiah 60:1, which calls for believers to "Arise, shine; for your light has come".
- A wolf in sheep's clothing: A person who appears friendly but is actually deceitful or harmful. This image comes from Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, warning against false prophets.
- Go the extra mile: To make a special effort or to go beyond what is required. This saying comes from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus tells his followers to go two miles if forced to carry a Roman soldier's pack one mile.
- Wash your hands of it: To disclaim responsibility for something. The phrase comes from the book of Matthew, where Pontius Pilate washes his hands to declare himself innocent of Jesus's condemnation.
- The blind leading the blind: When a foolish or uninformed leader guides others who are equally clueless. This image is from a warning by Jesus in Matthew 15:14.
- Nothing new under the sun: A saying for when something seems unoriginal or has been done before. It originates from the book of Ecclesiastes, which reflects on the cyclical nature of human experience.
- Eat, drink, and be merry: An exhortation to enjoy life and indulge in simple pleasures. It is a line from Ecclesiastes 8:15 and is also repeated in the Gospel of Luke.”
We use the word “genesis” when we speak of the beginning, and “exodus” when a group of people who leave. We speak of the “gospel” truth, how we’ve had an epiphany, or a revelation. Again, how many of us have been a “doubting Thomas,” or had the “patience of Job?”
On this day, this comes as a reminder that when Luther translated the Bible into his native German, he was onto something. And scholar that he was, he used the original texts, the Greek and the Hebrew, rather than relying on the Latin only.
Let the Word take you captive. For our Confirmands, I hope that you will continue to have a curiosity about the book that has so shaped our lives. For all of us, I ask that you brush up on your knowledge. In his song THE MAN IN BLACK, Johnny Cash sings that he “wears the black for those who’ve never read, or listened to the words that Jesus said, about the road to happiness through love and charity, why you’d think he was talking straight to you and me.” He is. So let’s brush up a bit with a few assignments.
- Read Genesis 1, then compare it with Genesis 2.
- Read that entire Leviticus holiness code – all of it – then ask yourself how much you follow.
- Read the book of Judges – as violent as it is – then see what the situation is like when men choose whom they believe should lead instead of God.
- Consider one of the minor prophets – Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, so called because of the brevity of the book. Their words are powerful, and they indict us for our foolish behavior.
- Think of the great heroes – Jacob, Joseph, Saul, and David – and find out why they are heroes when their behavior is often so sinful, so conniving, so…like ours. As I said last week, it is “life in the making.”
- Take each resurrection account and note who is there, who speaks, and everything else that sets each apart.
Or read about the early church as presented in Acts. Saul – who will become Paul – is the “coatcheck” boy for those who stone Stephen. And further in, what is this? Discord in the early church? Nooo.
Let the Word of God take you prisoner. Let all its inconsistencies, wildly sinful behavior, and fear simply be. Because through all of Scripture, God is gracious and merciful. God never stops forgiving us, loving us, even to the sending of his own Son, to give us light where before there was only darkness. For “it is the word that has done great things…It is all powerful, it takes hearts prisoner.” Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
19 Pentecost (Year C)
Genesis 32
St. John’s, West Seneca
October 19, 2025
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
“The stories of Genesis are about life in the making. They tell us that we can change our lives. Even a scoundrel like Jacob, wandering the desert with fear and trembling, becomes a new man. His dreams make the difference – the first recorded dreams in the Bible. We are told that ‘dreaming men are haunted men.’ This son of Isaac was haunted right to the ‘gateways of heaven.’ He awoke, no longer Jacob.”
Jacob is a character, so audacious, such a scoundrel that the stories about him must be true. He is the twin of Esau, and their parents are Isaac and Rebekah, Isaac being the son of Abraham. And in a theme that is as old as time itself, this family is dysfunctional. Isaac favors Esau; Rebekah favors Jacob.
We know from earlier in Genesis that Jacob manages to steal Esau’s birthright by taking advantage of his hunger. And then of course, the more famous story where Jacob – with his mother Rebekah’s assistance – tricks his father into giving his blessing, a blessing that is given to the oldest son, once. As you can imagine, Esau is livid and in a rage, so Jacob is forced to run for his life. He goes to the home of his uncle Laban, where he immediately falls for Rachel. He arranges to marry her, only to be deceived by his uncle and wed to Leah, her older sister. Although he eventually gains Rachel’s hand in marriage, he remains with his father-in-law, becoming wealthy in the process.
Finally, at long last, he arranges to leave his father-in-law’s household, taking with him his family and possessions, only to learn that his brother Esau is heading his way with four hundred men. Twenty years may have passed, but apparently Esau still remembers his brother…and not fondly.
Having learned a bit from his past, he sends messengers to Esau, instructing them to refer to him as “your servant Jacob.” He gets no reply, so he divides his family and possessions into two camps, reasoning that if one is attacked, the other may escape.
And then he turns to God in prayer. “Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.” And Jacob waits. He believes that what is across the river will be life-changing. That night before their meeting was probably one of the longest of his life, filled with questions. Will God keep his promise? Will Esau forgive? Or will tomorrow be his last day?
But then, before he can face Esau, Jacob is confronted not with something across the river, but with something else, more frightening and life-changing than his brother. Jacob wrestles with a “man” through the night. The story says it is a man, but when the night is over, Jacob said that he had seen God “face to face.” And he’s alive to talk about it, painful hip and all.
Turning to Luke, we find the story of an unjust judge and a widow who will not stop badgering him until he is just. Not content with a simple “no,” she comes to this judge time and time again, asking for justice. Finally, he gives in to her, and not necessarily because he has finally seen the light, or because he is fair, but because he is just worn out.
If you have noticed, not only is the Bible filled with flawed and audacious people. Jesus adds to these by using almost comic images to speak of being persistent. Today, God is that crooked judge who refuses to hear the case of a certain poor widow, probably because he knows there's nothing much in it for him. But she keeps on hounding him until finally he hears her case just to get her out of his hair. Or like Jacob, who just keeps wrestling and struggling all night until he gets that blessing.
Now, despite all the supernatural overtones, the drama, the injury of this story of Jacob, what this story is about is that which is unexpected and unearned, in other words, grace.
It is said that: “Grace is something you can never get but can only be given. There is no way to earn it, or deserve it or bring it about…”
Jacob certainly didn’t earn it. He is a scoundrel, not afraid to bend a few rules, and ambitious. So driven is he that he wrestles all night, demanding a blessing, probably not even sure that he will receive it. Receive it he does, a blessing along with a new name to take forward.
But this passage is also about our own encounters with God, and how we are transformed by them. In fact, that is what our faith should do, because the truth is, after an encounter with a gracious God, we are not the same. Something will change. In the case of Jacob, it is a new name and a limp. For us, it is the realization that we may not walk the same way again, maybe not physically, but spiritually, in that we will see the world differently.
This is life in the making. And that is what God is always doing. God is in the business of transformation, us, our lives, His world. What Jacob finds himself wrestling with is the truth that God will not let him go until he has become what God wants him to become. God is like that, often an in-your-face opponent who challenges us through our conscience, through other people, through Scripture, through worship, through difficult decisions, or any means to pressure us to deal with him. And just like Jacob that night, we can’t get him off our back.
When people tell me that they cannot change because they are too old, or too busy, or too shy, or…whatever, I tell them: that is nonsense. Nonsense because none of our excuses hold up when it comes to having God transform our lives. This Jacob who wrestles all night is not the same brash young man who once stole his father’s blessing. This is an older – albeit not much wiser – Jacob, a man with four wives, eleven children, with another on the way, and a whole lot of property. He was probably counting on settling down once this thing with his brother is solved, living out his years in peace and comfort. But God intervenes and transforms.
Tony Campolo tells the story of being in the South at a restaurant, ordering bacon and eggs. When his plate arrives, there is this white food stuff that he doesn’t recognize and didn’t order. When he calls the waitress over and mentions that whatever it is, he didn’t order it, she just replies: “Son, that’s grits. They just come.” Grace is like that, just coming at whatever moment, in the blink of an eye, after a long night of wrestling, or at the cool dawn when all is quiet. It just comes. And with it transformation. You just can’t remain the same after experiencing it.
Now, granted, Jacob still has one messed-up family. Grace may just come, but some things never change. The stories of his children still await us in Genesis, and those stories are not pretty. But as Bill Moyers states: they are life in the making.
God is making our lives, by transforming them with boundless opportunities, by refusing to let us alone. And we are changed by each and every encounter.
Today we encounter God in the story of a flawed patriarch wrestling with the divine, and a crooked judge being worn down by a widow. In each case, they persist, and are granted what they desire: a blessing for Jacob and justice for the widow. Both are changed and transformed. And so are we. Encounters with God come at odd places at odder times, or come from just being persistent in whatever we do. And like those grits on Tony Campolo’s plate, we can’t order them, they just come. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
18 Pentecost (Year C)
2 Kings 5
St. John’s, West Seneca
October 5, 2025
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
Before us is one of the most “human” passages in all Scripture as we meet Namaan, a man who seeks healing in a foreign land. As the First Reading opens, we learn of Naaman, a military man, who is sent by his king, the king of Aram to the king of Israel, with a letter of introduction, if you will. Interestingly, both kings are unnamed. It asks that this illustrious man, Namaan, be healed of his leprosy. The Israelite king has a suspicion that the Aramean king is just looking for a pretext to start another war by demanding something that could well be impossible. However, as the story goes, Namaan is sent to Elisha to heal him so that Naaman may see that "there is a prophet in Israel."
What makes this story so memorable is the reaction of Namaan. Namaan may have a skin disease, but he is a proud man with some stature. He enjoyed the grand gesture, as we see by his arrival. No wonder he is annoyed and “put out” that Elisha will not come out to greet him, and then, there is that cure relayed to him by a messenger. Namaan is a snob, assuming that the rivers of his land are far superior.
Here’s a more modern take.
“Imagine one of those well-heeled medical tourists, a billionaire prince of Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. His private jet has just landed in Rochester, Minn., home of the Mayo Clinic. The jet is still on the runway when the cell phone of the prince’s personal assistant lights up. ‘It’s a text message from your new doctor,” the man informs him. “He doesn’t have time to see you. But he’s telling you to take a couple Tylenols and fly back home. You’ll be just fine.’
"Imagine the prince’s reaction to that news, and you may have an idea how Naaman responded. He’s a mover and a shaker. He’s not used to being brushed off. One word sums up his reaction: rage.
"But then his assistant saves the day. (In this story, it is the servants who are wise; their masters are less than brilliant.) ‘You’ve come all this way, my Lord,’ says the assistant. ‘Is taking a couple pills such a hard thing?’
"The prophet’s prescription — delivered without so much as a telehealth consultation — sure sounds like medical quackery. But the amazing thing is that it works!”
We have all had the experience of being slighted, and it is an uncomfortable feeling. Naaman didn’t like it one bit. After initially rejecting Elisha’s instruction, his wise servants persuade Namaan to at least try this prescription. They reasoned that if the prophet had asked for some great deed, Naaman would have eagerly complied — so why not do the simple thing? After all, he had already made the journey.
After agreeing to further humble himself, Naaman adjusted his attitude and followed the prophet’s order. Naaman dipped himself in the Jordan the prescribed seven times. When he arose after the seventh and final immersion, he was a radically whole person, healed, clean and disease free. “His flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy.”
What I found this past week was that “leprosy was not ‘treated’ per se in ancient Israel. The victim simply shaved and burned his or her clothes and submitted to being quarantined until the priests declared him clean. Once one was declared clean, however, there was a very elaborate ritual to finalize the victim's reentry into the community. The first stage in the ritual involved dipping a live bird, a scarlet string, some cedar wood and some hyssop in a solution made from running water and the blood of a sacrificial bird. The victim of leprosy is sprinkled seven times, and the live bird is released to go free… Following this first ritual, the one to be cleansed submitted to more shaving, burning of clothes, bathing and seven more ritual days of separation before the eighth day, on which a series of very involved sacrifices of both animals and grain began. At one stage, the former leper was anointed, and, eventually, many of the same rituals were performed on the leper's house to cleanse it as well… Given that this was the typical method of dealing with leprosy in Israel, it would be easy to understand why Naaman believed he was being dismissively treated by Elisha. He expected that Elisha would at least "wave his hands" over him. But Elisha does not even come out of his house.”
The healing is miraculous, impressive, but more important is Namaan’s spiritual awakening. He declared, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.” The Syrian commander of armies has undergone a conversion, a “Damascus Road” (note the coincidence), and now is a believer in the God of Israel.
This should speak to us today. Maybe not so much the ritual, but the spiritual aspect. You see, spiritual healing — whether from sin, pride or despair — requires humility and obedience. This is never an easy thing to do. Being the “bigger person,” is frustrating, especially when you feel like you do this always. Naaman, somehow, was able to do this. After his initial outrage, he listens to the servant and obeys…and is healed.
It’s helpful to remember that God often works in unexpected ways.
In today’s Gospel, we see ten lepers begging for healing. Jesus gives the prescription, to go and present themselves to the priests. In their joy, they rush off, but one, a despised Samaritan, comes back and praises God. Jesus asks that question: “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
“Naaman expected his healing to come in a manner befitting his status — perhaps a state dinner with the king, and certainly a private audience with the holy prophet of Israel. This did not happen. Our ways are not God’s ways. God’s power was revealed through a muddy river. Naaman sank in these waters and came out clean. God often works through ordinary means, does he not? Small acts of obedience, everyday relationships and seemingly insignificant moments.” Those lepers crying to Jesus were experiencing another day separated from community. Then they saw Jesus.
God’s kingdom is not limited only to us. It is for all, all who come in faith seeking healing and peace. Not only the righteous, but foreigners as well.
So, ask yourself, as no doubt Namaan asked himself, as those lepers did: what do we want in our lives? To be healthy, yes, but also to be made whole, to be loved, to have that peace that passes all understanding? Like Naaman, if we insist on having it “our way,” on our terms, rather than the terms God offers, we will fly off in a rage and in the end, be no further ahead. What we need to do is listen for God’s voice, be humble, and be open to whatever God planned.
In the movie Bruce Almighty: Bruce tells God ‘I just gave everyone what they wanted.’ And God says, ‘Since when does anyone have a clue about what they want?’ We think we want the house, the car, this certain relationship. We have no idea what we really want. What we really need is freedom, to be loved, and to love. It is often quite a journey getting us to that point.”
That freedom comes only from God.
Naaman’s story invites us to ask, “What is the ‘Jordan River’ in our own lives?” We are not so unlike the lepers who cried out to Jesus: Have mercy on us. So, is there something God is asking you to do that seems too simple, too humbling or too insignificant? Perhaps it’s forgiveness, or service, or even trusting God in a place where you feel vulnerable.
God will do as God will do, healing a foreigner called Namaan. Jesus healed many, and not always the faithful Jews, but lepers, and the blind and the lame. And Jesus did it in many different ways.
So, if you want healing in your life, or peace, embrace obedience and humility. Then trust in the mysterious ways of God, even when they defy our expectations, even if the doctor does not come to meet you and even if the cure seems odd. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
16 Pentecost (Year C)
Luke 16:19-31
St. John’s, West Seneca
Sept. 28, 2025
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
As I have said before, Luke is the master storyteller. Many of the events and parables can stand alone as literature. Think of the Magnificat, the Christmas story, the road to Emmaus, the parables of the Good Samaritan and Prodigal Son. Today we have the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
Here Luke is straightforward and to the point. There is the rich man. Tradition calls him Dives, which is Latin for “rich.” Luke tells us that he wears fine linen that is purple in color, expensive clothing in a poor country. He feasted in luxury every day. Luke stresses every day that this was done, and one scholar points out that that alone is the breaking of the third commandment: “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” You are to work only six days, and evidently, this feasting constituted “work.” This man is a figure of conspicuous consumption and self-indulgence. In a place and time where people ate simply and worked hard, here he is, tables overloaded with the finest dishes, not working.
Then, there is Lazarus, the only character in a parable who is given a name. He was a beggar, full of sores, and so helpless that he could not even fend off the dogs. What a contrast.
After setting this up, the scene changes. Lazarus dies and is taken away by angels to be with Abraham. Now Lazarus has glory and the rich man is in torment. When the rich man begs Abraham to send a messenger to warn his brothers, who evidently are cut from the same cloth, Abraham replies that they “have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” When the rich man presses his plea that if someone from the dead were to approach them, all would be changed; Abraham is still harsh: “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”
This parable is the good news in much of the world, giving hope for millions who live in poverty and despair. But here, now, you are probably hoping I choose a different text. Those are equally difficult. The parable quite simply states that, although in this world the rich are powerful and honored, in the next life, those who were poor in this life will be honored. For Jesus, the poor and oppressed were the ones who received his attention.
What was this rich man’s crime that Abraham so severely rebukes him? What was his sin? He had not ordered Lazarus to be removed from his gate. He had made no objections to his receiving whatever crumbs fell from his table. He did not kick him when he walked by; he was not deliberately cruel. No, he just didn’t care. Apathy.
The rich man saw the poor man and knew that Moses and the prophets commanded him to help. But he did not. The rich man fell into a trap set by people who blamed Lazarus for his poverty, insisting that he must be lazy or morally deficient. You can almost hear the conversation: "God rewards goodness and punishes wickedness -- it's always been that way! God desires for us to be wealthy.”
In Hades, the rich man experiences regret. He says to Abraham, "I beg you to send [Lazarus] to my father's house -- for I have five brothers -- that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” We see how he cares for his family, so he is not without feelings.
But his concern is too late. Jesus tells this parable so that we won’t have the same regret, so we will get our lives in order and serve God…now.
“A nurse specializing in care of the terminally ill recorded the most common regrets of the dying, and there's no mention of missed business deals. No regrets about skipped bungee jumping opportunities or even about marriage
No, the top five regrets discovered by the nurse include:
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. People admit that they feared change in their lives, so they pretended that they were content. In fact, they wish they had laughed more and allowed themselves to be sillier.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. People feel badly that they were so caught up in their own lives that they let important friendships slip away.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings. Many people suppress their feelings in order to keep peace with others.
2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard. This regret was expressed by every male patient. Every single one of them.
And the number one big regret, discovered by nurse Bronnie Ware and reported in The Guardian (February 1, 2012):
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. This is the most common regret of all. ‘Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams, and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.’"
The rich man did not care for those around him. Every day he missed a chance to help Lazarus. One wonders: did he have regrets?
Did he regret that he had not listened to the words of Moses? It appears that he did not love his neighbor as himself. As for the prophets, Isaiah commanded "share your bread with the hungry ... bring the homeless poor into your house" (Isaiah 58:7).
And, even aware of Moses’s teachings, he continued to ignore Lazarus and therefore, did not live a life of integrity, where his beliefs and his actions matched. He just did not walk the talk
The readings today tell us that we too need to take a look around.
- It is not because he is rich that the man wastes away in Hades; it is because he didn’t notice what was around him.
- Timothy is adamant: It is not money that is the root of all evil, it is the love of it that is. And we are commanded not to set our hopes on riches, which are uncertain at best.
- And the Psalmist agrees that it is God who gives justice to those who are oppressed, and food to those who hunger.”
- The prophet Amos is not angry because there is wealth, but because the wealth of the Northern Kingdom has become their god and they will not see the sadness, and poverty, and pain that is all around them.
This would all be depressing, for how can we live up to this? Luke’s text is clear that a deep chasm exists and even suggests that there is no way to get across it. And yet there is. With Jesus we have been shown the way, and that is by drawing everyone into the circle. Look at us today. We have become tribal, good at drawing lines keeping this one in or out. We have so many boundaries, that it is no wonder that we find ourselves in such a state. But Jesus offers another way. Jesus broke every boundary beginning with his entrance into this world. He preached the Kingdom of God, and taught, always drawing people in. And his death and resurrection showed the depth of God’s love for us, always drawing circles to include all: circles of love, circles of hope, circles of peace.
For us today, our issue is not that we have wealth. It is that we see so little of the world; it is that we can’t seem to speak up; and that really, we’re satisfied with the status quo. After all, I have mine. That is where the rich man went wrong. That is where the people of Israel went wrong as they ignored the poor. That is why Timothy gives his advice.
I see too many people who have too many regrets. Putting our actions in line with our beliefs -- living a life of integrity -- is a change that is made one choice at a time. And we have a God who leads us always. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria.
15 Pentecost (Year C)
Luke 16:113
St. John’s, West Seneca
September 21,2015
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.
“A parable is a small story with a large point….Most of the ones Jesus told have a kind of sad fun about them. The parables of the Crooked Judge, the Sleepy Friend, and the Distraught Father are really jokes in their way, at least part of whose point seems to be that a silly question deserves a silly answer…With parables and jokes both, if you’ve got to have them explained, don’t bother.”
The master in the gospel for today employs a steward – a business manager of sorts – to keep track of his debts and credits owed to his master. Soon the master learns that something is off; an accounting is needed. We know that the dishonest manager is charged with squandering the property of his rich boss – landlords in Jesus’ time were often absentee landlords - and is immediately given his two-weeks’ notice.
“What will I do,” the shady steward says to himself, “now that my master is taking the position away from me?” Now the manager has to quickly assess the situation. He knows he had lost his job. He doesn’t have the capability to work hard – or so he thinks – and he certainly does not want to beg. And so he comes up with a brilliant plan. He goes to the debtors, finds out what they owe, then does some fancy arithmetic, so that they appear to owe much less. And here’s why it works. First of all, the debtors would be grateful to him and secondly, and even more effective; this manager had involved the debtors in his crime and misdemeanors, and if worse came to worse, he could always use a little blackmail.
“And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes…No slave can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
There is no explanation after this. We are left with this one. Perhaps we need to just sit with this parable or let it sit with us.
“One way to make sense of the parable of the dishonest manager is to see it as a comic tale. Many of Jesus’s parables are shot through with humor — but we often miss hearing the comic tone.
It was common, in wealthy Greco-Roman households, for a highly trained slave to manage the financial books. Stories abounded among the upper classes about sticky-fingered slaves who couldn’t be trusted and clumsily attempted to steal from their masters. It was a familiar comic trope. Clearly, the manager in the parable is just that sort of grifter.
Imagine this story as though it were a silent movie, starring the lovable but disreputable tramp played by Charlie Chaplin. Imagine the herky-jerky motions of the characters, their broadly exaggerated gestures and facial expressions.
See the gleam in Charlie’s eye as he steals banknotes from the office safe to finance his high life — devouring rich food, drinking expensive wine out of the bottle, putting his feet up on the boss’s desk and smoking a big cigar. Imagine his utter consternation as he reads a telegram from his master, informing him he’ll be disembarking from the next train. Imagine, too, his frantic efforts to dash around hiding the evidence. He tosses empty wine bottles out the window. He pulls off the master’s smoking jacket he’s been wearing, tearing off a sleeve. He picks up a sewing needle and tries — but fails — to make it right.
‘Woe is me!’ are the words that appear on the next slide. ‘What am I to do?’ Charlie picks up a shovel. “I’m not strong enough to dig!” He falls on his knees, clasping hands imploringly. ‘I’m too proud to beg!’ He falls face down and bangs fists and feet on the floorboards, like a toddler having a tantrum.
But then he leaps to his feet, looking suddenly hopeful. The next slide says, ‘Aha! I’ve got a plan!’ He waves a victorious finger in the air.
Next, we see him forgiving the debts of his master’s customers, magnanimously tearing up their promissory notes. A poor but beautiful widow with three children in tow is effusive in her thanks. Charlie beams lecherously back at her.
Just then, the master bursts through the door — a comic character with a top hat and monocle, looking for all the world like the Monopoly Guy. Taking in the disastrous state of his office, he starts wagging his figure at the little tramp, chasing him around the room, trying to bean him with his gold-handled walking stick. But then the grateful widow falls on her knees, begging him to pardon this kind man, who has so generously saved her and her little tykes from eviction.
‘I see what’s going on here!’ the master says in the next slide. He’s still wagging his finger, but now there’s an admiring smile on his face. ‘I like your style, little man!’ he says, winking. ‘You’re clever. You’re a genius at P.R. How’d you like to manage our main office?’ All’s well that ends well. Fade to black.
Jesus doesn’t tell the story as a ‘go thou and do likewise’ fable. Far from it. He wants his audience to laugh. He wants the humor to teach them something. He wants them not to think of their own oppressive masters for a change, but of the thoroughly fair economy of God. That economy is so much more generous and just than the antics of these clowns.”
This past week I included this in my FACEBOOK post. A few things to remember about parables.
- “Parables are not journalistic reports. They didn’t really happen. … But that doesn’t mean they aren’t telling a truth. They tell a truth but they tell it slant.”
So, what is tell it slant? It comes from an Emily Dickinson poem: “Tell the truth but tell it slant, the truth in circuit lies. The truth must dazzle gradually or every one be blind.”
I had not heard that phrase before. Tell it slant conveys truth indirectly, approaching it from an angle or through a circuitous path rather than a direct, blunt statement. All in all, this suggests that some truths are too intense to be taken in all at once.
- “Jesus’ parables are stories told at a slant. And we may not know what to make of them right away.”
- “And parables are not tidy little moral tales for us to figure out. Although we tend to work hard saying that they are.”
- “And there isn’t just one way to interpret a parable or even a right way. Although they may lead us to question what we have always assumed is the right way. They don’t tell us what to do. They don’t give us an answer. Or explain themselves. So why the parable? What good can come out of a parable?”
What parables do is what Philip says to Nathaniel in John’s Gospel: come and see. … See from another point of view. From a slant.
And we need to remember that parables … are not about God…Jesus’s parables are not about God, they are about the kingdom of God.”*Marianne Borg, “Parable of the Mustard Seed”
Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God as a sharp contrast to the kingdom of Caesar, the Roman Empire. In God’s kingdom, we are the Good Samaritan, we are the father who forgives all and welcomes his wayward son, we are the seed that falls into good soil. In God’s kingdom, we go to the unjust judge until we see justice. And maybe, we are the manager who is shrewd and sets things right, always considering the poor.
We modern disciples live in two worlds at the same time, the here-and-now world—the undeniable one staring us squarely in the face daily, and the kingdom of God that we are trying to bring to earth. Here, Jesus is calling us to interact and live in the light of what God has promised.
And maybe, just maybe we don’t need explanations. “The writer E.B. White — who, among many other works, wrote the children’s book Charlotte’s Web — once offered this wise observation: ‘Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better, but the frog dies in the process.;”
This is likely true of parables as well.
In the end, we are invited to “come and see.” In the long run, a parable such as this unjust steward invites us to read it and ponder it anew. Who knows what you might find next time? Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria
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