My Refuge and My Fortress

Timothy 6: 6-19


Luke 16: 19-31

A colleague of mine, brave soul that she is, decided to preach a “Choose Your Own Adventure Sermon.” the last time this text came up in the lectionary. She polled her congregation about what they would like to hear her preach about first concerning the parable, money or hell. Overwhelmingly they chose hell. I wonder why? Jesus had no problems talking about money. He was very clear about his views on the economy and how God call’s people of faith to be good stewards of God’s blessings. The issue was not so much about how much wealth one accumulates but how one gets their wealth and what one distributes their wealth. For Jesus the problem wasn’t about money, but the love of wealth. Being so wrapped up in money that it becomes an idol and greed overcomes compassion.


Gordon Gekko, the fictional fat cat of the movie Wall Street had much to say on the subject. As a person who profits from the free market he believes that “greed for lack of a better word, is good.” He states, “ Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed in all its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge for mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save [your corporation], but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA”

But has greed been good for Gordon…not so much. In the recently released sequel to Wall Street the movie opens with Gordon Gekko’s personal life in a shambles as he gets out of prison for insider trading. He has lost everything, his money, his limo, his relationships. His wife has left him, he is estranged from his daughter, his son has committed suicide. On the day that he leaves prison, there is no one waiting for him outside. In the six short years he was in jail all the wealth he has aggressively accumulated through lying, cheating and stealing has dissolved and he is left standing alone at the gate of the prison.

It could be said that the reversal of fortune for Gordon Gekko was foretold in many ways through the morality tales of our history most especially in the Judeo-Christian scriptures which inform the American ethic. The scriptures concern for justice center upon the faithful stewardship of God’s creation. In the older testament God’s covenant with the people of Israel emphasizes how they are to care for each other, most especially the poor, the widow, the stranger and the children. When the people turn away from the covenant and ignore the care of the widow, the stranger and children to pursue the false idols of wealth, power and nationalism, they self destruct and their beloved Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians.

In the New Testament, most especially the Gospel of Luke, money and possessions are a central theme. Before Jesus was born, Mary his mother sings the song the Magnificat that promises a reversal of fortune where God has “filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1:53) In his ministry Jesus does not mince his words as he preaches against the injustices of the economic structure of his time where a small elite class controlled all the production of wealth, resources and land. Those who were not of the elite class, which was most of the population of Palestine, lived in wretched poverty.

In the Gospel of Luke we continually hear that in God’s kingdom everything will be reversed, the last shall be first and the first shall be last. The poor will be blessed and the rich shall walk away empty. The powerful will be brought down from their thrones and the lowly will be lifted up. The poor outcast will be given a place of honor in paradise and the rich and famous will be suffer torment in Hades such as we see in this morning’s parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Some note that as Jesus tells this parable we hear many reversals and contrasts. For instance, the poor man “Lazarus” is named, whereas the rich man is not. The rich man is dressed in purple and fine linen whereas Lazarus is dressed in sores. The rich man feasts sumptuously everyday whereas Lazarus cannot even eat the crumbs that fall off the rich mans table. The rich man is given a proper burial whereas Lazarus is carried away by the angels. By the end of the story, Lazarus the poor man, is looking down from heaven, and the rich man is the one looking up, begging.

Biblical scholars note that Jesus is directing this parable towards those he accuses of being “lovers of money.” (v. 14) That is those who are so wrapped up in their greed that they “loved their money more than people, their possessions more than the poor, their clothes more than compassion and their extravagant feasts more than sharing food with the hungry. Perhaps Jesus had been a guest at one of his listener’s homes and had witnessed a scene similar to the one with which he begins his parable.” Imagine the discomfort his words would have created for those in his audience who were wealthy.

The rich man in this story is not necessarily evil. It is just that he is so far removed from all the realities of the world, living in his gated community, enjoying his sumptuous feasts that he is unable to see the poor man laying outside his gate. When there is such a gap between the rich and poor, such as it was in Jesus’ day, such as it is in our day, it is easier to not see the suffering of those who are not of the same socio economic class as we are. This parable not only challenges us to share our wealth but also calls to us see how our consumeristic lifestyle might be affecting the world around us. To realize that we need to be aware that if we keep using up the earths resources the way we are, that we will be tormented like the rich man was in hades.

In his letter to Timothy, Paul tells him to take hold of a life that is eternal rather than a life that chases after the false idol of materialism. There is godliness in contentment, which means acquiring only what you need and being a good steward with the rest. It is not money that is the root of all evil, but the love of money, what we call greed, that can lead to destruction. When one puts greed above all things Paul states, “they fall into temptations and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” (1 Timothy 6:9) What some believe Paul is saying is that “Those who are caught up in the inordinate desire for wealth risk becoming ensnared by their own greed and ultimately sink into destruction. The warning that they will eventually face is not necessarily financial ruin, but [the ruining of their soul].” Sin is a turning away from God’s aim of well being for all of God’s creation and hell is the destruction that happens when one puts their faith in the master card rather than the master God. Our culture pressures us to do more, be more and acquire more, yet if we maintain our faith and hold fast to the life that is eternal we can rest assured that God is our refuge and our fortress. We can know that God has blessed us abundantly with more than we need so that we can be a blessing to others. Do not set your hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

May it be so.

Amen

(1) Bridges, Linda McKinnish, "Preaching the Parables in Matthew's Gospel in Ordinary Time: The Extraordinary Tales of God's World," Review & Expositor (2007): 325-362.


(2) Feasting on the Word. Pg. 117

(3) Feasting on the Word. Pg 119

(4) Feasting on the Word. Pg. 113