Lectionary Discussion Group

Week of Sunday, September 30, 2007, Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Amos 6:1-7

Alas for those who are at ease in Zion,

and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria,

the notables of the first of the nations,

to whom the house of Israel resorts!

Cross over to Calneh, and see;

from there go to Hamath the great;

then go down to Gath of the Philistines.

Are you better than these kingdoms?

Or is your territory greater than their territory,

O you that put far away the evil day,

and bring near a reign of violence?

Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory,

and lounge on their couches,

and eat lambs from the flock,

and calves from the stall;

who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp,

and like David improvise on instruments of music;

who drink wine from bowls,

and anoint themselves with the finest oils,

but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,

and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.

Timothy 6:11-19

As for you, man of God, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time-- he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

Luke 16:19-31

Jesus said, "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.' But Abraham said, `Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' He said, `Then, father, I beg you to send him 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.' Abraham replied, `They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' He said, `No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, `If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

Commentary:

The liturgy this week follows down a similar path as the previous readings from Luke. The readings focus on the difference between the riches of this life, and the riches of the after life. Last week we were told that all who are faithful in small things are faithful in large things. I take this to say that there should be no aspect of our lives where our actions and motives should not be driven by the word of God. Amos speaks of those who are content and well off now—those in ivory beds who think themselves better than other nations—those who are complacent. Timothy adds to this with admonitions to those who are haughty and place their faith in the uncertainty of riches. These readings followed by the parable of Lazarus and the Dives (rich man) appear to show a push to always remember that no matter what our position is here on earth, that we are all equal in the eyes of God, each worthy of his love. If we are all worthy of his love and comfort, then how could any of us not be worthy of the same from our fellow man? If God were to offer love and support for these ‘lepers’ than who are we not to hold out the same hands of help?

Wealth and Sin

Again, the emphasis is on how we treat one another, not on the wealth that we have. Historically, we know that wealth in the form of gifts to the Pharisees could ‘abolish’ your sins, and these readings show that this contentment the wealthy Jews have is misplaced. We are being told the golden rule again; do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. Wealth is not the problem that the rich man has, but wealth without compassion, or mercy for his fellow man is the sin. If the Lord shows that mercy, how could we not? The rich man does not condemn Lazarus or hurt him in any way; he just ignores him. If you think yourself superior, ignore the needy, and separate yourself from those who need help, those who God will not separate himself from, then the separation from them and from God will remain in the next life. Since you took your comfort in this one, it will be denied to you in the next.

Faith and Proof

The rich man asks that the beggar be sent back to his house so that his brothers could repent and be saved. Abraham says that the word of God should be enough and that someone being raised from the dead will not be enough for those for whom the word of God is not enough. There is an obvious parallel here with Jesus’ rise from the dead. The word of God said that there would be a messiah and that was not enough for the Pharisees. He portends that his resurrection from the dead will not be enough and it wasn’t.

Historical Tidbit:

Research on this reading form Luke will show that there are similar stories throughout history. There are Egyptian folklore tales about a rich man and a poor man who have their situations reversed after death. The commonality of these stories laid some doubt about the fact that Jesus actually told this parable. It is somewhat different that his others, since he uses Lazarus’ name (the only character in any of his parables that is names), and the parable only appears in the Gospel of Luke. It is also not found in the Q source, which adds credence that it may have been placed into the gospel by Luke as further emphasis on the earlier stories about the misuse of wealth and power.

This story appears to have a universal appeal, it was told throughout the medieval period and the Catholic Church made Lazarus the patron saint of lepers. This story even made it into Chaucer’s Summoner’s tale. The Summoner refers to it as he describes the actions of a Friar who is more interested in riches than the work of the Lord.

Facts and Context:

• In descriptions of the ‘Rich Man’ we see that he is wearing purple, which indicates extreme wealth due to the high cost of purple dye (made from shellfish) at that time. [1]
• At banquets such as this, the guests would dip bread into oil, use them to wipe their hands clean and then throw the bread under the table—these are likely the ‘crumbs’ Jesus refers to. [2]
• The dogs in the story are not pets. At this time in the Middle East, dogs were considered filthy scavengers, so the image of dogs licking Lazarus’s wounds reflects abject poverty. [1]
• In the KJV Lazarus lies not only by the ‘side’ of Abraham, but on his bosom. Both are traditional places of honor at the ‘banquet of the afterlife.’ [1]
• This story only appears in Luke and is not in the Q document. [3]

Theological Tidbits:

• Luke tells us that all the tax collectors and sinners were coming to Christ to hear what he had to say (Luke 15:1). This made the Pharisees and scribes jealous and they complained, vehemently criticizing Jesus for receiving sinners and eating with them (Luke 15:2). They were probably envious of Christ's growing fame, afraid that his popularity would diminish their own authority and prestige. [2]
• In this lesson, Jesus is not only speaking to his disciples but also the Pharisees.
• He is condemning them for their love of money and lack of compassion for the poor (Luke 16:14). [2]
• Lazarus is the only character in any of Jesus’ parables to be named. Lazarus is short for Eleazar which is translated as ‘He who needs God’s help.’ [1]
• “This lesson comes just after a three-part parable (the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son) to those gathered around him. This parable was designed to show the tax collectors and sinners (as well as the Pharisees) that God was concerned for them and that He would seek out the lost and welcome them into His family when they repented and turned back to Him.
• The self-righteous, accusing Pharisees and scribes, who Christ acknowledged as the legitimate religious teachers of the Jews (Matt. 23:1-3), should have been the ones telling these people of God's love for them. They should have been the ones teaching these sinners, exhorting them to return to God and receive His love and forgiveness. However, because of their faith in their own righteousness and their contempt for these tax collectors and sinners who didn't measure up to their standards, the Pharisees and scribes excluded them and considered them accursed (John 7:49).
• Afterward, speaking primarily to his disciples but with the Pharisees (and probably the crowd) still listening in, Christ related the parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16:1-13). The Pharisees, who were "lovers of money" (Luke 16:14), realized that the Messiah was alluding to them with this parable and took offense. They scoffed at Jesus. The final part of Christ's response to the derision of the Pharisees and scribes was the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.” [2]

Questions:

1. It appears that wealth is not the sin here, but wealth without mercy. Jesus has said that no man can serve two masters, so does true compassion mitigate the drive for wealth that we have in today’s society?
• How can we find the line between being truly giving in our personal lives without feeling that we are merely following the ‘law’ and giving to the poor as a ‘get out of jail free card’?
2. Who is at our door that we do not notice?
• Illegal aliens without social services because they fear being deported?
3. This is the first time that I have read the Bible and done research on the articles and read many varied points of view on the words—in essence I am now reading them as I would a play from Shakespeare—does this type of study blur the line between the word of God and the stories of men, or allow us to get to a deeper truth?

Further Readings:

Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-9)

Sheep and the goats Matthew 25:41-46

References – these were either directly cited or paraphrased above:

[1] http://www.jesuswalk.com/lessons/16_19-31.htm

[2] http://tentmaker.org/articles/Lazarus-byHuie.htm

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_and_Dives

Other Background Readings – most of these had similar commentary as the sites referenced above – I just happended to go to them later so they were not as directly pulled from.

The Teaching Bible

http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=2263

http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/chaucer/SumT.html

http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/parables/Lk16_19-31.htm

http://www.answers.com/topic/lazarus-and-dives (picture here and in wikki)

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom32.ii.xxxiv.html

The list goes on – google…