We are travelers following your paths
Pilgrims on a journey
A community of love
With good news for all we meet
Jesus says Behold I am with you.
Song “Jesus, Jesus” https://youtu.be/n_ztTzvqcZg
God of love and forgiveness
Save us by your tenderness
From each deed that is destructive
From each act that grieves you
From each thought that is careless
From each idea that is unloving
From each word that hurts.
Help us to face up to your call on our lives, by creating love and goodness, community, society where it has been broken. Amen.
We say the Lord’s Prayer in our own language
Reflection on Luke 16v19-31
The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is an illustrative parable. It’s a story with a message. The key question is on our day of judgement when we stand before God, who will be vindicated and go to heaven? The answer is unexpected, because it is not the religious or the self-righteous, but those who are humble before God, and know their failings and ask God for mercy.
The Pharisees, who loved money had scoffed at Jesus. Jesus' responded, in v15 with what people value highly, is detestable in God's sight.
Continuing with the money theme developed earlier in the chapter (v1-13), Jesus exposes the self-righteousness of the Pharisees, particularly as it related to almsgiving, to giving to the poor. As far as Jesus is concerned, they were showing off. Their outwardly cultivated righteousness can only disgust God. It was their heart attitude that was at stake. Did they really care about the poor?
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus, v19-31, serves to illustrate that the kingdom of God will occur. The great reversal of the day of judgment when the rich / righteous will be brought low, and the poor / humble will be lifted high.
One Interpretation of this parable says that it serves to condemn conspicuous consumption (capitalism); People will discover the bitter truth of the implications of their disregard for the basic demands of the law and the prophets. We could apply this to our leaders today.
So, what we have in this parable is a judgment scene, the great reversal, the settling of accounts. No man can serve two masters. In the day of judgment when the poor / humble (repentant) are comforted and the rich (self-righteous) are in agony. This should prompt the need for us to repent. We need to change our ways, now!
The parable itself is a moral folk-tale. It was a well-known Jewish story, Bar Majan, about the reversal of fortunes in the afterlife. The moral of the story is found in v29. They have Moses and the Prophets, they should listen to them. This is Jesus' punch-line.
And if they disregard Moses and the Prophets, which they do, then, even if they had a visit by someone rising from the dead they wouldn’t change. And of course Jesus has risen from the dead and still people do not change. So be prepared to meet your fate! Amen
Song “Who can sound the depths of sorrow” https://youtu.be/nG8CBot9vFA
May the blessing of the Creator who made the earth be upon you
May the blessing of the Son, the Light of the World be upon you
May the blessing of the Spirit fall like sweet rain upon you
May you ever have a kindly greeting for those you meet.
And now may the Lord bless you
And bless you kindly. Amen.
