Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Hungry To Rebuild; Excited to Restore; Luke 16 19-31

 

Rev. George Miller

March 14, 2021

Luke 16:19-31

 

Who are we?  Who are you?

 

The idea of identity is a hot topic in America- discussions of gender and ethnic identity, party affiliation.

 

Who are we?

 

We can answer by age if we want access to the vaccine.  We can answer by race when filling out the census.

 

But as people of faith, who are we?

 

In our purest form, we are children of God, created to be stewards of creation.

 

Who are we? 

 

We are descendants of Abraham and Sarah, bestowed with the promise to be a blessing to all the families of earth.

 

Who are we?

 

We were once slaves, set free by the God who fed us in the wilderness.

 

Who are we?

 

We are people of the prophets, the ones who remind us of what God desires.

 

Perhaps most of all, we are followers of Jesus Christ, the one who taught, the one who healed, the one who ate.

 

Ohhh boy- did Jesus eat!

 

The meal- Jesus was all about the meal.

 

“Our Father who art in heaven…give us this day our daily bread.”

 

“Fill these jars with water!”

 

“Take, eat, this is my body…”

 

The meal, Jesus was all about the meal.

 

We see this throughout Luke.  If Jesus isn’t eating, he’s on his way to eat, or talking about eating.

 

Levi’s great banquet.  Meals with Pharisees. Feeding the masses.  Parables about great dinners, salt, joyful fathers.

 

Sharing meals, sitting at table, walking through grainfields.

 

Meals, meals, meals.

 

Fish, bread, wine, beef, lamb.

 

Jesus didn’t care about Weight Watcher points or South Beach diets.

 

He walked enough, engaged enough, healed enough, lived enough, that when it came to food, sitting down with folk, he enjoyed celebrating with purpose, with all people welcome at the table-

 

Joe the Plumbers and Pharisees, deplorables and debutantes.

 

Jesus had himself a good ol’ time

 

Talking about and sharing a meal was Jesus’ way of saying “Taste and see just how good the Heaven of God is.  Everyone is welcome in; woe to those who feel the need to keep others out.”

 

Luke not only shows Jesus engaging with food the most, it is also the Gospel that shows Jesus talking the most about wealth, and the dangers of using our wealth to create a divide.

 

We see that in today’s story.  We have Lazarus, by the gate, hungry, ill, thankful for the scraps that he gets.

 

We have another man, dressed in Calvin Klein and Louis Vuitton who dines on bottomless bowls of bolognese and beef bourguignon.

 

It’s a familiar theme of Luke- gates and those inside or outside.

 

As this story unfolds, the man who dined every day while on the inside of the gate, finds himself in a place of suffering, divided by a great chasm.

 

He is now the one who is on the outside.

 

What happened: what’s the cause?  Is it all because he didn’t invite Lazarus is?

 

Why didn’t he provide some kind of care?   Why didn’t he at least provide a paper plate filled with potato salad, beef riblets and a slice of sweet potato pie?

 

Was the rich man really that bad of a guy?  Was he really that self-absorbed? 

 

Could it be that his big mistake, his big tragedy was that he simply forgot?

 

He forgot that as a child of Abraham and Sarah he was blessed to be a blessing upon others?

 

Could it be that he forgot that he was descended from outsiders who depended upon the goodness of God while they were in the wilderness?

 

Could it be that he forgot the preaching of the prophets, the teachings that made it clear that as children of Abraham, descendants of the Israelites,

 

He was called to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly?

 

In today’s story the man is suffering from a chasm he created. 

 

When he realizes his tragic mistake, that it’s not just Lazarus he hurt, but he hurt himself as well, he begs on behalf of his brothers.

 

He thinks that if they get a personal memo they’ll escape his despair.

 

But the truth is, his brothers already know, just as he always knew, what to do, thanks to the leadership of Moses and the preaching of the prophets.

 

If it wasn’t stated by Micah, reiterated by Jeremiah, it was declared by Isaiah-

 

What God wants; what God really wants-

 

Loose the bonds of injustice.

Let the oppressed go free.

Share with the hungry.

Invite the outsiders in.

 

In Isaiah 58, God makes it sooo clear-

 

“If you offer your food to the hungry

and satisfy the needs of the afflicted.

then your light shall rise in the darkness

and your gloom be like noonday…

your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt…

you shall be called repairer of the breach,

the restorer of streets to live on.”

 

Isn’t that beautiful?

 

If you offer your food to the hungry, you shall be called repairer of the breach and restorer of the streets.

 

God really makes it easy, doesn’t God?

 

Take a day off to rest.

Care for creation.

Turn back when you make a mistake.

Feed the hungry.

 

Friends, isn’t it Good News to know that the prophets have made it so clear?

 

How to rebuild; how to restore?

 

Lord knows it feels like the world today is in a lot of ruins. Far too many needy folk are hungry and ailing.

 

Lord knows there has been way too much insiders vs. outsiders, haves and have nots; those barely getting by and those missing simple things like a hug.

 

Lord knows that right now there are far too many Lazarus’s out on the streets.

 

Perhaps that’s why The Shepherd’s Pantry, pre-COVID, was such a joy-

 

Getting to  welcome folk in, sharing a meal, eating together, side by side, across the table from one another.

 

So many people with so many different identities.  Everyone equal.  Everyone seen.  Everyone, for a moment, safe.

 

A reprieve from the dogs, the wounds, the invisibility of the world.

 

Won’t it be such a joy when we get to resume that part of our ministry again?

 

That heavenly joy of being face to face, sharing a meal, using our resources in a way that makes God smile, that allows our light to shine.

 

How cool it is that we have a God who says if you love me- rest, care, feed.

 

When we do those things, we are embracing our identity as Children of Abraham and Sarah.

 

We are honoring our ancestors.

 

We are embodying the words of the prophets.

 

We are showing just how wonderful the Good News of Jesus Christ really is.

 

We are not asked to revoke our blessings; we’re not being shamed for what we got.

 

We are being offered an opportunity; given a heavenly challenge-

 

to share with, to welcome in, to see beyond our own inner gate.

 

Because when we share with, welcome in, and see the Lazarus’s of the world, we are sharing, welcoming, and seeing Jesus Christ, alive and resurrected.

 

Amen and amen.

 

No comments: