Rich and Poor
We see this parable about giving and receiving: "There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man's table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.
"Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, 'Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I'm in agony in this fire.'
"But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It's not like that here. Here he's consoled and you're tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.'”
Jesus shares this parable so that we may see the power of giving and receiving. We often think that the Rich Man must give to the one that is poor, and say that the beggar must be the receiver. Even though that is the most obvious read of this parable, it may not be the most effective for us.
What would it mean for us to learn that we must become gracious receivers from the poor rather than just servers of the poor? How would it change our worldview to think that everyone has something to share for others? We need to begin seeing how the poor can serve the rich and what the rich have to gain from being with others without using or abusing them in either way.
We need a new way of thinking about our relationships and how they transform us. We need a new way of ending both physical and spiritual poverty in each person’s life. Ending one kind of poverty means that we must alleviate the other. We must learn how to live and grow with and toward one another as a society and as individuals. We learn to receive when we give and as we do God will begin to live in and through us in new and powerful ways.
If we want that lesson we must not rely on great signs or “miracles.” Jesus shares the last of the parable below. Listen to the Prophets of God or you will not get the hint until it is too late.
"Abraham replied, 'If they won't listen to Moses and the Prophets, they're not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.'"
This week will you be a graceful receiver and a generous giver so that you may know the full measure and presence of God in this week?
Blessings,
Pastor Greg
"Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, 'Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I'm in agony in this fire.'
"But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It's not like that here. Here he's consoled and you're tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.'”
Jesus shares this parable so that we may see the power of giving and receiving. We often think that the Rich Man must give to the one that is poor, and say that the beggar must be the receiver. Even though that is the most obvious read of this parable, it may not be the most effective for us.
What would it mean for us to learn that we must become gracious receivers from the poor rather than just servers of the poor? How would it change our worldview to think that everyone has something to share for others? We need to begin seeing how the poor can serve the rich and what the rich have to gain from being with others without using or abusing them in either way.
We need a new way of thinking about our relationships and how they transform us. We need a new way of ending both physical and spiritual poverty in each person’s life. Ending one kind of poverty means that we must alleviate the other. We must learn how to live and grow with and toward one another as a society and as individuals. We learn to receive when we give and as we do God will begin to live in and through us in new and powerful ways.
If we want that lesson we must not rely on great signs or “miracles.” Jesus shares the last of the parable below. Listen to the Prophets of God or you will not get the hint until it is too late.
"Abraham replied, 'If they won't listen to Moses and the Prophets, they're not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.'"
This week will you be a graceful receiver and a generous giver so that you may know the full measure and presence of God in this week?
Blessings,
Pastor Greg
posted by Covenant of the Cross at
9:47 PM
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