Sermon Archive

"As for those who in the present age are rich ... They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share." (I Timothy 6:17a, 18)

Some of you know that I live near the United Nations, in an apartment I have enjoyed for more than ten years, which I could afford to buy because of the increase in value of the apartment my former church helped me buy when I moved here thirty years ago. I would not be able to afford to buy my present apartment now.

This will not be a sermon about real estate values, or the mortgage crisis, although I'm sure such a sermon could be preached now. But I mention my home only to say that I live within the zone which has been cordoned off because of the United Nations General Assembly. I don't object to the UN, nor to the fact that I live near it. Although some of my neighbors do. I happen to believe that this fractured world would be in even worse shape without the United Nations. But if you were in need of a policeman or police woman this past week, they were all in my neighborhood.

Given all the tumult in the world and in my neighborhood these past few days, I took particular pleasure in reading in the paper that the New York Aquarium has a baby walrus, the first ever born at our aquarium. The calf was presented to the public by her mother at 3 months of age, weighing in at 268 pounds. Apparently, the calf, as yet unnamed, weighed 115 pounds at birth. The paper was not very forthcoming as to how the calf had been weighed. But the calf is described as very inquisitive, and "into everything." Those qualities should equip the baby walrus well for life in our aquarium.

But lest this seem to much like an offering of the National Geographic Society, let me know turn to the scripture lessons and topic of the morning. Perhaps it is easier to talk about a baby walrus than to deal with the lessons of the day.

Last Sunday, Dave Prince spoke about the first parable in Luke 16 in a sermon to which he gave the provocative title, "Did Jesus Approve of Dishonesty?" Those of you who were here will remember that parable as the one that is sometimes called the Parable of the Shrewd Steward. One of the challenges that text presents is knowing where the parable ends and Luke's interpretive comments begin. The manager is dishonest, but is commended. The parable would seem to say that for all the dangers in possessions, it is possible to manage goods in ways appropriate to life in the kingdom of God.

There are some interesting verses between that parable and the one I have just read. Dave used verse thirteen last Sunday:

Jesus said, "No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

We now read in Luke that the audience is made up of Pharisees who are portrayed as lovers of money who make fun of Jesus' position on money. Jesus said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts, for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God." And verse 18 has a statement regarding divorce. One commentator has suggested that this is only appropriate as Luke writes about possessions. (1)

Scriptures can be found that support the position that the righteous prosper and the wicked suffer. This was the position of the Pharisees. But Jesus blessed the poor and urged a free sharing of one's goods with those in need. In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus offers a story that shows the Pharisees they have misread the Scriptures, and that there are consequences.

Jesus now tells a Parable rich in detail. The rich man has a daily banquet at a heavily laden table. His abundance spills over onto his person, draped in robes of royalty. Nothing about him hints of need.

The poor man, clothed in sores, squats among the dogs, longing to satisfy his hunger with what falls from the rich man's table. Both die. But only the rich man has a burial. Lazarus was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.

And now Lazarus is an honored guest at the messianic banquet, while the rich man lies in anguish in the flames of Hades. He implores Abraham to send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool his tongue, for he was in agony in the flames. The rich man in the parable is a realistic portrait of a man whose wealth was taken as evidence for God's favor.

The portrait of the rich man has been drawn to fit the Pharisees before whom he is placed. Whatever confirmation and support the rich man and the Pharisees found in the Scriptures for their love of wealth, it is a fact that the situation presented in the parable is a clear violation of those same Scriptures. The law of Moses required that the harvest be shared with the poor and the transient.

And in Isaiah we read:

    "Is not this the fast that I choose;
    to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?
    Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
    and bring the homeless poor into your house?" (58:6,7)

In the concluding verses of the parable, the rich mans wants a message sent to his five brothers so they can avoid the torment of Hades. He had missed the word of God to him, and his brothers will also, unless they are warned. Someone from the dead needs to go and warn them.

This parable echoes with great power Mary's words from the second chapter of Luke:

    "My soul magnifies the Lord,
    he has lifted up the lowly;
    he has filled the hungry with good things
    and sent the rich away empty."

And now a few words about the verses from the First Letter of Paul to Timothy which we have heard this morning. You will see that I have used some verses from Timothy in the Call to Worship, Prayer of Confession, and Offertory Prayer.

First and Second Timothy and Titus are called Pastoral Epistles, because they were addressed by Paul to an individual, rather than to a church. They address questions crucial to the health of the laity - the life of prayer, the meaning of public worship, care for the needy and poor, and sound teaching as the basis for holy living. There is a wonderful tenderness about them. They are "third generation" letters. For Timothy, the second generation was represented by his mother, Eunice; and the first by his grandmother, Lois.

So Paul admonishes Timothy - and us -

"to 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.

Do good ... be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that you may take hold of the life that really is life."

By way of concluding this sermon, I have wondered if I should now prove, under the abundant statistics available, that, as the world judges, everyone here is a rich person. Some may well laugh at that assertion. But it is true.

Or perhaps I should offer a list of my favorite charities, encouraging you to support one or another, if you are not already doing so. But I can only assume that you get as many mail or telephone or internet appeals a week as I do, and I think you are perfectly capable of making your own choices.

Yesterday, I was mostly at home (having secured an excuse from Presbytery) and the 'phone rang every two hours or so. As a few of you realize, I tend to wait until I hear a familiar or desirable voice before answering. But at 9:20pm I picked up the 'phone. A woman asked, "Is Charles there?" "Yes," I said, "this is Charles." I apparently said this rudely and abruptly enough that she simply said "thank you" and hung up.

No, the challenge we face is in being sure we are as generous toward other individuals and organizations as we can be. That is, generous to the point of personal sacrifice.

So generosity is a reflection of our love for others. A reflection of how seriously we take the Dave Prince reminders that in Jesus, we are the beneficiaries of God's unconditional love. And this unconditional love made known to us by Jesus demands a response from us.

I was recently reading an article about what the author called "The Stages of Response or Retaliation Leading up to Unconditional Love."(2)

The first stage is unlimited retaliation. "Kill my cat and I'll kill your dog, your mule and you, too."

Next is limited retaliation; "an eye for any eye and a tooth for a tooth," as found in Exodus. We often see this saying as a command for revenge, but the author says the law repudiates this, insisting that a person never take more than one eye or one tooth.

A third stage might be called limited love. This can often be more self serving than generous, as Jesus recognized when he said, "If you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" (Matthew 5:46)

Jesus pressed for a fourth stage, unlimited love, the love God offers each of us, the love we offer others when we make a gift of ourselves without pre-conditions. Have you ever noticed how Jesus healed with no strings attached? And the neighbor to be love, according to the Parable of the Good Samaritan, is the nearest person in need.

The author quotes the familiar lines of Edwin Markham:

    "... He drew a circle to shut me out
    Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout,
    But love and I had the wit to win
    We drew a circle that took him in."

We live in a time when it is easy to be suspicious of strangers. But we are called to be bold in our living, for unconditional love requires us to live in danger, to avoid playing it safe. We can't refuse to try to love unconditionally, and still claim allegiance to the unconditional love of God in Jesus.

John Wesley was once asked for a answer to the question, "But what can I do for the kingdom?" He replied, "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."

That should be challenge enough as we seek to be "Rich in Good Works." Amen.

Return to Sermon Archive