Dear Gulf Coast Leaders,
Prayer List – Prayers to include in your private prayers and prayers of the church.
Lectionary readings have been updated. Review the fall.
Waldeck Lutheran Church last Sunday
Herb Chilstrom’s article Sticky Church webinar this Thursday
Bonhoeffer tours at the Houston Holocaust Museum
Mutual Respect – One of the first steps towards understanding those with whom we differ is to establish relationship. This year we would like every rostered leader to pair up with a clergy from another denomination or religious tradition. This may involve simply meeting one another. Or it could involve speaking at each other’s place of worship. You choose. Please fill out this form by September 30. You’ll receive a list of participating area clergy. You indicate your top three choices. You’ll be paired up. Sometime between January and May you have an exchange of some kind. Everyone learns and grows. Will you participate?
October 24 – Global Mission Festival. Living Word, Katy.
October 28-November 2 – Proclaiming the Christmas Cycle with Dr. Craig Satterlee, LSTC Homiletics Prof will present a method for preaching, using the Advent/Christmas A cycle. 9:30-3:30. $30. Order the Proclamation Series A.
- Thursday, October 28 at Salem, Houston, TX
- Friday, October 29 in Brenham, TX
- Tuesday, November 2 at Peace, Slidell, LA
January 24-26 – 2011 Tri-Synodical Theological Conference, at Moody Gardens Hotel and Convention Center in Galveston, TX. Marcus Borg, presenter: Then and Now: What the First Century Can Teach the 21st Century Church.
** WARNING! **
X 9/12 Luke 15:1-10 Lost coin/sheep (heaven rejoices more over 1 lost than 99 found)
X 9/19 Luke 16:1-13 Shrewd Manager (make friends by means of unrighteous mammon)
9/26 Luke 16:19-31 Rich Man and Lazarus (flip flop of rich and poor in the next life)
10/3 Luke 17:5-10 Mustard Seed/Undeserving Slaves
10/10 Luke 17:11-19 10 Lepers (say thank you)
10/17 Luke 18:1-8 Judge and Widow (pray/don’t lose heart)
10/24 Luke 18:9-14 Publican and Pharisee (humility/warning against hypocrisy)
Amos begins our readings this Sunday with a very stern warning for those of us who are rich:
Alas all who are at ease in Zion… Alas you who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on 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 so on.
In Timothy we are reminded that we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it. There are no hearses towing U-Hauls, as a friend of mine likes to say. The love of money is the root of all evil. So, just to be safe, be rich in good works, generosity and sharing.
In this morning’s gospel we were told to make friends for ourselves by means of dishonest wealth (mammon) so that when it is gone, the poor might just welcome us into eternity. One gets the impression that Jesus believes the poor are in charge of the hereafter, and that no one gets to heaven without a letter of recommendation from the poor. As Lutherans in a capitalistic society, we squirm when Jesus tells us that something about our eternal destination may be affected by our relationship with the poor in this life.
Then: If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, why on earth would God trust you with eternal riches? You cannot serve God and wealth. Choose now whom you shall serve…
Squirm away. Next week it gets worse. Much worse.
Lazarus, with purple garb and linen paraments, lives much like the ones mentioned in Amos. He has ivory furniture and eats sumptuously. Meanwhile Lazarus is poor, starving to death and diseased. He is dressed in sores, which the dogs lick. Nice. Jesus has a gift for vivid imagery. (If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out…)
They both die. Lazarus is carried into Abraham’s bosom. The unnamed rich person goes to Hades. (No Purgatory just yet in Christian theology.) As Lazarus longed to satisfy his hunger with what feel from the rich man’s table, now the rich man longs to suck a drop of water from Lazarus’ tongue. The chasm fixed between them makes it impossible.
The great flip-flop. Richard Krabill calls it “The Upside-down Kingdom.” Those who are rich in this life are poor in the next. Those who are poor in this life are rich in the next. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. It’s the same message as the Magnificat. And the Beatitudes. It’s the same as the stern prophetic warning we had in Amos.
Much of the gospels are the evangelists’ interpretation of the stories that have come down to them. The interpretations vary from gospel to gospel. The feeding of the 5,000 is one of the few stories that appears in all four gospels, and yet the story has different import in each gospel. The evangelists pull the meaning they need for their community, like effective preachers. How did Jesus actually tell these stories? Word-for-word? What was his meaning?
But this story is peculiar to Luke. The other evangelists didn’t know it, or chose not to include it for whatever reason. When I read stories like this, I get a chill up my spine. I think we’re hearing the unedited voice of the Galilean healer. His voice echoes down through time. “Love your enemy.” “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” This is most certainly the un-cut Jesus. The no-spin zone.
Sounds like law. Care for the poor, or ELSE. So where’s the good news? Well, this is good news… if you’re poor. And that’s what Jesus was called to preach, according to Luke (4:18). “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor…” Turns out that its bad news for the rich. If this theology bothers you, welcome to the club. Take it up with Jesus. I didn’t make this stuff up. Don’t shoot the messenger. And preachers: Don’t soften the blow. Jesus was the masterful communicator. You’ll be lucky if they’re quoting your sermon two days from now, let alone two millennia. Let it sting. It’s supposed to sting.If you explain it away you rob it of its power.
But hear it in the context of Luke’s overarching message. It’s clear why Jesus is telling this story. Only five verses prior to this parable we’re told the Pharisees were lovers of money, and they ridiculed him. (Luke 16:14) And why would they ridicule him? Well, he’s already made the point over and over again that they’re dogged adherence to the law isn’t going to get them to heaven.
And therein lies the good news. Jesus critique of the Pharisaic movement is that successful lawkeeping fills you with self-righteousness, which is the true enemy. Humility is what is called for when one hangs around with the Alpha and the Omega (as we’ll be reminded on October 24, Luke 18:9-14). Jesus, and later Paul, make this clear by raising the ante. The law is not as easy to keep as one might think. You have heard it said, “Do not commit adultery,” but I say to you: If you even look at a woman lustfully, you’ve already committed adultery in your heart.
Paul does much the same, and thus many take him to be a prude. In fact, his point, made over and over again, is that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. His long list is designed to build humility, not walls. The bar is way too high. The only way to be saved by the law is to keep the whole law. And since that’s impossible (if anyone could have been saved by the law, it would have been me, says Paul), we’re all sinners, and therefore on the same playing field. There is no hope if not for grace. It’s fourth down and 10 million yards to go. Romans 1 is scathing, but it is followed by Romans 2 (which all too often gets skipped): “Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.” (Romans 2:1)
As Robert Farrar Capon says, “If the world could have been saved by successful living, it would have been tidied up long ago.” The Back-to-Eden Program is bankrupt. Religion in the cloak of Morality has too often demonized the kind, disenfranchised those whose skin or gender was wrong, and exterminated those whose religion was inconvenient. The religious impulse means well in trying to recreate paradise, but it always ends in disaster.
In the end the rich man asks Abraham to send someone to warn his sons about this great flip flop. Again Abraham says no. Even if someone were to come back from the dead, they are simply too bone-headed to get it.
But here Luke tips his hand. God is about raising the dead. No amount of do-gooding will get us where we need to be, whether it is serving the poor, or the moralistic bookkeeping of the Pharisees. There is no indication that the rich man would escape Hades if he had fed the poor man and tended to his sores.
A better question (than who is going to hell) might be, What do we do with our wealth, since Jesus is risen? Some have suggested God loves the poor more than the rich. Of course God loves everyone, but perhaps there is a kernel of truth to this. Luke certainly seems to dwell heavily on God’s concern for the least, the last and the lost.
At a recent staff meeting, Kerry Nelson recalled an interview on the Tonight Show. with the mother of the year. Johnny Carson Show set her up with a trick question: “As a mother with 12 children, do you have any favorites, do you love some more than others?” “Of course I do,” she said, surprising everyone in the audience.
· I love the one who is sick, until she is better.
· I love the one who is far away, until he comes home.
· I love the one who is hurting, until she has healed.
God is like a loving mother, who always love the one who is lost, hurting, sick, hungry.
Dear Gulf Coast Leaders,
Prayer List – Prayers to include in your private prayers and prayers of the church.
Lectionary readings have been updated. Review the fall.
Waldeck Lutheran Church last Sunday
Herb Chilstrom’s article Sticky Church webinar this Thursday
Bonhoeffer tours at the Houston Holocaust Museum
Mutual Respect – One of the first steps towards understanding those with whom we differ is to establish relationship. This year we would like every rostered leader to pair up with a clergy from another denomination or religious tradition. This may involve simply meeting one another. Or it could involve speaking at each other’s place of worship. You choose. Please fill out this form by September 30. You’ll receive a list of participating area clergy. You indicate your top three choices. You’ll be paired up. Sometime between January and May you have an exchange of some kind. Everyone learns and grows. Will you participate?
October 24 – Global Mission Festival. Living Word, Katy.
October 28-November 2 – Proclaiming the Christmas Cycle with Dr. Craig Satterlee, LSTC Homiletics Prof will present a method for preaching, using the Advent/Christmas A cycle. 9:30-3:30. $30. Order the Proclamation Series A.
- Thursday, October 28 at Salem, Houston, TX
- Friday, October 29 in Brenham, TX
- Tuesday, November 2 at Peace, Slidell, LA
January 24-26 – 2011 Tri-Synodical Theological Conference, at Moody Gardens Hotel and Convention Center in Galveston, TX. Marcus Borg, presenter: Then and Now: What the First Century Can Teach the 21st Century Church.
** WARNING! **
X
A better question (than who is going to hell) might be, What do we do with our wealth, since Jesus is risen? Some have suggested God loves the poor more than the rich. Of course God loves everyone, but perhaps there is a kernel of truth to this. Luke certainly seems to dwell heavily on God’s concern for the least, the last and the lost.
At a recent staff meeting, Kerry Nelson recalled an interview on the Tonight Show. with the mother of the year. Johnny Carson Show set her up with a trick question: “As a mother with 12 children, do you have any favorites, do you love some more than others?” “Of course I do,” she said, surprising everyone in the audience.
· I love the one who is sick, until she is better.
· I love the one who is far away, until he comes home.
· I love the one who is hurting, until she has healed.
God is like a loving mother, who always love the one who is lost, hurting, sick, hungry.
9/12 Luke 15:1-10 Lost coin/sheep (heaven rejoices more over 1 lost than 99 found)
X 9/19 Luke 16:1-13 Shrewd Manager (make friends by means of unrighteous mammon)
9/26 Luke 16:19-31 Rich Man and Lazarus (flip flop of rich and poor in the next life)
10/3 Luke 17:5-10 Mustard Seed/Undeserving Slaves
10/10 Luke 17:11-19 10 Lepers (say thank you)
10/17 Luke 18:1-8 Judge and Widow (pray/don’t lose heart)
10/24 Luke 18:9-14 Publican and Pharisee (humility/warning against hypocrisy)
Amos begins our readings this Sunday with a very stern warning for those of us who are rich:
Alas all who are at ease in Zion… Alas you who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on 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 so on.
In Timothy we are reminded that we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it. There are no hearses towing U-Hauls, as a friend of mine likes to say. The love of money is the root of all evil. So, just to be safe, be rich in good works, generosity and sharing.
In this morning’s gospel we were told to make friends for ourselves by means of dishonest wealth (mammon) so that when it is gone, the poor might just welcome us into eternity. One gets the impression that Jesus believes the poor are in charge of the hereafter, and that no one gets to heaven without a letter of recommendation from the poor. As Lutherans in a capitalistic society, we squirm when Jesus tells us that something about our eternal destination may be affected by our relationship with the poor in this life.
Then: If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, why on earth would God trust you with eternal riches? You cannot serve God and wealth. Choose now whom you shall serve…
Squirm away. Next week it gets worse. Much worse.
Lazarus, with purple garb and linen paraments, lives much like the ones mentioned in Amos. He has ivory furniture and eats sumptuously. Meanwhile Lazarus is poor, starving to death and diseased. He is dressed in sores, which the dogs lick. Nice. Jesus has a gift for vivid imagery. (If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out…)
They both die. Lazarus is carried into Abraham’s bosom. The unnamed rich person goes to Hades. (No Purgatory just yet in Christian theology.) As Lazarus longed to satisfy his hunger with what feel from the rich man’s table, now the rich man longs to suck a drop of water from Lazarus’ tongue. The chasm fixed between them makes it impossible.
The great flip-flop. Richard Krabill calls it “The Upside-down Kingdom.” Those who are rich in this life are poor in the next. Those who are poor in this life are rich in the next. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. It’s the same message as the Magnificat. And the Beatitudes. It’s the same as the stern prophetic warning we had in Amos.
Much of the gospels are the evangelists’ interpretation of the stories that have come down to them. The interpretations vary from gospel to gospel. The feeding of the 5,000 is one of the few stories that appears in all four gospels, and yet the story has different import in each gospel. The evangelists pull the meaning they need for their community, like effective preachers. How did Jesus actually tell these stories? Word-for-word? What was his meaning?
But this story is peculiar to Luke. The other evangelists didn’t know it, or chose not to include it for whatever reason. When I read stories like this, I get a chill up my spine. I think we’re hearing the unedited voice of the Galilean healer. His voice echoes down through time. “Love your enemy.” “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” This is most certainly the un-cut Jesus. The no-spin zone.
Sounds like law. Care for the poor, or ELSE. So where’s the good news? Well, this is good news… if you’re poor. And that’s what Jesus was called to preach, according to Luke (4:18). “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor…” Turns out that its bad news for the rich. If this theology bothers you, welcome to the club. Take it up with Jesus. I didn’t make this stuff up. Don’t shoot the messenger. And preachers: Don’t soften the blow. Jesus was the masterful communicator. You’ll be lucky if they’re quoting your sermon two days from now, let alone two millennia. Let it sting. It’s supposed to sting.If you explain it away you rob it of its power.
But hear it in the context of Luke’s overarching message. It’s clear why Jesus is telling this story. Only five verses prior to this parable we’re told the Pharisees were lovers of money, and they ridiculed him. (Luke 16:14) And why would they ridicule him? Well, he’s already made the point over and over again that they’re dogged adherence to the law isn’t going to get them to heaven.
And therein lies the good news. Jesus critique of the Pharisaic movement is that successful lawkeeping fills you with self-righteousness, which is the true enemy. Humility is what is called for when one hangs around with the Alpha and the Omega (as we’ll be reminded on October 24, Luke 18:9-14). Jesus, and later Paul, make this clear by raising the ante. The law is not as easy to keep as one might think. You have heard it said, “Do not commit adultery,” but I say to you: If you even look at a woman lustfully, you’ve already committed adultery in your heart.
Paul does much the same, and thus many take him to be a prude. In fact, his point, made over and over again, is that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. His long list is designed to build humility, not walls. The bar is way too high. The only way to be saved by the law is to keep the whole law. And since that’s impossible (if anyone could have been saved by the law, it would have been me, says Paul), we’re all sinners, and therefore on the same playing field. There is no hope if not for grace. It’s fourth down and 10 million yards to go. Romans 1 is scathing, but it is followed by Romans 2 (which all too often gets skipped): “Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.” (Romans 2:1)
As Robert Farrar Capon says, “If the world could have been saved by successful living, it would have been tidied up long ago.” The Back-to-Eden Program is bankrupt. Religion in the cloak of Morality has too often demonized the kind, disenfranchised those whose skin or gender was wrong, and exterminated those whose religion was inconvenient. The religious impulse means well in trying to recreate paradise, but it always ends in disaster.
In the end the rich man asks Abraham to send someone to warn his sons about this great flip flop. Again Abraham says no. Even if someone were to come back from the dead, they are simply too bone-headed to get it.
But here Luke tips his hand. God is about raising the dead. No amount of do-gooding will get us where we need to be, whether it is serving the poor, or the moralistic bookkeeping of the Pharisees. There is no indication that the rich man would escape Hades if he had fed the poor man and tended to his sores.
Bishop Michael Rinehart 