He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

Luke 16:31 (NRSV)

Our scripture for this coming Sunday is Luke 16:19-31.

You can read the passage here if you’d like to prepare for either Bible Conversations at 8:45 or for Worship at 10am. This passage relays an important parable told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. It is the culminating note in a series of judgments about wealth. Wait, did I really just write that? What about “prosperity gospels” and the celebration of God’s blessings in our lives? Isn’t it all good as long as we’re supporting our church?

Make no mistake, God can use us (and our wealth, if we have it) to do great things. But Jesus has some…concerns. Jesus is worried that we may be making a god out of Money. The parable this week puts the people on notice, after several other warnings about how we might get so tangled up in earning income that we forget what it’s even for.

Remember, just like last week: This is a parable.

The point of parables is to illuminate about certain truths to help us understand what Jesus is really saying. Come have subtitled Chapter 16 of Luke “Rich Men and Lovers of Money.” Verse 1-13 contain the parable of the Dishonest Steward. This parable told to the disciples concludes with the famous admonition that we must choose one master, because, “you cannot serve God and money.”

After that, the Pharisees approached Jesus and ridiculed him. Jesus addressed them to warn them that they were “corrupt in heart,” and the section ends with a prohibition about a husband divorcing his wife “in order to marry another.” Jesus reminds the Pharisees that God sees what’s in their hearts when they are speaking out of both sides of their mouths.

Finally, we come to our parable for Sunday, the Story of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

See, I always want you to view our scripture for Sunday in context. I want you to notice the location of each story in the Bible. The Rich Man has great wealth, that he earned and used throughout his life…to help himself. Lazarus, who the Rich Man sees suffering every day, goes unaided, in spite of the wealth right near him.

Jesus never criticizes the Rich Man’s wealth. He criticizes the Rich Man’s inaction in the face of suffering. It’s an important distinction. Many of us have known of many who do great charitable work with large sums of money. That’s commendable, and it fulfills a Christian ethic. But if our accumulation is only about ourselves…we may be missing the important wisdom in passages like this one. The Rich Man could have done this virtuously, without fanfare, and there would have been no need to save him from the judgment he faces.

In the end, he begs for Abraham to warn this family of the coming doom, but in this parable, it’s never going to be enough. We’ll speak more about all of this on Sunday, but now you have a little more background for where we’re headed. Look for Marji’s notes on Thursday for even more illumination!