Between Sundays for Week of September 26, 2022
The story of Lazarus and the rich man is dripping with judgment, at least that’s how it’s always landed on my ears. Most parables invite us to identify with one of the characters. I’m certainly not as impoverished as Lazarus, so all that’s left is the rich man. In order to escape judgment (and the eternal torment of Hades), the question becomes: how rich is too rich?
In her sermon on this passage, Pastor Amy suggests: what if this isn’t a story about eternal judgment? We are Lutheran Christians who believe we are saved by grace through faith. We are not saved by our works. We do not earn our place in heaven because of anything we have done or left undone or experienced on earth.
And yet, what we do with what’s been entrusted to us matters. Our actions matter, not to decide our eternal home, but to live and share God’s love today.
As you go about your days, your routines, where do you notice a chasm? How is God calling you (or us) to build a bridge?
In last week’s episode – Money Matters – we heard that what we do with what has been entrusted to us matters. In today’s message, we heard that our actions matter as well. Not as a way to ensure our place in heavenly glory, but they matter for the life we live and the relationships we are called to embrace as God’s people today.
Ponderings
“The rich man does not even have a name; instead the poor man has a name, Lazarus, which means ‘God helps’. Despite his marginalized condition, his dignity is intact because he lives in a relationship with God, the unshakeable hope of his life.”
– Pope Francis