Sermon for September 29, 2019 - Proper 21C and Pledge Appeal Kickoff - The Rev'd Jeffrey W. Mello

Amos 6:1a, 4—7; 1 Timothy 6:6—19; Luke 16:19-31

It can only be called divine humor that the text assigned for the kickoff of our Annual Pledge Appeal is this one, from Luke, or the one from Amos, for that matter.  

Divine humor, and a perfect fit, though not for the reasons you might think.

This story about Lazarus and the Rich Man and Abraham is a parable.  In our consciousness, many of us hold this story as part of the narrative of the Gospel, but it is a parable.  A story, told by Jesus, using images familiar to his audience in order to make a larger point.

We might think that the larger point is that the wealthy will, as a result of their wealth, never experience the promise of a relationship with God. That, like the Rich Man, they are helpless to live “down there,” somewhere, and to look on the promise of heaven longingly, across a chasm, with no hope of getting there or knowing what Lazarus knows.

But how would that be good news?  And what would Jesus’ followers do with that information?  If they were wealthy, like the women who hosted him and his followers were, would they just give up?  If there’s no hope, what’s the point?

And if they were poor and outcast, like many of his followers were, would they consider themselves “golden” and give up working for the kingdom?  What’s the point?

What’s the point, indeed.  

Well, to put it simply, Jesus is the point. 

For all of those who hear this story, then and now, the question Jesus is posing to us all is, what is the point?  What difference does it make, has it made, will it make in your life that God came and lived among us in the person of Jesus and showed us what Love looked like in flesh?  What’s the point?

And what about this chasm?  If it can’t be crossed, what’s the point?

And that’s where this year’s theme for the Pledge Appeal comes into play.  This year our theme is simple. One word. “Bless.”

One of the seven practices in the Way of Love we are trying on, Bless is the theme for our Appeal and it has everything to do with this parable from Jesus.  It has everything to do with crossing chasms that exist in our world and it has everything to do with knowing God and having a relationship with God. A real, honest to goodness relationship with God.  God and you, shoulder to shoulder, like Abraham and Lazarus.

On the Way of Love website, the practice of “Bless” is described as the following:

“Jesus called his disciples to give, forgive, teach, and heal in his name. We are empowered by the Spirit to bless everyone we meet, practicing generosity and compassion, and proclaiming the Good News of God in Christ with hopeful words and selfless actions. We can share our stories of blessing and invite others to the Way of Love.”

Hopeful words AND selfless actions.  Sound familiar? It should. In our Baptismal Covenant, we promise to “proclaim the Good News of God in Christ” in Word AND example.

We know that Jesus is clear on the havoc that wealth wreaks on our lives.  Last week’s parable is just one of many times Jesus warns of the temptation for sin (that is, separation from God) that wealth provides.  

But this parable is about more than monetary stinginess.  It is about a complete withholding of self from another who needs what we have to offer, whatever resources God has given us to share; financial, practical or spiritual.

The Rich Man has what Lazarus needs.  Lazarus needs food, he needs healing and he needs to know hope and joy, he needs to experience justice and mercy.  Lazarus needs all of these things. The Rich Man has all of it to offer, and shares none of it.

That is the difference that practicing blessing can make.  Not just for those on the receiving end of our blessings, but for those of us who try to embrace blessing as a part of our lives.  Every day, in every way, giving freely to others what God gave us freely changes our lives.

What have you got to share?  What difference would it make to others if you were to share it?  What difference would it make to you?

Thinking about our financial support of the church isn’t easy for many of us.  Some of us have been taught to avoid talking about money in polite company. But that seems so weird to me when we talk about things that are so much more important, so much more intimate.  Your loneliness, your worries, your grief, your doubt -- these are all the sacred matters you bring to this place. And I refuse to elevate finances above those things by not talking about it.

And, believe or not, it is no easier for Paul and me.  We grew up with different understandings of money and the church, we have different roles and relationships with the church and we have different relationships to money.  

So every year, we need to sit down at the dining room table and have an awkward, hesitant and vulnerable conversation about our pledge to St. Paul’s for the upcoming year.  We give money to a lot of causes. We both run non-profits who could use as much support as we have to give, but, we both run non-profits so our resources are not limitless.

But our conversation about why we give to St. Paul’s always comes back to this notion of Bless.  It is about the change it makes in our lives to make this place the center of our giving, knowing the impact it makes in the lives of others in every way, on every day.  Financial support to those in need, yes we do that here. Through my discretionary accounts locally or Ministry Outside the Parish globally, St. Paul’s financial resources are shared with joy.

But there is also the free giving of spiritual resources, in the offices of our clergy, in the sunday school classrooms or this room on Sunday mornings, we share the Good News of a God of Love every day of every week.

And one of the things that makes giving to St. Paul’s different than the other organizations to which we give is that we are both the givers and the receivers of the blessings we help to make possible.  Here we are not “us” who help “them.” We are transformed by this place as much as, if not more than, we are able to be a blessing to this place.

And if you think you do not need what this place has to offer, that you are only a “giver” here, you might just be making the same mistake the Rich Man makes as he passes Lazarus every day, without ever knowing him, or allowing Lazarus to help him become more of who God needs him to be.

And, because we are a part of this place, the chasms of the world have bridges across them.  And we are constantly invited to use these bridges to be with and alongside those who the world tries desperately to keep us from knowing.

The Rich Man isn’t cut off from knowing the embrace of God because he was wealthy.  He was cut off because he kept everything he had been given, including his wealth, to himself.

St. Paul’s is the place to which Paul and I give the most of our resources, financial and otherwise.  It is never as much as we’d like to give, and we continue to grow and challenge ourselves in our giving.  

But, to be honest, we don’t give to keep the lights on, buy paper for the bulletins, or keep the heat on in the winter.  We give because this is the place that gives us opportunity after opportunity to give freely to others what God has so freely given us.  All of who we are is welcome here, needed here, and used here to the blessing of hundreds of people who come through every door in this place, every day of the week.

All of who you are is welcome here, and all of who you is needed here.

We all have been abundantly blessed.  In different ways and to different extents, but we have all been blessed and given something that the world needs, simply by virtue of our identity as creatures of God.  If you think you have nothing to give, you don’t know yourself like God knows you.

God has given us a great deal in this community, and God needs us to share it with a world who needs what we have to offer.

That is what Jesus was trying to get his followers to understand.

That is what this year’s Appeal is meant to accomplish.

To freely give as we have been given.  To bless, so that chasms are crossed; mouths are fed; hearts are turned; lives are changed; and justice and mercy are made known.  

AMEN.

© 2019 The Reverend Jeffrey W. Mello