What are you doing to get God’s mercy and pity?
Proper 21, Year C
The Collect for this day bids us to focus our attention on God’s mercy and pity as we listen to the assigned readings. God’s mercy and pity are so potent, they make possible salvation in this life and in the life to come. Paul’s first letter to Timothy proclaims God’s mercy and pity. Paul tells readers they can fight the good fight and win if they understand money is the root of all evil and if they understand God’s mercy and pity, as modeled by Jesus, which empower “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.” 1 Timothy 6:6-19
The psalm appointed for this day tells us there is no need to be afraid of things that go bump in the night, bullets and arrows that fly by day; the plague that stalks in the darkness, or sickness that lays waste in broad daylight. Psalm 91:5-6 Because we are bound to God in love, God delivers us and protects us. Because we know God’s Name, we can call upon God, and God will answer; God is with us in trouble; rescuing and bringing us to honor. Satisfying us with long life, and guiding us to salvation. Psalm 91:14-16a
Even the prophet Jeremiah declares God’s mercy and pity. God commissioned Jeremiah to scold the people, yet his prophecies, teachings and sermons also include descriptions of God’s mercy and pity. Jeremiah warned the people of God’s plan to use the Babylonian empire to punish them for their sins, and he consoled them. While the Babylonian army jailed and executed leaders and confiscated homes owned by ordinary citizens, God directed Jeremiah to purchase property. The long and detailed description of the purchase and closing is meant to apprise people of God’s mercy and pity. Jeremiah buys property that he’ll never live on or earn money from and stores the deeds in an earthenware jar.
The deeds would be securely saved for survivors so the descendants could reclaim family property. Jeremiah told the people
…the God of Israel: (would restore peace after war making it possible for houses and fields and vineyards to again be bought in this land. Jeremiah 32:15
All the Scripture readings today bear witness to God’s mercy and pity, except for the Gospel. The ‘father Abraham’ character in the parable, the stand in for God, shows mercy and pity to one person, but withholds it from another. Why? The poor and rich people in the parable are stand ins for us. The name of the wealthy person is Dives. Lazarus, not the brother of Mary and Martha whom Jesus raised from the dead, is a poor person. In life, Dives has all the comforts money affords: ample food; a big beautiful house; good health, safeguarded by the best healthcare money could buy; servants; and social, business and religious pursuits attended by lots of people. Lazarus’ life was marked by the consequences of poverty: chronic debilitating illness, homelessness, hunger and malnutrition, and isolation. If Jews came in contact with sick people, they would be deemed unclean and so unfit to attend Temple or synagogues. Lazarus could be seen and heard. Every day, he stations himself outside the gates to Dives’ home begging for alms. Dives ignores him. Eventually both men die. Lazarus is welcomed into heaven. Dives is sent to hell (Hades). In death, as in life, Dives can see and hear Lazarus. Dives’ suffering in hell makes it impossible for him to ignore Lazarus. Dives begs for God (father Abraham) to show mercy and pity on him. He pleads
send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames… and (sic) send Lazarus to my father's house-- for I have five brothers-- that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.
God refuses! Why does God withhold relief? Why does God decline to warn Dives’ brothers? To understand the moral implications of this parable for our lives, we need to focus on Dives’ disposition and actions. In life and in death, Dives’ chief concern is for himself and his people. In life, Dives could have given leftover food to Lazarus, paid for a doctor to treat Lazarus, or offered Lazarus a job. In life, Dives could have modeled for his family, friends and colleagues obedience to the laws and prophets. He could have cared for poor, sick, and isolated people. In life and death, Dives cut himself off from God’s mercy and pity.
Dives’ mistakes are all too common. We excuse ourselves from addressing poor and homeless people with our assumptions that government programs prevent poverty and aid needy people. We complain about elected officials’ failure to protect and promote democracy as we fail to vote for school budgets and local officials. We wring our hands and complain about the ways “those people” are messing things up. We live in comfort: some with more than one house; each of us with more than one coat; and discarding food that goes bad before we get around to eating it. Our concerns and interests center around ourselves, loved ones, people we like, and people like us. At times, our disposition and actions mirror those of Dives. We overlook, avoid, reject, or neglect some people. Without realizing it, our failure to love others, especially those hardest to love, begins to compromise our ability and willingness to love our neighbors as ourselves. Such disposition and actions deform our love for God. Instead of loving God with all our hearts, mind, and soul; we end up loving God for what God does for us and gives to us.
How would father Abraham respond if Dives had apologized for ignoring and neglecting Lazarus? What would father Abraham (God) have done if Dives begged to make up for the impact his attitude and actions had on Lazarus; if Dives begged to become the servant of Lazarus and all the people in heaven who suffered in life? I think father Abraham would say what Jesus said to the thief, dying on the cross next to him, who repented. God would say to the sorrowful, repentant, reformed Dives, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” God’s mercy and pity make possible salvation in this life and in the life to come. Our disposition and actions, unchecked, can cut us off from God’s mercy and pity.
