Sermons

Taking Hold of Life that Really Is Life

September 26, 2010
18th Sunday after Pentecost
1st Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31
The Reverend Stephen P. Bauman

Pursuing deep research for preaching this morning I went to an early screening of Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. This is director Oliver Stone's sequel to his 1987 film starring Michael Douglas as the infamous inside trader, Gordon Gekko, whose notorious movie speech climaxed with the bold proclamation, "Greed is good." That happened to be the same year I came to Christ Church and the early season of a rather ferocious bear market that came crashing in October which, in some ways, had a more devastating effect on this city than our recent crisis, oddly enough.

From what I've read this sequel was meant to take advantage of the recent meltdown of the so-called Great Recession, perhaps providing devastating commentary on the why's and wherefore's of Wall Street's excesses. But the closest it really comes to that is an early cranked-up speech by Gekko who has been released from prison and now hawking his expertise from the other side with a best-selling book. His ironic wisdom functions a bit like a Greek chorus throughout the film.

At one point, paraphrasing one of our lessons this morning he says, "The root of all evil is (pause) speculation of leveraged debt." He unwinds a harsh critique of the financial system, says everyone from top to bottom drank the same Kool Aid brewed from ever-expanding debt and wildly extravagant consumption; viewers are left to speculate whether Gekko has turned the dial on his moral compass.

It's more an opera than serious drama, and more of a study of somewhat complicated characters functioning within compromised settings than pointed diatribe. I liked it. Has a great soundtrack. It's good entertainment. And a few scenes have a devastatingly accurate feel for anyone who's been exposed to certain moneyed circles in the city. You won't learn much about what has actually happened to us in these last years, but it could stir a bit of thinking about what matters most. It moves in that direction.

At one point Gekko tells his young would-be protégé that it was never the money--money wasn't the great aphrodisiac. It was the game. That line falls a little flat given the financial hysteria and double-dealing, but whether money per se or the game about money fuels the beast within, the characters are thrown into the ring to choose their gods. Go see it with someone you care about and then have a conversation about what matters most to you. That would make for a satisfying evening I think.

Of course, that's a good reason to come here with someone you care about as well. You'll likely have a decent time that could very well lead to conversation about what matters most. Actually, that's the coin of the realm in here as our readings this morning make clear. You'd have to work hard to miss hear the piercing point of the gospel parable, for instance. What to do about it is another matter, but there's no mistaking the meaning: riches cannot save us. It's a cold, sober story for a city with a hot fix on the gold at the end of the rainbow.

So Jesus tells the tale of a rich man and a poor one. Tradition assigns the name Dives to the former which comes from the Latin word for rich. Jesus assigns the name Lazarus to the latter, which means, "God has helped." Lazarus is a desperate, hungry and pitiable man who Dives does not see lying at his gate, for no doubt Dives has more pressing matters to attend to. After all, he's an important, wealthy figure in his community. Besides, his wealth is probably an indication of special divine favor. That was a standard conception at the time: live a righteous life and you will be rewarded with material gain. Dives deserved what he had.

However, in death their situation is reversed and Dives claims ignorance as his defense of his narcissistic insularity and lack of care while he lived. Please, send Lazarus to warn my bothers to change their ways, Dives begs Father Abraham. I didn't know. I didn't understand. I didn't see Lazarus at my gate.

And "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets: they should listen to them. Dives said, 'No father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' Abraham 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.'" [1]

He seems to be saying that there is no end to our capacity for denial. "Even if Lazarus returned, the brothers would have to believe that this really was Lazarus, that he really had died, and that he really had a message from their brother. Surely this could seem even less plausible than believing that God had already spoken through Moses and the prophets and that they should [pay attention]." [2]

Lest you think this little story is a diatribe against wealth, per se, we should remember that Abraham was himself a wealthy man, and within the logic of the parable, he's hallowed above all others. Something a bit more nuanced is at stake here than simple dichotomies. Something fundamental.

Now Jesus had a lot to say about money--no question about that. More of his teachings incorporated monetary themes than any other subject by a wide margin--which isn't to say he presents a thorough-going economic policy. But it does suggest he knows the quickest route to the heart of most people. And he also knows that neighborliness--that is, loving our neighbors as ourselves--invariably involves matters of economic justice.

Well, there are two issues really: loving our neighbors as ourselves, but first, loving God above all things. Once again we find ourselves focusing on the problem of idolatry, as in, just what is our first principle, our first loyalty, our first love? In our first reading today Paul says, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Gordon Gekko nuanced this into the love of the game of money. But in any case, it's the love of it, the idolizing of it, the placing of it as the first principle that predisposes humans to losing their grip on loving God first and their neighbors as themselves.

Now as counterpoint, this is not an anti-success message. Excellent success is a good thing. We all want our version of that. Abraham is emblematic of this. Excellent success comes as a result of exercising our various talents to their utmost, of learning and growing and maturing, of using the good gifts that are within our range to fashion excellent ends.

But then, what if we're able to stack the deck in our favor over against others in service of our personal success; what if whole systems are devised that accomplish this favoritism on a grand scale; what if we wear blinders so as to see only a very narrow range of reality, missing the majority lying at our gate; what if we really do not want to see the world as it is; what if we begin to think we're fundamentally better than others, more deserving of whatever we can get our hands on; what if gratitude is not our first word in the morning, in fact, what if we never pray about our relationship to the material world and the world our neighbors inhabit; what if we're not as generous with others, with our communities, as God has been with us? What if we become indifferent to matters of justice; what if we lose track of a rigorous ethics derived from love of God and neighbor as self? What then?

I'm reminded here of Mahatma Gandhi's seven sins forming the roots of injustice that leads to destruction and violence: 1) wealth without work, 2) pleasure without conscience, 3) knowledge without character, 4) commerce without morality, 5) science without humanity, 6) worship without sacrifice and 7) politics without principle. Although as a Hindu he didn't ground his observations in the traditions and language of the Bible, these are in profound agreement with Christian faith. They're in agreement with the faith we're addressing today that allows us to partner with God for good in the world. That's where our lessons this morning point us. How do we become partners with God for good in the world? How shall we organize our lives accordingly? What does faith reveal?

On the face of it our parable seems to be a stern warning about wealth and poverty, but the root issue is one of faith and trust. It concerns the answer to this question: What matters most of all? And, this one: Does my life square with my rap? Do I believe in an invisible world of righteousness and truth and spiritual joy, or do I instead place my hope in things I can touch and see, handle, manipulate and horde? Do I trust God or not? What does the evidence of my life reveal? After all, it was the evidence of Dives' life that caught him in the snare.

This is part of the syllabus for Christianity 101. Pretty basic. But then, most often our truest concerns boil down to one or two basic things. And given we're about to receive a several more sisters and brothers into our family this morning, it's not a bad idea to review the basics. We're all in this together, all thrown together around the common goal of loving God and neighbor. As we move into the future we'll unpack all the ways we can live into this essential commitment.

The wonder is that we've been given to each other for this purpose. This is among the great gifts that have come to us--each another. I hope you discover this in time. A great wealth of talent, good will and generosity has been assembling here. It's quite something, really. Everything we need has been provided to accomplish great and useful ends. Let's have Paul's words become our banner: because we have been so richly blessed, let us be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, storing up for ourselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that we may take hold of the life that really is life. [3]

Taking hold of the life that really is life…now that would truly be something, wouldn't it?

[1] Luke 16: 29-31.
[2] Scott Bader-Saye, "Theological Perspective," Feasting on the Word, Year C, v. 4, D. L. Bartlett & B. Brown Taylor, eds., Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p. 120.
[3] 1 Timothy 6:18-19.