Why Do We Talk about Wealth?
Sermon Preached Sept. 25, 2022
Readings: Amos 6:1a, 4-7; Luke 16:19-31
The Bible talks a whole lot about wealth, especially the Gospel of Luke. Luke has a lot to say about money and how people use it. Prophets like Amos call out the wealthy. We get readings like our passage from First Timothy that states clearly that the love of money is the root of all evil. So what is going on here? Why all this money talk?
I’m sure several of you were raised as I was. Money was not a topic of polite conversation. You didn’t talk about how much things cost unless there’s a great story about how you got it on sale. Those items bought on clearance or at a discount are things you can brag on at length. You certainly didn’t discuss wages. My parents talked about money a bit more than their parents, but it’s still not something you share a whole lot about. And that’s fair. Until banks became more regulated and reliable after the Great Depression, many people had a good amount of cash stored in their homes. Part of not talking about money was home security. If people didn’t have a good guess of how much was in your home, you were less likely to get robbed. For those who didn’t have much money at all, it gave them a bit of dignity to not have to talk about it. Around a lot of the United States, there was a strong culture of blending in, of being comfortable but not flashy. That culture is breaking down, but part of what makes us uncomfortable when it comes to money is the idea that someone could either recognize what we don’t have or try to take what is ours, even if we don’t have rolls of cash tucked away in our residences.
But wealth isn’t primarily about cash. It’s about what respect and deference is given to them. Those with wealth own a lot of land and property. They have passive income off investments. But wealth is not primarily these items, at least not in Luke, it’s not money or investment. Cash and property aren’t what make Luke or the author of 1 Timothy talk about wealth. They speak to it because there is power and prestige in having wealth. We know this. The only reason why we keep up with the Kardashians or watch Real Housewives is because of wealth.
Wealth can be leveraged for the betterment of a community. I know this because I recognize my generational wealth. My grandparents were one of the richest families in Waverly, Nebraska, a town about a ten minute’s drive from Nebraska’s capital of Lincoln. My mother had no clue growing up that this was the case. She always just knew they had enough. But Grandpa, as a turkey farmer and lawyer, did quite well. My grandparents invested in what they believed in. They invested in their community, they invested in their kids and grandkids, they invested in their church. Grandma was the reason why the United Methodist Church in Waverly had a Christian Education director for decades. Grandpa used what he had to help bring jobs to the area. He invested in National Crane when his friend bought the company and moved it to town, not because Grandpa was into heavy machinery, in fact, Grandpa’s brother would cringe if Grandpa tried to use any large farm machinery. He was just not a mechanical person. But Grandpa invested because he wanted to help others have good jobs and solid incomes. The company eventually was sold off and now everything is done in Wisconsin, but it did provide for many families while in Nebraska.
They leveraged wealth in a way that their community would benefit. They were born in Waverly, they lived in Waverly, they are buried in Waverly. Everything they did was for their community and their family. They looked at the resources they had and they spent them on what was important to them, the people they loved. They dispersed their wealth into things that helped more than just themselves. Part of the reason why I am who I am is because my grandparents invested in me too. They helped provide financial stability in my early years when my parents were struggling financially and many a vacation was spent at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, being surrounded by their love and doing fun things together. Whenever I write my spiritual autobiography, I always begin with Grandma because her faith is the root of my own.
In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus paints the picture of a very different kind of wealth. This is a guy who leverages his wealth for himself. He decked himself in the finest clothes and feasted luxuriously every day. Meanwhile, he knew a man named Lazarus was sitting outside of his gate suffering. What got me as I read the Gospel again this week is that the rich man knew Lazarus’ name. He asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers. They had to have talked with each other before and become somewhat familiar with each other’s lives. Lazarus would be able to recognize the rich man’s brothers and they would know who he was. The rich man was able to look out his window every night and see that poor beggar Lazarus outside his gate, but neither he nor his family did anything to help him out.
Throughout our Gospel lesson we see how twisted the rich man’s morals had become, how self centered he is. Even sitting in the place of torment, he doesn’t ask for forgiveness. He doesn’t change his heart and his life, he doesn’t repent. What does he do? He sees Lazarus delighting in his place by Abraham’s side, enjoying the freedom from pain and suffering, and he asks Abraham to send Lazarus off on errands. “Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue…send Lazarus to my father’s house…” He keeps on trying to order Lazarus to do things for him. Even after death, he still can’t see Lazarus as an equal, a full human being worthy of dignity and respect. Abraham reminds the rich man that Lazarus has done his time, he has suffered enough. The rich man doesn’t get it. He wants Lazarus to be his servant, to work for him. Abraham flatly refuses.
Many a sermon has been spoken on this text as a way to talk about hell, using it as proof text that there are indeed fires of damnation, but that was not Jesus’s point. Jesus was talking with a group of Pharisees whom Luke calls money lovers just a few verses earlier. He speaks to them about the fires of Hades, a Roman mythological concept. He paints Abraham kind of like Zeus. He uses concepts that they had learned through their contemporary living situation. The Pharisees knew, but didn’t hold as truth the stories of the Roman gods and afterlife. That’s why I think Jesus pointed to Hades. His point was not to share about the afterlife he believed in, the point was to expound upon morals. He used Greek concepts to help keep their minds on the lessons of the story rather than begin conversations about the afterlife. Jesus was talking about how the love of money distorts relationships, how it puts people out of touch with their neighbors, even those they have had conversations with and can name, those who may even sit at their very gates. If those with wealth aren’t careful, a great chasm can develop between them and their neighbor. Being waited on and served 24/7 may have its benefits, but it also can lead to a very dangerous mindset, one where other human beings become objects to be used rather than people to be respected. One can put one’s own self on a pedestal and create their own little world where everyone has to bow down to them.
Once that chasm is created, it is a very hard thing to traverse. It can feel that there is no bridge, no way through. Perhaps, he warns, there may not even be a way. Even if someone were to rise from the dead, the warnings may not come soon enough. What is needed is nothing less than a realignment of values and a reassessment of humanity. But if you believe money will get you everything you need, how can you see the community, the human and spiritual connection to God and neighbor, that is the true way of life? That’s why the author of 1 Timothy states very clearly that “…the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.” (1 Tim 6:10). There is only pain when wealth and power become an obsession. That obsession has the power to disconnect one from their neighbor, even when they are physically just a few feet away from each other. The obsession, while seeming to benefit the rich person, actually does them great harm. While they aren’t starving or physically falling apart, they have built echo chambers that cannot be broken into, voids where they become less and less in touch with reality, to the point where even if they are punished for the evil they have done in not helping others, they may still try to force others to work on their behalf. Other people just become less human in their eyes, and if one can’t recognize the humanity of another, they are in a very lonely and sorrowful place indeed. Wealth can become agony for all.
We see this in our world today. I’m sure each of us could come up with an example, either from politics or pop culture. I listen to a true crime podcast that is produced by two first generation Americans, the host, whose family is South Korean, and her fiance whose family comes from China. They bring in examples of murders and crimes done by families that are the elite and wealthy in South Korea and China, reminding me that while our cultures are different, corrupt acts done to maintain wealth are done across the globe. Some family members in the ultra wealthy families do okay, others create chaos. Wealth can either be leveraged to benefit all or abused.
In the end, money is a tool. Investments and property ownership are simply what they are. What matters is that we, across our different classes and across financial barriers, see each other as human. That person with a sign asking for money at Walmart, that person barely able to make their rent payment let alone buy groceries, is just as human, worthy of dignity and respect, as the billionaire who owns a large corporation. When we put humanity first, we can leverage the tools we have to ensure that there is enough for all. We have that power, so that one is not sitting at the gate of the wealthy with dogs licking their wounds. But what is our relationship with wealth? Can we see the other as truly important or not?
We talk about wealth because it impacts how humans interact with each other and are treated. Some people with wealth, like my grandparents, invest in their communities. Others invest in themselves. This is the behavior Jesus calls out. Jesus calls us to seek the way that values the neighbor. That’s why I said last week that wealth and righteousness are interrelated topics,the way of righteousness calls for the devaluing of monetary gain, instead valuing things that can help us all out. No matter our finances, even if we don’t really have the tools to make the situation better, we can always stand with our neighbors, upholding their dignity and value. This is much more important than wealth. May we live in such a way that we are a blessing to those around us. Amen.
