September
28
[media
presentation below]
GospelThink
Sunday,
September 28, Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
LUKE
16:19-31
The
Rich and the Poor
Prayerthoughts
a.
Jesus sets up the ends of a continuum in his story: a rich
person at one end, and Lazarus the poor person at the
other. I am somewhere in between. As I study my income and
money, where am I on the continuum?
b.
In his story, Jesus exaggerates the status of the poor
person. As I study my concern for the poor of the world, am
I doing anything toward helping the poor?
c.
Jesus gives us a picture of heaven and hell. Am I actively
considering my future home by the way I live?
d.
Jesus’s picture
of the netherworld or hell is a place of torment, and the
desire to have relief. What effect does this picture of
hell have on me?
e.
Jesus’s picture
of heaven is a picture of comfort and peace. What effect
does this picture of heaven have on me?
f.
Jesus’s picture
of the chasm between heaven and earth is the picture of
loneliness for the person in torment. What effect does this
picture have on me?
g.
The rich man wants to warn his family about the place of
torment in which he is suffering. In general, what is my
feeling about the possibility of my family facing hell?
h.
Jesus tells us in the story to listen to Scripture,
especially to him, the person that has risen from the dead.
Am I spending enough time listening to the Lord in my life?
i.
Jesus comments on how people listen to the prophets and him
in this world in which we live. Perhaps a prayer right now
is in order for people of our world to acknowledge the
Lord’s presence
in their lives.
j.
My prayerthoughts…
Today
I will read 1 Timothy 6:11-16 and write an important
thought from it.
+++++
Some
Thoughts on the Liturgy
THE
PROBLEM OF BEING RICH: SELFISHNESS
+
The rich do not fare well in the Gospels of Jesus,
especially Luke’s Gospel
-
riches themselves, however, are not the problem
-
in fact, there is nothing wrong with having money
-
in Jesus’ story, the rich man did nothing morally wrong
to get his money
-
the problem was selfishness
-
he was interested only in himself and what he could get out
of the life he was leading
+
One of the tasks of the spiritual life is to learn what
selfishness causes in us
-
and recognize that part of the solution for selfishness
lies in learning to give
to
others
-
and we don’t like to do that—we would much rather take
//
-
stay with me as I tell this story: it really does have a
spiritual point to it:
-
this is an actual way to catch a monkey in Africa used by
native hunters
-
slice a coconut in two, hollow it out, and in one half of
the shell,
-
you cut a hole big enough for a monkey’s hand to pass
through
-
then you place a fresh orange in the other coconut half
-
fasten the two halves
-
then secure the coconut to a tree with a rope
-
a monkey swings by, smells the orange, slips his hand
through the opening, grasps the orange, and tries to pull
it through the hole
-
but his hand and the orange are too big for the hole,
-
his hand alone could go through, but the monkey would have
to let go of the orange, and he doesn’t want to do that
-
while the monkey struggles with his hand stuck in the
coconut, the hunters simply place a net over the monkey and
they have him
-
now, psychologists say we are smarter than monkeys, but
sometimes one wonders
-
we often refuse to let go of what we want
-
the story of the monkey and the orange is a story of every
one of us in a sense—we tend to be selfish people
+
Jesus also tells a story about selfishness in the Gospel
-
there are many practical conclusions that can be drawn from
his story
-
1 – first, we must be aware of the tendency that our
consideration of money has toward developing selfishness
-
yes, we have to be somewhat selfish in the sense that in
many ways, our concern is for ourselves, but we must be
aware that we could easily fall into being too selfish in
the process
+
2 – Secondly, from Jesus’ story, it can easily be
concluded that we have a Christian obligation to give money
or assistance to help others
-
the rich man of Jesus’ story had an eternal life of
torment simply because he wouldn’t give any food to the
beggar Lazarus
-
you and I cannot feed all the starving of the world
-
but there are needs all around us, people and causes who
need help both around here and around our world
-
and we can help if we want
+
3 – Thirdly, we must consider the possibility of our
being “blind” when it comes to this area of money and
possible selfishness
-
we may be selfish, behaving selfishly, and not even know it
-
just as there is a possibility that we are lost and don’t
even know it
-
the rich man didn’t really see what he was doing; he just
didn’t think that there was anything wrong
-
there may be a number of people who are blinded by money
and material things
+
Maybe the ultimate lesson for us when it comes to this area
of riches is that we have to become more and more convinced
of Jesus’ statement to honestly love
others—everyone—because only then will we be ready to
take the stress off of ourselves
-
perhaps only when we understand that we have to share our
oranges with others because they are important will we be
able to understand selfishness and what it does to us.
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