The Great Chasm – 25 September 2022

Luke 16:19–31

Luke presents a keen sense of justice, but it is a justice grounded in the relationship with God in Christ. We see in the reading of today’s lessons that it is particularly perilous to be persons of wealth, and important warnings are given. There is a rich man of fine dress and more than enough of fine food and ease, and there lies at his gate a poor, sick, and sore man, Lazarus. . . Strangely enough the rich die just as the poor. Lazarus is carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham; our rich friend dies and is buried.

. . . We have divine justice for both men and us. But it doesn’t stop there. The rich man in torment petitions Abraham for what can be done about his situation. . . These are a quest for mercy. . . The mercy is denied, and we are left startled at the sense of finality. Time has passed, has been ill-used and squandered; it’s over. Luke gives us a sense of history.

. . . We begin to see the nature of justice in Luke. The man’s irrevocable demise is brought by [failure] to gain perspective on his life in the time allotted him. . . He cannot see reality beyond his own ease, nor can he look down the road to the consequences of his deafness; he too has always had Moses and the prophets and the nearness of God. He was not listening.

Lazarus had nothing. . . Our rich friend had everything else, but not what he needed, an ongoing relationship with God in time. –– John E. Smith

1 Timothy 6:6–19

The apostle reminds the cleric of his confession, ordination, and calling, telling him to “aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness” (v 11). These are the qualities appropriate to his position in the church and appropriate to who Jesus is. . .

It is never the case that Christians and their leaders don’t know what to do, for they know Jesus. It is a matter of staying with him in the face of other teachers and temptations.

. . . Personal wealth is to be used for good, liberal, and generous giving in order to lay the foundation for a future with God in Christ. –– John E. Smith

Amos 6:1a, 4–7

Amos turns his prophetic judgment to the Northern Kingdom’s (Samaria’s) imminent demise in the face of Assyrian onslaught. . . Those at ease in Samaria first, and in Judah second, ought to be able to read the tea leaves and see what’s coming, but somehow they are blinded by a feeling of privilege. . .

So today we see Amos begin with lamenting “Woes” for those distracted by food, drink, and comfort, clueless in an unjust contentment. They have no perspective on the justice of the judgment befalling them. . . At bottom is the failed relationship between them and God. . . –– John E. Smith

John E. Smith has served as a Methodist pastor for many years.

Homily Service 43, no. 4 (2010): 37–47.