Last Sunday I was asked to take the service at the church I attend. Vianney was away. There were some great texts to play with, and the Season of Creation.So here are the notes from my quite long sermon. Sorry all!
Maungatapu – 28th Sunday
in Ordinary Time- Year C -2026
Readings:
Psalm Psalm:
91:1-6, 14-16
First Reading Jeremiah
32:1-3, 6-15
Second Reading 1
Timothy 6:6-19
Gospel Luke
16:19-31
What I want to say:
we are
coming to the end of season of creation – what is it
wealth
based on ongoing exploitation of earth – God’s gift
we are rich
story of
Lazarus – explore
can feel
hopeless
·
Jeremiah
What I want to
happen:
®
imagine we are rich man’s brothers and sisters – what
do we need to hear
®
what hope are we being invited to hold
1.1.
Introduction: Season of Creation
Each
year from September 1 to October 4,
-
worldwide Christian
family unites in Season of Creation
o Orthodox,
Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and many others
-
celebration of
prayer and action to protect our common home.
-
special season
where we celebrate God as Creator
-
acknowledge Creation
as the divine continuing act that summons us as collaborators to love and care
for the gift of all that is created.
Resource
for this year says
“
As followers of Christ from around the globe, we share a common call to care
for Creation. We are co-creatures and part of all that God has made. Our
well-being is interwoven with the well-being of the Earth. We rejoice in this
opportunity to safeguard our common home and all beings who share it. This
year, the theme for the season is “Peace with Creation.””
chance
for us to take stock of how we in the west wage war
-
emphasis on
consumption,
-
exploitative
business models,
-
economic theories
prioritizing profit over sustainability in creation and in community
-
resulting in what
we see happening around world in war and conflict, broken communities, pollution,
bio-diversity loss, and climate change
2.
Lazarus –
putting it back
spend time
looking at story of Lazarus
offers
opportunity to look at how we contribute to all this
-
invites us to reflect on how we might
respond
first need to put
it back
when read this first
hearers of Luke’s gospel just heard
-
Magnificat –
Mary’s song of protest and praise
o
He has shown strength with his arm.
He
has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and
sent the rich away empty-handed.
-
Zechariah –
prophecy over John - Luke 1
o
Because of our
God’s deep compassion,
the dawn from heaven will break upon us,
to give light to those who are sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide us on the path of
peace.”
-
Blessings and
woes - Luke 6
o
“Happy are
you who are poor,
because
God’s kingdom is yours.
21 Happy are you who
hunger now,
because
you will be satisfied.
Happy are you who weep now,
because
you will laugh.
…
o
24 But how terrible for you who are rich,
because
you have already received your comfort.
25 How terrible for you
who have plenty now,
because
you will be hungry.
How terrible for you who laugh now,
because
you will mourn and weep.
26 How terrible for you
when all speak well of you.
Their
ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.
-
rich young man
came to ask inherit eternal life
-
reminder of
parable of wasteful and faithless servant – heard last week
rich
people get very hard time in Lukes’s gospel
which would have shocked some if not many of
his hearers.
3.
Lazarus the
story
part
larger talk to Pharisees who Luke describes as money-lovers
tells
shocking story of rich man who neglects law of moses – Torah
-
clear call for
God’s people to care for poor and vulnerable
eg
Leviticus 19:9-10
9 When you harvest your land’s produce, you must
not harvest all the way to the edge of your field; and don’t gather up every
remaining bit of your harvest. 10 Also do not pick your
vineyard clean or gather up all the grapes that have fallen there. Leave these
items for the poor and the immigrant; I am the Lord your God.
fails
in social expectation to allow poor to eat crumbs from table
fails
to see Lazarus
fails
see his wealth as gift with which to be as generous as God is generous to him
-
story rich man
and his barns
-
attitude we see
in so many today
-
lives seemed
focussed on amassing great wealth at cost to people work for them, communities,
and our planet
interestingly
we are given name of poor man
-
Lazarus means God
helps
-
one only
characters named in parables Jesus tells in Luke
He
is embraced by Abraham
-
rests at his
breast
-
deep intimacy
-
named as beloved
child of Abraham
o
which he was all
the time
-
it seems simply
because he was poor
o
theme Luke’s
gospel
Rich
man does not see Lazarus
even
in death still not see him as child of Abraham
only
someone who can serve him and his family’s needs
in
life and death
-
wealth and privilege
prevents rich man from seeing Lazarus as child of Abraham
o
one made in image
of God
-
unwilling to see
Lazarus at his doorstep
-
unable to show
any compassion
-
unwilling to
share God’s abundance with him
-
would appear his
family are no better.
-
unwilling to hear
and see as Moses and prophets urge
all
of which I find confronting
I
am rich
è Solomon islands
who
do I not see
who
am I unwilling to share God’s abundance of compassion and resources with?
in
light of that, in what ways am I like the rich man,
-
contributing to climate
crisis that this season of creation invites us to respond to
as
I reflect on that it is easy to feel hopeless at scale of problem
how
inadequate anything I might do is
-
level of self
centredness, injustice and greed that seems to be enveloping our world at this
time
4.
Jeremiah (go
real fast)
prophet
of judgement, lament and gloom
putting
Jeremiah back
-
40 years at end
of southern kingdom - Judah
-
after David and
Solomon, kingdom of Israel split (1000BCE)
o
Israel to north –
Samaritans
§ defeated by Assyrians in 722 BCE – scattering
of those people
o
around 100 years
later
§ leading up to first defeat by Babylonians
597BCE
§ second and final defeat in 587BCE –
· destruction of temple and city of Jerusalem
Like
all prophets – invited to see world through God’s eyes
-
speaking to
people in front of him
-
speaking God’s
words to them in present tense
-
calling out the
consequences of self centredness, injustice and greed.
-
generally no-one
wanted to hear
-
very unpopular
amidst
all words of gloom and defeat (this is set before the second destruction of
Jerusalem)
word
of Lord comes to him (in prison)
some
of his family’s land is coming up for sale and he will get first option
-
keep it in family
everyone
expects him to say no thanks –
-
I have no family
to leave it to
-
Babylonians are
here
-
we are all going
to die anyway
but
he agrees
pays
money and signs land over to his scribe as sign of hope
-
people of God
will return to land
-
which will again
flourish
incredibly
important part of this mostly very dark book
invites
hearers to hope
invites
us to hope
people
of hope in this season of creation
people of hope all time
5.
Conclusion
® imagine we are rich man’s
brothers and sisters – what do we need to hear
® where are
our signs of hope
® how do we join Jeremiah living hope?
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