Transforming Wealth

Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

DFMS Noonday Prayer, October 8, 2020

Commemoration of William Bliss and Richard Ely

May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

My college friend Amelia is well-off by any standard. Her parents hired a circus for her fifth birthday party and her mother had china and place settings for one hundred people. Her father was a doctor who made a breakthrough discovery that helped millions and made a fortune for his family. There are libraries named after him on multiple college campuses. 

On the surface, she might seem to be just like the Rich Man in today’s parable. One of the 1% who has been aloof to the needs and concerns of the other 99%. 

In our Gospel today, we hear the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man which shows us the perils of ignoring those around us who are in need. And we know what Jesus thinks of the rich. He so often speaks critically or disparagingly of them. Remember how he chides the rich man who does not wish to give up his possessions to inherit eternal life? Or how quickly Zaccheus is rewarded for his willingness to give up his wealth? 

 

But anything to do with money is complicated. My friend Amelia is not what she might seem on the surface. While she was born into wealth, there were times when she had to go without. Her parents divorced when she was a teenager, and sadly it was a long and bitter divorce. For a time all her mother's assets were frozen, and she and her mother were locked out of their house. Amelia and her mother spent months living in a Howard Johnson's living as cheaply as they could, for they had no idea how long it would be before they could go home again. Thankfully things were resolved, and Amelia was given a wonderful education and has personal financial security. 

The gift that Amelia has given me is an example of what it means to live faithfully with the resources we have been given. While Amelia has again been blessed with an abundance of financial resources, she has never forgotten what it was like to be without. Unlike the Rich Man in today’s parable, Amelia has long understood that wealth is a gift to be shared. She has always been generous with her money and used it to help others. What has inspired me in Amelia's attitude is that she sees her money as a means and not an end. She knows it is a gift and a fragile one. As she well knows that in an instant it can all be gone. She does not worship her money or try to hoard it. She sees it as a means to a full life - the means for education and travel for herself and her family - the means to enrichment in her own life and for her community. I think this is what Jesus was really getting at in the Gospel today. 

Amelia learned long ago - possessions do not last; they are not eternal.  God is. We need to put our faith in God. We need to live a life that first and foremost is focused on love of God and love of neighbor. Whatever assets we may have, however much money is in our bank accounts is, secondary. Financial wealth is a gift, and one that may not last. 

Just because we don't make money our first priority doesn't mean money doesn't matter. It matters a great deal. It enables us to have food and shelter, to get an education, to travel, to have fun experiences with our family. All of these things matter, for they enrich our lives and provide enjoyment. God desires us to have life and have it abundantly. I do believe that God definitely is in favor of us having fun! 

The parable today is one that can call us up short. It invites us to examine our own privilege, our own relationship to money, especially in this time when the pandemics facing our nation have brought to the fore the disparities that exist along lines of race and class. For those of us who have multiple categories of privilege, this parable ought to give us pause about our own finances and what ways we might be following in the Rich Man’s footsteps and ignoring needs or problems that are right in front of us. How might we have been too self-centered or internally focused? What might we need to be doing differently? How might we be a part of the transformation to which Jesus invites us through this parable? How might we be a part of dismantling unjust structures and helping to realize God’s kingdom, God’s beloved community? 

Jesus calls us to see our wealth as a means, as my friend Amelia does, as a means to make a difference in the world. What would it look like for us to see money only as a means? How can we let go of the hold money can have in our lives? How can we use whatever assets we have to enrich our life and the lives of others? Money may not be permanent, but we can use it to make a lasting difference in the lives of others. May we have the grace and the courage to use whatever resources have to be a part of transformation of the world. 

AMEN.