Wealth, judgement, and unbelief

I just finished reading through the Gospel of Luke. The part that I found the most confronting was the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus that Jesus told and is recorded in Luke 16. The richness of parable is indicated by the fact that I have already written five different posts that feature the parable.

19 ‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 ‘The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.”

25 ‘But Abraham replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”

27 ‘He answered, “Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”

29 ‘Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.”

30 ‘“No, father Abraham,” he said, “but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.”

31 ‘He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”’

[The image is from here].

So what is the main point of this parable? Or are there many points? Generally, I don't buy the idea that every parable has one unique interpretation, meaning, and application. Some of the absolute brilliance of the parables of Jesus is that they are so multi-faceted and so confronting.

 Here are some possible options:

A. Divine ``Karma.'' The final judgement corrects for inequalities on earth. Those who live luxurious lives and are insensitive to the poor go to hell. The poor and suffering go to heaven. This shows ``God's preferential option for the poor.''

B. The Gospel is contained in the Old Testament. It provides adequate information for people to repent and be saved.

C. Some people will not repent even if they see or hear the testimony of the risen Christ.

D. People are only saved by faith in Christ alone. There is no salvation by works. Lazarus repented and had faith in Jesus. The rich man did not.

I think all of these have an element of truth, but are oversimplifications, and I feel rob the story of some of its power.

As always, any biblical passage needs to be interpreted in context. For example, what do passages before and after this one say? How does this passage fit into the whole Bible? What is the literary genre?

It is striking to me, just how much this passage is embedded in discussions about how wealth is an obstacle to the entering the Kingdom of God.

The Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24) teaches that the Kingdom of God is for the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. It is not for those who are distracted by business and their possessions.

The Parable of the Lost (Prodigal) Son (Luke 15:11-32) describes how the younger son demanded his inheritance and then ``squandered his wealth on wild living.'' But, he did come to his senses and repent.

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager (Luke 16:1-15). Jesus provocatively commends the dishonesty of the manager. He then says

11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ... 13 ‘No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.’ 14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 

The parable also highlights how ``trivial'' wealth is in God's eyes. This is also shown by

After the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus comes Jesus interaction with the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-30)

‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ 23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’

Luke 19 describes how Zaccheus, a corrupt tax collector, repents and gives half of his money away to the poor.

So what do Moses and the Prophets warn about wealth and helping the needy?
They have countless warnings to Israel that they need to care for the poor, the widows, orphans, and the oppressed. If they do not they will experience God's judgement.

Psalm 49 is just one example of a clear statement concerning the dangers of wealth.

16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
    when the splendour of their houses increases;
17 for they will take nothing with them when they die,
    their splendour will not descend with them.
18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed –
    and people praise you when you prosper –
19 they will join those who have gone before them,
    who will never again see the light of life.

The letter of James has hard-hitting passages about how real faith leads to caring for the poor and needy and not supporting unjust economic structures (Chapter 5). Chapter 2 says:

4 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Those of us who are financially in the top 1-10 percent globally should be deeply troubled by this Jesus teaching and not dilute its power by trying to force it into some simple theology of salvation.

The poor man has a name

Here is an interesting question.
Do any of the characters in the parables of Jesus have a personal name?
The prodigal son, the unmerciful servant, the good Samaritan, ....

I learnt this past week that there is only one: Lazarus, the poor man in the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus recorded in Luke 16:19-31

The Africa Bible Commentary (p. 1263) says

At the one extreme in this story is an unidentified rich man, whose clothing, mansion and lifestyle, mark him as one of the rich and famous. The very idea of such lifestyle might have been amazing to some of the original hearers. But deep in the night, when hunger kept them awake, they may have reflected on why some poeple enjoy life while others have to sweat and scrape just to get by. 

At the opposite extreme is a representative of the poverty of the masses, named Lazarus. All that he has going for him is the fact that he is the only person in all of Jesus' parables with a name, Lazarus. This name is the Latinized from of Eleazar and means "God is my help". Lazarus is a beggar, but he has a name. He is covered with ulcerated sores but he has human dignitty. He does not remain nameless. 

The sin of the rich man is that he has no heart. He looks at a man with a name, but does not ask him his name. He saw Lazarus' hunger and pain, but did nothing about it. He accepted the poverty of Lazarus as part of the normal order of things and thought it perfectly natural and inevitable that Lazarus whould lie in huger, pain, suffering, sickness and ultimately in death while he wallowed in luxury. There are none so blind   as those who will not see.

Christians should be downwardly mobile

My wife and I have just finished reading Radical by David Platt. The subtitle is "Taking back your faith from the American Dream". However, almost all of it is relevant to Australia and not written in the manner than seems to turn off some Australian readers.

I thought the book would equate "the American dream" mostly with material wealth and career advancement. However, Platt rightly considers it to be broader. For example, he points out the Gospel and ministry should go against values of self sufficiency, pride, showmanship....

The book may be uncomfortable reading for both liberals and conservatives. Liberals will disagree with the emphasis on the depravity of man, the authority of the Bible, the centrality of the Cross, and the claim that salvation is found in Christ alone.
Conservatives will be unsettled by the advocacy for the poor and needy, the call to forsake wealth, and to give equal emphasis to meeting physical needs as to evangelism and teaching.

Perhaps the best and most challenging chapter is the sixth, "How much is enough: American wealth and a world of poverty?". He exposits several very challenging teachings of Jesus such as Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16. Platt confesses that for many years concern for the poor was a "blind spot" for him.

Dives and Lazarus (1540-1550) by Veronese

Platt then gives several moving and challenging anecdotes of people from his congregation who have got radical, "downsized", and started to focus on using their money for the good of others rather than themselves.
Painful and challenging truth.

The offence of the egalitarian God

Jesus was a radical. He was the friend of the weak and social outcasts. He taught that "first will be last and the last will be first" and how a poor beggar such as Lazarus could be heaven while a rich man would not (Luke 16:19-31).
This is quite offensive to those who believe (whether consciously or sub-consciously) that society should be ordered in a certain way and that ordering reflects the status of people before God.
But, the radical message of the New Testament is not new. This is also found in the Old Testament.
Consider Hannah's Song of Praise in 1 Samuel 2 

The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
 he brings low and he exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
 he lifts the needy from the ash heap
to make them sit with princes
 and inherit a seat of honor.

Models for the grand narrative of the Bible

Does the Bible have a grand narrative? If so, how does one make sense of this narrative? 

The Bible is 66 separate books, written by (at least) 35 authors, over a period of several thousand years, in diverse locations, and contexts. Nevertheless, there are major themes that seem to run through the whole Bible, such as creation, sin, redemption, and renewal. But, how do these themes fit together?

George Box was a distinguished statistician who said, "All models are wrong. But some are useful." Scientific models can never capture all the details of complex physical, biological, and social phenomena. Hence, in some sense, any model is "wrong." Nevertheless, some models can make successful predictions, provide insight, and even suggest courses of action. The use of mathematical models to describe the current pandemic illustrates Box's aphorism, all too painfully.

I would contend that theology is also about building models: schemes that aim to help us describe and understand very complex phenomena and issues: the Bible, humanity, society, God, churches, ethics, nature,...

Some may disagree, but I think everyone uses models, it is just whether or not they acknowledge they are using a model.

Over the years I have been introduced to many different theological "models". Some I have found helpful, particularly in providing a "big picture" perspective. But, some models leave me cold or I think are unhelpful. I have also become aware of that over time: 

• even the models that I have found helpful, I realise have limitations
• in hindsight, I am too slow to see these limitations and to abandon models that I have loved and advocated
• some proponents of a specific model are unwilling to acknowledge its limitations (I feel this is sometimes the origin of sectarian denominationalism)

Interestingly, the history of science provides many similar examples.

Over the past decade, I have found the schema: creation, sin, redemption, and renewal extremely helpful. For example, I have used it in trying to help myself and others think about a Christian perspective on their own academic discipline and to sketch a Christian vision for the modern secular university.

One model of the Gospel (the good news that Jesus brings) is that provided by the sketch below, known as the bridge illustration. I learnt this while an undergraduate through involvement with The Navigators.

Although there is truth in this model, questions one might ask are "how wrong is this model?" and "how useful is it?" More specifically, is this a good summary of the whole message in the Gospel according to Matthew (and Mark, Luke, and John) in the Bible? Furthermore, is this model consistent with the grand narrative of the Bible? 

As I read through the Bible, I encounter passages that just don't seem to fit with this model, particularly when it is presented as a definitive and complete summary of the message of the Bible. In the Old Testament, there are numerous exhortations that Israel should care for widows, orphans, the poor, and strangers. The prophets proclaim God's judgement on Israel, including sending Israel into exile. Why? It is not just because of the idolatry of Israel, but also their failure to exercise social justice as a community.

Jesus proclaimed an Upside-Down kingdom. He had a particular concern (both by his actions and his teaching) for the marginalised. He often spoke about the dangers of pride, self-righteousness, and the love of money. He condemned the religious leaders of his time for these sins. Two parables told by Jesus that I find particularly troubling are Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31) and the judgement of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). The former has featured in more than six blog posts that I have written.

Then there is creation. What are the opening chapters of Genesis actually about? I find it hard to see them as presenting something that is in conflict with or in competition with science. As a keen bushwalker in my youth, I developed a love for the beauty of nature, particularly for wilderness areas. There was something spiritual about being in these spaces. As a scientist, I also see immense beauty in the natural world through science. What we learn about the world is amazing and the process whereby we come to this understanding is also awesome. Is this what humans were made to do? Something that brings me incredible joy is hearing of others serving marginalised communities, along the lines of (literally) good news for the poor, freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and the oppressed are set free.

Many of my concerns were relieved when four years ago I read A New Heaven and A New Earth: Reclaiming a Biblical Eschatology by Richard Middleton, in our theology reading group.

Middleton, an Old Testament scholar, presents a coherent and compelling picture of the whole Bible that resonates with my own reading of Scripture and (limiited) life experience. It is built around the motif of creation, fall, redemption, and renewal/re-creation. The Bible is not just about how individuals can go to heaven when they die. It is also about God's grand plan to "reconcile all things to himself" and create a world where there is no sin, injustice, suffering, and pain.

We are now re-reading the book and discussing it in our next two meetings. This may be one of the few times I have ever re-read a book. (Something, that I now belatedly realise can be a rich experience).

The book is based on a paper that Middleton published in 2006. The book received a warm review by Christopher Beetham in Themelios on the Gospel Coalition website.

Nevertheless, Middleton is presenting a model which also has its limitations. More on that later...

Telescopic philanthropy

It is Charles Dickens 200th birthday and I have enjoyed reading some of the tributes. It makes me want to read some of his books!
Besides his literary genius Dickens is particularly appreciated because of the awareness he created of poverty and social injustice in Victorian England.

One thing I learnt was that Dickens coined the phrase Telescopic philanthropy: how we can be blind to needs close to home because we are so concerned with being "do gooders" in foreign lands. Dickens used the phrase as a chapter title in the novel Bleak House to describe the character Mrs. Jellaby.
I thought this 1992 article from the Independent somewhat interesting. It considered Mrs. Jellaby in light of Catholic teaching about the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Dives).

Who is the Kingdom of God for?

I recently re-read the Gospel of Luke. One striking thing is how much Jesus talks about money, power, humility and self-righteousness. Jesus saves his harshest words for those who claim to be religious. Jesus gives many pictures of what the Kingdom of God is like. Here I just want to look at the parable of the great banquet. Some earlier thoughts on the parable are here.

Luke 14

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, ‘Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.’

16 Jesus replied: ‘A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, “Come, for everything is now ready.”

18 ‘But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, “I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.”

19 ‘Another said, “I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.”

20 ‘Still another said, “I have just got married, so I can’t come.”

21 ‘The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.”

22 ‘“Sir,” the servant said, “what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.”

23 ‘Then the master told his servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”’

The first three people invited to the banquet are committed to and distracted by the ``good life'' of this world: wealth, possessions, business, career, comfort, romance, security, ... The kingdom of God is not important to them and it is clear they will be excluded.
In contrast, the weak and marginalised (the poor, crippled, blind, lame, ... ) are invited to and come to the banquet. 

All of this is consistent is with many other passages in Luke, such as the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, which suggest that it is very hard for the wealthy, the successful, the self-reliant, and the powerful to enter the Kingdom. In contrast, God seems to have a preference for those on the margins. Church history seems to bear this out. As countries (communities) become more prosperous they are less open to the Kingdom, particularly this bit about engaging with the marginalised. In contrast, communities that are oppressed and desperate, often welcome the good news of Jesus.

This raises questions about priorities for mission. Should upper middle class churches and organisations focus on communities just like them or instead focus much of their substantial resources (human, financial, professional expertise, ... ) to engage with marginalised communities, learn from them, and build mutually beneficial relationships.

Even a scrooge can be redeemed

My lovely daughter's Christmas gift to our family was an outing to see A Christmas Carol, the theatrical adaptation of the classic novella by Charles Dickens.
I am not sure I have ever seen it before.

The story brings together many substantial themes: economic inequality, the plight of poor children, joy, judgement, love of money, the meaning of Christmas, altruism, and redemption.
The Bible story it most reminded me was the story of Lazarus and the rich man that Jesus told.

Christmas is about Emmanuel: God with us. Jesus is God's great and generous gift to humanity. He reveals who God is and offers us free redemption. This generosity should inspire us to be generous, particularly to those less privileged than us.