Complacency

A London businessman travelled to Australia and checked into a hotel. There was a computer in his room so he decided to send an e-mail to his wife. However, he accidentally typed the wrong e-mail address, and without noticing his error, the e-mail actually got sent.

Meanwhile back in London, a widow returned home from her husband’s funeral. She decided to check her e-mail, expecting messages from family and friends. She read the first e-mail and fainted. Her son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor and saw the message on the computer screen. It read:

To: My loving wife        Subject: I’ve arrived

I know you’re surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now, and you are allowed to send e-mails to your loved ones. I’ve just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was. PS It’s really hot down here!

The story of the rich man, who is generally named Dives from the Latin meaning “rich”, and Lazarus, is not so much about the hereafter but more about the here and now.

And it’s not so much about rising, unbearable temperatures but more about cold-hearted complacency in response to human suffering.

It’s certainly about Divine Judgement and it’s a warning to beware of falling so much in love with money to the exclusion of all decent human standards.

Jesus told the story after being sneered at by some Pharisees whom Luke describes as “lovers of money”. They had sneered at his teaching and emphasis on caring for those in need. They had sneered at his concern for the lost, at his compassion for the widow, at his care for the sick.

They also denied that their religious faith in God had any bearing on how they treated people in need. They were fixed in tight circles of self-interest and self-sufficiency. They belonged to an exclusive club called the “Me, Me, Me” set and they were very rich.

In God’s eyes their wealth had cushioned them from the real world – just like Dives, who lived behind his gate in daily luxury.

Jesus told the story because he was appalled not by their wealth but by their complacent attitude and coldness of heart.

So he paints a picture of the rich man as someone who is completely oblivious to the pain and suffering that is on his very doorstep. Dives is not an evil barbarian. He is simply someone who is so wrapped up in himself that he doesn’t notice and he doesn’t care.

Jesus is saying that is not good enough for with wealth comes great responsibility. Wealth is a gift to enjoy but also to use.

By the standards of the time Dives is depicted in the mega rich league. One clue to his status is in his clothes – a purple robe, fine linen, the very best quality. Such a robe would cost £40 in a society that paid a workingman 4p a day.

Then there was his gourmet tastes. Dives enjoyed costly and exotic dishes all day, every day in a society where people were lucky to eat meat once a week.

And after the meal Dives and his guests would clean their hands on chunks of bread that were then thrown to the dogs.

The final clue is the reference to a gate at the entrance to his home. It suggests a palatial residence set in a l

What Jesus was showing up was a character whose utter blandness and complacency was shameful. He didn’t notice suffering and pain. He was rich but useless.

Jesus is saying take a good look at this man and take stock of your own attitudes. You live in relative wealth and in following Christ you must weigh up the consequences and costs.

 

But we may be lulled into thinking we do enough like the lady who preened herself each day and prayed:

Dear Lord,

So far today, I’m doing all right.

I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy,

grumpy, nasty, selfish, or self-indulgent.

I have not whined, complained, cursed,

Or eaten any chocolate. I have charged nothing

on my credit card. But I will be getting out of bed in a minute, and I think that I will really need your help then. Amen.

Of course we can only do our best – but we have to try. The suffering and hardship in the world may seem beyond our help. But Jesus urges us to notice, to look and see what can be done, to cross the road, open the gate and get our hands dirty.

The opportunities to help are all around

Lazarus is everywhere. He is not far away – he is on our doorstep. Yet there is a ‘great gulf”, a gap between rich and poor that we have seen widening in horrific proportions on our TV screens

Recently I met some folk who had been to the Sudan. They had seen at first hand the terrible plight of people literally marooned in a desert wondering how they were going to survive for the next hour.

At the sight of such suffering these visitors felt compelled to help. All they could do at that moment was give them what they had. So they left their clothing, their food and everything else. When they came to check in for the flight home they had no baggage. The pain of poverty had hit them hard.

One of them said to me: “We haven’t a notion about what poverty is really like and how terrible it is for people like that. I just wish more of us in the West could see it first hand. Then we would surely be stirred to do something meaningful to help.

Of course these days wealth is splashed all around us. There are several magazine titles dedicated to showing us the luxury enjoyed by the mega rich

One of these is the golfer Tiger Woods, a wonderful person and a great sportsman. His home in Florida is spectacular.

What is not often publicised is his work in helping the young people of the inner cities. These youngsters are struggling to make a decent life and suffering daily from all kinds of social deprivation.

The Tiger Woods Foundation started helping in America but it is now a worldwide movement that is doing tremendous good. It’s an initiative that shows in a spectacular way that wealth and social responsibility can come together.

There’s a story told of a teenager who had cancer and was in hospital for several weeks to undergo radiation treatment. During that time he lost all his hair.

On the way home he was worried – not about the cancer, but about the embarrassment of going back to school with a bald head. He had decided not to wear a wig.

When he arrived home, he walked in the front door and turned on the lights. To his surprise, about fifty of his friends jumped up and shouted, “Welcome home!”

The boy looked around the room and could hardly believe his eyes – all fifty of his friends had shaved their heads!

What will it take to “make poverty history”? What will it take to stir nations, communities and individuals to seek justice, love mercy and respond with compassion?

As the Church we may count our blessings and our relative wealth but we must also count the cost of true service and be stirred to do what we can to help those in dire need – even those on our own doorstep. So we pray:

Father make us a responsible community,

Supporting our neighbours and friends,

Sharing one another’s sorrows and joys,

And opening our hearts to your caring love

Amen.