"The Dead Cannot Save Us"

For Sunday, September 26th, 2010

(Graphic from http://www.churchpowerpoint.com/, used with permission)

Lectionary Reading - Luke 16:19-31 (NRSV)

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.

The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.'

But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' He said, 'Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house – for I have five brothers – that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.'

Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' He said, 'No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

The Dead Cannot Save Us

Professor Emeritus Walter Wink of Auburn Theological Seminary is a great inspiration to me. He’s a Methodist minister with Master of Divinity and Ph.D. degrees from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He is also a Peace Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace. Recently, on the Sojourners’ website for sermon preparation, he shared a story that should give any of us pause to think:

There once was a rich nation that consumed almost half the world's resources. Landed elites in the poor nations became rich by producing cash crops for export to this nation while their own people lacked adequate nutrition. Even in that rich nation, many were hungry and homeless, unemployed and ill. Yet the rich nation ignored them, or had them arrested. Because the rich nation really was not religious, but only pretended to be, it had no fear of divine punishment. And because it was so powerful politically and militarily, it was able to protect itself against revolts abroad and revolutions at home.

In short, this rich nation had nothing to fear from any quarter. Yet, inexplicably, it began to fall apart. The judgment it scoffed at in the future began to eat away at it like acid. In desperation its people began to arm themselves. Soon this rich land had the most heavily armed populace in the world. But still the acids continued to eat. They built walls to shut the emigrants and "inferior races" out. But still the acids continued to eat.

They called for the death penalty, for more prisons, for more arrests, for greater surveillance, for tougher sentencing. Their politicians got elected on platforms of resentment, fear, and greed. The people cried for the restoration of traditional values, not recognizing that these values had landed them in the soup they were now in. And still the corrosive acids continued to eat at the fabric of society.

It never occurred to them that salvation lay in solidarity with these poor within and outside their borders. Like the rich man in the parable, this rich nation could not understand that the gate outside which Lazarus perpetually lies is an opening, not a barrier. All he had to do is go out and connect with the poor, and seek a common destiny. All he had to do was recognize what lay before his very eyes.

This parable is not about an afterlife (on which we may be willing to take our chances). The poor are at our gate—now. The judgment is already ineluctably working. It is stark warning and desperate compassion: If we won't do what's right because it's right, will we at least do it out of fear?

The above is what this blog is all about, i.e. do what’s right because it’s right. I have to credit and thank one of my readers for making that succinct insight about my blog when visiting her and her husband several months ago. I then have to thank someone like Wink for the courage he demonstrates in speaking so frankly and pointedly about those who would keep what I call the Lazarus-Rich Man Syndrome alive and well.

I am now approaching the first anniversary of this blog. I had no idea what insights would come from it or even if there would be any. I am grateful however that a recognizable theme and dynamic have arisen. I’m quite glad to be in the company of voices like Wink’s.  I extend my warmest thanks to my readers for their encouragement and feedback.

So here are some conclusions I have reached after nearly a year at this effort. The primary thing, as Ernest Hemingway once said, is that writers must write first for themselves. The focus of that is I must write about “doing what’s right because it’s right.” Secondly, I must not concern myself with others finding my writing palatable. If my writing is good then readers will follow – also something Hemingway once said. Lastly, through sharing my stories and insights and the insights and stories of others, my mission is the end of any and all forms of oppression or abuse whether those are knowingly committed or unwittingly supported. I want subtle manipulative forms and systems unmasked and cast out. I want egregious forms dealt with visibly and forthrightly. I demand justice, dignity, equity, and well-being for each and every living soul on God’s good earth. The Lazarus and Rich Man syndrome must end.

Walter Wink put it best in an October 1978 Sojourners article titled, “Unmasking the Powers” when he wrote:

It is God's will that we live corporately, sustained, nourished, and served by these supra-personal structures [economics, politics, systems, social structures]. Yet at the same time, these powers are also demonic, seeking their own advantage as the highest good, regardless of the long-term, best interests of humanity.

Wink then stated that many powers encompass us; they serve and exploit us, benefit and burden us. The names of these powers and principalities are well known to us. We call them economics, politics, systems, social structures. Their managers in this world are often the wealthy, the powerful, the self-absorbed, the malignantly narcissistic, or some combination thereof.

There must be a new dream, a dream that transcends our world managers, a dream that rightly extends to each and every person now living or ever to be. The dream is uncomplicated. Stated simply, it must be that in making a meaningful contribution to one’s community, we must guarantee that a person will have full and unfettered access to all resources needed for their well-being and that of their loved ones. And a meaningful contribution will be defined such that even the least among us will be empowered to offer their unique gifts and abilities.

There must be no more Lazarus at the gate with only dogs to provide comfort and lick wounds. There must be no more of the checked-out wealthy, powerful, influential, or any narcissistic or sociopathic self-absorbed persons allowed to knowingly, or even unwittingly, toy with people’s lives in pursuit of their own wants or needs.

The message, the dream, the mission must be our reality now. The dead will not arise to save us from ourselves.