A Second Chance for Lazarus

Lent 5 April 6, 2025 John 12: 1-8 Year C A Second Chance for Lazarus “Connection” Lent Five Prelude Greeting Over the Threshold Leader: Persian mystic Rumi is one of the most often quoted mystics in our day, transcending religious lines. He said this: “Do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you. Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion. Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames.” Sing Open the Eyes of My Heart - See insert Lent is often considered a solitary journey as we traditionally use it as a time to examine ourselves and engage in practices that bring us closer to God. While this is a part of the spiritual journey, we also know that human beings were made for relationship. This is why it is so vitally important that we experience collective awe. As we continue to explore what it means to be “purveyors of awe,” we learn of the powerful benefits of togetherness. In a time when we have been through one of the most isolating times in human history, we remember and are grateful for a renewed ability to seek connection. Sing Open the Eyes of My Heart – see insert Awe is a gateway to connection. As we have experiences that give us a sense of being part of something larger than “just us,” our penchant for self-preservation and obsession with the competitive default-self gives way to a renewed commitment to the greater whole. We need moments of “collective effervescence” that increase hope and joy at being part of the human family. Let us rise in body and/or spirit and pray: Awe-inspiring God, we come together this day because we need to be reminded to see through the lens of connection. It is too easy to have everything we need without seeking out relationship or connection to another human being. Open us to perceive anew. Inspire us to receive our surroundings with awe. Forgive us when we hold back unnecessarily from wholehearted participation and dedication to eradicating loneliness. Be with us on this journey as we seek again to marvel at your works. Sing Open the Eyes of My Heart - see insert God does not sever connection. Ever. God forgives us. Jesus embraces us. The Spirit enlivens us. We are whole. With awe, we accept this belovedness. And all God’s people say, “Amen.” Opening Hymn/Song When I Survey the Wondrous Cross UMH 299 In Awe of Children A husband is kidnapped and the kidnapper calls the wife and demands a ransom of 100,000. She tells the kidnapper that is much more than she is willing to pay to get him back. She will give him 30,000 and that is about it. When the husband returns, he asks why she was not willing to pay the full ransom for him. He felt that he was worth so much more. How much are you worth? It depends on who you ask. But to God we are all priceless. In this story, a friends spends a lot on a gift for Jesus. She too is criticiczed. People say that she could have used that money on better things. Giving a gift from the heart is always priceless. Jesus really appreciated the gift. More importantly, Jesus explained that a gift given to God is never too much. In church, we used to sing a song – you can’t beat God giving. Whatever you give – God gives so much more to you. And he is able to feed the poor and those in need. PRAYER OF CONFESSION Like Judas, God of new things, we like to complain about your generous ways, rather than living in your grace. The poor are always with us, we believe, which justifies our ignoring them. In our memories, we focus on a perceived golden past, and so we ignore the new things you do in our midst. We are so enamored with our achievements that we are not willing to throw them away in order to follow Jesus. Forgive us, Restoring God, and help us to notice the kingdom springing forth in our midst. By your grace, may our fears turn to faith, our seeds of grief produce a bumper crop of joy, and our tears turn into torrents of tenderness as we journey with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, to Jerusalem. Silence is kept. Assurance of Pardon Making a way through all the foolishness and mistakes of our lives, God leads us into new life, where we are restored to grace, to hope, and to peace. Do we notice what God has done for us, what God is doing in us? This is good news for everyone. Thanks be to God, we are forgiven! Amen. Adapted from Thom Shuman, posted at https://pilgrimwr.unitingchurch.org.au/?p=2008. The Peace The peace of Christ be with you. And also with you. I invite you to share the peace of Christ with those around you, [remembering to greet those online with a wave to the camera]. Contemporary Reading Reader: Our first reading is a contemporary one–an excerpt from an article by researcher Brené Brown entitled, “Why Experiencing Joy and Pain in a Group Is So Powerful:" “Experiences [of collective effervescence] contribute to a life filled with less loneliness and greater meaning, positive emotions, and social connection… Collective assembly meets the primal human yearnings for shared social experiences. A collective assembly can start to heal the wounds of a traumatized community. When we come together to share authentic joy, hope, and pain, we melt the pervasive cynicism that often cloaks our better human nature.” Ancient Reading John 12:1-8 In Awe of Music In Awe of the Word A Second Chance for Lazurus Human beings live most of our lives through sight. We depend on our vision for most things in life. But our sense of smell is connected to our memories and our feelings. Scents trigger something deep inside of us. Scents can transport us back in time to scenes long ago. One of my greatest memories – was driving to grandma’s house. We would get there late at night. She would put me to bed, and I would wake up in the morning to the smell of bacon and eggs and hot biscuits for breakfast. That smell was magical. They say that the best way to get people to join your church is to cook or bake something. When people come in the door and smell that fresh bread, or spaghetti sauce – they swear that they have found their church home. Smells can trigger happy memories. But smells can also trigger tragic memories. I was in high school standing at the bus stop, when all of a sudden a car barrelled around the corner and hit a little girl right in front of me. I remember that day as if it was yesterday, because the smell of burn rubber from the car slamming on the brakes is still in my nose. John the gospel writer was able to recall the day of Jesus crucifixion with such detail, because he remembers the smell of perfume. The smell of that perfume triggered some happy memories and some tragic memories – it lingered in his head for days. The Power of Fragrance Isn’t it amazing that John could remember this fragrance so many years after Christ’s ascension? That, when his mind drifted back to that last week of Christ’s life, it was the fragrance of Mary’s offering that framed his memory. What once was an oasis for Jesus, that helped comfort him so he could go forward, was now an oasis in John’s memory that helped him deal with the rigors of his trials. Still today, two thousand years later, Mary’s gift brings fragrance to our lives and while Mary was condemned by the apostle’s that day for her extravagance, she provided a gift that has been remembered for thousands of years. Her fragrance still fills our lives with the presence of Christ. Jerry Goebel, The House Was Filled With the Fragrance of the Perfume According to John 6, it was six days before the crucifixion. Jesus friend Lazarus invites Jesus and the disciples to a meal. You have heard of the last supper, well this was the supper before the last supper. The characters present: Lazarus, Jesus, his sister Martha, his sister Mary, Jesus, Judas and the other disciples. Lazarus is celebrating a second chance at life. He was brought back from the dead. Jesus is literally enjoying the last seconds before his death. Martha takes this chance to be of service to her Lord. Mary pours a heavy scented oil over Jesus feet. Not knowing that she is preparing him for death. Judas, the treasurer for Jesus ministry, always conscious of spending scolds Mary for wasting such an extravagant gift. That money could have been used for the poor. A friend used to tell me – things are not always how they look. In spite of being brought back to life, one day Lazarus will die just any other person. Jesus will dies – but will open the doors of eternal life for all of us. Mary will move from scolded one to the star of the story. She will become an example of discipleship and devotion to Christ. Whereas Judas doesn’t really care about the poor. He is just gaining confidence to betray Jesus. A Simple Answer Could that have been Judas' greatest downfall, the inability to see himself as a sinner and hence receive God's forgiveness? For without that sense of forgiveness, life holds little joy and the future is hopeless. Someone once said that the person who knows himself or herself to be a sinner and does not know God's forgiveness is like an overweight person who fears stepping on a scale. I once read about a very bitter man who was sick in soul, mind, and body. He was in the hospital in wretched condition, not because his body had been invaded by a virus or infected with some germ, but because his anger and contempt had poisoned his soul. One day, when he was at his lowest, he said to his nurse, "Won't you give me something to end it all?" Much to the man's surprise, the nurse said, "All right. I will." She went to the nightstand and pulled out the Gideon Bible and began to read, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life." When she finished she said, "There, if you will believe that, it will end it all. God loves you, forgives you and accepts you as his child." Such a simple answer. But it worked for that man. He realized after much soul-searching that she had spoken truly. And over a period of some time, he came to believe and accept God's love for him. There is a way to God. Jesus died to provide it. We may not be Mary or that "woman of the city," but there are sins that weigh upon our hearts. There are scars and cuts that we have inflicted on others. There is a darkness within each of us that no one knows of but God. But that same One, our loving God, sees all and forgives all and calls us to God. Remember, the one who is forgiven little loves little. But the one who is forgiven much loves with all the heart! May that be true of us. In Jesus' name. Amen. Lee Griess, Taking the Risk out of Dying, CSS Publishing Company. _______________________________________________ Meanwhile Mary teaches us the greatest lesson of the story – how to give from the heart. Gratitude Pastor Victor Shepherd tells the story of a missionary surgeon he met who was rather gruff and to the point. On one occasion the surgeon was speaking to a small group of university students about his work in the Gaza Strip. He was telling us that we North American "fat cats" knew nothing about gratitude. Nothing! On one occasion he had stopped a peasant hovel to see a woman on whom he had performed surgery. She and her husband were dirt poor. Their livestock supply consisted of one Angora rabbit and two chickens. For income the woman combed the hair out of the rabbit, spun the hair into yarn and sold it. For food she and her husband ate the eggs from the chickens. The woman insisted that the missionary surgeon stay for lunch. He accepted the invitation and said he would be back for lunch after he had gone down the road to see another postoperative patient. An hour and a half later he was back. He peeked into the cooking pot to see what he was going to eat. He saw one rabbit and two chickens. The woman had given up her entire livestock supply--her income, her food, everything. He concluded his story by reminding us that we knew nothing of gratitude. He wept unashamedly. The incident will stay with me forever. There is another incident concerning gratitude that will never be forgotten. It's about a woman who poured costly perfume over our Lord as she wiped his feet with her hair. Make no mistake--the perfume was expensive, three hundred denarii, a year's income for a laborer in Palestine. Enough to keep a family alive for twelve months. Victor Shepherd, Preacher's Annual 1992, Nashville: Abingdon p. 122. Intentional Acts of True Devotion IATDs - that's what this passage is all about. People were becoming more and more devoted to Jesus and they were expressing it openly in ever increasing ways. They even started doing IATDs - Intentional Acts of True Devotion. Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave and he came out struggling in the bondage of his grave clothing. But he came out, he had new life! Jesus had power even over death! The result was IATDs! People started following Jesus. Not only did they start following him, they become devoted to him, and their devotion was radical! Those who saw this resurrection put their faith in Jesus. The sense of the Greek in verse 45 is that people without reservation, without growing into it, at this one miracle put all their faith in him. And it showed in IATDs. At one time the Jews had been devoted to the Pharisees and the law. Now in wholesale crowds they were turning to Jesus, becoming devoted to him, radically devoted to him with the kind of devotion that is dangerous: "He'll upset the applecart! We can't have that around here! We'll lose our place and our power!" That was the thinking of the Pharisees, so they plotted to take Jesus life. We often think it was Jesus who got himself in trouble with the Pharisees, but the Pharisees wouldn't have cared a bit if he didn't have these followers with their IATDs. Their IATDs got him in trouble, too. Intentional Acts of True Devotion - they're powerful, they're dangerous, and they mark the lives of those who put their faith in Jesus. Bill Versteeg, Intentional Acts of True Devotion ______________________ As Mary anointed Jesus for the tragic events coming ahead. Mary was preparing her heart to become a disciple and to carry on in Jesus footsteps. She was preparing to step up and to be in ministry. In 7 days from today – we celebrate the triumphant entry of Jesus. In 12 days we remember Good Friday. In 14 days we experience new life of resurrection. Acts of kindness humility and forgiveness prepare our hearts for the days to come. Let us Pray….. Song O How I Love Jesus UMH 170 Approaching an Awesome God [Prayers] Holy and Living God, we approach this time of prayer with a desire to connect with your world. With all our senses, we open to you. Give us lenses of awe with which to perceive and love others as you perceive and love us. We imagine in our mind’s eye now the people in our lives, the people of our communities, and the people of our world. Each of them is beloved by you, and this alone creates awe in us. We especially lift up those who need our prayers in this moment… [continue with prayers of thanksgiving and care for people]. For all these people and those we name in our hearts, Hear our prayer, Awesome God. Give us lenses of awe with which to perceive and love your creation as you perceive and love it. Each thawing path under the warmth of the sun reminds us that all things are interconnected. You are making all things new all around us. Help us to care for the nature around us. This week, we name… [continue with prayers about specific entities of nature in your area]. For all these places, creatures, and lifeforms, and those we name in our hearts, Hear our prayer, Awesome God. Give us lenses of awe with which to perceive and love life as you perceive and love the life you have given us. Open us to the awe of sharing our joy and our pain with others. Slow us down in this season of Lent so that we might savor anew the gift of life. We pause in this silence, setting intentions of awe for the week ahead. [pause in silence] For all these intentions, Hear our prayer, Awesome God. Let us pray the prayer Jesus taught us… [Lord’s Prayer]. Responding with Awe Stewardship Moment In John’s Gospel we hear how Martha served, Lazarus kept Jesus company at the table, and Mary poured out a pound of costly nard on Jesus’ feet, in an act of compassion and care. Each of these siblings offered a fine gift to their dinner guest, Jesus. I wonder what I would offer, if Jesus were to come to my home for dinner? Would I cook a fabulous meal? Would I provide a calm atmosphere and listen to what Jesus said? Would I express my love in some extravagant way, seeking to help Jesus relax and find refreshment after a long day of teaching and healing? What about you? If Jesus were to come to your home, what would you give? What about if Jesus were to show up here? Week by week we have an opportunity to share our gifts with this part of the Body of Christ which we know as _______________ Church. May the gifts we bring demonstrate our desire to share our finest and best with the One who understood his life was coming to a close. Let us share our gifts, our tithes and our offerings now. Offering/Offertory [as is your custom] Doxology [Tune: Old 100th] Prayer of Thanksgiving Ever-giving God, You created our world–filled it with air, water, food, and all we need for life. You sent Jesus to show us your ways of love and compassion, teaching us we are all sisters and brothers of every living being. So receive these gifts which we offer as a portion of what you’ve first given us. Help us use each gift (money, time, talent) to help share the Good News we have been given in Jesus, the Christ. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) [Communion] We Go Forth with Awe Closing Prayer for Facebook Benedictions are blessings. And blessings are all around us. So for this season, instead of bowing your head as I offer a Benediction blessing, I invite you to open your palms in a position of receiving, and hold your head high, imagining a radiant stream of light from above shining upon you and everything else around you. And this week when you need to be reminded of the gift of community all around you, take this stance again. Open your palms to receive, look around to perceive, and notice one small thing that can light up your heart for a moment. And now may you go forth remembering Rumi’s words: “Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames.” Be a purveyor of awe this week. Seek out connection with others whose life and love can be multiplied because you are together to help light up the world. Invite renewed connections to live and breathe new life in you. Be a “purveyor of awe,” curating a life of spiritual depth that inspires others to join you on the journey. May the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of Awe, the Holy One-in-Three, be with you now and throughout these days, Amen. Community Time (Joys and Concerns) Benediction May you go out from this place in the blessing of God, who turns your weeping into laughter and your laughter into joy that plants seeds of restoration, justice, and abundance for all of God’s creation. Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, September 2024. Postlude Worship Notes Contemporary reading excerpted from the following source: Brown, B. (2019, January 6). Why experiencing joy and pain in a group is so powerful. Greater Good Magazine. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_experiencing_joy_and_pain_in_a_group_is_so_powerful ______________________ I Love Mankind The musical Hair has within it a most provocative song called "Easy to Be Hard." The gist of the song is that it is easy to "care about the bleeding crowd" while yet totally ignoring "a needy friend." A little joke you may have heard makes the same point: "I love mankind ... it is people I can't stand!" Jesus does not set himself apart from the poor. He simply points out that he himself, as one of the specific poor, has needs - and that Mary has been sensitive to those needs. By contrast, Judas pretends to be concerned for the poor (in general) but is actually only concerned about himself. Carl L. Jech, Channeling Grace, CSS Publishing Company _______________________________________________________ How Much to Spend on The Poor? What happened at Jesus’ anointing in Bethany has plagued the followers of Jesus from then until now. How much do we spend on ourselves and how much do we give to missions? Couldn't we do more good by giving all this money to the poor instead of spending it on, say, a new building? In partial response to this question, my mind goes back to an experience of William Willimon, chaplain at Duke University. Willimon tells of the time the faculty of Duke was discussing a proposal to renovate the seminary chapel. They had received a modest proposal from the architect. But, would the chapel be renovated? No. "With all the poverty and hunger in the world," said one faculty member, "how can we as Christians justify spending $50,000 to pretty-up our chapel?" Of course, this person failed to offer similar objections when faculty salaries were raised each year, (a figure that collectively exceeds $50,000) nor does he question the morality of the luxurious faculty lounge. Obviously the man was posturing, just as Judas was posturing. Even so, the problem is tough. How much should we give to others and how much should we reserve for ourselves? Richard Meyer, Break a Vase ____________________ Acts of Humility and Love Patricia Long, pastor at First United Church of Christ, Berkley, California said it best. "Performing acts like the one Mary did are acts of extravagant caring that remind us we are called to be in equal partnership with each other, and that we all ought to be humbled as we come together before God." She says "acts of humility and love are empowering! They remind us that though power, control and domination are the ways of the world, there are some places where simple gestures of kindness and caring still count, still make a difference." Rev. Long says that Mary’s act of anointing Jesus was not unlike Rosa Park’s act of moving from the back of the bus to the front. Whenever a person stands up for love, the world notices. It can also be changed for the better as the oppressed are liberated or the presence of God becomes more visible. Keith Wagner, The Supremacy of Love _____________________ Aroma: Bringing Back an Emotion Taste is 95 percent smell. What happens when you get a cold? Can't taste anything? In talking with others about their smells, what I have discovered is that there are regional differences to our favorite smells that often depend either on our food habits or on our outdoor customs. East Coast people prefer floral scents and Northerners the smell of the seasons. Southerners seem to prefer hearty snorts of pine. Midwesterners like the whiff of hay and farm animals. Westerners like the aroma of barbecuing meat. Whatever our pet smell, huge histories of time are relived within the microseconds of a sniff. Nothing can bring back a time, a place, or an emotion better than an aroma. Leonard Sweet, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com A Sense of Gratitude On a recent religious talk show the hostess was interviewing a young woman who had just recently come to know Christ and had been received into the church. Until her recent conversion, she had lived on the wrong side of the tracks, lived in the fast lane, and teetered on the brink of destruction. So overwhelming was the sense of forgiveness that this young woman practically gushed with joy as she spoke. "I can't express," she said, "the sense of gratitude that I feel that God has changed my life." The talk show hostess knew where she was coming from -- for she, too, had walked on life's wild side before coming to Jesus. She said, "I know what you mean. Every day I thank God for saving me!" And then she added a very profound statement: "You know what I've noticed though? People who have always been in the church, people who always do what they ought, who have never really gotten into trouble, always been prim and proper, don't have the same sense of gratitude that I do. In fact, I've noticed that for most church people, it's not so much what God had done for them, but what they still want God to do!" If you can identify with that statement, perhaps we can appreciate the story in today's Gospel reading from John 12. It's an unusual story -- this story of the anointing of Jesus' feet with oil. Lee Griess, Taking The Risk Out Of Dying, CSS Publishing Company __________________________________________ The Women Become the Model If perhaps not its original setting, now the story belongs in the last days of Jesus. The woman’s response stands in contrast to that of Judas, but also of Peter and the disciples. Both in Mark and in John, as in the common tradition which feeds them directly and indirectly, Jesus is pictured as abandoned by his inner circle of disciples. In the end it will be a few women who are left standing near Golgotha and who will venture to the tomb. The unlikely ones in Mark and John’s world, the women, become the models. This is deliberately subversive and reflects so much of the experience of Jesus’ ministry. Others were so good, so devout, and so busy being so, that they missed the point. This is grindingly obvious, when a woman like this inarticulately breaks the perfume container open and spreads the contents over Jesus’ feet. Mark even suggests that Jesus predicted how memorable her act would be. Let the memory live! William Loader, First Thoughts on Year C Gospel Passages from the Lectionary ____________________

Get it While you Can - Repreach of 09/30/07

Rev. Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington Repreach of 9/30/07 Luke 16:19-31 1 Timothy 6:6-19 16th Sunday after Pentecost Year C September 29, 2019 Children’s Time Warning! Luke 16:19-31 "And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' " Object: A warning device, like a siren or buzzer. (Begin with your warning device.) What was that, boys and girls? How many of you have heard something like that before? (Let them answer.) Do you know why we use a siren? (Let them answer.) That's right, we want to warn people to get out of the way, to tell them someone is coming who needs to get somewhere in a hurry, and that they want everyone else to get out of the way until they get there. Ambulances use them, fire departments use them, and sometimes the police use them. A siren is a very important thing, and it keeps us from having big wrecks and hurting other people. Of course, you must listen to the warning and pull over if you are driving. A warning is not any good if you don't pay attention to it. Some children do not pay attention to the warnings that their fathers and mothers give them, and they get hurt. I know a child who was warned not to play with matches, and he did. Do you know what happened? (Let them fill in the answer.) That's right, he was burned. Jesus tells us about the warnings that we have gotten in the Bible from God about the way that we should behave, and what will happen to us if we do not listen to the teachings. He said that the reason these things were written was not to scare us, but to warn us so that something terrible would not happen to us. I think that this is a very loving thing for God to do. He warns us about the bad things so that they will not hurt us and cause us great harm. Jesus told stories like this to the disciples and to everyone else who wanted to listen. Some people listened and did what he told them not to do anyway. Those people did not listen to the warning. They suffered what they thought was an awful accident. But it was not an accident, because they had been warned. If you hear a siren and still try to drive down the middle of the street where the fire engine or ambulance is coming, you will have a terrible accident and cause other people to get hurt as well. The same thing is true about not listening to God's warnings that he gives us in the Bible. If we hear the warnings and still cause the trouble, then it is not an accident. We will be hurt, and others will be hurt also because we did not listen. When you read the Ten Commandments, and they warn you about how to live, then you should pay attention to them the same way that you do to a siren. They are God's warning to teach us how to live safely. C.S.S. Publishing Co., CALL IN THE CLOWNS!, by Wesley T. Runk Stewardship Time There are two types of people in the world – those who are rich and those who are poor. This is another stewardship text. We are stewards of our lives and what God has given us. Story of two men, one well off, one suffering. Rich person never took care of the poor. Their fates reversed in afterlife. Rich is not about money – about how we treat others and what we do for them. Are you rich or poor in life, in death, in eternity. What does God call us to do? Luke 16:19-31 Common English Bible (CEB) 19 “There was a certain rich man who clothed himself in purple and fine linen, and who feasted luxuriously every day. 20 At his gate lay a certain poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 Lazarus longed to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Instead, dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 “The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 While being tormented in the place of the dead, he looked up and saw Abraham at a distance with Lazarus at his side. 24 He shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I’m suffering in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things, whereas Lazarus received terrible things. Now Lazarus is being comforted and you are in great pain. 26 Moreover, a great crevasse has been fixed between us and you. Those who wish to cross over from here to you cannot. Neither can anyone cross from there to us.’ 27 “The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father’s house. 28 I have five brothers. He needs to warn them so that they don’t come to this place of agony.’ 29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They must listen to them.’ 30 The rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will change their hearts and lives.’ 31 Abraham said, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, then neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’” Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible There was a man, who spent his whole life dreaming of spending time in heaven, there were so many questions that he had of God, all he wanted in life was to sit at God’s feet and to listen to God’s word everyday all day. Well eventually his dream came true, he died and went to heaven. It was all that he had imagined it to be. He was so happy to see his Lord face to face and to be able to talk with him. There was just one concern that he had in the back of his mind. He noticed that on the first day, when it came time for dinner he was served a bologna sandwich and potato chips. And when he looked down on the people in hell, he could have swore that they were having lobster. The next day he was served a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and the people in hell had steak. And on the third day, while eating his hot dog- he noticed that the people in hell had a full blown buffet - with every good food that he could imagine. Finally, after dinner on this day he thought he would question God – God it seems that the people in hell seemed to have these fabulous meals. I am so happy in heaven, this has been a wonderful time – but I don’t quite understand why the meals are so bland – when the people in hell have a feast every night. God replied – well you know – it is just so hard to cook for two people. I told that story once at a meeting, and a really strict Christian woman looked at me in horror – how dare I talk that way about heaven. But that joke has special meaning for me- because I find that it really is difficult to cook for two people. At least when my son was home – I never really shopped for what I wanted because I knew that he would eat it before I got a chance. But at least when we had leftover – I could force him to eat them until they were gone. Now that it is just me, I get all of these cravings for all of the food that I really want. But after one day – it sits in the refrigerator forever, because I don’t want it anymore, I am not going to force myself to eat old food and it goes to waste. It is just so hard to cook for one or two people. But I guess that really religious woman at the meeting was right – the real point is about heaven. How do we live our lives in order to get there, what happens when we get there, and doesn’t going to heaven give us certain rights and priviledges over the people going to hell? (by the grace of God I am expecting to go to heaven, and I am expecting each of you to be given that same grace – but really, does that mean that we have more rights and priviledges over the people who are going to hell? I think that is a question that could be debated over and over again. Both 1 Timothy and Luke talk about the rights and priviledges of those who are going to heaven. In Timothy, Paul is giving advice to his mentee Timothy. He is addressing those preachers in Ephesus who loved to stir up controversy and to keep the people confused. We have all heard Paul’s advice whether we know anything about the bible or not. Most of us have heard to advice as money is the root of all evil. And yet that is not what Paul says – Paul was not talking about money at all. He actually says the love of money is the root of all evil. Your attitude toward money and all of your wordly possessions is what leads you to heaven or hell. Jesus would agree with that point. It is that craving inside to have more, to be better, to create bigger that drives us to steal more than our fair share of resources intended for all. It is our need to maintain the lifestyle that we think we are entitled to the leads us to forget about the needs of other people. We have to fill up our gas tanks on a regular basis. I have heard stories that in less than fifty years the world will have used up most of the natural oil supply. But when you depend on your car every day to get to work and there is no direct route of public transportation – using up all of the oil in the world is a very distant reality. What we need to get through our everyday lives – is just one example of how our needs and our desires and our cravings control our life. There is just no room for us to think of the big picture of how we affect others and our own future. The media thrives on creating needs in our lives – we are told everyday that it is time for us to buy a new car, - have you seen the Honda commercial where the man actually knocks on the tv and tells you that if you are seeing this commercial that its that time of year again – time to new car. We are also told that we need to update our wardrobe, and that if you really want to be cool – you need to drink Miller beer. These companies spend so much money creating needs for us because they depend on our attititude toward money to survive. They need us to need more, bigger, better, improved. The love of money is not the root of all evil, it is the feeling that what I have is not enough- so I need to get more that is the root of all evil. It is the root of our jealousy, our anger, our disappointment, our need to put our needs before the needs of other people. Because our needs are not only immediate, they are also important. It is 1 Timothy that reminds us that there is great gain in learning to be content with what you have. You came into this world with nothing and you will leave with nothing and God will supply what you all that you really need in the meantime. Paul says that there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment. There are many of us grace filled Christians, who think that God fulfilling our basic needs is a special blessing. When we are given extra money, when we are given more than what we need to survive, when we get that house that we have been praying for – we look at that as a sign that God really loves us, that God has given us special favor. Forgetting that on the day that we were given more, that there are countless others who don’t have enough money, who don’t have enough food, who were not cured of that illness that God loves just as much as God loves us. It is not what we possess that is evil, it is our attitude toward it that is. There is great gain in godliness – not in what we have- but in learning to be content with what we have. God had provided for us as a gift not at a special priviledge over others. Ephesus, where Timothy lived was a very wealthy town. I have walked down the streets of Ephesus myself – the sidewalks are made of marble, and each house actually had heated floors so that you could keep your feet warm in the winter. Paul reminds that people of Ephesus to take the blessings that they had been given to be rich not in possessions, but in good works generosity and the willingess to share. It is okay to have things, as long as you also have the right attitude. Paul would later point out that God blesses us, not because we are special – but so that we can cheerfully share with others. I read a quote from a bishop who put the concept of sharing in a very powerful way. To the hungry belongs the bread you keep, to the naked belongs the clothing in your closet, to the barefoot the shoes you leave to rot, to the needy, the silver you buried. I thought that was a harsh way to encourage us to share – yet definitely something to think about. Actually I learned that in greek the word for community and the word for generosity are the same root – koinania. Being the people of God means to live in both community and generosity. To be willing to not only see our needs, but also see the needs of others around us. There were two men who were in a second story apartment. One of the men encouraged the other to look out the window and to report what he saw. Well I see a woman playing in the park with her children. I see a couple taking a walk – I see, a man sitting on a bench. They walked away from the window – and there was a mirror directly opposite the window and he asked the man to look in the mirror and to once again report what he saw. The man reported – I see a reflection of myself. The other man responded – isn’t that interesting a window and a mirror – both are made on glass. It is just that one has a little silver behind it, and in the presence of that silver all that you see is yourself – when the reflection of all of the people that you saw in the mirror is still there- but you were not looking for them, so you didn’t see them. It is not the love of silver that is the root of all evil – it is our attitude toward silver that is the root of all evil. And I know that most of us here consider ourselves to be grace filled Christians – we think that we don’t have a problem with our giving – we give what we can – but let me ask you, How many of us look in the mirror everday – looking only for ourselves – being totally blinded by what we see. How many of us look in our lives everyday – looking at only our concerns, our needs for the day – never thinking to look for the presence of others. Jesus drives the point home by telling the story of Lazarus and the rich man. This is actually a very old story told in a new way. The Egyptian god of the underworld – Osirus was the one who would give the cup of life to the favored dead – so that they could indeed be renewed and refreshed with new life. Jesus takes this old concept and instead of Osirus giving the cup of life – it is Abraham the father of all of the faithful who gives the cup of new life to Lazarus who had a very tough life, but now that he is in heaven finds rest and comfort, while the rich man who had it all in life finds discomfort and painful realizations. The switching of fate that we expect in heaven. Now in life- the man was not mean, he didn’t do harm to Lazarus, he was not responsible for Lazurus suffering. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even see Lazurus – he didn’t even know that people like Lazurus existed. It wasn’t wrong – but when he got to heaven it was enough to make him feel connected to God. Hell is longing for something that you realize that you can never have. He missed an opportunity of grace that will never be offered to him again. In getting caught up in fulfilling his daily needs – he never even thought to listen to the call of God to be in generous community.- to share what he had with those who asked. Last week a man came into the church to ask for money to get back to Gary Indiana. He had been stuck in Oak Park for 48 hours and no one would give him the money to get home. I gave him $10 to get home and asked that when he got it that he be sure to give $10 to someone else. The day care director chastised me for giving the money – saying that he could have used it for drugs. I explained that I did not give him the money because I thought that he needed it. After 48 hours he could have walked to Gary Indiana, if he was that interested in getting home. But I gave him the money – because I am trying to change the way I see people in the world. How do I respond to people in need. When people are on the street asking for a donation – I make a point not to have anything to give. If I give it all to them – then there won’t be enough to take care of my own needs. Is it God who supplies for my needs or my money. Money is not the root of all evil – our attitude toward it is. How do we determine who much we spend on others and how much we spend on ourselves. How do we determine to trust God in our lives to bless us, not because we are special, but so that we can bless others. The rich man realized that in caring for his daily needs, he had forgot to care for his relationship with God. And now there was no fixing that gap in his life. The man realizes what he cannot redo, but he asks that Lazarus go to warn his brothers who are living the same way. Jesus responds with one of the most ironic lines in the bible – if they are not willing to listen to Moses and the prophets, then neither will they be convinced by someone who rises from the dead. It is Ironic because Jesus is that person for us, who has risen from the dead to give us a message of generous community. It is never too late for us to realize how we have been blinded in life by the things that we look for – and if we look for him, Lazarus is sent to us each and everday to give us a message of God’s love for us. Who is that Lazarus in your life?