{"id":4507,"date":"2022-09-25T18:55:28","date_gmt":"2022-09-25T18:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2022\/09\/25\/hell-and-the-mid-termsbased-on-amos-61a-4-7\/"},"modified":"2022-09-25T18:55:28","modified_gmt":"2022-09-25T18:55:28","slug":"hell-and-the-mid-termsbased-on-amos-61a-4-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2022\/09\/25\/hell-and-the-mid-termsbased-on-amos-61a-4-7\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHell and the Mid-Terms\u201dbased on\tAmos 6:1a, 4-7 and Luke 16:19-31"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

If
\nyou want to watch me get internally up in arms quickly, you can give
\nme a Biblical narrative about heaven and hell that directly suggests
\nthat God sends bad people to suffer in hell. \u00a0I’ve spent much of my
\nlife trying to counter the narrative that God is someone to be afraid
\nof, along with countering the idea that God arbitrarily punishes
\npeople with eternal condemnation. \u00a0Therefore I can get rather quickly
\nirritated at scriptures supporting condemnations to hell. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Enter:
\nthis week’s gospel lesson, in which a rich man and a poor man die and
\nthe poor man is \u00a0carried away by the angels to be with Abraham while
\nthe rich man is being tormented in Hades. \u00a0HEY BIBLE, I’m trying to
\nteach people about loving God because God first loved us, NOT trying
\nto scare people into conformity. \u00a0COULD YOU TONE IT DOWN A LITTLE?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Obviously
\nnot. \u00a0Getting myself up in arms about a text doesn’t actually make it
\ngo away, so I’m going to have to deal with this story. \u00a0I can calmly
\nremind myself that it is a parable, and parables are meant to help us
\nbreak down our assumptions about how the world works, NOT be taken
\nliterally. \u00a0That helps some. \u00a0I can remind myself that the Jesus
\nSeminar doesn’t’ think this story goes back to Jesus, but rather to
\nLuke. \u00a0But that doesn’t do too much for me, because I find Luke to be
\na pretty significant teacher in his own right.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Or,
\nI can let the story stand as it is written, try to put my concerns
\naside, and see what the story can teach as it is. \u00a0Which, I’m pretty
\nsure, is the best way forward.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So,
\nwho is Lazarus? \u00a0He is a poor man, reduced to begging, whose body was
\ncovered in sores. \u00a0He was hungry, and he was aching, and the comfort
\nhe received was of dogs licking his wounds for him. \u00a0Oh my. \u00a0Unlike
\nin other parables and unlike the rich man, he is given a name. \u00a0His
\nname means \u201cOne God has helped.\u201d \u00a0In having a name, we are
\nconfronted with his humanity. \u00a0We are invited to look at him, and see
\nhis pain. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Many
\nof the first followers of Jesus were people like Lazarus. \u00a0Or people
\none step from being people like Lazarus. \u00a0They knew his pain, they
\nsaw his humanity, they could look at him and see his reality because
\nit was familiar. \u00a0They also knew the ways other people looked away
\nfrom them, and worked to not see them. \u00a0They knew people wanted them
\nto be invisible so they could go on their merry way.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In
\na conversation I once witnessed, a person who had recently been
\nhoused was asked about how to best respond to people begging on the
\nstreet. \u00a0While only one opinion, hers has stayed with me. \u00a0She said
\nit mattered much less to her if people gave money or not, but it
\nmattered a lot if they looked at her and acknowledged her. \u00a0She often
\nfelt invisible, and dehumanized, and someone responding when she
\nspoke mattered a whole lot.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lazarus,
\nI’m thinking, knew what that was like.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Who
\nwas the rich man? \u00a0We know he was rather seriously rich and had 5
\nbrothers. \u00a0We also know that he didn’t see Lazarus. \u00a0Not in the
\nbeginning of the story, nor in the end. \u00a0He thought Lazarus was
\ndisposable, he thought Lazarus should be sent to do his bidding.
\nLazarus should be sent to soothe him, Lazarus should be sent to warn
\nhis brothers. \u00a0(Not warn EVERYONE, mind you, just his brothers.) \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As
\nDebbie Thomas, theologian and writer of \u201cJourney with Jesus\u201d puts
\nit:<\/p>\n

\nBut here\u2019s the scariest
\npart of the story for me: even after death, the rich man fails to see
\nLazarus.\u00a0\u00a0Privilege just plain clings to him\u00a0\u2014 even
\nin Hades!\u00a0\u00a0Though he piously calls on \u201cFather\u201d Abraham,
\nhe refuses to see Lazarus as anything other than an errand boy:
\n\u201cBring me water.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u201cGo warn my brothers.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0No
\nwonder Abraham tells him that the \u201cchasm\u201d separating the two
\nrealms is too great to cross.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s be clear: God is not
\nthe one who builds the chasm.\u00a0\u00a0We do that all by
\nourselves.1<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

That
\nis a scary part, that the things separating us from seeing each
\nother’s humanity are so powerful that they could remain even beyond
\nour deaths.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When
\nI stop myself from having an instantaneous defensive reaction to this
\nparable, I can see it has some powerful truths. \u00a0It rejects the
\nworld’s hierarchies, and humanizes everyone. \u00a0Similarly, it
\nchallenges the assumption about who is \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cworthy.\u201d
\nFor those who are living in poverty, it showed them that they were
\nseen in their full humanity. \u00a0For those not living in poverty, it
\nmakes people who live in poverty visible. \u00a0It also makes clear that
\nthe rich man may have been rich, but he was definitely poor in
\nunderstanding. \u00a0Finally, we are reminded that this is not a new
\nteaching brought by Jesus, but the essence of the Hebrew Bible spoken
\nin a slightly new way.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Now,
\nI’m always grateful for reminders like those, but I want to also
\npoint what I don’t think we should take from this parable: \u00a0I do not
\nthink it should lead us to condeming others to hell; nor to feeling
\ncomplacent about this world assuming that what is wrong here will be
\nfixed \u201cin the next\u201d; I don’t think we should dismiss the rich man
\nas heartless without looking at who in the world we try not to see;
\nnor (finally) should we use this parable as permission to dismiss
\nANYONE as other \u2013 not the rich man, not Lazarus, and not anyone
\nelse either. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

One
\nof the great costs of a theology that includes hell is the idea that
\nthe division between good and bad people is between PEOPLE, instead
\nof accepting that all of us are good people and bad people, and
\ntrying to work with God to maximize the good. \u00a0That is, a theology of
\nhell makes space for us to dehumanize and \u201cother\u201d some of God’s
\nbeloveds.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

John
\nWesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, said, \u201cif your heart
\nis with my heart, give me \u00a0your hand.\u201d \u00a0He understood the
\ndifference between disagreements about details and implementation and
\ndisagreements about what matters in the world. \u00a0He feared people
\nwould let little things divide them, instead of working together on
\nthe things that really matter.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Similarly,
\nmy colleague Rabbi Matt Culter has invited fellow members of
\nSchenectady Clergy Against Hate to speak this weekend about divisions
\nin our society and how to not let them live in our hearts. \u00a0We have
\nan election cycle coming up, and as he said, \u201cIntense rhetoric is
\nonly exacerbating the tensions. We are in a unique role to help
\nde-escalate\u00a0the tensions that surely will grow in intensity as
\nthe mid-term elections grow closer.\u201d \u00a0(He didn’t even know about
\nthis parable coming up in the lectionary!)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This
\nweekend, Rabbi Culter will remind his congregation that every voice
\nmatters so no one should be dismissed, that there is a need to
\nrespect each other’s character \u2013 which means not speaking of or to
\none another in anger, and finally that we are all on the same
\njourney.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Now,
\nI have to admit that I struggle with attempts at peace or unity that
\ndo so at the expense of the vulnerable or minoritized. \u00a0And I think
\nthere are real differences in vision for our country, ones that
\ninclude very different perspectives on \u2013 say \u2013 Lazarus and the
\nrich man. \u00a0I think those are the sorts of differences that matter,
\ntoo. \u00a0AND, I think that those whose values are different from mine
\nalso have reasons why they think their system is best over all, they
\nare also on this journey called life, they are also worthy of respect
\nand being heard. \u00a0(Not the sort of respect that is obedience, the
\nsort of respect that honors humanity.) \u00a0I don’t have to agree with
\nsomeone or their values to find them worthy of full humanity, care,
\naccess to health care, enough food to eat, and respect.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Divisions
\nbetween us make space for hate. \u00a0Dismissing someone because of a
\ndifferent point of view makes space for hate. \u00a0EVEN dismissing
\nsomeone for a different set of values makes space for hate. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

NOW,
\nwhat about the times when someone else’s \u201cpoint of view\u201d is one
\nthat, say dismisses the humanity of others? \u00a0For me, the answer comes
\nfrom Rev. Dr. King’s sermon \u201cLove Your Enemies\u201d (which quite
\nclearly also goes back to Jesus, but I like how Dr. King says it)<\/p>\n

\nNow there is a final reason I
\nthink that Jesus says, \u201cLove your enemies.\u201d It is this: that love
\nhas within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that
\neventually transforms individuals. That\u2019s why Jesus says, \u201cLove
\nyour enemies.\u201d Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to
\nredeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies,
\nyou will discover that at the very root of love is the power of
\nredemption. You just keep loving people and keep loving them, even
\nthough they\u2019re mistreating you. Here\u2019s the person who is a
\nneighbor, and this person is doing something wrong to you and all of
\nthat. Just keep being friendly to that person. Keep loving them.
\nDon\u2019t do anything to embarrass them. Just keep loving them, and
\nthey can\u2019t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the
\nbeginning. They react with bitterness because they\u2019re mad because
\nyou love them like that. They react with guilt feelings, and
\nsometimes they\u2019ll hate you a little more at that transition period,
\nbut just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will
\nbreak down under the load. That\u2019s love, you see. It is redemptive,
\nand this is why Jesus says love. There\u2019s something about love that
\nbuilds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears
\ndown and is destructive. \u201clove your enemies.\u201d2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I
\nwonder what would have resolved the parable? \u00a0Perhaps, the rich man
\nseeing Lazarus as a fellow human, another person beloved by God, and
\nin need of care. \u00a0Giving him a blanket, or inviting him to a feast,
\ncleaning his wounds, offering him a job, maybe just letting the table
\nscraps fall to him, maybe as much as welcoming him into the household
\nfor care. \u00a0Yes, I know that means another person would have replaced
\nLazarus at the gate, maybe two if generosity was known. \u00a0Because a
\nsingle act of mercy doesn’t create social change and prevent people
\nfrom being poor. \u00a0But until the humanity of the rich and the poor can
\nbe seen TOGETHER, the will to change society can’t be created either.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Oh,
\nalso, a pragmatic suggestion: maybe try to use social media less? \u00a0It
\nis designed to create division, and we want to create space for love.
\n Thanks be to God, the God of love.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Amen<\/p>\n

1<\/a>https:\/\/www.journeywithjesus.net\/essays\/2374-the-great-chasm<\/a><\/p>\n

2<\/a>https:\/\/kinginstitute.stanford.edu\/king-papers\/documents\/loving-your-enemies-sermon-delivered-dexter-avenue-baptist-church<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Rev. Sara E. Baron
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305
Pronouns: she\/her\/hers
http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 25, 2022<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you want to watch me get internally up in arms quickly, you can give me a Biblical narrative about … Continue reading \u201cHell and the Mid-Terms\u201dbased on\tAmos 6:1a, 4-7 and Luke 16:19-31<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[34,38,28,39,33,1562,1563,1484,1494,77,56,84,57],"class_list":["post-4507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rev-sara-e-baron","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-journey-with-jesus","tag-lazarus-and-the-rich-man","tag-pandemic-preaching","tag-parables","tag-rev-dr-martin-luther-king-jr","tag-schenectady","tag-schenectady-clergy-against-hate","tag-sorry-about-the-umc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4507\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}