There we arrived at 8 in the morning, ate a half hour lunch at noon, and were climbing in the company van and out of there by 4:30. We called Harlem the “Arm Pit of the World.” The whole area around which we were working was run down, dirty, smelly, and crime ridden. I remember inspecting steel columns where they met the concrete and having to dig through an accumulation of discarded needles and drug paraphernalia that had been tossed there. I saw more crimes than I could keep count of. Most of them were low level things – vandalism, larceny, some drug deals, a bit of street brawling. I saw very little actual violent crime right on the street in broad daylight. And I only ever heard gunshots from a distance. Still though, at 4:30 every day all of us on the inspection crew climbed into the company van and drove out of that mess. We wanted to be out of there well before dark. And so we’d battle the traffic to a Red Roof Inn in suburban New Jersey. We’d clean up, eat supper at some reasonably decent restaurant, and then return to our rooms. Red Roof Inn is, of course, nothing fancy, but it was a world of difference from Harlem. I would have never actually spent the night at the bridge, but I was often curious what actually went on after dark. I considered myself lucky that I did not have to live there, and that I could escape every day. Since then that part of Harlem has been redeveloped. I have no idea what it is like now, but it is probably much nicer.
This image of being able to daily escape from the horrors of life that many people could not escape comes to me when I read the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. As Jesus tells the parable there was a gate between them, two very separate lives in close proximity to each other.
What should I have done? Should I have tried to cross that “gate” that separated us? Should the company have put us up in lodgings in the neighborhood of the bridge? The people there certainly couldn’t get out, or it was very difficult.
I, wearing a hard hat, coveralls and climbing gear, probably didn’t actually register to the residents of Harlem as a real person. I worked for the city and that was its own human category. But should I have tried to befriend the residents? Should I have been the do-gooder white person from outside coming to show pity on the black people trapped in cycles of poverty and abuse? Humph. What would that have accomplished? I would have been doing it for my own ego’s sake; to feel good about myself. Not to actually help them. I was there to do a short-term project and then I’d disappear. They’d still be there. We all knew there was a race and status chasm between us. There was no way I’d befriend anyone, and they wouldn’t befriend me. Even if I were to move there I would never fit in. I would never belong. And they would never fit into my world.
Jesus talked about wealth and status more than anything else. What is a faithful Christian to do? In our gospel reading today Jesus said, “Make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” What does that mean?
First, Jesus considers all earthly wealth to be dishonest wealth. He’s not talking about money you’ve gotten by sneakiness or stealing or anything like that. All earthly wealth has the very strong potential to be a source of security and status for us. It can become an idol. And truthfully all of it belongs to God anyway. It’s we who think we can own and control it for our own ends! And to that point, Jesus calls it dishonest wealth. It can easily lie to us. We’ve talked about that a lot in these chapters of Luke’s gospel and I’m not going to revisit that here. Here we focus on what we should do, we who do have within the stewardship of our lives, significant earthly wealth.
The parable of the Dishonest Manager can be confusing. Is Jesus really suggesting such dirty dealings? No. Of course not. But he is commending the guy’s shrewdness and strategy. Apparently Jesus’ disciples aren’t showing that in their own lives. And I believe we can fall into the same trap. We can think that if we’re doing God’s work we have to do it all in a prim and proper way. As if God wouldn’t want charity to be tainted by any of the shenanigans we might get up to otherwise. But Jesus says be just as shrewd with your faith dealings as with the rest of your life. Work hard. Be clever. Be creative. Elsewhere Jesus says be innocent as doves but cunning as serpents (Matthew 10:16). The crucifixion was by no means prim and proper after all.
What does this look like? I believe some churches make a mess of it. Some churches who run inner city soup kitchens will make those who come for food sit through a worship service first. That’s perhaps cunning, but it’s not the point. Similarly, some churches throughout the world do what I’ve heard called “rice evangelism”. They give food but with the clear message of what church denomination it came from. Globally Lutherans generally DO NOT do that. We see a need. We provide. End of story.
If you remember Arden Strasser, the missionary in Zambia that we used to support, I think you see a picture of the shrewdness Jesus is talking about. Much of Arden’s work was offering microloans to people who didn’t have access to money otherwise. The microloan might be to buy a flock of chickens, or dig a well, or buy a sewing machine, or something. The idea was to give a person an opportunity they could not have otherwise. And since it was a loan it was not at all charity. Ideally it would become a self-sustaining system.
And that takes us to the second parable. The rich man ignores Lazarus completely. We’re told this rich man wore purple and linen. This is the epitome of opulence. The process of making fine linen was laborious. On the wealthiest owned linen at all. And purple was an even greater luxury item! Yet this man wore that every day. He also hosts feasts every day, something that even wealthy people of that day couldn’t afford. So, Jesus is casting this guy as an extreme glutton – a hedonist. Then there’s Lazarus who lays outside the gate starving to death and looking in at the feasting. He would have eaten that which fell from the table. You’ll remember that bread was eaten but also used as napkins. You’d wipe your hands on it, and in rich parties, just drop the bread on the floor. So Lazarus isn’t even being given the garbage.
Don’t get the idea that the dogs licking Lazarus’ soars were taking pity on him. They saw him as a future meal and they were getting an initial taste! The rich man dies and is buried. Lazarus dies and we are not told what happens to his bodies. But I think the dogs finally got what they’d been tasting! From there we learn that despite being tormented the rich man still wants to order Lazarus about – send him to do his bidding. And we also discover something else. The rich man calls Lazarus by name. So, Lazarus hasn’t bene invisible all this time after all. The rich man not only knew of his existence but also knew his name!
The beauty of the microloan stuff Arden Strasser was doing was not only providing opportunity but also building community. People had to pay the loans back which ensured ongoing connections. That is what Jesus is asking of his followers. That is using dishonest wealth to both help people and build relationships.
Sure, it is easy to write a check or click on a button and send money to a charity. But have you actually built community? Aren’t you still just a do-gooder still in your own life of earthy comfort? And if I were to try to help the people of Harlem decades ago would I have been really building community, even though I was there face to face? No. It would have been charity. I was there for a short time and then gone. Building community takes time.
From these parables I learn this. Indeed, do not think your security or self-worth resides in what you own. Do not depend upon your possessions to make a name for yourself or give you status. And also, when you give, give in a way that connects you to people. I lament the way the pandemic ended the way Family Promise housed families in churches. Even though it was a short time, and a small commitment, it was still face to face time sharing with people. It opened the door for community. Whether or not the guests took advantage of it is not ours to judge.
You’ve surely heard the saying, “Think globally. Act locally.” Indeed. Be conscious of what is going on the world at large. But also realize it is not yours to fix the world’s problems. Instead, put solid sustained effort into the work for the community that is near at hand. Work hard. Be creative. Be clever. Make use of the dishonest wealth so that through it you are bringing about God’s kingdom.
And finally, none of it is easy. Don’t look for it to be rewarding. Don’t expect to feel good about yourself for what you did during the day when you go to bed at night. If you do, then great! If not, that does not mean that your efforts were any less powerful or valid.
Let me conclude with these words from Fred Craddock:
“Most of us will not this week christen a ship, write a book, end a war, appoint a cabinet, dine with a queen, convert a nation, or be burned at the stake. More likely this week will present no more than a chance to give a cup of water, write a note, visit a nursing home, vote for a county commissioner, teach a Sunday school class, share a meal, tell a child a story, go to choir practice, and feed the neighbor’s cat. ‘Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much.”’ (New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX, Pg. 311)
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