Trust In the Lord

Pentecost 16 – September 28

Amos 6:1a, 4-7
Psalm 146
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Luke 16:19-31

Our psalm for today is telling us something that we already know but often do not do. That is to trust in the Lord. With so many other voices in our lives telling us to trust in other things we often forget our Lord and turn away to other worldly things. The psalmist gives us many reasons to trust in the Lord. That the Lord made the heavens and the earth and all in them, and keeps faith forever. Not only that but the Lord executes justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, sets the prisoners free, opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down, watches over the strangers, upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked the Lord brings to ruin. 

This is the same message that we have in Paul’s letter to Timothy. There he tells us to be content with our lives and what we have. He also tells us that those who run after the riches of this world fall into many pits and pierce themselves with many pains. Paul urges us to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. In other words live your life knowing that Jesus is walking with you. 

Amos and Jesus both remind us of the consequences of not trusting God. Amos was writing to the people of the northern kingdom Israel and warning them against their lust for wealth and luxurious living. Especially since, as we learned last week, they built their wealth by cheating the poor. For that reason, Amos declares, they will be the first to go into exile. And in exile they will trade their wealth for poverty. It is the same in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Here the sin is that the rich man does not see Lazarus as the same as he – as a person. It is as though he believed that he deserved his wealth and Lazarus deserved his poverty. His belief does not change even after death since he does not address Lazarus but asks Abraham to send Lazarus to comfort him. His sin is the same as the people to whom Amos prophesied. They saw their place in life and themselves as better than others. Instead of using the gifts that God had given them to help others in need they squandered them upon themselves. 

We have a difficult time living up to this call from God. We are constantly bombarded by messages that say we deserve what we have because we have made it ourselves. The truth is what we have is a gift from God; our selves, our time, and our possessions. Gifts with which we are called to use to show the love of Jesus with the world. To do so is difficult but not impossible. Paul’s advice can help here. If you are content with what you have it certainly will be an easy step into sharing it with others.