" Inviting the poor from Gates of poverty into the wealth " by Jaya Jesudas Pudi, Gurukul

Text: Luke 16: 19 -31

            In August 08, 2006 a small story was printed in ‘India Today’ magazine. Once there was a rich man, who was living a luxurious life with all kinds of bliss and rich accommodations. He became rich without any experience of pains and strivings and struggling. He had only one son about 10 yrs of age, whom he loved so much. Once he took his son to his native village and showed him the poverty of the villagers. After the trip got over and returned back to his city, that rich man asked his son about the poverty. His son replied, “Dad, we have only one dog, they have four. We have a small swimming pool, they have a Long River. We have lights, they have stars. We have small piece of land, they have large fields. We have servants to serve us, they serve others. We buy food, they grow theirs. The boy’s father was speechless. Then boy said, “Thanks dad, for showing me how poor we are”. Later his father realized what was lacking in his life, even though he was blessed with so many riches. He gets to realize the pains of the poor who were really struggling for their livelihood.

            Friends, we are gifted with so many riches of life with what we are enjoying the pleasure of it ourselves, but not bothering about the needs of others especially poor, who are not able to meet their daily needs. Being selfish, we are neglecting and despising them. We are keeping them outside the gate and not inviting them to share our riches with them. They always remain in poverty. The following passage gives us a good example to the so called people who are lovers of money and not caring the poor.

In this passage, preceding verses and chapters, The Lord Jesus has been speaking to the crowds, among who are money-loving Pharisees. They are not at all pleased with what they have seen and heard from Jesus. They grumbled against Jesus for receiving sinners and even eating with them (Luke 15:2). In response to this, Jesus told three parables, all of which dealt with the finding of something lost in chapter 15. In chapter 16, we can see the grumbling of the Pharisees turned sour—to scoffing.

Jesus’ teaching in verses 14-18 is in response to the scoffing of the money-loving Pharisees. The Pharisees considered wealth to be a proof of righteousness (Deut 28: 11-13). The savior himself and most of his followers are poor, and rich men are very apt to despise what they consider the cheap Quixotism of the views of pious human concerning, the best use of riches, when those men are themselves are poor. Jesus startled them with this story in which a diseased beggar is rewarded and the Dives (rich man) is punished. He taught them to act in spirit and have the quality of neighborliness, and need to help others with their money and things.

“Having Neighborliness” as a Barometer of soul (19-26)

            Jesus Christ introduced the rich man without any details respecting his age, place of residence and nameless too. He lived a life of royal magnificence and boundless luxury. His apparel seems to be purple and fine linen a royal precious thing scarcely used by princes and nobles of very high degree. Everything with him that could make life splendid and joyous was in profusion. In striking contrast to the life of dives paints the life of a beggar Lazarus, derived from Hebrew word “El-ezer” (meaning= god help) (should not be confused with the Lazarus whom Jesus raised from dead in john 11. This giving of name to person in this parable nowhere else recorded in any gospel records of parable teachings of Jesus. He is represented as utterly unable to win his bread. He was a constant sufferer, covered with sores, wasting under the dominion of incurable disease. The crumbs of bread from dives he ate signify the broken fragments which the servants of the dives toss to the poor beggar man as he lay by the gate (greek ‘pulon’). These dogs adds additional color to the picture of the utter helplessness of the diseased sufferer, there he lay, and as he lay, the rough homeless dogs would lick his un bandaged wounds as they passed on the forage.

            At last kind death came and relieved Lazarus of his sufferings. His dismissal, as might have been expected because of deadly disease. He was carried by the angels by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. Some scholars interpret the words that body as well as soul was carried by angels into paradise. The term “Abraham’s bosom” (Gk- kolpos) was used by Jews indifferently with ‘Garden of Eden’ or ‘under the throne of glory’ for the home of happy. The idea of suffering does not live in those first words regarding Lazarus but, in ‘being in torments’. The very fact of the man’s being unhappy is gently represented. The home of the, loving, where Abraham was, would be no home for that selfish man who had never really loved or cared or considered as his neighbor. He saw for himself. Torments might or might not be the material flame. It is rather the burning never to be satisfied. In the case of dives, his delight on earth seems to have been society, pleasant jovial company, the being surrounded by a crowd of admiring friends, the daily banquet, the gorgoreous apparels and the stately house. But in the other world his soul seems to have been quite alone. Lazarus had sweet companion ship of Abraham. Some see this in relationship of child to parent (john 1: 18). 

            The rich man’s attitude to the great patriarch (Abraham) is deferential, for he addresses him as ‘father’ and words his request humbly enough. Unconscious arrogance in his attitude to Lazarus can be seen in asking to send a drop of water with finger of Lazarus. He assumes that he can have the poor man(Lazarus) sent across to him a service (unless his words mean no more than that he was ready to accept the alienation. He has not realized that earth’s values no longer apply. Abraham gives a reasonable refusal to the request his addressing dives as ‘child’ is tender. In life the rich man had had his good things. He could have spent time with the things of God and delighted in the word of God. He could have engaged in alms giving (Lazarus had been close enough). For him good things had been purple linen, daily merriment and feastings. Here the balance is redressed. Justice is done.

Friends, what’s the point here is….

Jesus is saying that riches don't count for anything after we die and our souls depart, but that isn't the thrust of this parable. According to me, he is making two points.

   1. Wealth without active mercy for the poor is great wickedness.

   2. If we close our eyes to the truth we are given, then we are doomed.

In the context, Jesus is condemning the Pharisees not only for their love of money but lack of mercy for the poor and not having the sense of neighborliness. Once he has already commented about their scrupulous tithing? "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rues and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone" (Luke 11:42). It isn't their piety that he is condemning, but what they aren’t doing i.e., showing mercy to the poor, seeking justice for the downtrodden. It is ironic that the Pharisees who prided themselves on being such Bible scholars largely missed the spirit of the Old Testament i.e., mercy and justice. As the teachers of the scriptures they need to have neighborliness towards poor. Thus, they can be called as spiritual preceptors but not so. We are also in the same situations. As bible toting Christians we need to recognize the lord and his love in the poor

“Recognizing the lord in poor” as the scriptural perception (27-31)

For the first time in the story the rich man (Dives) shows some interest in others (though still not of the poor, he sticks to his own). He asks that his 5 brothers may be warned. In his deep seated sense of superiority remains. In contrast is Lazarus impressive silence throughout the parable. He does not speak at all. He neither complains of his hard lot on earth, nor grudges over the dives after death, nor is expresses resentment at the latter endeavors to have to have him sent on errands. Throughout he accepts what god sends him. Abraham points to the scriptures Moses (writers of law) and prophets (16v). The scriptures give the brothers all they need. There is an implication that the rich man’s unpleasant situation was due not to his riches, but to his neglect of scripture and its teaching. But the rich man does not agree. He knows how he had reacted to the possession of the bible. So he says that if someone goes to them from the dead things will be different. That will bring them to repentance. Such is the fallacy of the natural man.

The parable concludes with Abraham’s solemn affirmation that the appearance of one risen from the dead will bring no conviction to those who refuse to accept scripture. If a man (Jesus) cannot be humane with the Old Testament in his hand and Lazarus on his doorstep, nothing or neither a visitant from the other world nor the revelation of the horrors of hell will teach him otherwise.

At the end of the gospel, we are told of two, whose hearts were “strangely warned” when the scriptures were interpreted to them. They were walking on the road to Emmaus. A stranger joined them and began to explain the law and prophets. When evening came, the two insisted that the weary stranger share their table with them. Then, as they shared their bread with the stranger, they recognized their lord in the stranger. Perhaps if the rich man had tended Lazarus needs and invited from the gates into his home and share a meal with him, he too would have recognized lord in the poor Lazarus who had always been a stranger to him.

Did the 5 brothers ever get the message? We are not told; for that is the question the parable leaves us to answer. Each of us needs to write our own ending to the story.

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats teaches similar lessons.

    "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

    They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

    He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Matthew 25:41-46)

Friends.... Wealth is not bad. After all, Abraham was wealthy. But wealth brings with it certain responsibilities, a certain stewardship. We will give an accounting for how we handle the wealth God has given us. We have relative wealth. Perhaps not relative to our own culture, but relative to the global village that we can affect with our giving. We will give an accounting.

We are Scripture-toting Christians who have the benefit of the scriptures. If we don’t notice and minister to the poor, what excuse will we have? In the final analysis, the rich man's punishment is not for riches, but for neglect of the scriptures and what they teach. That doesn't mean we should give out of guilt or give unwisely or give to whoever cries the loudest. Instead, we are to give out of the love of God within us. Not selfishly to assuage our guilt, but selflessly to care for someone else's needed.

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is about Money, wealth and self-centeredness. At the same instance, it is especially a parable about mercy -- mercy now!

I go back to the story what I told in my introduction. The son of the rich man who made his father speechless, become the inheritor of his father’s property after his death. Immediately, he spent half of his income for the upliftment of his native village. Just imagine if each and every one of us have the same motto.

Friends............... What are we doing for the Poor?

As disciples we are asking: What should we learn from this? Jesus, what are you saying to us today?

In a sense, the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus teaches a similar lesson to that of the Unjust Steward (16:1-9). We can use our money in a way that secures for us secure eternal damnation, or in a way that secures us friends in eternal habitations who will welcome us. But there's more. William Barclay titles this passage, "The Punishment of the Man Who Never Noticed."  Lazarus was at his door and the rich man didn't notice or invite.

Who is at our door that we as a Christians and as a church don't invite?

    * Needy illegal aliens who avoid the social welfare system for fear of being deported?

    * Divorced moms with kids who are living below the poverty level but are too proud to ask for help?

    * Families where the breadwinner is sick or shiftless or missing?

    * The poor in third world countries who are out of sight and out of mind?

Don’t forget that we are living in an unexplained world, where the poor walks miles and miles to gain food. And the rich walks miles and miles to digest the food. Let us act and invite poor from the gates of poverty to wealth. Let the doors be shut with no one remaining outside. Amen   

[Jaya Jesudas Pudi, the preacher of this sermon, is a final year BD student in Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Instiute, Chennai, India.]

Tale of the riches- by John Haide Manukonda

Text: James 1:9-11
James writes about the rich and the poor in today’s reading, but it is important to remember that James is writing primarily to Jews who are facing some very serious trials and tests. He tells them to consider it pure joy when they face different kinds of trials because they are learning to trust God and become complete in God. Some of their trials may have included social persecution for their faith, or possibly living on the short end of favouritism from some of the people in their own church family.
So James writes to encourage the poor and to correct wrong attitudes about those who overlook or mistreat them. He did not miss the emphasis on money and possessions in teaching of Jesus. We will find that in four different passages James discusses the issue of money and possessions. Today we will consider the first of these passages in James 1:9-11. In this passage, James addresses our attitudes related to wealth and poverty. He challenges us to view people and possessions through Christian eyes that see things through the framework of godly values.
The standard view during the days of James was that spiritual standing was indicated by material standing. The poor were ignored or punished by God and deserved no special courtesy. The wealthy were blessed by God and should be shown favour. So, the wealthy were viewed as spiritually blessed and worthy of special treatment while the poor were considered spiritually poor and treated poorly. (See James 2:1-4). James uses the example of the wild flowers which appear for a time and then are scorched by the arid winds and die.
So it is with possessions and their possessors. They are here for a very short time and then they are gone. The point is that we cannot place eternal significance on that which is temporal. Material wealth does not last. We cannot depend on it to secure eternal blessing.
The issue of money has been a prominent one from the inception of the church. Jesus had a lot to say about poverty and riches. 16 of 38 parables dealt with money/possessions. 1 out of every 10 verses in the gospels i.e. 288 verses deals directly with money. The Bible has 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 verses on faith, but more than 2000 that deal with money/possessions. So the way we use whatever wealth we have is pretty important to God.
James speaks about the Lofty Status of the Poor – lofty in the sense that the Lord is the defender and provider for those who live in poverty, who do not know how their basic needs will be met. The Bible shows us very clearly how much God cares for the poor. Exodus 23:11 says during the seventh year let the land lie unploughed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it.
Leviticus 19:15 Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great but judge your neighbor fairly. Deuteronomy 15:11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed toward your brothers, sisters and toward the poor and needy in your land.
The NT also tells believers to remember to treat the poor with love and do something to help them when you are able. This is very pleasing to God! Selfishness and greed, however, have no place in the heart of a Christ follower.
Riches can also test your faith in God. Wealth has a tendency to so confuse a human being’s perspective that it can lead to eternal consequences. It takes deliberate action to keep our priorities straight in this culture. The trial that rich people go through is that they tend to believe to be self-sufficient. They tend to trust in themselves so much that they can’t bring themselves to trust in God. When a rich person trusts in his wealth and applauds himself for earning such a fortune, it must sound kind of silly to God.
James talks about the Low Status of the Wealthy. For a wealthy Christian this could mean low in the sense of servant hood- using the resources God has blessed you with to serve the poor and needy. Also low in that the wealth is only temporary. The economy of death and dying renders everyone penniless. James uses the example of the wild flowers which appear for a time and then are scorched by the arid winds and die. So it is with possessions and their possessors. They are here for a very short time and then they are gone. The point is that we cannot place eternal significance on that which is temporal. Material wealth does not last. We cannot depend on it to secure eternal blessing.
Jesus indicated that it was very hard for a rich man to enter God’s kingdom (easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle). Matthew 13:22 “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. It is unfair to say that all rich people are selfish and bent on evil. Several Bible characters like Abraham, Job, and Esther were wealthy, but they used their wealth to honor God and to help those in need around them also, they did not put their trust in wealth to give them their sense of value. They overcame all the temptations of wealth. True worth comes only from the One who is worthy – worthy of all that we are and do.
George Barna conducted a survey that showed 50% of Christians consider money to the primary indicator of success. 19% of Christians believe you can tell how successful a person is by examining what they own. It is difficult to avoid being products of our culture. However, the Bible offers us guidance and answers to how we should view wealth and poverty. Some of the richest people on this earth have nothing to show for themselves financially! Some of the most impoverished souls are those who have exchanged what really mattered for what amounts to a temporary permit.
There are some believers who abandoned all their riches and possessions and live in celibacy. They don’t care what happens around them but target on eternal life by living spiritually. God doesn’t want this from his children. Use your wealth and time to empower the oppressed and poor. As Matthew 25: 40 depicts “Just as you did it to one of these who are members of my family you did it to me”. It clearly indicates that the poor, sick and the down trodden are the members of God’s family and engaging them in their need and suffering is the will of God.
John D. Rockefeller Jr. wrote "The poorest man I know is the man who has nothing but money".The prosperity doesn’t determine the value of a person. The final measure of a man or a woman is based on their response to their Creator and neighbour. All human beings have value because God created them. Paul writes in 2 Cor. 8:9, “ For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich”. Jesus identified himself with the poor, sinners and oppressed and paved a path to follow in his foot steps. Rich should not boast of their wealth and prosperity but should be humble and poor in spirit. Christian’s response to poverty is to be kind to the poor, defend the poor and share Christ with the poor. The question now is where are we? And how are we to respond? May the comforting God be with us to discern our ways. Amen. 

[John Haide Manukonda, the preacher of this Sermon, is a final year BD student in Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute Chennai, India.]

'Being Rich toward God' -by Prince John

LUKE:12:13-21

Luke’s gospel gives special emphasis to the gentiles and the poor.

The subject of coveting arises in Luke because of an interrupting request by someone in the crowd. Apparently this person had detected in Jesus a fairness of spirit that would qualify him to settle a dispute over an inheritance. Jesus is asked to be a referee, but he refuses. Rather than acting as judge, Jesus states a proverbial truth in v.15 and elaborates with a parable in vv16-20.

We might have seen several warning boards in our roads. It helps us to move away from danger, and not to fall in danger. In the Bible also we can see several warning messages. One of the messages is in Luke 12:15 "Take heed and beware of covetousness". There we can see that one’s life doesn’t consist in the abundance of possessions.

The common tendency of human beings is to acquire maximum wealth. The rich usually get reputation in society without taking into consideration the ways in which they have earned it. Those who accumulate wealth further attempt to catch hold of more possessions. Here Jesus is trying to remind us of a fundamental truth and for that purpose he introduces a parable. This story might come to Jesus’ mind from an untimely death of a rich man. The parable illustrates the fate of the man who loves neither God nor neighbor. There are some reasons to call him a fool. At this juncture, it is extremely important to recognize these reasons in order to be rich toward God.In any event, the topic of wealth is prominent in Luke's writing. Above all Luke shows Jesus as the friend of outcasts and sinners. But the outstanding characteristic of this book is that it is the universal gospel and it has been called "The gospel of the underdog". Jesus Christ is for all human without distinction removing all kinds of barriers.

He was not concerned about the uncertainty of life

Here we see this young man uttering some words to himself such as relax, eat, drink, and be merry. He thinks that he can be the unchanging owner of all his possessions utilizing unlimitedly as he wished. He is never aware of the fact that there may be interruptions to his desires. The psalmist’s voice in psalm 39:4-5 is very much relevant here: "…let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a few handbreadths and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight." The world has so far witnessed the emergence of many leaders and revolutionaries who made their presence felt, but ultimately defeated by death. Alexander the Great thus said moments before his death: "My hands should lie outside the coffin, because people should know that I came to this world empty-handed and returning likewise". So no one can escape the reality of death, whether it be rich or poor, educated or illiterate, youth or the aged etc. But the thing is that we need not be upset with the uncertainty of life but we must be aware of it.

He never saw beyond the self

V.19 he says to himself "you have ample goods laid up for many years". He believes that nobody has any partake in his possessions. Perhaps we may also have the same attitude towards our possessions. But we must affirm that the blessings and possessions which are given to us is God’s trust on us. If we give priority to that conviction, then only we get motivated to share our possessions.

The evil is not in the treasure or in laying up treasure, but in laying up treasure for oneself. It is a devotion to self not to God, and gathering up solely for the self is, therefore, a sin according to the judgment of Christ.

Pope John Paul VI made a statement in his UNO conference "there are enough resources here to all people in this world. But the accumulation made by some hands is the cause of poverty and marginalization." This is very true. God granted us the resources not to be grabbed by some people, but for equal distribution. Sometimes we see the same attitude in the church itself. It is a sad aspect that their primary motive is the accumulation of wealth which is the offshoot of self-centeredness. The rich man looks himself through his wealth and says "you have ample goods laid up for many years. It shows how narrow minded he is. So there is no wonder in God calling him a fool. Are we truly aware of this matter?

He was ignorant of the life beyond

Most of us acknowledge that this life is temporary. But some of us don’t know what is beyond this earthly living. For this assurance, our lord Jesus Christ died and resurrected for us. This man was rich in his worldly possession. In Rev. 3: 17 we read the satisfaction of the church in Laodicea: "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing". But what the spirit of God said to them? "You are wretched, pitiable, poor blind and naked. We are very much concerned about this perishable body. But the Luke passage says: "Ones life doesn’t consist in the abundance of possession". Then what is the base of life? John 17:3 says "And this is eternal life that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent". So knowing Christ is the base of our life. Do we have this knowledge? If we are not realizing that our health, knowledge, wisdom which are the gifts of God, we are fools in front of God. So those who store up treasures for themselves are not rich toward God since they give little heed to the life beyond.

There is a contrast between "laying up treasure for oneself" and "being rich toward God". God cannot be enriched or impoverished. That man is rich toward God who lays up treasure in heaven, and so he is rich indeed. By being rich toward God he becomes rich forever. So the great duty of all, irrespective of the rich and the poor, is to become rich toward God.

[Prince John, the preacher of this sermon is a final year BD student in Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute.]

A friend, of the poor - God, by Georvin Joseph

Scripture  Portion: James 5: 1-6

As I tried to interpret this passage today I had to face two temptations. One is to view that the message of this passage would be best left, safely back in the first or second century, where it originated. Another is to use them as the basis for the revolutionary denunciation of everyone who happens to be well off. Without doubt this is a difficult passage, and we shall understand it properly only if we are aware of the kind of writing we are dealing with and of its setting.

James 5: 1-6 is one collection with basic content and its forms of expression intimately relating to a long history of theology and piety, according to which, the rich and powerful are per se, enemies of God and appointed to destruction, while the "poor and wretched" are considered as the innocent friends of the Lord of Hosts. Though the Old Testament by no means glorifies poverty as a good thing in itself, many strands of Israel's literature plainly depict God as unequivocally on the side of the poor. In Deuteronomy 15: 4-11 God wills that there should be no poor at all in Israel, and the prophets like Amos, repeatedly announce Yahweh's support for and the protection of the poor.

As the poor are "friends of God," so also are those who are concerned for them as recorded in Ps. 41:1; but the enemies of the poor are ipso facto, that is by the fact itself enemies of the Lord. Similarly, in the Wisdom literature riches are often the subject of warnings, while poverty is linked to humility and godliness.

Jesus and the first Christians ministered and taught in an atmosphere impregnated with such ways of seeing things, and the New Testament is profoundly influenced by it. Therefore, when Jesus spoke of the poor as heirs of the Kingdom and denounced the rich, or suggested that it would take a miracle for the rich to be saved, he not only had a ready audience but was in fact placing himself, in the midst of poverty based piety. It was not simply an accident in the history that, in the first decades of the church, Christians were drawn from the lower strata of the society. Nothing could be more evident than this in the whole of James and especially in the text with which we are dealing.

For James the Christian community is made up chiefly of poor people. This is as it should be, given the risks attached to wealth. As time passed by, however, persons of means are beginning to come in. One purpose of James’ writing, therefore, is to warn the church against the dangers of riches and worldliness going hand in hand, and to remind believers about poverty and righteousness which had a noble pedigree among them.

The prophetic genre is obvious in the first verse. We hear not an admonition to repent but a proclamation of judgment that is surely coming. Those "who have great possessions" are the rich in society who oppress the poor and, by implication, the church to whom James address also, by showing partiality to the rich is encouraging this oppression as we see in 2:6-7. He is not just exhorting members of a congregation but making a statement about God's view of things in the community at large. The wealthy power-brokers will weep and howl, their riches will rot, their fine clothes will become moth-eaten, and their money will rust. The silver and gold of the rich have tarnished because it has lain idle and not been used for the benefit of any. This neglect will now testify against the owners. Even in the last days the rich have gone on accumulating treasure. This they have done by defrauding their workers, and both the unpaid wages and the labourers themselves testify against them before the Lord like the blood of Abel crying out. The rich have existed "on earth" in luxury and self-indulgence, stuffing themselves on the "day of slaughter". The definition that the rich as the enemies of the poor is reiterated in the final verse. The downtrodden are both humble and pious offer no resistance to their destruction at the hands of the powerful, but their murder will not be forgotten in the judgment.

What then are we to make out of this fiery, tradition-laden diatribe that James has chosen to record an evaluation of wealth? Can it in fact be taken over as a text supporting an egalitarian revolution, as an unvarnished call for the abolition of wealth and the redistribution of earth's treasure?

Clearly there are enormous dangers in wealth. If we possess it, we must beware of it. The rich who remains to be rich can ‘un-inherit’ the Kingdom of God more easily than others, knowing what God truly values. If those who have great possessions are in the church, and the church herself, critique themselves. Let the poor ones in the church know where the trust is truly to be put. Let the powerful "outside," be reminded in no uncertain terms, of where God's concerns and commitments are focused. God's eye is on the poor and the wretched. Let everyone who has means, in the church or out of it, know that there is assuredly One who watches over the helpless, the alien, the orphan, and the mistreated toiler. There will be a reckoning in due course.

So if it is all that God in fact wills justice for the poor, are we not required to be imitators of God as far as we can be? In a day when we do not look for an imminent End to set things right, can we hear the Word spoken and yet do nothing, when we obviously could do a great deal? In our contexts the church is hardly a tiny, helpless minority who cannot envision and strive for such changes of overthrowing the established economic order. When we know where we are and who we are, and the plain meaning of James' portrayal of what God is up to in these matters, how can we in good conscience remain content to leave intact the crippling inequities with which so many of our sisters and brothers must daily compete? When we ourselves live gospel in the very existence of the here and now we just can’t remain content, but we ourselves become the change we envision.

Let the spirit of God guide us to walk this talk in our daily lives. Amen.

[Georvin Joseph, the preacher of this sermon, is a final Year Student of Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, Chennai, India.]