Dives and Lazarus

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

This is taken from a poem about a woman who is dissatisfied about the life she lives, with all its restrictions and expectations, One day she promises herself that she will be her true self; be absolutely free to do what she would most like to do.

In this poem the colour purple represents rebelliousness and determination.

In our gospel reading today the colour purple is used to describe a rich man. Purple then was very difficult to produce. It took 12,000 murex shells to produce one and a half grams of it, and diver's lives were lost in obtaining it. So we can deduce from this that the rich man was of high rank and had great wealth. We could go further.

· He was probably well respected, well known about town

· . No doubt he would have had a cosseted life, with good home entertainment and many servants.

· He was probably a connoisseur of good food and distinctive wines.

· He was probably a good man, with a keen intellect and a lot of common sense; an executive, thankful to God for all his many blessings and talents.

· I would imagine if he did feel any guilt about Lazarus, the beggar who had been laid at his gate, he would have kept it well hidden, after all there were so many other beggars' mouths to feed, and his mind may have been easily distracted by more pressing concerns.

· He may have been depressed at the poverty around him, but what could he do; he was just one man? Anyway the shutters were very effective at blocking out the noise and smells and cries of the city, he could easily switch off, once they were closed.

Lazarus on the other hand probably never had a real chance in life. Where and when he 'd been born, and to whom was of little consequence, but he was one of life's casualties, and life has been cruel. Even the animals sniffing around him are kinder to him, than other humans; dogs licked his sores.

So there the two sit, in entirely different worlds. Miles apart, even though so very close.

One very complacent and secure, the other desperate and so totally alone.

I wonder why it was that the rich man did not help Lazarus?

He must have seen him through the window, because he speaks his name to Abraham, after death in the great hereafter and he begs him to send Lazarus to visit his own family to warn them not to make the same mistakes.

There are many reasons why the wealthy don't minister to the poor, and their excuses sound very valid, in some cases they're probably true !

We even hear the excuses today:-

If I give him any money he will only spend it on drink or drugs,

He probably makes more in one day, than you or I do in one week !

If I give to those refugees, it will only end up in the wrong hands….

We are poor too!

I need the money myself, I earned it..

We'll need it for our future to be secure…

Why don't their own leaders, with all their millions rescue them?

What can one person do?

We seem to forget that when Jesus told us to minister to the needs of the hungry, the poor & the dispossessed, he was handing on to us a blueprint for justice and peace in the world.

Many of the horrors and terrors of our world today, or should I describe them more accurately as the Hell, which we see every day through the window of our T.V screens are a consequence of the ever widening gap, between rich and poor.

We never will have peace, unless first there is justice in our world

I once saw a cartoon in a newspaper, which showed a well built, bespectacled man in an armchair, reading a newspaper. As he turned each page, he was muttering,

" 20,000 died in floods in Bangladesh…..

50,000 people caught up in typhoid epidemic following drought,

35,000 starving refugees stranded in no man's land.

He read on obviously bored with the news, then jumped out of his chair, screaming to his wife that old Fred Smith down the road had passed away.

It's a tragedy today when people are viewed as merely numbers, and not real brothers and sisters; people with real feelings, suffering real agonies…

Even in America recently someone made a comment:- it wasn't 6,000 people that died on 11 th Sept, it was one person who died 6,000 times.

The gap between the rich and the needy has grown so wide, that it only seems to hit home to us, when tragedy strikes close to home.

The New Testament lesson warns us to be godly and content, to be generous and do good, and not to put our hope in wealth. We've seen just recently how very easily can millions be just wiped from the stock exchange, think how those millions could have been spent.

Wealth is hoarded, we live in luxury compared with many in the world living. There is a lot of self-indulgence and very little godliness with contentment.

Read for yourselves in the bible what James 5 has to say.

There's a simmering inner dissatisfaction with the way we live our lives at present.

There are so many demands upon us, so many expectations of us, so many restrictions.

Yet we know what we should do and we don't do it.

One day, we tell ourselves, one day we'll get round to doing something. One day we'll be in a better position to give…

One day……

when I am an old woman I shall wear purple..

With a red hat which doesn't suit me……

WHY WAIT?

NOW is time for the purple of rebellion and determination.

Let us be our true Christian selves, for the right time is now.

(I've printed our for you a copy of a letter that I'm sending to my friends and family soon before they begin buying Christmas presents, some of you might like to send one to your friends. Please read this and take one if you would like to. You'll find it at the back of church.

One person can't do very much, but many people together can make a real difference to our world.)

Dear ,

You may be surprised to get a letter from me, when I could easily talk to you, or phone you. However recent events in the world have set me thinking.

Probably like you, I've been wondering what statement I can make, that will be a sign that I care about what happens to the world, and that I want a peaceful and just world for children to grow up in. More than anything else I want rich countries to show more love and concern for the poor, the underprivileged and the unloved.

This led me to think about the money that will be spent this Christmas… and now we get to the crux of the matter!

Instead of buying your usual Christmas present for me this year, would you instead buy me a candle, (a cheap one ! ), and give the rest of the money you would have spent to Christian Aid please?

That way, we make a stand together.

My front room, I hope, will look splendid on Christmas Day, lit by lots of candles, and we will have demonstrated that we care for the world.

p.s. If you would like to copy this letter and send it to those who buy YOU presents, then that would be marvellous!

With love and prayers,

*This letter was sent to Christian Aid, and they wrote back to say they would give thought to this idea. Shortly afterwards, the scheme GIFT AID catalogues were brought out.