The Measure of Our Wealth

            Almost every day we get more catalogues in the mail, inviting us to buy more things.  Mostly we throw them away, but sometimes we see something that we want.  Not need, want.  We don’t really need very much, mostly housing and food.  Over the years, we have acquired many things that we love.  I’m always impressed with what people do when there is a fire; they rescue their families, their pets and their pictures.  They keep their memories.  This is a beautiful statement about what it is that is important to us; what we need and what we can do without.

            In 1993, Rosie and I lost the beach house that we had had for fifteen years.  We loved that place, went there every year and took our kids there.  When the ocean ruined it, we took down a truck and got out much of the furniture and the appliances.  What we have remaining at this moment is the large sign that I made to name the cottage:  Someplace Special.  That sign hangs in our garage as a reminder of those wonderful times; but the house is gone.  We and the kids retain the memories. 

            The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is a great reminder to me of what it is that is important in this life.  Poor Lazarus sat outside the rich man’s house day by day and begged.  As the Gospel says, even the dogs came and licked his sores, but the rich man simply walked by him as he left his house.  Finally, they both died and Lazarus was nestled in Abraham’s bosom and the rich man languished in Hades.  The rich man, no longer rich, called across to Abraham to send Lazarus to touch his lips with water, because he was very thirsty in this place of torment.  Abraham told him that there was “a great chasm” fixed between them and that no one could cross from one side to the other.  The rich man then asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to warn his five brothers.  But Abraham told him that they have Moses and the prophets and it really wouldn’t matter if they saw someone who had risen from the dead.

            What a powerful story that is.  All that the rich man wanted was what he had denied Lazarus for all of those years, a small drink of water.  And it certainly was true that nobody would have believed one who had risen from the dead.  Certainly the world struggles to believe what Jesus told us, even though he rose from the dead.  

            Are we rich, or are we poor?  What is it that we do for those whom we meet who are in need?  This is the measure of our faith and our wealth.   Certainly,  God loves all of us, and holds all of us in great Love.  How we treat each other is the issue that faces us day by day.  Do we simply walk by, or do we provide what is needed?  That is how wealth is really measured.