What Is Important To You?

What is Important to You?

Luke 16-14-18

Rabbi Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things

and were ridiculing Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are the ones who justify

yourselves in the sight of people, but God knows your hearts; because that which is

highly esteemed among people is detestable in the sight of God.

16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John came; since that time the gospel

of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17

“But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the

Law to fail.

18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he

who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.

Occasionally we look at Scripture and wonder why these stories are put together the

way they are. We must remember that Scripture is divinely inspired. When it comes to

the Gospels of Jesus Christ, it is also important to remember that most of them were

written 30 to 60 years after his life. It is truly spectacular—and a great blessing for us as

followers of Christ—that his words and actions have been passed down to us. We

sometimes forget to thank those who gave their lives to ensure that the words of Christ

reached future generations. We rarely think about that, but perhaps at times we should

pause and simply contemplate it.

This Scripture passage comes from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16, verses 14 through

18. This section begins with Jesus criticizing a group of Pharisees who are described as

lovers of money. If they loved money so much, why were they listening to him?

Scripture often tells us that the Pharisees and religious leaders wanted to trap Jesus into

committing some form of blasphemy. I am not saying that this is untrue, and toward

the end of the Gospels it certainly seems apparent. However, the Pharisees were also

products of their culture. To fully understand the original meaning of Scripture, we

must ask what people in Jesus’ day believed and valued. To accomplish that, we need

to connect the culture of the time with the words we find in the Gospels.

Debate and conversation were key elements of religious education and training. One

did not study Scripture alone but always with a partner. People questioned the

Scriptures as a way of trying to understand their meaning. Multiple interpretations were

not only possible but expected. When you discuss Scripture with someone who has a

different perspective, you begin to see new possibilities yourself. Unfortunately, this

practice is not very common in churches today. It may happen in some Bible study

settings, but in my experience, many people prefer to hear the same familiar story—the

one that comforts them.

I once heard someone say that many people come to church hoping that the “Jesus

bus” will pick them up one day and carry them off to heaven. They believe they don’t

have to do anything to get on the bus except show up on Sunday morning, because

Jesus knows exactly when worship starts and will arrive on time. You may chuckle at

that idea, but I assure you—it’s true.

I once visited a man in the hospital after receiving a call from the chaplain’s office saying

he wanted a visit. His name was identical to that of a church member, so I went

immediately. Of course, I would have gone regardless, since he specifically requested a

visit from a pastor. When I entered the room, I looked at him and said, “Who are you?”

Years earlier, he had been baptized in the church I served, but that was the last time he

ever attended. I asked him why church membership mattered to him after being absent

for decades. He told me that when he died, he needed to be buried by a pastor so that

he could go to heaven. I didn’t argue with him, especially since he was in the hospital,

but it made me wonder how many people think that way.

So when Jesus speaks about Pharisees who love money, perhaps we should look inward

and ask ourselves what laws—or priorities—we live by. Is God your first love? We

sometimes joke that God is from the state of Missouri, where people want proof: “Show

me.” So how do we show God that we love him more than anything else in this world?

We must remember that everything we have comes from God. God created the heavens

and the earth; therefore, everything we touch comes from God.

Sporadically we forget that even our physical bodies are creations of God. Think about