Sunday 29th September – 26C

JEREMIAH 32:6-15
“Buy my field”, my cousin said,
and so I did.
Not because I owed him a favour;
not because I could derive an income;
nor because I had a right,
but because, amid the crushing turmoil,
this was a sign of God present,
a sign of hope,
the word of the LORD.
        © Jeff Shrowder, 2013.
 
 
 
LUKE 16:19-31
Rich, dressed in purple,
secure, well-fed, ignoring
the poor at his gate.

Rich in everything but pity,
the one who could do much
did nothing.

With sores
that only the dogs would tend
and longing to feed
even on the rich man’s scraps,
Lazarus suffered.

Life’s end for each
was also in stark contrast:
Lazarus, borne away by angels
to the company
of Abraham;
the rich man, dead and buried,
consigned, confined
to suffering,
not comprehending their reversal
of circumstance.

The Teacher
spun a cautionary tale:
the time for righteousness,
acting to put things right,
is now.
Yet some will not listen
to the righteousness
of tradition
and neither will they listen,
‘even if someone rises from the dead’.
        © Jeff Shrowder, 2013.
  More for Sunday 26C…