Disabilities Awareness Sunday September 26, 2010 “An Upside Down God” Sharon K. Cooper Luke 16:19-31

Some scholars believe that today’s parable story in Luke 16:19-31 has its roots in a popular Jewish tale that was borrowed from Egypt about a rich and poor man whose lots after death were completely reversed. In ancient times, it was common for friends to place persons with disabilities, sick, or the poor by the gate of the wealthy because it was customary for the rich to give alms or assistance to the poor. The name Lazarus means; “He whom God helps.” Jesus paints a picture of Lazarus as one who knows the depths of pain and misery. A feast for Lazarus would be leftover pieces of bread which the rich man and his guests probably dipped into their dish. They would wipe their hands with the bread and throw it under the table for wild dogs and the poor to eat these undesirable leftovers.

Lazarus and the rich men die. Lazarus, an utterly broken human being, is carried to Abraham’s bosom by the angels. There was an ancient practice that took place after eating a meal on a low table while seated on the floor. A person might rest their head on the chest of the host or someone sitting nearby. Abraham’s bosom is a metaphor for one who is hospitable, generous, and who offers welcome and comfort to his guests and strangers who come to his doorstep. The angels carry Lazarus to this place of comfort and honor, Abraham’s bosom.

The post death experience of the rich man takes place in “Hades.” In Jewish terms “Hades” simply means the underworld abode for the dead. However, in this story, the rich man finds himself in a place more akin to the Greek idea of Tartarus, a bleak gloomy dungeon of torment and suffering. The rich man doesn’t get it, he still sees himself as entitled. He looks down on Lazarus and sees him as a mere slave to soothe his wounds. The rich man becomes aware of his demise. He begs Abraham to warn his living brothers, Abraham refuses and tells the rich man what’s done is done. “Look, if your folks won’t listen to the wisdom of their spiritual ancestors, they won’t listen to anyone coming back from the dead.”

What could Jesus have been trying to teach in this parable? On the surface, it seems simple. Rich people should feed the hungry. The rich should share with the poor. As I pondered the scripture, the gate that the rich man never opened caught my eye. By not opening the gate, an opportunity for a two way encounter of human compassion, creativity, and connection was lost. I believe Jesus told this parable because he knew he was going to do something radically different. He was going to open a gate right here on earth. That gate would be on the beams of a cross or beams of love reaching up to God and out to all humanity. The 18^th Century poet, William Blake, distills this whole idea into a simple sentence, “We are put on earth for a little space that we may learn to bear the beams of love.” I think this is what Jesus meant when he said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” He became totally vulnerable so that we might know that we are not stuck in whatever the human condition throws at us. Human suffering has the potential to teach all of us about ourselves and how we relate to one another. With God’s help and mercy, whether we are rich, poor, persons with a disability, famous, unknown, whatever the creed, whatever country, whatever our lot may be, Jesus opens the gate of God’s love to all of us. To follow Jesus requires us to be still, patient, rest filled, observant, active, respectful, hospitable, and receptive to growth and learning.

Today, we celebrate Disability Awareness Sunday. One out of five people in America live with a disability condition. As we age, we all are at risk of living with some kind of bodily challenge. Our lives are made all the more rich when we open the gates or doors to our common human suffering or challenges seeking understanding with open minds and open hearts. This means listening with great intention to realities that may be different from one another. It means bearing with the beams of love through changes that come when we become open to deeper awareness. Awareness wakes us up and sometimes that may be inconvenient for everyone in the larger picture.

For example, one late afternoon, a man and his wife who were deaf checked into a fully occupied motel. They decided to retire early for the night. In the middle of the night, the wife awakened her husband and complained of a headache. She asked her husband to go to the car and get some aspirin from the glove compartment. Groggy with sleep, he struggled to get up. He put on his robe and went out of the room to the car. He found the aspirin, and with the bottle in hand he turned toward the motel. He stopped short because he could not remember which room was his. After thinking a moment, he returned to the car, placed his hand on the horn and held it down. He calmly waited a moment. Suddenly, the motel rooms lit up, all but one. It was his room, of course. He locked up his car and with great relief headed back to his room in the bright light.

The majority of the folks in that hotel were awakened and inconvenienced in the middle of the night. What about the wife who was deaf and had a headache in the middle of the night? She was inconvenienced, also and so was the husband. When we stop and look at the whole picture, everyone in this funny little story ends up dealing with some kind of inconvenient truth. The entire scene is humorous but it points to a reality that there is a gate between the experience of persons who are deaf and those that live in the hearing world. That gate can be opened with understanding, dealing with issues that lead to peaceful resolution and quality of life for everyone peppered and seasoned with a good sense of humor.

There are many things that we talked on the Disabilities Connection Team at the meeting when I asked them to respond to a question which was, “What does Morningside UMC need to hear about disability awareness?” Some of us saw a movie last year that was made in 2007 called “Music Within.” A poignant moment occurs in a conversation between the characters, Richard Pimentel, the founder of the American Disabilities Act, and his friend, Art Honeymoon. Art lived a lifetime with cerebral palsy. Richard becomes frustrated with life and the whole process of writing the document. Art’s response to him was something like this, “You are doing something important. It’s important because people don’t SEE or understand us.” Advocacy is not only about ramps, wheel chairs, or building codes. It’s about seeing human beings who have wisdom and creative ways of being in the world because of what life has thrown their way. When we open the gates of love and friendship creatively and together, miraculous things can happen. Jesus did something radically audacious and wonderful for us. Jesus opened the gate to a God who meets us and who sees our loving potential in the upside down places of life. Amen