Reversal of fortunes

Sermon preached at 11am Coral Mattins at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth. A shortened version was preached at the 8.30 Said Eucharist.
Sunday 26th September 2010, Trinity 17, Proper 21 – Year C

Readings: Amos 6: 1a, 4-7 Luke 16: 19-31


I don’t know if you ever saw the TV game show, wheel of fortune? In it a great big wheel was spun and would come to rest on a certain number of points, and contestants would need to solve word puzzles to win the points, and eventually prizes. There was certainly skill involved, but a great deal also rested on the spinning of the wheel and how fortunate or unfortunate contestants were. And fortunes could change very dramatically and suddenly. A contestant could lose everything if the wheel came to rest on “Bankrupt”.
Well the idea of a wheel of fortune can be traced back to Roman times or before. Under the Roman version, somewhere in the heavens, the Goddess Fortuna spins her wheel, and as it goes round so the earthly fortunes of human beings are raised up or fall away. Individuals and nations grow in prosperity and power, or fall down, as Fortuna spins her wheel. People on earth might think that their success or failure is down to their good or bad behaviour, down to their skill or lack of it in handling of situations, and this might even be true superficially, but at the deepest level everything is driven by Fortuna and her wheel.
The wheel of fortune is particularly well known in mediaeval art and literature. Dante and Chaucer both write about it. By this time the idea has been somewhat Christianised. Fortuna is not so much a Goddess, but rather and angelic power who fulfils God’s will, rising up the material fortunes of some, bringing about the downfall of others. If we look at history, it is extraordinary how many things work together to bring about the raising up of empires and nations, and their subsequent falling away. We might think of the ancient Egyptian civilisations, which gave way to the Greeks and then to the Romans. We might think of the British Empire, which rose up so powerfully in the 19th century, and fell away so dramatically during the 20th. We might think of American power and influence which has been overwhelming since the Second World War, but which now seems undermined by debt and individualism, whilst the Chinese seem to be in the ascendancy. Or we might think of individuals, some seem to accumulate extraordinary wealth, and some seem to lose it. The fortunes of someone like Michael Jackson seemed to surge forwards and upwards like a boat inevitably raised up on a rising tide, but then later they fall away just as surely as a moored boat sinks down on a falling tide.
So why is it that the idea of a wheel of fortune was so attractive to the artists and writers of medieval times, who were so often very profoundly Christian. Well perhaps part of the reason is scripture readings like those that we heard today. Amos was active as a prophet in 8th Century BC. At that time the 12 tribes of Jacob were divided such that 10 of them formed the northern kingdom of Israel around Samaria and two of them (Judah and Benjamin) formed the Southern Kingdom of Judah, around Jerusalem. Amos was addressing himself to the Northern Kingdom. His massage was that the nation should reform itself and prioritise justice for the poor above wealth and affluence. He said that if Israel did not do this, then disaster would strike. Israel would be defeated by the Assyrians and taken off into exile. And this is exactly what came to pass a few years after the death of Amos. The Assyrians conquered Israel in 722BC, sending all the top people in society into an exile from which there was no return.
Amos’s message in our reading today was basically, “Alas for those who are rich and comfortable; they shall be the first to be taken into exile.” There is a powerful theme of reversal of fortune. Those who are fortunate now will become slaves in a foreign land.
And that reversal of fortunes theme is also strongly present in our reading from Luke. Lazarus who suffers terrible poverty and poor health on earth, finds comfort in heaven in the bosom of Abraham. By contrast the rich man who had an extravagant lifestyle on earth finds himself tormented in Hades when he dies. When he asks Abraham for mercy, Abraham explains the reversal of fortunes to him.
Luke, it seems, especially rejoices in the reversal of fortunes theme. Like the other gospel writers he talks about the last being first and the first last. But in a month’s time we shall read Luke’s own distinctive versions of the beatitudes. Like Matthew he records “blessed are the poor, the hungry and those who weep”, but unlike Matthew he also records, “woe to you who are rich, or full now or laughing”.
Now for those of us who live in a pretty well-to-do corner of a very well-to-do nation this reversal of fortunes theme makes rather uncomfortable reading. Because we comfortable now, does that mean that we are destined to be uncomfortable in the future? Well, we cannot know, but if God’s providence does work anything like a wheel of fortune then we certainly can’t rule that out.
Now I mentioned God’s providence. What do I mean by that? I mean the way that God orders all the affairs of creation to bring about his purposes. God is all powerful, so we know that everything that happens, be it good or bad, must be either willed or allowed by God. And God wills or allows these things to happen out of love for us, for our good, to help us to walk the journey to heaven. Now someone might say, “How could a loving God allow my granny to die such a terrible death?” Well this is a great mystery, but by faith we believe that God either willed this or allowed it for his reasons, which we might not understand, but they are reasons of love. They are reasons that work for the good of the granny and for the good of others. They are reasons that help them put aside earthly things and reach for the kingdom of heaven.
So God’s providence can feel a bit like a wheel of fortune. Sometimes it can feel great, and good things happen to us for no apparent reason. Sometimes it can be really tough, terrible things happen and there seems to be no reason why. So how should we respond to this? Well the important thing is to trust always in the providence of God; to trust that God is working his purposes out, and to trust that he is doing that for our good, and for the good of all people. Often we cannot see why, or how, but we must learn always to trust in God through good things and bad. And people who are very spiritually mature learn to thank God for all things, the good and the bad, because they see in all things the opportunity to grow closer to God, to grow in holiness, to reach fulfilment.
So I commend this way of thinking to you. When things go well and life is great don’t praise yourself for your own achievements or merit, but rather give thanks to God and praise him for his goodness. Similarly when things go badly and you suffer and struggle don’t necessarily assume that you have done something wrong or made mistakes. Rather trust God and try to work with him. Try to see things as God sees them, and learn the lessons he teaches, because all things work for good for those who love God. (c.f. Rom 8: 28). Amen