Bible Study: Proper 21 (C) – 2025

RCL: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

Jeremiah is imprisoned in Jerusalem by King Zedekiah for prophesying the fall of Jerusalem and Judah to the Babylonians, who are currently taking the land and besieging the city, along with the personal exile to Babylon of Zedekiah himself. In jail, Jeremiah is visited by his cousin and offered the sale of a field– a legal process by which to keep land within an extended family. The field in question is in Jeremiah’s hometown, from which he was run out, and is likely being actively taken over by the Babylonian army. By worldly and temporal measures, it is not a good purchase for the prophet to make. However, Jeremiah stresses the Word of the Lord guiding his actions, and he purchases the field with all of the proper legal processes: weighing money, copying the deed, bringing witnesses, and preserving the deed in a jar. This impractical purchase is a prophetic act that deepens Jeremiah’s prophetic words. Yes, Judah will fall to Babylon, and its people will be taken in exile, but God is still preserving the land– and people– through this hardship. Jeremiah’s purchase and saving of the deed, even if he will not personally enjoy the field, attests to God’s promise in v. 15: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.”

• Have you ever followed through with an impractical act to make a point or illustrate your values and beliefs?
• Do small acts of resistance in the face of difficulty bring you hope?

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

Psalm 91 is a powerful testimony of God’s refuge and steadfastness. It is commonly used in difficult circumstances and pastoral care, as the psalmist places their complete trust in God’s protection. The striking imagery evokes the experiences both of being in grave fear, danger, and desperation, and of relying on God, who completely delivers and protects. God’s love is strong and deep, as is the intimate divine understanding of human suffering.

• What helps you when you feel frightened?
• How does it feel that God knows your name and promises to answer when called upon?

1 Timothy 6:6-19

This section of Paul’s pastoral epistle to Timothy and his community reminds us that greed – especially greed for money – has been a longtime human struggle. The capacity of money to twist and corrupt us, leading to suffering for ourselves and those around us, is dealt with in nearly every religious tradition. Here, Paul reminds the reader that God “gives life to all things” and “provides us with everything for our enjoyment,” contrasting the ultimate provision of God with the fleeting and tempting provision of worldly riches. This letter, written to a close friend, casts Paul in the role of mentor and loving guide, rather than harsh spiritual rule-setter. Even if pseudepigraphical, this letter’s author sincerely wants the best for Timothy and other early Jesus-followers, directing them to the lasting contentment that comes from deep faith in God.

• Have you ever felt money sway your values or intentions? Have you ever placed hope in material possessions but been let down when fortune changes?
• Shunning worldly temptations is difficult. How have you been able to turn away from temptation and toward God? How does that feel?

Luke 16:19-31

The Gospel lesson includes another famous Christian exhortation against selfishness in wealth, this time in the form of a parable. This passage vividly illustrates the sayings of Paul in Timothy and the Beatitudes/Woes that the rich “have received [their] consolation” (Lk 6:24). Wealth certainly does feel good; the rich man feasts every day and has lovely clothes, but it is fleeting in this life, and distracts from eternal contentment with God. This parable also features the specific dangers of greed and extreme wealth: the rich man is separated from others by a huge chasm, and the still-living rich brothers will not be convinced to change their ways even if someone rises from the dead.

The great chasm fixed between Abraham and Hades describes the distance between afterlife locales, but it also figuratively describes the vast wealth disparity that existed in Jesus’ time – a disparity that we are only too familiar with today. We see the increasing wealth of multi-billionaires alongside the increasing poverty and starvation of people around the world. Perhaps it was the great chasm that the rich man’s resources created that prevented him from seeing Lazarus in life.

Abraham’s comment that the rich brothers will not be convinced to share their wealth even if someone rises from the dead is clear foreshadowing of Christ’s resurrection. It could also have been a comment on the situations faced by early Jesus-followers in their non-believer communities, where their testimony of Christ’s rising from the dead might have been shunned, since several New Testament texts deal with the capacity of money to distract from faith in God.

• How have you experienced economic disparity? Is it difficult to connect across class differences? Have you done anything to narrow the chasm?
• What can help us listen to Moses and the prophets? How does believing in Christ’s resurrection from the dead influence how you treat people and material possessions in this life?

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