September 30, 2007 Sermon by Pastor Katherine Douglass

Gospel Lesson - Luke 16:19-31

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

It's a tale of two lives that we have today - A tale of two people, a tale of two destinies - On the one hand, it's the story of a poor man named Lazarus, A man who lived his life hungry and sick, Living on the very doorstep of the other person in this story - The rich man, who is on the other side in this story from the gospel according to St. Luke. It's very interesting that, while we know that poor man's name - Lazarus, We are never told the name of the rich man by Luke - He is nameless, and unremembered, Because of how he lived his life – selfishly.

Lazarus, on the other hand, is remembered, his name has come down to us - perhaps because of how he lived his life - in suffering.

This really is a tale of two lives, of two different people and two different ways in which lives were lived.

Lazarus was hungry, he was covered with sores - he had some awful disease, clearly. He longed to satisfy his hunger with crumbs from the rich man's table - and he was so ill and so weak that he could not even chase the dogs away when they came sniffing around. The rich man, this nameless rich man, on the other hand, lived in luxury, dressing in purple and fine linen - materials that were reserved only for the wealthiest people. And he feasted sumptuously every day - he had lots to eat, and it was good - he probably had lots of servants and chefs to wait on him hand and foot.

But, right outside his door was this yucky poor, sick person - this Lazarus - That must have been so annoying to this rich man - to have this disgusting wretched parked outside his front gate. He probably had to step over him every time he went out, so that he wouldn't get his fine linen cloak dirty.

It's interesting, too, that the rich man knew Lazarus' name - it wasn't as if he didn't know that the poor man existed, No - he knew exactly who he was. But he chose to do nothing about Lazarus' condition. He willfully withheld from Lazarus the things that he had in his possession to share That could have made Lazarus life more bearable - He could have given him food, could have given him clothing, could have paid for medical care. But he chose not to. He chose to keep his wealth to himself, instead of sharing it - He chose to step over Lazarus instead of reaching out to him.

Jesus tells us this parable in two parts - He tells us about what happened when the two men were living and he tells us what happened after the two men's deaths. The rich man, it turns out, was burning in Hades - And Lazarus, the poor man, went to be with Father Abraham, in a state of blessed peace. But even the fires of Hell were not enough to turn around the rich man and make him see the error of his ways - Even from beyond the grave, he tries to command Lazarus, to make him his personal slave - Send him to give me some cool water, he demands. Send him to warn my brothers, he says. He still doesn’t' get it - just like he didn't get it when he was alive -

Lazarus, even poor, sick, Lazarus, is a person worthy of the rich man's care - The rich man should have been generous with Lazarus, should have loved him as himself, before it was too late. And now, frying in flames, it is too late for the rich man to be generous. It seems it's even too late for him to learn from his mistakes.

Abraham tells him, you should have listened to Moses and the prophets - you should have paid attention to God's word. And, there are some who, even if you sent them someone from the dead to tell them God's will, they wouldn't listen. Well, that little bit of irony reminds us that God has sent someone from the dead to tell us how to treat each other - He has sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, from the dead, To tell us this parable, to remind us that life is short and today is the day to do the right thing. Today is the day to be generous and not ignore those in need on your doorstep

We do tend to be awfully hardheaded and stiff-necked, don't we - We do want to ignore God's word and go about our lives stepping over those who are in need of us and the things we can share. We want to hold on as tightly as we possibly can to the money and things God first gave us - and can be just like the rich man stepping over the poor one. We have opportunities every day to share what we've been given, but we still want to hold on to it - as if it were ours in the first place.

Sometimes it seems as if Abraham was right - if we don't listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will we be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. But, thanks be to God, someone has risen from the dead, and has given us a second chance to listen, to hear, and to turn around, to repent from our old ways. And that, of course, is Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who preaches good news to us - that we can share what we have been given, that we don't have to hold onto wealth as if it were our salvation. But instead, we can share it with the hungry, the needy and those who are sick.

As we grow in years, hopefully, though not always, in maturity, as we experience the sadness and the loss that life inevitably brings, Sooner or later we realize how fragile and fleeting life is. And how today is the day to be generous…All life – the life of the ones we love, and our own life – how fragile and how fleeting it is. We realize that today is the day to see how fleeting our possessions and our wealth really are – and how much less important they are than relationships - the things that really count. Because that is what it's all about – our relationships with one another and with God -  It's about loving your neighbor as yourself and loving your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. And, ultimately, it's about having faith - about believing the one who was raised from the dead - About believing in Christ. He is, after all, the only truth, the only rock, the only stronghold that we can put our trust and belief in - Everything else is just shifting sand.

And we have opportunities to exercise that faith - all the time - To exercise that faith that says - I can be generous, I can help my neighbor, I can help the poor person on my doorstep – and believe me, there are poor people on your doorstep, whether you can see them or not – But I can do something about it because the one that I trust in is Jesus Christ. He is the one who has set me free from all bondage and allowed me to act in faith -

That was the basis of the rich man's problem, after all - He had no faith - he had no faith that, if he shared with Lazarus, that he would still have enough to have a good life. He had no faith that what he had didn't belong to him - that it was given to him in trust - to manage and use wisely, as a good steward. He had no faith that God would always provide for him - and that, through him, God would provide for Lazarus, too.

So, the rich man's problem wasn't, in the end, about doing or not doing good works. It was a problem about faith - he did not believe, so he did not act. He wasn't free, so he acted as if he were in chains – chained to his possessions and his money, chained so tightly and so heavily that they dragged him into the ultimate suffering.

And that's where Christ has given us the power to be different - Christ has set us free, and has given us faith - faith to do, faith to share, faith to care. Living faith, faith active in love - faith that can heal the sick and feed the poor.

It turns out that this tale of two people is a tale about faith - About faith that makes giving possible - about faith that makes life worth living. About faith given to us in Jesus Christ.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

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