In the Name of Jesus
Luke 16,19-31
17. Sunday after Trinity, Proper 21C
Justina, Virgin and Martyr at Antioch in 304.
26. September 2010
O God, Heavenly Father, we beseech You in the Name of Your only-begotten Son, our dear Lord Jesus Christ, that You would embrace us with Your grace and help, so that we may know and have power to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to You. Without Your help we are and continue to be a blemished sacrifice through our guilt. We greatly desire to supplant every lack in our sinful, imperfect sacrifice, through the merit of the holy sacrifice of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which, as our high priest, He offered upon the altar of the cross. In Him and through Him we offer and consecrate unto You this day and all our days, our soul with all its powers, memory, understanding, the will to love, our faith, our hope, and our heart with all its motives and desires, our body and life will all its spiritual and earthly powers, our health, power, strength, fortune, honor, and possessions, with the humble confession that it is all Your own; for, we have received all of Your great mercy without any worthiness or merit in us. We pray now for knowledge, power, strength, and wisdom to know and henceforth to serve You according to Your good pleasure. Amen.
Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from The Gospel according to St. Luke where the evangelist writes: ,,Now there was a rich man, and he was dressed in purple cloth and fine linen, celebrating in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was lain at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs falling from the rich man's table; and even the dogs were approaching and licking his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. Then in hell the rich man was lifting up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and refresh my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. … And the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may solemnly testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ Then he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead shall go to them, then they will repent.’ But Abraham said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’“ This is our text.
English historian and moralist, Lord Acton, wrote in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887: ,,Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men“. In a nutshell, this is what has happened in Jesus’ story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Jesus tells a story of two men: One of them has God as his master, and the other is ruled by money (Bailey). The rich man has been absolutely corrupted by his great wealth so that his money and possessions are all he cares about. He does not care about Yahweh, the afterlife, and consequently this is played out in his complete lack of care for the needy and the community in which he dwells. What one believes influences one’s actions.
Lazarus, poor, without a family, and sick has not been absolutely corrupted by his situation in life. Many people when confronted with the tribulations endured by Lazarus would heed the advice of Job’s wife: Curse God, and die (Job 2,9), although they would just curse God and go on living without any thought or concern about God and His providence.
Last week’s Gospel Reading was the Parable of the Unjust Steward who reckoned with the judgment and responded appropriately. He was about to be unemployed and he ensured that he would be provided for after that happened. In today’s Gospel Reading, the rich man is concerned only about his sumptuous living during this earthly life and is not prepared for the afterlife while Lazarus is suffering in poverty and pestilence but is prepared for the afterlife. The story is about the impending judgment and responding to that judgment.
Both the rich man and Lazarus have at their disposal Moses and the Prophets, which is the how the Jesus and the Holy Gospels refer to the Old Testament. In those Holy Scriptures is the declaration that man is sinful, cursed, and will be judged according to his sinfulness. Yahweh, however, has promised to send a savior and redeem us from the curse and judgment of hell. Moses and the Prophets proclaimed the arrival of Christ Jesus. How does one respond to this promise?
The rich man has rejected Moses and the Prophets and their promise of the Christ, and therefore he does not have faith in Yahweh and His Christ. The rich man certainly has a god, but it is the idolatry of wealth and possessions. Lazarus, however, has accepted Moses and the Prophets and their promise of Christ, and therefore he does have faith in Yahweh and His Christ. Lazarus’ God is the true God, the God who promises to redeem and save fallen men and women.
Both men receive their rewards based on faith. The rich man, because he had rejected Christ and thereby put his trust in his enormous wealth, is rewarded with the eternal torments of hell. Lazarus, because he has received Christ and thereby has faith, is rewarded with the eternal wealth of heaven.
All mankind is in the place of the rich man and Lazarus. Each one of us has been dealt the life we have. Some are wealthy, while others are poor. Some have a life of relative comfort and ease, while others endure trials and tribulations. Every one of us has heard the gospel. What is the result of such hearing in our lives?
Has the gospel produced faith in Christ and the resulting good works that follow such faith? Are we like Lazarus who, although this life may be one of misery and heartache, nevertheless praise Yahweh for all He does for us and by faith patiently endure the sufferings of this world knowing that when we enter heavenly Paradise that our reward will be great and overshadow all the tribulations of this sinful, fallen world? Or are we like the rich man who, although this life may be one of possessions and happiness, nevertheless stick our finger in God’s eye and concern ourselves with only me, myself, and I, and tough luck to every one else.
We Christians face a great challenge and temptation. Yahweh has blessed us with possessions, education, medical care, and many other resources and opportunities in America. Even the poor of this nation are wealthy compared to those who live in Third World slums. Wealth tends to corrupt and great wealth tends to corrupt absolutely. Jesus’ story is not critical of wealth and does not reprimand someone for making or possessing too much money. Jesus is critical of those who are irresponsible with their wealth.
First, we are tempted to serve our wealth at the expense of God. We should not allow the many blessing that our Heavenly Father gives us to divert our attention from Him, forgiveness, and eternal life. If faith is lost, what good are the possessions of this world when we die? We cannot take such things with us when we die. Faith and trust in Christ alone is the only means of inheriting the superabundant wealth that awaits us in heaven.
Second, we are tempted to serve our wealth at the expense of our neighbor. The Apostle James says, »If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ,,Go in peace, be warmed and filled,“ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself; if faith does not have works, then faith is dead« (James 2,15-17).
Christ Jesus, then, is the only person who has not been absolutely corrupted by wealth; He has served His neighbor in all things. The Apostle Paul tells us that although Christ has at His disposal all the wealth and possessions of His Heavenly Father, nevertheless, He put such wealth aside, humbled Himself to become a man, and served you, me, and the entire world by taking up His cross, died as payment for our sinfulness, and then rose in resurrected victory. (Philippians 2,5-8). On account of faith, the Holy Spirit will take a wealthy Christian and use that person’s wealth to benefit his or her neighbors. On account of faith, the Holy Spirit will take a poor, beggarly Christian and comfort him or her in the inheritance yet to arrive in heaven.
,,Let us then listen to the word of God and turn away from the false promises of this life. Jesus allows the self-serving, money worshiping world to crucify Him, but God raised Him up again. We have the testimony of Moses and the Prophets but also of the one who rose from the dead. Let us turn away from the desires of the world and follow Christ“ (Gibbs).
Only Christ alone opens up paradise so that we, like Lazarus, may recline at the heavenly banquet next to Abraham. Moses and the Prophets attest to and prophesize about Christ Jesus. The Holy Gospels and the Epistles testify to and proclaim Christ Jesus. We have heard the gospel, and the Holy Spirit has created faith in us; we believe and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation. First faith, then works, is what James teaches, because the best works do us no good if we do not know how we are doing in our relationship with God (Bayer 284). Without faith the best work is dead (Bayer 284). Thus, God only knows about faith: either we believe or we don’t, and if we believe, then the good works will follow, with both faith and the works as gifts of the Holy Spirit to us. Moses and the Prophets preach Christ and the resurrection, both His and ours by His merit. Amen.
Let us pray. O Jesus, the Christ preached by Moses and the Prophets, strengthen our faith in Your crucifixion and resurrection alone and increase our good works to our neighbors, so that they may be blessed in their hour of need. Amen.
One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!
Bailey, Kenneth. ,,The Clothes Horse and the Beggar“.
Bayer, Oswald. Martin Luther’s Theology. Copyright © 2008 William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.
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