“Once there was a rich man,” Jesus says again. This time he
is not talking to his disciples like he was when he told the parable of the
dishonest manager. This time he is talking to the money-loving church folk, the
Pharisees, and they are upset at him for his previous comments about the
dishonest manager. He turns his attention to them fully and says, “There once
was a rich man, and he put on his tux and stiff shirt, and staged a big affair
every day. And there was laid at his gate a poor guy by the name of Lazarus,
full of sores, and so hungry he wanted to fill up on the rich man’s table
scraps. On top of this, the dogs came and licked his sores.
“It so happened that the poor fellow died, and the angels
seated him at the table with Abraham. The rich man died, too, and was buried. And
in the hereafter, the rich man, in great agony, looked up and saw from afar
Abraham, and Lazarus sitting beside him at the table. So he shouted to him,
‘Mr. Abraham, please take pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his
finger in some water and rub it over my tongue, because I’m scorching in this
heat.’
“Abraham replied, ‘Boy, you remember that while you were
alive you got the good things (the good jobs, schools, streets, houses, etc.),
while at the same time Lazarus got the left-overs. But now, here he’s got it
made, and you’re scorching. And on top of all this, somebody has dug a yawning
chasm between us and you, so that people trying to get through from here to you
can’t make it, neither can they get through from there to us.’
“The rich man said, ‘Well, then, Mr. Abraham, will you
please send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers; let him
thoroughly warn them so they won’t come to this hellish condition.’
“Then Abraham said, ‘They’ve got Moses and the prophets; let
them listen to them.’
“But he said, ‘No, they won’t do that, Mr. Abraham. But if
somebody will go to them from the dead, they’ll change their ways!’
“He replied, ‘Well, if they won’t listen to Moses and the
prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone does get up from the dead.’”
(Luke 16:19-31. The Cotton Patch Gospel).
It needs to be said the parable of the rich man and Lazarus is
not about the afterlife. Jesus is not asked a question about the afterlife. In
fact he is not asked a question about anything. He hears the groaning of the
Pharisees, who, Luke writes, love money. Jesus tells them, “You people make
yourselves look pretty in public, but God knows your hearts. And what is highly
valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” (Luke 16: 14-15. TCPG). So the parable is not about heaven and hell
but about something else. Something of greater importance, a warning.
The rich man learns that death comes very democratically.
One day he is dining in luxury and the next he is taking an eternal dirt nap.
He dies just as Lazarus does; yet Lazarus is carried away to Abraham while the
rich man falls into the pit of hades. The rich man begs Abraham for just a drop
of water to cool his tongue, and Abraham reminds him of the vast springs he
enjoyed in his life thanks to his wealth.
“Boy,” Abraham says, “You remember that while you were alive
you got the good things (the good jobs, schools, streets, houses, etc.), while
at the same time Lazarus got the left-overs. But now, here he’s got it made,
and you’re scorching.” We are not told the specific reason or deed as to why
the rich man is in hell and why Lazarus is at Abraham’s table. We just know
Jesus is telling the money loving Pharisees that those who have it made it in
this life will not have it made in the next. Likewise, those suffering in this
world, who are left to eat from their scraps, like Lazarus, will not suffer as
they did, in the next.
Skipping over the specific deed or wrong of the rich man and
the good of Lazarus, Jesus tells us that the rich man pleaded with Abraham to
raise Lazarus from the dead so his brothers might know the fate which awaits
them. Abraham tells him that his brothers have the law (Moses) and the prophets
to listen to, and here we discover that neither the rich man nor his brothers
have listened to Moses and the prophets. If they wouldn’t listen to the
seventy-five or so commands in the Law or the one-hundred and fifteen or so
commands of the prophets concerning how the wealthy are to treat the poor,
widowed, orphaned, or foreigner, then why on earth would they believe the word
of the risen beggar at their gates?
Jesus places the money loving Pharisees in predicament. Who
do they wish to be identified with now? The rich man who had all the luxuries
in this life and suffered in the next or with the poor Lazarus who suffered in
this life and feasted at the table of Abraham. Are they going to continue to
love their wealth and power or are they going to love their neighbor as their
selves? They know how clear Moses and the prophets are about issues of justice
and assistance for the poor. Jesus is once again pointing towards the actions
required at the coming of the kingdom are the actions God always wanted from
humans.
In the parable, Jesus does not vilify wealth nor does he
suggest that poverty is a gift from God, but a problem. A problem which is often
the result of abuse and sin by numerous people, and needs relieving. While
wealth may indeed be a blessing of God and the result of hard work, sit reminds
us, “Prosperity is a veil for many evils” (Guy, Laurie. “The Interplay of the
Present and the Future in the Kingdom of God: Luke 19:11-14,” TynBul 48: 119-37). What the parable
attacks is a particular kind of wealth, the kind of wealth that does not see the
poverty or suffering at the gates.
Which leads me to a little congregation Bible game. I’ll ask
a series of questions and you answer with your best guess. How many books make
up the Bible? (66, 39 OT, 27). Now, these next few can be answered in with
approximate numbers: How many verses are in the sixty-six books? (31,173). Now
of those 31,173 verses how many contain the word abortion (0)? How many verses
are about homosexuality (6)? How many are about baptized communion (0)? How
many verses contain the word hell, not counting the Hebrew word Sheol since the
word means pit or grave (22)? How many contain the word heaven? (600). How many
times is the kingdom of God mentioned (68)? How many times is divorce mentioned
(roughly more than a dozen)? How many times is the word love used in the Bible
(500-700)? Last one, how many verses are about caring for the poor, the
orphaned, the widow, the foreigner, and justice (3479)?
With that knowledge, I wish to share with you some more
numbers from a recent census. In King and Queen County approximately 10.90% of
the population and 7.80% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 8.10% are under the age of 18 and 14.80% are 65
or older. There were 2,673 households out of which 26.80% had children under the
age of 18 living with them, 52.60% were married couples living together, 13.50%
had a female householder with no husband present, 11.00% had someone living
alone who was 65 years of age or older. Which means not only are 8.10% of
teenagers and children living in poverty, but 13.5% are fatherless. And, not
only 14.80% of adults 65 or older living in poverty, approximately 11% of them
are living by themselves. Our county high school ranks 278 out of 313 in
Virginia and while it holds a 65% graduation rate that means 35% of our
community teenagers will not graduate high school; and 54.9% of the students
qualify for either reduced or free lunch.
Those numbers barely break the tip of the iceberg of the
kinds of suffering taking place in our community. There is suffering all around
our church walls, some that we can see and tally, and some we cannot. We may be able to see some of the physical
suffering around us but what of the spiritual and mental suffering? What about
those who are struggling with depression, bipolar disorders, or those fighting
the demonic voices in their heads, urging them to take their own life? (Suicide
ranks as the 3rd leading cause of death in Virginia among 10-24 year
olds). What about the families suffering through trials of cancer or trials of
loss and anguish? What about the children who have to tuck themselves in at
night and dress themselves in the morning for school? What about the struggles
of the single parent raising their children on the income of a part time
salary? What about the struggles of parents raising children who are suffering
the effects of cancer, polio, or any of the numerous diseases that have invaded
the innocent bodies of their lives? What
about the vast struggles of marriages and the effects divorce has on the
husband, the wife, and the children?
What about…
We do not need to go far to see suffering, indeed it is
inside our very church door and seated within our church pews. To ignore such suffering
around us is to sing “Were You There” and not tremble. To ignore such suffering
is to deny the promise of our baptism in these very waters. To ignore such
suffering is to deny the very presence of Christ in their lives. Someone once
told me that the chasm between the suffering and the blessed is too great but I
do not think they know our Jesus. You see, our Jesus’ reach expands across chasm
upon chasm. If they believe the chasm is too great for Jesus, then they don’t
know Jesus.
Let me tell you about our Jesus…Our Jesus knows no boundaries. Our Jesus knows no chasms. Our Jesus can be found everywhere, even in our schools. Our Jesus is sitting beside the student struggling to get the answer right. Our Jesus is standing next to the student being bullied because they’re different. Our Jesus wanders the halls without a hall pass. Our Jesus sits in the empty desk next the lonely kid. Our Jesus knows no lock door, no hidden stairwell. Our Jesus carries our teachers when they are weary.
Yes, let me tell you about our Jesus. Our Jesus spent
his time with thieves, liars, prostitutes, lepers, the paralyzed, the
possessed, the weak, as well as the money loving Pharisees. Our Jesus is able
to cross the vast borders of life and death. Our Jesus made the blind man see.
Our Jesus set the possessed man free. Our Jesus told the woman her daughter was
just asleep. Our Jesus made the woman stand up straight. Our Jesus cured the
lepers. Our Jesus told the man to pick up his mat. Our Jesus told the woman her
sins were forgiven. Our Jesus opened the tomb and told Lazarus, “Come out!” Our
Jesus welcomed the little children. Our Jesus fed the five thousand. Our Jesus
walked on water. Our Jesus calmed the storm. Our Jesus told the criminal that
he would be in paradise with him. Our Jesus forgave his enemies. Our Jesus died
on a cross. Our Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb. Our Jesus rose from the
dead. Our Jesus doesn’t know a chasm he can’t cross.
Yes. Let me tell you about our Jesus for he is speaking clearly,
“Out there, out there hidden in the trees beyond your farms and homes, sits
wretched Lazarus. Go to them. Love them, feed them, clothe them, and give them
something to drink, let them know I am not some distant savior. Let them know I
am beside them and I love them, just as I love you.”
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