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First Sunday After Trinity [Luke 16:19-31] In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit; The question has been asked, "why don't the Scriptures, or at least the NT, tell us more of the things that happened after Jesus rises from the dead, instead of all kinds of things that happened before?" Why don't we hear more of things that tell us of how Jesus is invincible, and powerful - like how the guards at the tomb were terrified in fear that Easter morning, and how those who had Him put to death got embarrassed? Why don't we hear of Jesus doing more great and miraculous things after the Resurrection, and what great glories await us with him in heaven? ...Wouldn't more people believe if it were that way?" But no, the Holy Scriptures instead are far more often telling us of when Jesus walks with people like us now, among us. They tell more of those who are poor, lonely, rejected, erring, sorry for sin, humble and defeated. These are usually the ones who eventually find salvation, or thru whom great things are accomplished. Indeed we do hear of those who are wealthy and powerful in worldly terms, but usually this never turns out to be a good thing. Often in the readings from our lectionary we do in fact hear about heaven - whether it's about things that happen there, or who ends up there and who doesn't. These are questions it seems everyone asks about, and yet never cares to heed, or study, even though here we do have quite a bit of definitive information. You've probably heard such things preached about from this pulpit in the past for that matter, for it comes up quite frequently. Indeed, sometimes when Jesus talks about heaven, He doesn't do it in such terms, though. For when you say that word "heaven" people start mentally salivating like crazed dogs. Ears perk up and tingle. Minds get excited, as if they found a map for treasure or the fountain of youth. And yet, the whole point gets missed and so it needs to be told again. Today Jesus didn't say the word "heaven" at all. Instead he tells of poor Lazarus being carried by the angels to Abraham's "side". Instead of "side," the original word more closely says "bosom" and implies an embrace as well as a place of honor at a banquet table. We might say it turned out that poor Lazarus was a "bosom buddy" of the great Abraham in heaven. Regardless, here's a simple lesson we learn today: if you want to be in heaven, or even better, if you want to be at Abraham's bosom, be like Lazarus. Study this reading. Learn all you can of it. Take it to heart. -Be like Lazarus if you would become likewise. Now, if I had to guess, on any given day you probably could be seen trying to be anything but like Lazarus: poor, a beggar laid at a rich man's gate, seeing this man's wealth but having none of your own. He's covered in sores and eating crumbs. He seems to be very much an outcast in the world, one whom God has forsaken. Your first thought is usually to avoid such people. He won't help your bank account, your looks, or your popularity ...except for those moments when you'd want to be seen by doing good works in front of your peers to boost your own standing in the world, before moving on and forgetting about him. People who give motivational speeches and train for success would say that too much exposure to the Lazarus-type might hinder your ability to think positive thoughts and dream big. Simply hanging out with him would take away your free time and pleasure, and especially those luxuries. But Lazarus is by no means one you should distance yourself from. Do not walk by and let him be categorized as one of "those people" whom you could care less about. He's a person, one of your own. For if Abraham embraces such as Him, so should you. Instead you should be thankful when someone like him has graced your presence. For he can show you a lot.... not merely because he's poor, but because he has something you've been lacking. What do we know about Lazarus, and why he was in heaven despite the poor life he had on earth? Not simply because he was poor. The answer was plainly given at the end of what we heard today: As the rich man was pleading for his brothers to avoid torment also, Abraham told him, "They have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them." -There you have the answer. As poor as Lazarus was, having nothing else in the world, he was still hearing Moses and the Prophets all along.... And Biblically this doesn't just mean letting sounds of the Bible being read bounce on your ear drums, but "heeding" them, taking it to heart. It means discerning what the word really means, and what it means for you, what you should believe and know and do in relation to you and the world around you. This is what Lazarus was still doing amidst all the temptation and despair of this life, amidst all the bad things God allowed to happen to him so that he ended up so poor like this. He did not campaign that he deserved better. He was still a beggar. He wouldn't set aside God's word so he could have a wealthier life. And despite all things that happened to him, his faith was firmly fixed on what Moses and the prophets had to say. And what did they have to say? -They were all about seeking the Lord, and His help and salvation. They were especially looking for Jesus - the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord's Christ. -Remember how Jesus' coming was foretold right after the first fall into sin, and so became the only hope for mankind. Remember how Moses gave the law, but knew it couldn't save anyone; and how He himself never made it to the Promised Land, but looked forward to even better. Remember how Moses told there would be a Prophet like him that his people should hear. Remember how he waited for God's salvation despite the sin of the people and sin of His own. Remember how all the prophets were likewise - persecuted, and yet not despairing. Remember how many countless times Jesus coming was foreshadowed if not foretold. Moses and the Prophets all knew of and foretold of Jesus. In fact, this is one of the last things St. Luke tells us in His Gospel - how many were finally beginning to see that the whole OT was about Jesus coming to save. He is what the whole Bible is about, OT and New. And this One was Lazarus' firm hope, joy, and Light amidst the living hell he endured on earth. Now, why is it that people cease hearing the Scriptures, and ending up like the rich man? If you had to guess, it no doubt had a lot to do with his riches. -This is what he sought most and delighted in his time on earth. -He "fared sumptuously every day" it says. And even when he was in Hades - that is, in the vestibule of hell before Judgment Day, he was still asking for the comfort of having someone serve him with a few drops of water for his tongue. This is the only kind of comfort he looks for. He doesn't ask for something more, like God's help. ....And even here he doesn't think the same meager, boring, confusing Scriptures are good enough to help his five brothers destined for the same; for the Scriptures do not fit his ideals. No, but a miraculous, powerful sign would convince them, like one rising from the dead. Indeed, this anonymous rich man who didn't care in the least for Lazarus probably also heard the Scriptures audibly and regularly in his time. He was a descendant of Abraham, so he probably went to the temple or synagogue every week as everyone did in their culture, as they were strictly commanded. ...But in the same writings of Moses, they are also commanded very much to care for the poor in their midst, and not let their hearts feel otherwise toward their poor brothers (Dt.15). This he didn't do. Oh, you could imagine why, and how he fell in to not doing this. -He probably just ended up explaining those passages away, making excuses. You know: "I, too, could be considered poor compared to some people. I'll help him when I know I have enough to never be poor. ...Lazarus has enough to survive on for the day. He doesn't really need my help." ....And so the rich man got in the habit of explaining the Scriptures away, instead of being able to see what they really were all about. He failed to apply it, never seeking to keep the commands or pray when difficulty or temptation came around. Never seeking forgiveness for his failures, or for the Lord's help against the sin that was in Him. Never having a need for Jesus. Oh Lord, save us from our hardness of heart, our Love of worldly pleasures more than your Word, our failure to welcome the poor and the strangers who grace our presence ...for such was your Son in the world, and He identified Himself with such, and told us to have special concern for those like Him, lest we forget Your ways and Your salvation. We have failed to hear and to see. Indeed, we are poor, miserable, beggars, and we earnestly need your Word to forgive us, heal us, to renew us, so that we may walk in your Way. Behold poor beggars, despicable to the Lord in your love of your earthly treasures and sins more than Him - you poor beggars who now know who have no righteousness in yourselves... the Lord has heard you. In fact, He has sent Jesus back from the dead, and He comes to help now. For Jesus loves beggars such as you. He has a special place for them - for you - in His embrace. He forgives, renews, heals and leads you, in the way of true life. And welcomes you into the company of His beggars here on earth, where there is sharing, and there is joy, and there is His word; and where there are in fact friends in heaven, who even though they have died, yet they live and plead for you. Dear poor beggar, now see this book as your history, the account of those loved by the Lord and delivered by Him despite their lowliness on this old earth; and who have foreseen their own resurrection and only hope in Jesus. As He was in the world, so are you; but the same destiny also awaits you. And here today, though poor and despised on earth, you get to eat from His table. Not mere crumbs of bread, but with the very body and blood of the Son of God, which flowed from His side. You are a partaker of the divine nature. Here is the new beginning of your life with His word ever about you. May it ever so be. Amen. |