The text this morning is from Luke’s Gospel, the 16th chapter:
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.’”Thus far the text.
Dear friends in Christ,
I have to tell you here and now that being rich won’t send you to hell. Being rich also won’t send you to heaven. Being poor won’t send you to heaven. And being poor won’t send you to hell. How much wealth you have doesn’t determine anything about your eternal life. Not one bit. Not at all.
Instead, knowing who it is that has provided for you all the benefits and blessings you have and trusting Him, THAT determines your eternal life. You see, the rich man in Jesus’ story in today’s Gospel reading didn’t have any understanding that God had provided to him the riches he so enjoyed. He wore the royal color purple, he wore fine linen, he ate the best food much and often. But, he thought he earned it. He thought his works brought him all the good. He was wrong. He received the good things from the hand of God but never gave thanks back to his Creator, the one who brought these things forth out of nothing but His own Word. And did you catch that word in there? Received. The rich man received all the things. He passively received them, they were brought into his life; he did not reject them. He did not turn them away, but received them. They were offered as a gift, and he accepted. And he didn’t care about God, he didn’t trust in the God who saves him.
Lazarus in the story here, Lazarus, whose name means “God is my help,” Lazarus is different. Lazarus received things from God, too. Just as the rich man received the wealth he had from the hand of God, so, too, did Lazarus receive the skin affliction he was given by God.
Now, before we get too far, remember God gives good and bad things. Remember Job? While Satan is the one who caused Job to suffer, God is the one who sent Satan to do it, even naming Job as the one whom Satan could not turn away from the true worship of Yahweh. And remember, too, Jesus’ cry of dereliction from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God is the one who killed Jesus. God the Father is the one who poured down wrath on Jesus. God is the one who sent that bad, evil thing into the life of Jesus taking away Jesus’ life. And so, too, did God send the skin affliction to Lazarus. It’s okay to say, God sends us bad things to deal with.
But, we must also realize that God does not send things into our lives to cause us to sin, nor does He tempt us. James reminds us that “…God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” So, we must remember the words from the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” This isn’t just a prayer that we are delivered from bad things in this life. It is a prayer asking that we be delivered out of temptation, out of not trusting in Christ, out of allowing the circumstances in our lives to turn us away from trust and faith in God and out of doing His commands and decrees. We pray that we are delivered from temptation, that we are delivered from sin. We can pray that we are delivered out of the bad circumstance we find ourselves in, too, but we always ask that trusting in the One who has brought us into that bad circumstance. God may deliver us from that, He may not. Either way, let not your trust fail or falter.
And Lazarus understood this. Lazarus prayed with a heart trusting God. Again, remember the words of Job, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” But lest we think that all God gave to Lazarus was evil things, remember that God also gave Lazarus dogs to lick his sores. Now, I normally wouldn’t have thought that dogs licking open sores and boils would be a good thing, but I googled the condition that Lazarus has. I wouldn’t recommend you do the same. It’s pretty nasty. Suffice it to say, that the rough tongue of a dog probably felt really good to Lazarus. A relief for Lazarus came at the tongue of an animal. And you know what, Lazarus received this, too, in faith and trust in his saving God. God gave him good and bad, and Lazarus received them in trust.
But then the rich man and Lazarus both died. And, respectively, they went to hell and heaven.
For we who hear with American ears, it probably would have been easier for us if Jesus had told this story about the rich man who went to heaven and the poor man who went to hell. See, when the story is told, I think we have the tendency to think, “Well, if a person is rich they go to hell. If they misuse their possessions, they go to hell. But, if a person is poor, well then, they have a better shot of getting to heaven.”
I call foul. That’s not right. And we tend to look at this story in that way because we’re not hearing what Jesus is telling us. Our theology gets screwed up because we’re not listening.
But, if Jesus HAD told it the opposite way, at least then our theology wouldn’t get screwed up. The rich man would’ve gone to heaven, and we would’ve looked at that and said, “Well, it’s probably not because he’s rich.” And we would’ve said the same thing for the poor man. He didn’t go to hell because he was poor. If that were the case, that being rich gets you heaven and poor gets you hell, that would offend our sensibilities towards others. We are bleeding-heart people. We hate the rich, we love the poor, as long as it doesn’t apply to ourselves. After all, we love it when we are rich, and we hate being poor. And that’s not okay either. We must receive with trust the things, all the thing, God gives to us.
Paul tells us in the Epistle reading that it’s okay to be poor. All we need, he says, to find contentment in this world is food and clothing. When was the last time you felt contented? Yeah, me neither. But, it’s a good point. When I look beyond my immediate needs, I find myself looking at my wants. But more importantly, I’m no longer looking at what it is that God has provided for me, not only those wonderful gifts we have in Jesus Christ, the Word of God, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, but all those gifts He has already given me. Food, clothing, house, family, land, possessions. When I desire more, I don’t see what I have in front of me; I take for granted what God has given to me.
But Paul also tells us in the Epistle that it’s okay to be rich. And most of us here today, most of us by the world's standards, are indeed rich and wealthy. Rich people may have more than clothes and food, and if that’s the case, don’t be haughty, don’t put your hope in your riches, but in God. Do the work of an evangelist. Do good works. In fact, Paul’s advice both to the poor and the rich is the same, and it is the same message of today’s Gospel lesson, as well. Trust in Jesus. Trust in the one who won salvation for you. Trust in the one who lived, died, and was resurrected for you. And receive those things in trust.
Trust in Jesus, Jesus the rich man who died and was buried for you. Trust in Jesus, the one who, though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty, you might become rich. And so we do.
Christ, the one who was begotten before all ages, Christ the second person of the Godhead, Christ, the Son of the Father, took on human flesh for us, so that He might become like us: poor and needy. Jesus was the rich man, Jesus became Lazarus for us. Jesus was the one descended into hell, Jesus is the one who brings us to heaven. Jesus was the one crucified and broken for us so that we might be made whole in the love of God the Father.
This is what saves us. If you’re rich, be rich. Give to the poor, do good works, but know who it is that gave you those good things and give back to God and others what God has given to you. If you’re be poor, be poor, knowing that there are blessings the Lord has given to you that no wealth could ever earn, namely the Word and the Sacrament. I know it is sometimes easier said than done, but trust in God and receive all these things.
When we lack, we should look to the lack the Son of God had on the cross. Look to what He received from the Father there. All wrath, and Jesus received it. He had nothing else because He became the forsaken one of God for you. When we suffer, we should look to the suffering of Christ and know that He has redeemed your suffering through His own. When we have an abundance, we should look to the One who gives abundantly and trust that He has done it in His mercy. When we experience the gifts of God in our lives, good or evil, we should trust in the one who saved Lazarus, who has saved you, and trust in the one who has risen from the dead.
Trust in the one who was testified to by Moses and the Prophets. Trust in the one of whom the Scriptures prophesy. Trust in the one of whom you can say “God is my help.” He will do and has done merciful and marvelous works for you, namely that He has already won for you salvation and brings to you always the Word and Sacraments. Whether you are rich or poor, it doesn’t matter to the fact that you are a saved and beloved child of the Living God who richly and daily provides for your needs. This same God, you will one day see face to face, when you are risen as Jesus is risen from the dead. I’m looking forward to that day when I no longer trust and believe in Jesus solely by faith, but trust and believe in Jesus by sight. He is the firstfruits of those risen from the dead, but you will not be far behind.
He will raise you up and you will be vindicated, given every rich thing that the poor man, Jesus, earned in HIS perfect life, the one we could not live. And you will receive these things in joy and faith and trust. Believe in Him, as Moses and Prophets did and foretold and receive all things, good and evil, from His hand. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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