O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
The parable or story that Jesus tells us in today's gospel reading is a very difficult passage for most of us. It, along with the epistle lesson of this morning, speak to us of the difficulty that some people have with wealth - with money - with accumulating property.
Do you notice how I said, some people? How I have avoided pointing the finger? How I have avoided condemning wealth itself?
Indeed I believe that it is as Paul says, that it is "the love of money that is the root of all evil" - and not money itself.
No - I am not here today to condemn the wealthy, nor am I here today to make you feel guilt about how much you may have and to urge you to share it lest you go to hell.
You, after all, may already share generously of the bounty God has allowed you to receive.
You, after all, may not love money or seek out wealth.
You, after all, may well have the attitude that Paul urges upon Timothy, the attitude of godliness with contentment, the attitude that flees from pursuit of worldly gain and pursues righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and
gentleness.
But I do want the Spirit to move among us today and for us to think about what true riches are, and about the great chasm that divides some people from others, a chasm in this life that the scriptures suggest may be duplicated in the next.
A preacher by the name of Taylor Mills once told us that:
In today's parable, the rich man crosses paths with poor Lazarus every day. He sees Lazarus waiting at the gate of the house - the dogs licking his sores. Lazarus sees the rich man go in and go out. And he waits for the servant to bring out the rich man's breadcrumbs for him to eat. Indeed Lazarus longs for those crumbs, even though - as was the custom in some places where water was scarce and food abundant, the crumbs were used, instead of water, to clean one's hands with when the meal was done.
It's clear that the rich man knew about Lazarus. He refers to Lazarus by name, even after both of them have died. But notice something else: the rich man never speaks directly to Lazarus. not even from Hell where he is under torment.
And when he is in Hell he still expects Lazarus to serve him: "Father Abraham," he calls out, "have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames." And then again, "Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house - for I have five brothers - that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment."
Even after the rich man undergoes the divine reversal of fates, he still hasn't changed how he treats Lazarus. It's as if the chasm that separated them after they died also existed when they lived. The rich man kept Lazarus at a distance. And now that he's in trouble, he expects Lazarus to cross that distance to help him.
That's quite the attitude - and quite the chasm.
Now, none of us have a poor person at the end of our driveway waiting for the dirty crumbs from our tables. And as I said - I am not here to guilt you out today
But - don't you love it when someone says "but" to you?
But, if we allow the devil to make us think that this story really has little to say to us then we have taken the first step toward becoming like the rich man.
I said at the very beginning that today's gospel reading is a very difficult passage for most of us. And it is so precisely because it causes us to ask questions like:
- how am I like the rich man?
- who is it I ignore - or treat as less than fully human?
- who is our Lazarus? The one whom I regard as less than I am?
That's not nice - especially not nice since we are aware that there is a lot of need out there, and since we are aware that we have only so much time, only so much money, only so much compassion.
The whole passage - given our context as a people who have so much more than 90% of the world's population - is distressing; even for those who share their time, give their money, and spend their compassion on the poor and needy within our town and indeed within our world community.
I'm not trying to point the finger at you. Compared to most of the privileged people in the world, most if not all of you speak to those who have a different station in life. You do not regard street people as your inferiors or treat those on welfare as your servants. You do care about the poor of our community and of our world.
You pray each week for people like the people of parts of the African continent, people with AIDS, the oppressed and the homeless.
And on top of all this, you tithe your income as the Bible says you should - knowing that what you give to God through the church will indeed be blessed by God and used to not only run this place - but to do many good works in God's name.
But the parable still is difficult for most of us here in Hong Kong who believe, - for those of us who flee wealth and pursue godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness, - for those of us who are content, as Paul was content, to have the
bare necessities of life.
Difficult because we know that we have so much - and don't know how much more we can afford to give - or are expected to give....
It is always the wrong people who get guilty feelings
It is always the saints who are most aware of their shortcomings,
It is always the holy who wonder
- have I done all I can do?
- am I being too self-centred?
- am I putting my family and it's comfort way too far ahead of
everyone else?...
It is not having money that is the problem - it is allowing that money and concern about money to dominate us to point where we do not care about others outside our sphere of interest.
It is a good sign that most of us have difficulty with today's gospel reading.
It tells me that most folk still care - that they are heeding Moses and the Prophets and have listened to - and are being convinced - by the testimony of the one who has risen from the dead.
Indeed you are here today precisely to listen to the one who has been raised from death, the one who the rich man while in Hell told Abraham his five equally rich brothers would heed.
You are here - I am certain - not simply to be blessed and strengthened by God, but to show God true worship... to show God true worship by listening to his word - and then by going and doing it.
You are here - I am certain - not simply to enjoy a song - or have the children gain a good experience, but to listen to the words the Risen One and to be shaped by them so that you may indeed seek justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.
So allow the words of Jesus in today's gospel and the teaching of Paul that he shared with Timothy to do that - without getting too much into guilt - unless of course God is putting the conviction upon you that you love money - and that you have allowed a chasm of non-caring to grow up between you and whoever your Lazarus is.
I think that we all need to struggle with this stuff. And that it is one of the most difficult things to struggle with since it comes down to examining how we live - and how we care for one another.
So I encourage you to feel uncomfortable - but not to feel guilt unless you really need to feel guilt, and if you feel guilt - to do what guilt suggests you should do -
to repaint and thin - I mean to repent and sin - no more, and to trust in God's mercy day by day and if need be, hour by hour and minute by minute.
The sad truth is that those of you who do not feel uncomfortable today are most likely to feel nothing at all - except perhaps anger that the word of God, and that I, your preacher, have raised the topic of money and our attitude towards it in the
first place.
Think back to the parable with me for another minute or so.
After the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers to warn them about the torment that may await them for not caring for the poor and afflicted, Abraham tells him that if his brothers have not heeded the message of Moses and the Prophets - that they will not be convinced even by one who has been resurrected from the dead.
That is the sad part of the great chasm referred to in my sermon title today, my friends.
There is a chasm between those who love money and those who seek true riches, between those seek out the newest toys that our society is so desperate to sell us all and those who pursue righteousness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Between those who need to get ahead - to get a larger home - a better job - a more exotic vacation and those who have sought godliness with contentment.
It is a chasm of blindness and indifference. A chasm that leads to all kinds of evil, and which plunges people into ruin and destruction, perhaps even into the eternal and unbridgeable Chasm between the Bosom of Abraham and the torment of hell.
Remember how the Rich Man - even in hell - where he knows the truth of his lack of caring - still does not address Lazarus personally - how he still regards him as one who can be sent by others - as a servant to help him - rather than as one who has received his just reward from God?
Those in love with money simply will not get the picture, if they do get it - they still end up wandering from the faith.
So today I tell you all this
To those who seek true riches - I tell you - continue pursuing righteousness and faith and love, feel uncomfortable, struggle with the question of what you are doing
and not doing, the question of how well you love your neighbours - and how well
you love your God, feel uncomfortable - but also feel assured - for the one who rose from the dead has promised to help you and to forgive you - and he will be true to his promise - and he will guide you day by day as you continue to yield your life to him. He doesn't expect you to do everything for everyone - only to do everything you can - and to trust him for the rest.
And to you who love money - should you be here today - I tell you - listen to what Moses and the Prophets say - listen to the one who has risen from the dead, and know that if you do not change - if you make excuses for your lack of caring for others - instead of making amends. If you cling to what you have rather than letting it go, if you judge others less worthy because of their poverty and others as greater because of their riches, then you will pay for it.
God is forgiving - but God is not mocked. If you, being rich, can't bring Lazarus fresh water to relieve his distress in this life, then know that he will not be able to do that for you in the next life.
Hear again Paul's words:
Godliness with contentment is great gain - for we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap, and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
To this I might add the Love of God - and loving our neighbours - all our neighbours - as we love ourselves is the root of all goodness.
Blessed be the one who rose from the dead and who speaks to us now. And blessed are all those who hear his words and act upon them. Amen
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