Well, it’s pretty obvious that for many of us… this is a disturbing text—on many levels. One, it’s disturbing because it suggests that once you’re across that chasm, all hope of redemption is completely gone. Two, it’s disturbing because my guess is very few of us sitting here today can identify with Lazarus.
There’s a saying regarding the Bible – every passage contains both Law and Gospel – whether you hear it as law or as gospel, depends on who you are and how you identify with the story. If we were all Lazarus’ – it would indeed be good news. But… if we see ourselves more like the rich man... not so good news.
Now some may decide because most of us aren’t going to hear this passage as good news, that this just doesn’t fit with our “grace based” theology. Therefore, we will simply choose to ignore passages like this.
I personally think that’s a grave mistake. The reason I think it’s a mistake is because if there’s one thing I have learned while studying the Bible and learning about God is that God, while comforting and loving, also likes to disturb us a little—to make us feel just a little uncomfortable from time to time. As a seminary professor of mine used to say… why give a warning, if there is no danger?
Because God doesn’t seem to like “the status quo.” Our God is a God of action, a God of mercy… but he is also a God of justice—and he doesn’t like complacency. Because complacency leads to indifference, and indifference leads to total apathy, which leads to nothing happening in the world to try and change it or make a difference.
Especially here in America, we get very turned in on ourselves—myself included. We worry about those bills that are due, those debts we’re trying to pay off, those payments we need to make. Our life becomes consumed with the things of this world.
We even have preachers that tell us "the good life" is what God wants for us in this life. And the Pharisees that Jesus was talking to believed that as well. The Pharisees believed that their wealth in and of itself was a sign that God favored them. Favored them – and apparently did not favor a man like Lazarus. He had no doubt done SOMETHING that caused him to be a beggar on the street, hoping for scraps from the rich man’s table.
They had this belief that God wanted them to be rich and therefore they should live the richest most lavish lifestyle they possibly could.
They apparently had the equivalent of a Joel Osteen telling them how God wanted to "prosper them." That the sign of God’s blessings was material wealth. And the problem with that message is – it IS Biblical. Look at Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David, just to name a few. God made them rich and wealthy because of their faith. And Jeremiah states— "For I have plans to prosper you, not harm you."
So the Pharisees and the Joel Osteen’s of the world were understanding this to mean we should set out to achieve PERSONAL wealth. Have PERSONAL ambition that will elevate you PERSONALLY.
But the question that Joel and the Pharisees didn’t ask was… WHY has God blessed me so? Is it because of something I’ve done to earn it? No.
While there are these examples of people who have been blessed – the next thing to look at is… for what purpose did God bless them? God blessed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob so that he could build up a holy nation that was meant to be a light on a hill, a beacon to the world that would make God known to the world. But the Israelites failed in this – and rather than using their blessings to make God known, they used their blessings for themselves and turned in on themselves.
We have to recognize what the REST of scripture has to say. What the prophets and Moses have to say about that wealth and prosperity. If we are blessed with this wealth and prosperity – what exactly does it mean? What should we do with that wealth and prosperity?
Should it be used to make our lives ever more comfortable, while ignoring the plights of others around us? Should we say “God wants me to have this BMW because I’m such a good and faithful Christian?”
What I have always wondered is, what would a preacher like Joel Osteen have to say to the people who live here.
They sort through it, trying to find things that are useful, the wet parts they feed to pigs so that they can then turn around and eat the pigs for food—and the stench is unbelievable.
When I visited Garbage Village, I went in with those minty smelling sticks under my nose …yeah, it was like putting gauze up to try and stop a mack truck! Pretty worthless. These people live in squalor. They are oppressed by their government and shunned by the citizens of Cairo as they are dumped, literally, in a garbage dump to live. They have absolutely nothing. They are the Lazarus of this parable.
So I have to ask… what would someone who believes that material wealth is a sign of God’s blessing have to say to these Christians? “Here are the 7 ways you can improve your life”? “If you had more faith – your situation would improve.” “God actually wants for you to have a Mercedes and a nice big house—so just pull yourself up by your bootstraps and start living the Christian life and you’ll get it?”
Because let me tell you something about their Christian faith.
Above this city are these steep cliff walls, and in the face of this cliff are these etchings, Christian carvings that display scenes from the Bible.
The largest and most prominent is this picture of Jesus coming with the clouds and the words “(and every eye) will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”
We say we’re blessed in this country because of our wealth—I wonder if it isn’t a curse. Because Paul warns us that with wealth and materialism… comes temptation. With all the materialism, all the things that we are constantly struggling to acquire and just keep our heads above water, are we doing what Paul says at the end of our 1 Timothy text?
That we are not taking hold of the life that is really life? Are we focused on what we should be focused on?
Because the “rich fall into temptation.” If you have food and clothing, be content, says Paul. I have to ask which one of us could possibly say we would feel content with just food and clothing? We want happiness in our careers. We want to buy our kids whatever the hottest new toy is going to be this Christmas.
Are we taking hold of the life that isn’t really life?
Now I’m not saying that God wants you to live in squalor. I don’t think God is saying you should WANT to be destitute—except for the fact that by being destitute you remove what comes between you and God—the riches of this world that you’re going to wind up leaving behind anyway.
What God DOES want for us though is to recognize when we identify ourselves with the rich man, when we see the blessings that we HAVE been given – that we then do not walk right by the Lazarus’ that are lying at our doorstep. To not turn that blessing in on ourselves – but to SHARE that blessing with others. As God said to Abraham – I am blessing you so that you may in return be a blessing to all the nations.
I had a friend who was not raised a Christian, and she was raised with pretty much nothing growing up. Well, now she’s married a man who can give her a big home and close to everything she could ever want. So she buys things just so she can turn around and throw them away.
She came to me one day, we’d been talking about Christianity—here was my big chance to be an evangelist—and she says to me, “I don’t think being rich and having lots of nice things is wrong.” I had to agree. But then I had to ask the question—but what do you do with that wealth? Is buying stuff just so you can throw it away what you think God wants you do with it? Is having that money, that wealth that God has entrusted you with—to be for your enjoyment alone?
This all ties back to us being faithful stewards of what God has given us. For we came into this world with nothing and we shall leave it with nothing—what we do in between that time apparently makes some sort of difference to God.
Because this gets us back to the point of this parable. The point being to disturb us—to do what God’s word always does—break in on us, smack us back down to the curb and say “What are you doing? What life are you embracing? This life, which is short and fleeting—or the next life?” What is our focus?
This parable is designed for those of us who identify with the rich man more than Lazarus to take some time to reflect on what we do with what God has given us.
The Bible gives us these disturbing images because God is trying to evoke change in us! Our purpose, our point—our “purpose driven life” is not to live for ourselves, but to live for our neighbor. Not so we can do like what Amos criticizes the Israelites for—sit and eat veal dinners, buying that new bedroom set, adorning ourselves with perfumes and products from the Bath and Body Works… while we ignore the poor and the hungry. What God is asking of us—what the prophets like Amos and Moses, and Christ himself have told us time and again… care for your neighbor.
I think every day we should get up and recite to ourselves either Hannah or Mary’s song… that tell us how the rich and the powerful will be brought low. Remind ourselves about what truly matters in this life. The people around us are what matter.
However… what this parable does for most of us, is it only drives us further to the cross of Christ. Because we know we’ve failed. Because one WAS raised from the dead…and at times, we still tend not to listen. The question becomes though—just because we’ve failed, does that mean we do nothing? That we don’t still seek to effect change in our community and world? Do we throw our hands up and go “Well, saved by grace, so oh well!” and continue to live our lives the way we have been?
We say we are saved by grace through faith. But I have to ask the question… If our faith is not an active faith, if our faith does not move us to see the Lazarus’ outside our homes and lives… is it faith at all?
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