In Jesus Holy Name September 26, 2010
Text: Luke 16:19-31 Pentecost XVIII - Redeemer
“The Punishment of the Man Who Never Noticed”
A number of years ago Shania Twain, Country Female Artist of the Year had a popular song titled: “Ka-ching”. It begins with the sound of a cash register going…. Ka ching, Ka ching.
“We live in a greedy little world that teaches
every little boy and girl to earn as much as they can
Then turn around and spend it foolishly
We created a credit card mess
So we shop every Sunday at the Mall
All we ever want is more
More than we had before
Can you hear it ring
It makes you want to sing… Ka Ching.
The world philosophy is a four letter word. More. The church’s theology is also a four letter word but is means the opposite of more…. It is love.
Laurence Shames has said “America’s unofficial motto is “more”. We want more of everything. More fun. More money. More excitement. More love. More programs. More church members. More. More. More.
Some years ago before the death of Mother Theresa, a television special depicted the grim human conditions that were part of her daily life. It showed all the horror of the slums of Calcutta and her love for these destitute, throw away people. The producer interviewed her as she made her rounds in that dreadful place. Through out the program commercials interrupted the flow of the discussion. Here is the sequence of the topics and then commercials. Lepers. (bikinis for sale) Mass starvation. (designer jeans for sale) Agonizing poverty (fur coats for sale) Abandoned babies. (ice cream sundaes) The dying. (diamond watches.)
The irony was so apparent. Two different worlds were on display. The world of the poor and the world of the affluent. What about us? And so we come to this parable in our text today.
Jesus tells a parable about a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in absolute luxury. At the rich man’s gate lay a beggar named Lazarus. Lazarus was covered with sores. He longed to eat even the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. He lay there day after day in misery. Dogs came and licked his sores.
Every day the rich man left his house, down the path to the gate, to make his trip to the city… or his fields…his business. When he passed through the gate do you think he ever paid attention to Lazarus? Lazarus was a no body in this man’s world.
The parable is known as “the Rich Man and Lazarus”. William Barclay in his commentary on this text correctly identifies the true message of the parable: “The Punishment for the Man Who Never Noticed.”
It is interesting that in Jesus’ parable we know the name of the poor man, Lazarus. We don’t know the rich man’s name.
Take a journey in your mind with me this morning. The first place we visit is
Guatemala City, Guatemala. It’s one of the ministry stops for “The Sending Place”. As you know some of our members have been on mission trips with “The Sending Place” to Kenya, the Ukraine, and next year Hong Kong. Those who travel to Guatemala City find huge contrasts between the rich and desperately poor. We hail a cab, but when we tell him our destination is one of the city’s great garbage dumps, he refuses. Another cab makes the trip possible but only after the fee is doubled.
The land fill is a foul place, a place whose odor is oppressive. Once there you see a small army of young children who swarm over the most recent mounds deposited by trucks. “What are they looking for? You wonder, “shouldn’t they be in school? Yes, but quite frankly, they can make a dollar or two picking through the trash and collecting glass and paper and other items for recycling. The trash also provides their meals. The dump permeates their clothes, clings to their hair, infiltrates their skin. No school wants them.
Does anyone really notice?
Our next stop is Bihar, India. There we meet Hardik. His name means “full of love.” but he has known precious little love since his father gave him a few coins and pointed him to the city to work in a carpet factory. He is one of the “untouchables.” He works 12 hour days for wages which hardly sustain his existence. He is one of the estimated 20 to 50 million children in this country who are working for the bare necessities of life. (www.Pangaea.org/street_children/asia.carpet)
Our last stop could be a Brazilian city, or city in Thailand… but you will find the same in Portland, Oregon. Going to your hotel you are approached by and young girl… maybe 12 or 13. She works the streets… In Portland …she is a “throw away child” from a broken home…picked up at a mall, or found on a social network site and promised money, and things. She approaches and asks if there is anything she can do for you. Embarrassed you quickly reply, “No, no. Nothing but I will pray for you.“ She smiles, shrugs and goes back to take her place outside the hotel’s front doors. In the city of Belem, Brazil she supplies the necessary food and shelter for a family faced with poverty and no work. (childtrafficking.com/ docs.guardian _angel_ child _prost.)
Does anyone notice?
As you hear these true stories …do you see the contrast? What do you feel?
Why do we have such an abundance in our land? Has it been a “land of milk and honey” for those who immigrated here? Of course. We inhabit a continent overflowing with natural resources. Do we have an over abundance of stuff? What does your garage look like? What does my garage look like?
There are other nations who have many blessings as well. Not so long ago it was estimated that Afghanistan has over a trillion dollars in mineral resources. They have the natural resources, but ….they don’t have the rest.
So, why do we have, when others have not? I believe God has entrusted us with these blessings because He expects us to use them to glorify Him. He expects us to notice…for he knows the poor will always be with us… He expects us to give thanks for Him for sending His Son, Jesus to save us…. To demonstrate his love to those who are in need of love, mercy, care and justice. In our parable today Jesus warns those “who do not notice”, those who do not show “mercy and justice” will be surprised at the end of their earthly journey.
Let’s return to our first stop… Guatemala City. Those who travel there with the Sending Place…. Provide an evening meal for the families and teach children and adults the words and stories of Jesus. In the Ukraine, they provide wheel chairs for those who can not walk… a camp for children and mothers where they hear about the love of Jesus.
In Merced and Atwater a few people provide a home, called “Mary’s Mantle”.
The purpose of Mary’s Mantle is to take in homeless, pregnant women and young girls. They provide parenting skills. They see that dental and medical help is provided. They are provided a loving place, a family. They are taught skills that enable them to work and provide for their children when they leave Mary’s Mantle.
In Portland, a volunteer organization of Christians called “Children of the Night” are rescuing children from the streets. Children of the Night is a non-profit, tax exempt organization founded in 1979. These children require specialized care for most of these children were first victimized by a parent or caregiver. About 60% of those rescued make it and receive their GED, with many going on to college. (www.childrenofthenight.org)
C.S. Lewis told about a tombstone that read “Here lies an atheist…all dressed up and no place to go.“ C.S. Lewis then made this comment. “I bet he wishes that were so.” The parable doesn’t tell us much about the after life but it tells us plenty about the human heart. The rich man who did not notice ends up in hell.
Someone might ask…”if there is a hell, where is it?” That’s easy to answer. Hell is found at the end of life without Jesus.” I know there is a hell, because Jesus says so. If there is no hell, then Jesus did not have to come to seek and save the lost. If there is no hell, Jesus would be demoted from Savior to “teacher”. Without hell, and with only different levels of heaven waiting for everyone, Jesus didn’t have to give his life as a ransom for many, because we would all be safe and secure…. .
Any reader, even a casual reader of the Bible will soon see Jesus believed in a literal hell. When Jesus walked the earth He talked about many things. But there are three themes He came back to again and again. The first was, how a person can be saved and be adopted into God’s family by faith. The second theme was how his followers should use money, time and talent bestowed by God, caring for the poor, demonstrating mercy and justice. The third and final theme was heaven and hell. His message about Hell is simple. It is a nasty place, reserved for Satan and his demons at the final judgment….and those who reject belief in Jesus… You don’t want to go there. That’s why Jesus tells this parable of the “rich man who didn’t notice and Lazarus”. The rich man had trusted in his wealth. He had been selfish rejecting both Jesus and Christian charity. He was not given a second chance via reincarnation.
“It was so bad that even a drop of water seemed like an oasis. He who had lived his life without concern, or compassion, or charity for those around him, found himself in a place of torment.” He had lived his life without respect or reverence for God. In reflection he was worried about his brothers…. “Abraham…if someone would return from the dead and visit my family…” His request was rejected. “They have Moses and the Prophets, the Word of God.” God has told us how we can be rescued from the torment of hell. In the Bible we are told about how Jesus kept all of God’s laws, the ones we have broken. He carried our sins to the cross and died the death that we deserve. He then rose from the grave and death on the third day. He showed himself alive….not a ghost, but with a resurrected body.
Would people really believe if a dead person came back from the dead and warned us that Hell is a real place. Don’t go there. A dead person would be hard to ignore. A dead person’s appearance would let us know that death is not the end of life. Would we listen to a person that has been on the other side…. With first hand knowledge after our last breath? #
Which, I imagine, is precisely why God has sent a dead Person back to us. His name is Jesus. Jesus appeared to the disciples, to others. He ate with them. He talked with them. He walked with them. He provided proof. He told them how to be rescued from hell. He said, “Believe on me and you will be saved.“ He said He would some day return.
While you wait for His return… demonstrate love, care, justice and mercy and support Christian men and women who are working in the garbage dumps, on the city streets, sharing the message of God’s love.
