Luke 16:19-31
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus, who is the Christ
I want to start off today’s message with a little pop quiz for you. Now don’t worry this isn’t something that either myself or pastor will but I want to test your Biblical literacy. In other words…how well do you know the Bible. Question #1 can you name the 4 gospels? Well believe it or not but a Time Magazine survey found that only 50% of American Adults can correctly name those 4 Gospels.
Question #2 what is the first book of the Bible? Well even more striking that same study reported that less than half American Adults could correctly identify Genesis as the first book of the Bible.
Question #3: Can you name the 10 commandments? Can you name half of the 10 commandments? Unbelievably only 60% of people could even name half of God’s commandments.
Final Question, Sodom are and Gomorrah are…(a) two cities destroyed because their wickedness (b) a married couple from the Bible (c) a law firm. Believe it or not but when American high school students were asked to identify who or what Sodom and Gomorrah were….over half of high school students when asked by a Gallop pull believed Sodom and Gomorrah were married. Kind of scary. Our Biblical literacy certainly seems to be slipping. We see the Late Night shows regularly using people’s Biblical ignorance as a comedic shtick as they tape people fumbling to come up with answers on their Christian faith and scripture.
Well likely our parable from Jesus does not make you feel any more comfortable this morning. I don’t want today’s sermon to be all doom and gloom but if you’re like me as you listen to the parable this morning this parable can be terrifying.
I imagine this brings to mind something we don’t like to think much about…hell. Jesus lays before us a very striking scene. We read that Lazarus is taken to the very bosom of Abraham by God’s very own angels! And the rich man. Well he is in agony. He is suffering. The rich man is unable to get to Abraham and Lazarus because a great chasm separates the two places. Images of heaven and hell are absolutely impossible for us Christians to ignore as we hear this parable from Christ.
What is Jesus trying to tell us in this parable? Was Christ trying to tell us this is what happens immediately after death? Well maybe. But it’s important to remember that this is a parable. A parable is a story told by Jesus in order to teach us…hearers a deeper truth. A deeper meaning to life and of eternity consequences as this parable seems to indicate. A parable is meant to shatter conventional wisdom and teach truth that only Jesus can provide.
Let me assure you this parable would have shattered the common thought of Jesus’ day. Because the Jewish Rabbis and people at the time Jesus told this parable believed that God blesses those in this earthly life he has favored in this very life. The Rabbis would have believed that a person who is fat, rich, and happy in this life had found favor with God. But this parable, along with all the other parables Jesus tells, tips that understanding upside down.
It is Lazarus, not the rich man, who ultimately finds favor and God’s blessing. It is Lazarus, the one who suffered hunger, pain, humiliation in his earthly life that ultimately is lifted up by the Father. This was appallingly radical for all those gathered to hear this parable from Christ.
So what do we as Christians now do with this parable. We have heard before that riches do not indicate God’s blessing. We know that it is not one’s wealth in this life that leads to eternal life in heaven. But a question I imagine many of you are asking yourself right now is..can I relate with Lazurus. Can I relate to the poor one…covered in sores, just longing to eat the scraps off the table of the wealthy. Or do you find yourself relating more easily with the wealthy man. The man who doesn’t have the heart, time, or desire to help out even the one who lies dying at his very gate.
An interesting side note to Lazarus is that he is the only character in Jesus’ parables that is given a name. Even more interesting is what the name Lazarus means. Lazarus means “God helps”. When no one on earth, not the rich man, not those that walked by him at the gate, not even the dogs would help the poor man. It is God who helps Lazarus. It is God that gives Lazarus the help and lift that no one on earth could have possibly given.
Can you relate more facility to the rich man or to Lazarus? Well I know that it’s natural to relate to one of the main characters in Jesus’ parables. But I want to propose we look at the other characters of this parable. Look with me at this parable. What is it that the rich man asks of Abraham once he realizes his fate had already been sealed….the rich man asks that Lazarus be sent back to earth in order that his brothers might be warned about the torments that await unless they repent and turn from their wicked ways. For the very first time we see in this parable that the rich man is capable of thinking about someone other than himself. He is worried for his brothers! He is worried that they too don’t understand the consequences of their lives.
But what is Abraham’s response to the rich man at this request. Abraham tells him they have all the warning they need. They have the Old Testament writings. The brothers have Moses and all the prophets that point to God. They have eyes to read and ears to hear what the followers of our God have written in the scriptures, let them use them!
Rather that comparing ourselves to the rich man or to Lazarus of the story I believe we need to see ourselves in the light of the five brothers. Rather than comparing ourselves to Lazarus or the rich man we should compare ourselves to those 5 brothers of the rich man. After all we are amongst those still alive on this earth. And we have the Word of God that we can pick up and read at any moment. The point I believe Jesus is trying to make from this parable is two pronged. Riches and things of this world can keep us from God and can keep us from loving our neighbor. That has been a recurring message Jesus sent through his parables, that we need to place God first in our lives. But secondly, and I believe this is the important thing to understand from today’s parable, is that we have the time right now in our earthly lives to turn to God. And Jesus is saying that part of that turning to God is through reading our Holy Scripture.
I would venture to guess that everyone here right now has a copy of The Bible in their homes. In fact more than 100 million copies of the Bible are bought around the world each and every year. It is regularly the most bought book year after year. But it is so much more than just a book. We have God’s word in our scripture. We have thousands of years worth of writings, each pointing to the redemptive acts of our God. We prophesies from the prophets of the Old Testament that we know have come true. And we have the son of God’s life, words, deeds, and thoughts written for us to read and grasp. What a miracle it is that we have the Bible, and it is so readily available for all to have.
I want to close on a historical story. During the Revolutionary War, an American born spy appeared at the headquarters of Hessian commander Colonel Johann Rall, carrying an urgent message. General George Washington and his Continental army had secretly crossed the Delaware River that morning and were advancing on Trenton, New Jersey where the Hessians were encamped. The spy was denied an audience with the commander and instead wrote his message on a piece of paper. A porter took the note to the Hessian colonel, but because Rall was involved in a poker game he stuffed the unread note into his pocket. Big mistake. When the guards at the Hessian camp began firing their muskets in a futile attempt to stop Washington’s army, Rall was still playing cards. Without time to organize, the Hessian army was captured. The battle occurred the day after Christmas, 1776, giving the colonists a late present--their first major victory of the war. Changing the momentum of the war from that moment on.
Now whether or not you did well on that opening quiz I ask that you devote time each day to open your Bible. Read a chapter or two every day. It doesn’t take more than 10 minutes of your day. In fact there are a number of online programs that will you read the entire Bible in 1 year, devoting no more than those 10 minutes a day.
Jesus is telling us today in his parable not to be like that Hessian commander who turns a blind eye to the resources and information that was available to him. We have all we need to believe in order turn our lives over to Christ. We have the Word of God, our Bible. We have so much wealth in the 66 books of our Bible. They are there for us to use. To read. To study. To teach. The Bible is given so that we might grow in love and understanding of God’s desires. Jesus tells us very frankly this morning, you have all you need to believe. The Bible.
Amen
