Luke 16:19-31
“For the Sake of Christ”
We have all seen him.
He lies on a pile of newspapers outside a shop doorway, covered with a rough blanket.
Perhaps he has a dog with him for safety.
People walk past him or even step over him.
Maybe he occasionally rattles a few coins in a tin cup, asking for more.
As we see him, we may hear voices which have told us: “It’s his own fault.”
“He’s chosen it.”
“He should go and get a job.”
“If I give him money he’ll only spend it on alcohol.”
“I don’t have time for him.”
“Stay-away—he might be violent.”
Sometimes, in some places, the police will move him on, exporting the problem somewhere else.
But he’ll be back.
People like him camp in tents in downtown Chattanooga, and in East Ridge near Camp Jordan.
Some live, with their families in the Superior Creek Lodge and other extended stay hotels.
Many of them have jobs, but they are minimum wage…
…not enough to get them out of where they are.
They are in debt, and it seems the debt will stay.
They live from one emergency to another.
Every day is hand-to-mouth.
So we all know Lazarus.
He is our neighbor.
Some of us may be rich, well dressed, and well fed, and walk past him without even noticing…
…others of us may not be so rich, or so finely clothed or fed, but compared with Lazarus we’re well off!
Lazarus would be glad to trade places with us, and we would be horrified to have his life—even for a day!!!
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is not just a morality tale about riches and poverty—though, it should be read that way as well.
No, it goes much deeper than that.
It’s about indifference, selfishness, and what it really means to “Love God and love our neighbor as our self”…
…which is THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT…
…everything else falls in line if that one is fulfilled!!!
In 1994, South African photojournalist Kevin Carter won the Pulitzer Prize for a photograph that depicted an emaciated Sudanese child crawling toward a feeding center—under the hard stare of a nearby vulture.
As you can imagine, the image, which so powerfully captured the horror of famine-stricken Sudan in the early 1990’s, drew international attention.
But with Carter’s acclaim came the questions.
People wanted to know—what had happened to the child?
After snapping the picture, what had Carter done to help the dying child?
Painfully, Carter admitted that after spending about 20 minutes framing the shot, he had simply walked away.
Within two months of receiving journalism’s most coveted award, the 33-year-old photojournalist took his own life.
We human beings were created by THE LOVING GOD to love and be loved!!!
And in order for our love to be real, it must reach out actively.
In Jesus’ parable, the rich man’s sin was not that he was rich, but that he did not take any notice or care for his neighbor in need.
He was too self-absorbed.
And thus, he created his own “hell.”
So what are we, as Christ’s followers to do about this?
One of the most important things we can do is get involved in the mess and muck of life.
And we do this best, together, as the Church!!!
Did not Jesus say, “Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”?
As most of you know, we have a new ministry here at East Ridge United Methodist Church…
…it’s called “East Ridge Cares.”
And we have found that we are not alone in this ministry.
Christians from other churches, United Methodist, Church of God, Baptist have become involved.
Some have participated by giving financial donations, others have provided material goods, and still a number of others have come, in person, to tutor, mentor, feed and love children who live in such impoverished, drug infested conditions it is almost more than one can bear to think about.
And you know what?
The Christians who are volunteering to help these children and families are being blessed just as much as the people they are helping.
For when we reach out with Christ’s love to other human beings, we are serving Christ Himself…
…and our faith grows, our love grows, and our lives take on new meaning as we become molded more and more into the likeness of the One Who gave His all to save us!!!
Arthur Burns, a Jewish economist was once asked to pray at a gathering of evangelical politicians.
Stunning his hosts, he prayed this,
“Lord, I pray that Jews would come to know Jesus Christ.
And I pray that Buddhists would come to know Jesus Christ.
And I pray that Muslims would come to know Jesus Christ.”
And then, most stunning of all, he finished by praying: “And Lord, I pray that Christians would come to know Jesus Christ.”
In Matthew 7:21 Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter.”
So what is God’s will?
How do we enter heaven?
It’s not based on works or the law.
It’s based on accepting the free gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
It’s based on allowing Jesus to be the Lord and Master of our lives!!!
And Jesus said by our fruit we will know if we belong to Him!!!
It’s very hard to ignore the Lazarus’ of our world when we are being led by the Spirit of Christ.
In March of 2007, at least 62 people were killed by a fire that quickly blazed through a home for the elderly.
The greatest tragedy was that it could have been prevented.
Authorities say that a night watchman ignored two fire alarms.
When the third alarm sounded, the watchman saw flames, and he finally took the necessary action for evacuation.
Even then, staffers were notably absent from their posts, making the escape effort nearly impossible in some cases.
By the time the fire department and rescue workers got to the scene, many residents had already died from smoke inhalation.
In our parable, “The rich man said, ‘…I beg you, Father, to send Lazarus to my father’s house.
I have five brothers.
He needs to warn them so that they don’t come to this place of agony.”
“Abraham said, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, then neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”
Someone has risen from the dead—and that Person is Jesus the Christ!!!
Do we believe this?
And if we believe this, what will we do about it?
According to a newspaper article, “The last thing Lashonda Calloway saw before she died was people literally stepping over her to continue shopping as if nothing had happened.
Calloway had stopped to shop in a convenience store in Wichita, Kansas, when she was stabbed in an altercation.
As she lay dying, a surveillance camera recorded no less than five people stepping over her to continue down the store aisles.
Only one person stopped briefly—to take a picture with a cell phone camera.”
There is so much apathy.
There is so much disrespect for human life.
But no one is disposable.
All of us are loved equally by God.
And we are our brother and sister’s keeper!!!
We all know Lazarus.
We see him every day, on way too many faces.
He is our neighbor; our co-worker, our classmate, and yes, he is the homeless man or woman on the street.
When we see or hear of someone who is lost, alone, broken down and hurt…
…Do we simply say, “It’s a shame, but it is not my problem,” or do we take action—do we put God’s love where the rubber meets the road and do something about it?
Jesus did not say, in His parable of the Great Judgment, “You killed the hungry, you cheated the naked, you assaulted the poor.”
He said, in effect, “When I was hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned—when I was desperate for your help—you ignored me.”
A heart captivated by God’s love is what God desires above anything else, because it’s a heart that God can use, a heart that is free to love others and to serve others.
Many of us have probably seen the movie: Shindler’s List.
Oskar Shindler was a German businessman who saved thousands of Jews from the Holocaust.
He employed Jews in his factories, but when these Jews were finally liberated, he broke down in tears, saying, “I could have gotten more out…I didn’t do enough.”
I suppose everyone of us can say that.
When I look at my life, and when you look at yours, what do we see?
So much indifference to the suffering of others and so many privileges for ourselves?
So much more we could have done?
There is a mountain of evidence to sink any one of us when we stand before the judgment of God.
But that is not the last word.
The last word is that in Jesus Christ God has taken the judgment for us on the Cross.
And so, we live—by grace!!!
Jesus has set us free and we are to celebrate this freedom by seeking to return to God and thus to others all that we can!!!
And God uses even our tiniest faith, when acted on, to accomplish great things!
We, followers of Christ, are like a 4 year-old, drawing a picture and offering it to her daddy.
“Beautiful!!!” the father says.
And with that same excitement, God also accepts the flawed offerings of our lives!
“Beautiful!,” says God, Who sees not the flaws but the love, made perfect in Christ, which lies behind every Christian action aimed at helping, loving, consoling, healing, and caring for one another.
There are so many people in this world who are in need of help.
Some are rich, some are poor, but they are all around us.
How exciting it is to be given the great privilege and opportunity to change their day from gray to sunny!
For the sake of Christ and in His name!!!!!
Amen.
