A pastor Named William Turner reminds me and now us
that “it's the stories we remember ... the stories from history, from our
families, from the Bible, from the ministry of Jesus. Long after they've
forgotten my sermons, people will say, "I remember a story you told one
Sunday...."
Our lives and our values and our convictions get
shaped by the stories we believe ... probably because they have the sound and
feel of life and reality about them. We can identify with them. In my lifetime,
I've been, at different times, the prodigal son, the older brother, and the
waiting father. So have many of you. You've been the man in the ditch, the busy
priest and Levite, and, hopefully, the Good Samaritan -- in various
circumstances. So have I. Then, there's this story about Lazarus and the rich
man. I don't have a single purple and linen outfit, but I'm the rich man all
right, compared to three-fourths of the world. I don't eat gourmet foods every
day, and I'm a glutton just every now and then ... but I live in luxury,
compared to three-fourths of the world.”[1]
Today’s Parable is quite an interesting one to pick
apart and just see Christ’s sarcasm and playfulness. Bob pointed out last week’s parable was
sarcastic and anyone in that community at that time would have heard at such
and would have rejoiced in it. What was
not included was the reaction of those it was intended for. Luke 16:14states that “the Pharisees, a money
–obsessed bunch, heard him say these things they rolled their eyes, dismissing
him as hopelessly out of touch.”[2]
So Jesus downright admonishes them contradicting the world as they perceive
then goes on to give this parable.
Jesus really wants to show the hypocrisies of the
ruling class and so lays down this story which turned many things upside
down. First Christ names the poor man,
Lazarus. No other person in all of
Jesus’ parables has a name, yet this one, the poorest of the poor the one who
is to represent the nameless ones, the ultimate outcasts of society has a name. Not only does he have a name but his name has
meaning it means “God has helped”.
Meanwhile the rich man is nameless. You may have
heard this rich man referred to by the name of Dives, but dives is
simply the Latin word for "rich." In regular society by his
description everyone would know his name and probably why there is an attempt
to name him. Yet this man is made the nameless one. The man who has the most expensive line of
clothing to wear, the man who deems himself so well off he dresses as a high
priest wearing linen robes. I am not
making an assumption here the priests wore linen robes and a plain white sash
while that of the high priest work a sash embroidered in purple. Purple was also the color of royalty so we
know this rich man thought high of himself and Jesus is tying him to the
leaders of the time.
The story goes on to tell us not only did this guy
dress well he at sumptuously every day, every day, not just on some rare
celebratory occasion but every day! Sumptuous, according to Miriam/Webster is “extremely
costly, rich, luxurious, or magnificent.”[3]
This means well he had the finest of meats and seafood and wine, 7 course meals
at every turn.
To make matter even more impressive he had his
complex gated. This was not normal
except for the very rich and those in high power who might have needed
protection from the common person. Today
we see even middle class homes have gates and walls but this was a huge added
expense back then. Of course the question that is often asked today is just as
true then was the gate to keep the world out or keep him locked in.
It is often said that one would be happy to just
have the scraps off the table, or just a scrap of bread. Well this is just what Lazarus waited
for. You see in those days the rich did
not have napkins and fancy utensils they used their hands to eat and would wipe
the grease off in bread which they would toss aside. Lazarus was waiting just for that a scrap of
bread.
Lazarus sat outside the gate of the rich man. Outside the gate of the one who makes
important decisions. Outside the Gate of one who may choose to notice him or
not, outside the gate of general society and all the luxuries…and even the
basic needs it can provide for. Lazarus
sat outside the gate of the unnamed rich man and was passed by daily as part of
the rich man’s routine unnoticed, unseen, uncared for. His only companions the dogs that cared for
him as best they could.
Then Lazarus dies.
He is taken to heaven and placed on Abraham’s chest. Meanwhile the nameless one dies as well and
he goes to Hell. Literally the word used
is Hades as opposed to Sheol which was commonly known as the land of the
dead. Nope he gets the big time you’re
going to suffer award.
The nameless one beseeches Abraham himself to ask
Lazarus to get him just a drop of water.
I find this interesting here this guy dies, is buried, (By the way it is
more than Lazarus had as a beggar he was probably just dumped on the trash pile
outside the city) is suffering in Hades and still expects to address father
Abraham himself and ask to be served by the one he considered not even worth y
of his attention. He is still a touch arrogant even in his own suffering.
Here Abraham tells him simply the same message as
the beatitudes. Lazarus suffered on
earth and is rewarded in heaven. The rich
man, the nameless one, had all his rewards on earth and now he must
suffer. But it is not just that he is
suffering, there is this huge gap between them so, even though they may wish to
offer comfort, they cannot.
Now I may be adding a level to this but we often
say that sin is missing the target,, but here we have a man who never took
aim. His whole life was about him and he
was totally separated from God and now in the afterlife of this story he
remains totally separated from the realm that is God.
He goes on then to plead to send Lazarus to go warn
his brothers at his father’s house. There is humor here as well for he again is
asking Lazarus to perform a service, the man who received no service or care
from the rich man. Wouldn’t it had made
more sense to say let me go warn my brothers of their ways? Maybe I am just thinking too much but to me
his request seems rude, arrogant and absurd. This unnamed rich man Just doesn’t
get it! Who is going to listen to a dead
stranger?
Abraham points out that it really doesn’t matter
who he sends for all the teachings they needed they all ready have. If they don’t listen to Moses and the
prophets “they won’t be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”
(Luke 16:31), a little foreshadowing?
If they are not interested in Faith and the lessons already given why
would they hear them after one rises?
There is a lot of metaphor, innuendo, downright
sarcasm in this story but what does it mean for us today. You know when the rich man asks for just a
drop of water all I can think of is who has water and who doesn’t and was he
concerned about that? Are we concerned
about that? You know that “At this point, approximately 40 percent of the
entire population of the planet has little or no access to clean water and it
is being projected that by 2025 two-thirds of humanity will live in
"water-stressed" areas.”[4]
Most people cannot go 3 days without water before
succumbing to dehydration.
The food that Lazarus never saw made me look into the
food situation in the world today. There
is a book and a new exhibition entitled hungry planet. Peter Menzel traveled
the world to look at consumption around the Planet. He looked at what a family spent and what
they considered to be favorite foods. A family of 5 in Germany spends about 532
Dollars a week on food Favorite foods: salads, shrimp, buttered vegetables,
sweet rice with cinnamon and sugar, pasta, meanwhile; the Aboubakar family of
Breidjing Camp, a family of 6 their food expenditure for one week: $1.23.
Favorite foods: soup with fresh sheep meat.
Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/09/20/hungry-planet-what-the-world-eats/#ixzz2fqlhSkxe
Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/09/20/hungry-planet-what-the-world-eats/#ixzz2fqlTdTGD
Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/09/20/hungry-planet-what-the-world-eats/#ixzz2fqlhSkxe
Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/09/20/hungry-planet-what-the-world-eats/#ixzz2fqlTdTGD
When I think of scraps from the table, the House of
Representatives wants to cut billions from food stamps. A program that offers $5 a day to feed
people. They cannot see Lazarus outside
their gate.
We have a program here and what we do is but a drop
in the bucket, to feed the homeless in the park. We help the food pantry who feeds hundreds,
thousands of people a year. There are
nearly 60000 homeless people in Los Angeles County. Worse than that, according to the united way,
in Los Angeles county there are 250,000 millionaires and 1.4 million poor[5], and
most of the poor are the working poor.
This means in spite of work, sometimes two or 3 incomes the household is
still below the poverty level. Lazarus at the gate.
I am not saying we can feed every hungry person or
clothe all those who need it but if you see someone who is asking for help…even
if you cannot do anything at that moment, just by saying I am sorry I can’t
help right now, you are seeing Lazarus, when you help even with a quarter to
the feeding programs or by using your Ralphs card, you see Lazarus. When you drop of items in the collection box
on the corner or you leave meds at my door for the hospice in Mexico …you see
Lazarus.
This is all today’s story is asking. Not that you solve everything but that you at
least see and try, for every time you reach out in any way shape or form you
are reach out towards God. Every time
you see Lazarus, you see Christ. Every
time you noticed the unnamed, the outcast the hungry, the homeless, the poor. You know that Christ took time to name the
poor, the outcast, and all that is asked of us is to take notice and try and to
remember they are worthy of notice.
May we see Christ in each and every person we meet
and know that they have a name and I pray that we may all strive to continue to
make this world a better place for all.
Amen.
[1] William L.
Turner, World Hunger: Beggars at the Gate Luke 16:19-31,
http://www.preaching.com/sermons/11563915/ (accessed September 24, 2013).
[2] Eugene H.
Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Colorado
Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 2003), 1902.
[3]
Merriam-Webster, Sumptous, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sumptuous
(accessed September 24, 2013).
[4] Michael Snyder,
30 Facts About The Coming Water Crisis That Will Change The Lives Of Every
Person On The Planet,
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/30-facts-about-the-coming-water-crisis-that-will-change-the-lives-of-every-person-on-the-planet
(accessed September 24, 2013).
[5] United Way, United
Way Reports Growing Poverty in Los Angeles, http://www.scanph.org/node/2150
(accessed September 24, 2013).
