We just heard the classic passage about the love of money being the root of all evil. That I
would call the bad side of money. How it causes temptations, greed, pulls us away from
contentment, and God. But then Paul shares the good we have with God that does not cost any
money: righteousness, faith, love, godliness and blessing. Our gospel lesson continues the focus
on money with life-threatening poverty alongside conspicuous wealth. This is the second parable
about a rich man, so I think Luke is trying to tell us something. We should note that the name
Lazarus means “God helps,” God helps this man named Lazarus and raised a different Lazarus
from the dead. God certainly helped both. Read Luke 16:19-31.
“What parable would make a man with three doctoral degrees (one in medicine, one in theology,
one in philosophy) leave civilization with all of its culture and amenities and depart for the
jungles of Africa? What parable could induce a man, who was recognized as one of the best
concert organists in all of Europe, go to a place where there were no organs to play. What
parable would so intensely motivate a man that he would give up a teaching position in Vienna,
Austria to go and (create a hospital with his wife in West Africa) …The man who I am talking
about, of course, is Dr. Albert Schweitzer. And the single parable that so radically altered his
life, according to him, was our text for this morning. It was the parable of the Rich Man and
Lazarus.
The Rich Man and Lazarus were neighbors you know. They saw each other every day. Oh, not
socially you understand, but there was contact. Every day the Rich Man saw this beggar at his
front gate. Who were these men? We shall call the Rich Man Dives [it’s Latin for “Rich Man” as he has been called for centuries]
Dives would have felt very comfortable living in our present time. He was a progressive kind of
a guy. He was self-indulgent and this is the age of self-indulgency. The contrasting life-styles of
these two men is so obvious that you can’t miss it. Dives was a connoisseur, a lover of the arts,
one who knows and appreciates fine living, four-star restaurants. We are told that he dressed in
purple. Purple was known as the color of royalty because it was the most expensive dye in the
ancient world. Only the upper echelon and the high priest could afford it. We are also told that
his undergarments were made of fine linen. Linen, the lifestyle of the rich and famous.
The other man in the story is Lazarus. How can we describe Lazarus? Lazarus is homeless. He
was a cripple. Lazarus barely made it from day to day, living off the leftovers thrown to him by
Dives as he daily passed him. He is just a survivor, that’s all you can say of him.
One day both men died. Death after all is the great equalizer. Death does not care about your
social standing, your color, or your (accumulated wealth. As you know, you can’t take it with
you). Lazarus was carried away by an angel unto heaven, where he occupied the seat of honor
next to Abraham. About Dives, the rich man, all that Jesus says is that he was buried… Oh, Jesus
did add one additional fact about Dives death that may be of interest. His soul was sent to hell.
This is an unnerving story. I can well see why this was the irritating grain of sand in Albert
Schweitzer’s oyster. Why is this story so bothersome?” (Sermons.com, Brett Blair).
First, we try to find ourselves in this story. We are pretty sure we are not Lazarus even though
we want to be comforted by Abraham in heaven. We know we are rich by almost any standard,
but we do not want to give up all we possess. And we don’t want to feel guilty for having
wealth. I do think it is not wealth per se, but our attitudes and greed that are at issue. Both now and then. People with means were expected to help those who sat at their gate to beg, it was part
of the social structure. Benches were found outside wealthy homes in Pompeii where beggars
would sit, and the homeowners were to share from their tables. But the Rich Man did not do this
even as he was feasting all the time, highlighting his neglect of Lazarus (Working Preacher,
Kendra A. Mohn). We do not have benches today outside our homes, but we have people at the
streetlight with signs and great need.
That is the good and the bad of it. The good is that we have enough to help others, the bad is that
we often don’t choose to do so. We are more interested in more, having more, buying more,
accumulating more. More is the way we think about success. But more blinds us to the
humanity of others. You see it is our attitude which is the chasm that separates us, the same way
it separated Dives and Lazarus. Dives had a responsibility to share from his table, but he denied
that practice and it caused a harmful chasm. Then after he dies, he wants to bridge the divide
and is told no, because the chasm is already established. Because when we do not see, respond
or look at how our wealth is hurting others we perpetuate injustice. “There is an ancient story
about a botanist who was studying the heather bell found in the highlands of Scotland. While
looking through his microscope at this beautiful flower, he was approached by a shepherd who
asked what he was doing. Rather than trying to explain, the botanist invited the shepherd to peer
through his microscope and observe for himself. When the shepherd saw the wonder of the
flower, he exclaimed, ‘My God, and I have been tramping on them all my life!’ Is that the word
of warning we need? Wake up! Pay attention! Look around you. You may be tramping on the
heart of someone nearby. Who is the Lazarus at your gate?” (Sermons.com, King Duncan). Can
you act with generosity toward the person at your gate, or the one holding a sign at your stop
light? With wealth comes great responsibility.
Now, we might not be Lazarus or Dives in this story. I think we are the family members the
Rich Man wants to warn. Women don’t think you are off the hook, it is translated brothers but
includes women. Can we hear the warning? Now we do not get the Christmas Carol visitation
like Scrooge, but can we change our ways? Care for those in our community in need. We
already had a man raised from the dead to tell us about loving our neighbors. “It is not too late
for us: Not too late to pay attention to the needs around us. Not too late to share what we have to
help others flourish. Not too late to challenge business practices and economic systems that
allow a few to enjoy massive wealth while others experience unrelieved, crushing poverty. The
work of this parable isn’t finished until we answer the question: How will we respond?”
(Working Preacher, John T. Carroll).
Albert Schweitzer responded by going to Africa, embracing all life and seeking to heal those he
encountered. He also saw the good and the bad in that situation. He wrote, "Ultimately,
everything good we do for the peoples of the colonies is not charity, but atonement for all the
suffering we whites have brought upon them from the day our ships found their way to their
shores." The bad to be sure. He also said, "By having a reverence for life, we enter into a
spiritual relation with the world. By practicing reverence for life we become good, deep, and
alive" (dw.com/en/albert-schweitzer-and-his-controversial-legacy). Revering life with our
actions and means is good.
The answer to our desire for more is Jesus and the commandment to love. Love your neighbor,
love the Lazarus at your gate, love all of God’s people. I know this sermon feels heavy,
highlighting the good and the bad of wealth, but I want to pause to acknowledge the good we
have just seen. The good confession of faith that Alex just shared. Her good confession in our
presence, in the presence of God. The good and the bad of baptism is that we belong to God.
God claims us, loves us, adopts us and forgives us. If there is a bad to baptism it is that we can never escape God’s love, claim, mercy and light. The good and the bad of baptism is that we
belong to God! Forever. Amen.
