Sermons

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A Day Late And A Dollar More
July 17 , 2005
Sermon Series on the Gospel of Luke
Mike Purdy
Luke 16:19-31

Four weeks ago I received a phone call from Pastor Dan, asking me if I’d preach today on the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. I told him I’d get back to him with my answer in a few days.

So I read the passage, and took a quick look at a few commentaries. One of the commentaries had this to say:

“Many find this section one of the most difficult of the whole Gospel.”

In another place, I read that the two parables in chapter 16 of Luke

“Bristle with problems for the commentator.”

I think I now know why Dan decided to start his sabbatical when he did!

As I’ve studied the parable, I’ve come to the same conclusion as the commentaries: It’s not an easy passage.

To begin to get my arms around it, I decided to first go back and read the chapters just before it. The larger context is that Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem, at times teaching his disciples, or addressing the crowds, or criticizing the Pharisees because their hearts remained unchanged, even while externally they scrupulously kept the law.

The more immediate context, of course, is the parable of the dishonest manager at the beginning of Luke 16 that Steve preached on last Sunday. And at the end of that passage are two verses that I think serve as a hinge for the two halves of chapter 16.

Jesus says to his disciples in verse 13 that:

“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

Then in verse 14, Luke tells us that

“The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him.”

So what follows in the rest of chapter 16, the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, is a direct response to the Pharisees who have scoffed and sneered at Jesus for drawing such a hard line in the sand about God and wealth.

Reading from Luke 16:19-31. Please pray with me.

Heavenly Father, we bow in your presence.
May your Word be our guide,
Your Spirit our teacher,
And your greater glory our supreme concern,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Unlike sermons that often have three points with alliterative titles, a parable is a fictional story designed to illustrate just one main point, or a single truth. Jesus frequently used parables to:

• Create a picture or image in the minds of his listeners
• To grab their attention
• To make it easier for them to understand and remember the message

Many of the children’s messages we hear during worship are stories or parables meant to illustrate and teach a central truth.

I confess that parables are hard for me to understand. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always preferred reading non-fiction, particularly biography and history, to reading fiction…and so when I come to a story, my tendency is to skip over it.

But when I do read a story…if I read it by more than just glossing over it…I look for all the factual details, and try to figure out the meaning and significance of those details.

But that creates a major problem when it comes to parables. Our challenge in reading a parable is to figure out the one main point of the story…to hold the details lightly…and not get so caught up in trying to make every picture or image in the story have some deeply significant meaning, that we miss the point.

The details of a parable are there to make the story interesting…to add color and flavor to the story…as a means to help us understand one major truth.

So when we come to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, a story rich with intriguing images of heaven and hell, our temptation is to focus on these and to miss the big picture…the reason why Jesus told the story in the first place. We may ask questions like these:

• Do all rich people go to hell, and all poor people go to heaven?

• Are people who enjoy good things in life now always in agony after death… and are those who suffer now always comforted after death?

• Can people in heaven and hell see and talk with each other, but not go from one place to the other?

• Is hell filled with flames, and are those who end up there always thirsty?

While these are fascinating questions, we won’t find the answers to them in the parable, because the point of the parable is not to teach us about heaven and hell. The details are there to draw us into a story about a rich man, his wealth, and his hardness of heart.

As we saw, the parable opens with a comparison of the lifestyle of a rich man and a poor man, and moves onto an imaginary conversation between the rich man and Abraham, with the rich man making three increasingly desperate requests of Abraham.

First, for mercy for himself from his physical torment.

Second, for mercy for his five brothers.

And finally, a more insistent plea for mercy for his brothers.

Since Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees…the lovers of money…I think it’s fair to say He intends for the Pharisees to see themselves in the rich man.

We’re not told what road in life had led the rich man and Lazarus to their financial condition. All we know is the rich man took full advantage of using his money for creature comforts…and Lazarus was totally dependent on others for meeting his most basic needs.

Imagine with me for a moment how the rich man might have described himself:

God has definitely blessed me, and I’ve been very fortunate in life.

I’ve got a nice house…large by some standards…with a beautiful fence and gate surrounding the place. I use the house for a lot of entertaining, and we always have plenty of food to go around for the guests – good food with plenty of choices – some of it imported specially for the sumptuous feasts we have every day.

The food is the highlight of the day for me –it’s quite a spread – nothing quite like enjoying all the different tastes and textures.

Like I said, I’ve been very fortunate in life.

My money allows me to keep up with all the latest and best fashions in clothing. It’s all part of maintaining an image with my family and friends.

Oh…I also attend worship in the synagogue, follow the law, and tithe. I even direct my servants to give leftovers to a homeless man – I think his name is Lazarus – who sometimes hangs around my gate.

I wish he wouldn’t camp out there, however, as I’m afraid it’s going to lower my property value.

If the rich man’s story is a picture of what love of money might look like, what about Lazarus? Imagine what he might have said about himself.

I’m homeless and almost always hungry. Everyday is a constant struggle of survival for me.

I spend most of my time lying on the ground outside the gate of this really rich guy’s house. But just getting there is a challenge for me. You see…I’m paralyzed and can’t walk, so I have to rely on my friends to carry me, and when they’re not around, I just stay at the gate…I even sleep there.

If I’m lucky, after a lot of waiting, the rich man will send a servant out to give me some leftover table scraps from one of the big parties he has everyday.

I’ve also got some kind of skin disease so that my body is covered with painful sores that never seem to heal…and since my tattered clothes don’t cover up the sores, a lot of times the dogs from the neighborhood come by and lick at the sores on my body.

It’s painful, but I can’t do anything about it, because I can’t get up and walk away.

I’m thankful for the leftovers the rich man gives me because I don’t really have any financial resources of my own, and I’m totally dependent on the mercy of others for my daily survival.

A very rich man and a very poor man…at opposite ends of the economic spectrum. Their lives could hardly have been more different. We see the same disparity all around us today...both in here in Seattle and globally.

For most of us, I suspect our lives look a lot more like the rich man’s life. I don’t know about you, but that makes me uncomfortable. By the standards of the world, I know I’m extremely wealthy. Even by the standards of this country, I’m wealthy…certainly no Bill Gates…but wealthy.

So what’s really wrong with being rich, with loving both God and wealth at the same time? After all, what was the rich man’s sin? Is wealth inherently bad?

No, but I think Jesus would warn us that wealth is inherently dangerous to our hearts. It has a subtle tendency to seductively wrap itself around us…drawing us into a love affair with it…and enslaving us to its mastery and power. That’s the danger.

And then the rich man and Lazarus both die…and in an instant, everything is turned upside down...and the conversation begins.

Accustomed to the best of everything in life, the rich man experiences culture shock in his new environment. He begins the conversation… appropriately enough…with a selfish plea for his own comfort.

“Father Abraham have mercy on me.” It’s hot down here, and I’m dying of thirst, so please send Lazarus to cool my tongue with some water."

Without ever directly saying “no” Abraham responds by describing the great reversal of roles that has occurred, and then comments on the physical separation between heaven and hell that prevents him from granting the request.

Somewhat surprisingly, instead of continuing to beg for mercy, the rich man’s second request shifts the conversation, and he pleads for his five brothers instead.

In death, the rich man realizes too late that his all-consuming passion for money has landed him in hot water – or at least in a very hot place.

“Look, Abraham, if you’re not going to help me, the least you can do is to send Lazarus back to warn my five brothers. I wouldn’t wish this place on anyone.”

But Abraham says

“Not a chance. If your five brothers aren’t willing to listen, to soften their hearts, and respond to the truth they already have in Moses and the prophets, nothing will convince them to change, not even something dramatic and miraculous like someone coming back from the dead. They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.”

So what would the rich man and his brothers have heard if they had really listened to Moses and the prophets with their hearts…and not just contented themselves with obeying rules that made everything look okay?

From Deuteronomy, they would have heard the passage that Lynne read earlier about not hardening our hearts or shutting our hands against the poor and the needy.

And in countless other passages, they would have heard again and again God’s passionate heart of concern for the poor and afflicted, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widows – the economically and socially disadvantaged in our midst.

I have a good friend who, for many years, has consistently had a heart for reaching out to the homeless on the streets of Seattle. He takes time to talk with them and knows many of their names and stories and needs.

He knows that Linda likes chicken fried rice from the Chinese restaurant across the street from where she sits and begs, and so when he sees her, he’ll often buy and bring her a helping of chicken fried rice.

He encourages Bill as he plays his instruments on the sidewalk downtown, and has helped promote Bills’ music on CDs.

He knows that Sandy, who is Jewish, has emphysema, and that most of the time when he sees her outside the Safeway store, what she needs most is money for her medications.

My friend told me recently that it’s really important to him to talk with those he meets on the sidewalks, and not just give money.

Sometimes, he admits, he doesn’t have time to talk, and he understands he can’t meet all their needs all the time. But his heart has been softened by God, and he has opened his hands to the poor and the needy who come across his path.

My friend’s lifestyle is a constant challenge to me to slow down and to open my heart. I confess it’s much easier for me to simply write a check to Habitat for Humanity, or Agros, or Voice of Calvary, than to deal with the bearded man on the sidewalk with the cardboard sign that says “Please help.”

Abraham’s response to the rich man’s second plea was that the five brothers didn’t need a special warning.

“They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.”

But the rich man continues to press Abraham with his third and final plea:

“No, Abraham, you just don’t understand. Sure my brothers have Moses and the prophets now, but that’s not quite enough to get their attention.

You see, Abraham, they simply don’t have the right information about what to do. They just haven’t seen that their preoccupation with money is a problem.

It’s all just a big mistake…like making a math error on line 10 of their tax form.

It’s only an external problem, and Abraham, if you would only be so kind as to send Lazarus back from the dead to inform my brothers of the mistake they have made, and give them the correct information, that will get their attention, and surely they will immediately see the error of their ways and repent.”

And then in the final solemn sentence of the parable, Abraham douses cold water on the rich man’s argument:

“If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

You see, Jesus understood that the fundamental issue faced by the rich man, by the five brothers, by the Pharisees, by us today, is not that we need more information or evidence before we change, not that we just need to give more money, but that our hearts need to be transformed…so that our actions and heart are in sync with one another, and with God’s heart.

The tragedy of the rich man is that his heart was frozen in time, much more comfortable with being comfortable, and making things look right, than with wrestling to hear and understand God’s word and be shaped by it.

It’s an uncomfortable message for me. I spend more of my time and energy managing my money, than having my heart really touched by God’s heart for the poor.

Sure I care about the poor and write checks to those in need. But it often feels distant to me, like I’m just going through the motions.

My temptation in solving the dilemma is to develop a list of things I can do…that we can do. But I think that would miss the point.

We neglect a crucial step in transformation when we take comfort in a list of things to do and translate them into actions without them first passing through our hearts.

This isn’t to say that we never do anything unless we feel like it. No, we’re often called to obedience even when our hearts haven’t caught up with us. But it’s important to always pay attention to the state of our hearts.

Our hearts change ever so slowly…as we wrestle with ourselves and what we know…as we try to internalize truth and translate that into action and behavior that flow from a changed heart.

I find it’s a daily challenge for me to guard against the things in life that would take hold of my heart and keep God at arm’s length. How do I invest and plan for retirement, while not allowing those plans to close my heart to the needs around me?

Maybe you’re at a point today where there are areas of your heart that need to be transformed.

Maybe it’s about money…you’ve held onto it too tightly and need God’s grace to open your heart more to the needs around you. Perhaps it’s about other areas of your life.

Maybe you find yourself involved in an improper sexual relationship that you need God’s strength to come to terms with.

Maybe you’ve struggled for years with the emotional impacts of an abusive situation, and need God’s healing in your heart and spirit.

Maybe you find yourself hopelessly addicted to something and in need of God’s liberating power.

Friends, rest assured, that through the darkness and struggles of the heart…whatever they may be…God is present, with his grace, his strength, his healing, and his power. God longs for our hearts to be in tune with his heart.

As I worked on preparing this sermon over the last month, I found myself frustrated that it was taking me so long to finish it. I think my frustration came both from the fact that I was scared that I might end up not having anything to say, and partially because I’m the kind of person who likes to prepare things far in advance. I wanted the final sermon to be done in the first week without it first being filtered through my heart.

What does it take for our hearts to change?

“They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.”

Would a miracle convince us, or someone coming back from the dead, or someone rising from the dead? Would it really make any difference?

Real change must go through the struggle and darkness of the heart, and not just follow a simple rule or a simple list. Real transformational change requires that our hearts be engaged and aligned with God’s heart.

What does it really take for our hearts to change? We have Moses and the prophets, and we have the rest of Scripture.

God longs for us to take time to listen to Him with our hearts.

To wrestle with the tensions of life, and not fall prey to comfortable rules that would enslave us.

To not harden our hearts.

To be shaped and transformed by Him.

To respond in faith to the truth we already have.

May we be people who actively listen and respond to Scripture, whose hearts are shaped by God’s heart, and who daily proclaim by our lives that Jesus is Lord. Let’s pray.

Our good and gracious Father, we give our hearts anew and afresh to you, longing to be transformed by you, and to live faithful and obedient lives that are pleasing to you.

Open our eyes, and hearts, and hands to the needs around us, and give us a generous spirit to hold our wealth lightly.

Sustain us with your grace, and soften our hearts as you daily draw us closer to yourself. Amen.

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