18. Sunday after Pentecost, 09/26/2010

Sermon on Luke 16:19-31, by Carl A. Voges

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all thing, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time. [1 Timothy 6.13-15a]

The Passage

"There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and one may cross from there to us.'

And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house - for I have five brothers - so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'" [English Standard Version]

In the Name of Christ + Jesus our Lord

When driving around our city, you have to watch out for potential trouble: the person making a right turn, but coming into your lane first; the person still traveling at 40 mph as the light goes from yellow to red, the person who loses concentration and plows a SUV into a tree! When driving around our city, you have to be alert for potential trouble!

Today's Gospel notes, for more significant reasons, that we are to notice what grabs our listening attention. If we are accustomed to our favorite radio station, to a television program, to a football or baseball game, we should recognize that those habits tend to stream out from what we like or want. The Gospel, however, points out that, as the Lord's baptized people, we are to listen to the Lord God before we listen to ourselves.

We see this distinction in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Note that the rich man has no name - is that to show how independent he is? It appears so because Lazarus has a name - it means "one whom God helps". The rich man's apparent independence is also reflected in his expensive clothes and the fine meals in which he indulged himself every day. Lazarus' dependence, on the other hand, is reflected in his position at the rich man's gate, in his body sores (which are licked by dogs to heal them) and in his longing for the leftovers from the rich man's meals.

Both of these men die and you see a shift beginning to occur. Lazarus is carried away by the angels to be with Abraham! The rich man dies and is buried! The rich man ends up in Hades where he is being tormented by fire. He looks up and sees Abraham far away with Lazarus at his side. He calls out, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue." In his reply, Abraham notes how reality has shifted for these two people. In their prior lives the rich man had good things and Lazarus experienced bad things. Now Lazarus is comforted and the rich man is in agony.

Abraham goes on, stating that now there is a great chasm between the two men. A passage between the two is impossible. Faced with that reality, the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers so he can warn them of what waits for them in this eternal place of torment. Abraham asserts that the brothers have Moses and the Prophets, they can listen to them! But the rich man says, "No, his brothers won't listen to them, but they will snap to attention if someone appears to them from the dead." Abraham closes off the conversation by noting that not even the appearance of a dead man will get the brothers to listen!

As we pull away from this passage, the question is - To whom or to what do we listen? Perhaps we don't know or aren't sure, perhaps we have never paid the question a whole lot of attention. We should note, though, that when we listen to ourselves, we are guided by what we want, what we fear or what we desire. Or, because we are baptized people, do we listen to the Lord God? It is true that we can wave these questions off, but we should note that there are eternal consequences for our decisions now.

In his lifetime the rich man was listening only to himself, this is displayed in his apparent independence. In his lifetime Lazarus was listening to the Lord God, this is shown in his dependence on others. With those distinctions in mind and thinking of all the people who are currently listening to themselves more than they listen to the Lord God makes a person tremble.

We also need to remember that people who listen to themselves includes people like us. When that is apparent, there is strong need for such people to turn to the Lord's Scriptures, his Baptism, his Forgiveness and his Eucharist so they can hear him. Those are the holy places where we can listen to the Lord God!

We know that, but then we say, Don't you think we should get the Lord God to do something more dramatic to gain our attention? After all, those holy places are so familiar and common. However, those are the only places where people can listen to the Lord God. It is because of those places that people are turned away from listening to themselves.

When driving around a city, it is smart to be alert for potential trouble. When listening, though, such alertness is not an automatic. Turning from listening to ourselves to the Lord God is not easily done.

We are born with the ability to listen only to ourselves, that is our natural, easy inclination. Because the turn is not easy, though, is why the Lord God forms parish communities. He grounds them in his holy places so we can gather in his presence. There we can encourage one another, there we can be made aware of the pitfalls of listening only to ourselves, there we can realize the richness of listening to the Lord God.

This encouraging is one of the vital purposes of a parish community's life. The people or the person to whom we listen does have eternal consequences. It is vital that we catch that distinction this morning.

Now may the peace of the Lord God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our hearts

and minds through Christ + Jesus our Lord.

Pr. Carl A. Voges
Columbia, SC
E-Mail: cavoges@bellsouth.net

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