September 28, 2025 Sermon
Sermon title: “Poor Man Lazarus”
Scripture: Luke 16:19-31
(Other lectionary choices include Jeremiah 32:1-3a and 6-15, Psalm 91:1-6 and 14-16, and I Timothy 6:6-19.)
Luke 16:19-31
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 24He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ 25But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house— 28for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ 29Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
The Scripture for today is a great one, even if it’s a little bit scary. Are you generous to the poor? Then don’t worry. Do you give food to the hungry? If so, then don’t worry. And I hope that you noticed the rich man was not condemned for having wealth - but the fact that he never even questioned the current state of affairs, THAT was his sin. He did not think of others.
One of our choices from the lectionary is from I Timothy. In Chapter 6, verses 9-10, we are told “People who try to get rich fall into temptation. They are trapped by many stupid and harmful passions that plunge people into ruin and destruction. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil . Some have wandered away from the faith and have impaled themselves with a lot of pain because they made money their goal.” Did you notice? It’s the LOVE of money, not money itself. We need money to pay the pastor’s salary (!), and the organist’s and the secretary’s. We need to pay the light bill and the air-conditioning bill. Money isn’t bad. But if wealth accumulation is your goal, then you have a problem.
I have heard it said that Jesus or the Bible or the Gospels talk about money about four times as much as PRAYER is mentioned. I never went through and counted but think about it: what we do with our money is four times more important than how many prayers we say. Our God is a practical God!
Before AI came into being, there were lots of sermons on the internet on various topics. The story of Lazarus and Dives is one example. By the way, “Dives” is the Latin word for “rich.” It’s not his name. Just like in the Old Testament, the ruler of Egypt was called the pharaoh. And the ancient Hebrews didn’t care what his name was. He was just mean old Pharoah, whatever his name was!
I came across an internet sermon by a guy named Wilfrid Harrington. I don’t know who he is or was, but he has some interesting things to say. He says, “The sin of Dives is that, cushioned by his lavish lifestyle, he was simply oblivious to the presence of a beggar at his gate.” Also, Harrington points out that there is a text in the prophet Isaiah (Chapter 58:7) that says we are “to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; and when you see the naked to cover him.” The man in agony (Dives) had one more plea. Surely if Lazarus were to come back from the dead, his brothers would be moved and repent. The answer he gets is that a miracle will not help those who have made no use of the means God has put at their disposal.
I just gave a homeless guy some money. I don’t tell you this so you’ll think I’m a good guy. I mention it because of Scriptures like we had today. I am blessed and I think you are, too. Do you and I give enough? And what IS enough? And another question: when we give, do we give to alleviate suffering, or to assuage our guilt? I don’t know that there’s an answer, but I just want you to know what I think about every so often.
By the way, how could I give money in the middle of writing a sermon? It’s like this: I read the lectionary suggestions early in the week and think about them. On Wednesday or Thursday, I try to write a page or two. I need to finish by Friday evening so that Tami can type it up. So, before I started writing on Friday morning, I went out to get Harlane and me a bagel or a donut. (Today it was a bagel! And it’s also when I saw the homeless guy.)
Boy, Jesus was right on the money, wasn’t he, when he said (in another context) that “The poor you will always have with you.” The story of Lazarus and Dives was an old story, but you and I still see it today with the hungry and the homeless. I don’t know that there is an answer, but I DO know that you and I are called to be compassionate. And I am sure you are familiar with the sentiment, “There but for the grace of God go I.” You probably don’t need to be told this, but please don’t say or think, “That guy ought to get a job!” Maybe he had a job and lost it through no fault of his own. Try not to be judgmental like the Pharisees. It seems to me that any religious person needs to be compassionate first. Otherwise, what’s the difference between us and the rest of the world?
The last line of today’s Scripture reading seems to me to refer to Jesus’s rising from the dead. It doesn’t say so but remember that Luke’s Gospel was written after the Resurrection, as all four Gospels were. So, to refer to somebody coming back from the dead pretty much has to refer to Jesus, in my humble opinion. And British scholar N. T. Wright makes a good point: this story of Dives and Lazarus comes not long after the story of the Prodigal Son. The father says, “This your brother was dead, and is alive again.” Says Wright, “The older brother in the earlier story is very much like the rich man in this: both want to keep the poor, ragged brother or neighbor out of sight and out of mind. Jesus, we recall, has been criticized for welcoming outcasts and sinners; now it appears that what he is doing is putting into practice in the present world what, it was widely believed, would happen in the future one."
What Wright is saying is that the Pharisees, who loved money, were treating the poor the same way Dives was treating Lazarus. And the Pharisees - and anybody else who was paying attention – “are now urged to change their ways while there is still time. All Jesus is asking them, in fact, is to do what Moses and the prophets would have said. As Luke makes clear throughout, his kingdom-mission is the fulfillment of the whole story of Israel. Anyone who understands the law and the prophets must therefore see that Jesus is bringing them to completion. If they do not, then not even someone rising from the dead will bring them to their senses.” Amen.
Pastor Skip
