Sermon on Lazarus and Wealth – September 29, 2019

When this parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus last came up in the lectionary three years ago, I was all set to preach on it, and then the town of Greene flooded, so I had to rewrite my entire sermon. For some of this week’s sermon, I went back to what I planned to preach three years ago! Other helpful sources were Stephanie Mar Smith’s commentary in Feasting on the Word, Year C, Volume 4, page 110, and David Lose’s commentary here.

This year we also had Chris Caswell from Lutheran Services in Iowa with us to share about their ministry on our behalf, so my sermon is on the shorter end. Here’s my sermon for September 29, 2019, on Luke 16:19-31 and 1 Timothy 6:6-19.

Grace and peace from the One who was, who is, and who is to come, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Earlier in this chapter, we heard Jesus tell a parable about a dishonest manager who used money to buy himself favor, and we talked about how money is a tool, something to be used, not served. We talked about the importance of how you use your money.

We’re still talking about money today, but these lessons are about the dangers of wealth, particularly how it can insulate you from the needs of those around you.

Jesus tells a story about a rich man who dressed in fine clothes and feasted every day. For him, life was good. Notice Jesus doesn’t say he’s a thief, or dishonest, or anything like that. He’s just rich, and he seems content to focus on himself and enjoy what he has.

He doesn’t notice this poor fellow named Lazarus, who stays outside the rich man’s gate. (This isn’t the same Lazarus Jesus raises from the dead, just a character Jesus makes up for this parable.)

The rich man thinks of Lazarus as someone below him, of a different class, not someone he associates with, part of the scenery. He’s not cruel, or mean, or racist, or something, he simply doesn’t notice Lazarus’s problems.

He doesn’t need to notice Lazarus, because his position in life is secure. After all, he’s rich. What does it bother him if this beggar needs something? Shouldn’t he just get a job? Life isn’t really that hard, right? After all, I’m doing fine. That poor guy over there can deal with his own problems. I’m not responsible for him.

As Jesus tells the story, they both die, and the poor man, Lazarus, ends up in a good place with Abraham, and the rich man ends up somewhere else, a place of torment.

(Don’t hear this story as a tour guide describing heaven and hell or how you get there. That’s not the point Jesus is making.)

Anyway, as he’s being tormented, the rich man can see Lazarus and Abraham, and he asks Abraham to have mercy on him and send Lazarus to give him just a little bit of water.

The man’s dead, and he’s still doing the exact same thing he did in life! He’s still not noticing Lazarus as a person, as a child of God, only as someone who can serve him. Amazingly, he still only cares about his own benefit! And yet here, his wealth can’t protect him any longer. The earthly security he trusted in is gone. Worrying about his brothers who are still alive (at least he’s thinking of someone else for once!), he asks for someone (Lazarus will do) to go warn them to pay a little more attention to their lives so they don’t end up in the same place.

Abraham responds, if they haven’t gotten the message from Moses and the prophets, even someone rising from the dead won’t get their attention.

We know one who has risen from the dead, Jesus, the one telling the story. Has he gotten our attention? Have we gotten the message that our trust should be in God, not in our wealth? Have we gotten the message that we are blessed in order to bless others?

Our society is all about self-reliance, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, not having to take a handout from anyone. Try hard enough and you can accomplish your dreams. Ever heard that? That’s an American message, but it’s not a Christian one. Certainly taking responsibility is good, but ultimately, our security comes from God. So is our trust in God or in something else?

In 1 Timothy 6, Paul writes, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.”

Noticing people in need, seeing the problems in our world and working to make a difference requires trusting in God, rather than trusting in our wealth or in ourselves. There’s not usually any financial benefit to helping others. But if we trust in God, then we hear the call to pursue the benefit of others. Trusting God sets us free to answer God’s call to, as Paul puts it, do good, be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share.

One of the temptations of this parable is for us to say, “Well, we’re not all that wealthy. Jesus isn’t talking about us.” According to Oxfam (source), there are 62 people in the world who have the same wealth as the poorest 50% in the world, 3.6 billion people. If any of those 62 people are here, we could use a nice donation for elevator repairs.

It’s true, none of us have wealth on that level. But to be in the wealthiest half of the world, you need to have net assets of only $3,210. That’s most of us. If you have assets of $68,800—and a fair number of people in this room do—you’re in the top 10% of wealthiest people in the world.

Jesus’ point is not “wealth is bad.” The rich man is condemned not for being wealthy, but for ignoring his neighbor’s needs. This is not about how much you have; but about what you do with it.

He had the chance in life to cross the chasm separating him from Lazarus, and he didn’t do it. Instead of using the wealth God had trusted to him to serve his neighbors, he used it to insulate himself from them.

In this letter, Paul reminds Timothy that as we brought nothing into the world, we can take nothing out of it. It’s the old joke that you never see a funeral hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer. You can’t take it with you.

Instead, Paul says, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. Change your perspective on what really matters in life. Taking hold of eternal life doesn’t mean focusing on heaven and ignoring what’s going on around you in this world.

Instead, it means what Jesus proclaimed: The kingdom of God is at hand, here, among us. We are living eternal life now. We’ve been claimed as children of God and given eternal life, so live like it.

Eternal life has begun, which means we don’t need to fear death; we don’t need to spend our energy seeking temporary riches. Instead, Paul tells us to live as the citizens of heaven we already are. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Value relationships, not stuff. Live well, not to earn God’s favor, but because of what God has already done for you.

Because our hopes are set on God, we can do good by loving and serving our neighbors. Because we have been claimed, forgiven, and set free, we don’t have to set our hopes on the uncertainty of riches—we have a better option! We can be content with what we have; we can use what we have to do good, to follow God’s commands. Thanks be to God.
Amen