Sermon for Trinity 1
1 John 4:16-21 + Luke 16:19-31
The parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus always starts off the long Trinity season, almost like the beginning of a long race, like a marathon. The finish line at the end of the Trinity season is Judgment Day. The whole season, starting today, is heading in that direction, heading toward that goal. The finish line seems a long way off right now, and there’s a lot of running to do to get there. But throughout all that running, you have to keep the goal in mind. It will affect how you run, how you pace yourself, and the decisions you make along the way.
So it is with the Christian life, as both the rich man and Lazarus learned in the end. The rich man’s riches and the poor man’s poverty were part of the running path of each man’s life. But after the running was over, it was what waited beyond the finish line that really mattered for both of them, and if the rich man, especially, had kept that in mind during his earthly life, he would have run a much different race.
How does Jesus describe the rich man? There was a certain rich man. He was clothed in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day. It certainly isn’t a sin to be rich, as long as you acquired your riches legally and honestly, and there’s no indication in Jesus’ story that this rich man was a thief of any kind. But, as we see here, having riches isn’t necessarily a sign that a person is close to God. There are certain advantages that come with being rich, besides the obvious earthly advantages. For one thing, having lots of money enables a person to be extremely generous and benevolent. On the other hand, having riches also comes with some very real spiritual challenges. In fact, it can become a great hindrance to entering the kingdom of heaven. As Jesus once put it, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Why? Well, we see an example of why in today’s parable. The rich man had it so good, was so happy with this life that he gave no thought to the next. He became engrossed in this life. He fell in love with it and lived it up every day. He relied on himself and his riches. Meanwhile, God and His word, God and His commandments, were out of sight, out of mind. And as for his neighbor, Lazarus, lying right there at his gate, his brother Israelite, his brother in the Church of Israel, well, this particular rich man paid him no heed at all, not sharing even a crumb of his daily banquets with Lazarus. He was focused on enjoying the good life he had. He may not have been greedy, but he was certainly indifferent toward God and his neighbor.
Meanwhile, we’re told of Lazarus’ miserable life. There was a certain poor man named Lazarus, who lay at the rich man’s gate, full of sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. And the dogs would come and lick his sores. It certainly isn’t a privilege to be poor. It isn’t an enviable position, and a person gets no special credit for it. But neither is it necessarily a curse from God, as we see here in the end in the case of Lazarus. There are spiritual risks associated with poverty; the poor are tempted to envy the rich, to be bitter and discontented with their lot in life, which is a sin against the Ninth and Tenth Commandments. But poverty does come with certain spiritual advantages. The poor (and sick) are less tempted to get wrapped up in this life, more willing to look beyond it, to yearn for the better life with God, and are often more prone to seek God and to rely on Him and His mercy.
Lazarus didn’t have much enjoyment in this life, and it may have looked, to some, as if he had been abandoned by God. But then it was over. He died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom, where he was comforted. It turns out, Lazarus was not abandoned by God at all. The angels were right there when he died, waiting to take his soul straight to Abraham’s bosom. Abraham’s bosom is a tender picture of the loving reception Abraham’s children, the believing Jews, would have in heaven when they died. Those who shared the faith of Abraham, in God and in His promises, would rest from their labors and sit at the heavenly banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as Jesus pictures it elsewhere. Lazarus had run a hard and miserable race in this earthly life, but as he learned firsthand, the misery was nothing compared with the eternal rest and the joy of the next life.
The rich man learned the opposite lesson. For all the enjoyment he pulled out of this life, it was nothing compared with the eternal pain and torture that followed. The rich man also died and was buried. And, in hell, in the midst of his torments, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus lying in Abraham’s bosom. And he cried, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.”
Hell is real. And worse than that, hell is forever. It’s pictured with flames, or as a lake that burns with fire and brimstone. In the Old Testament it’s described as a place where their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched.
Why did the rich man end up there? Well, as Scripture clearly teaches, all men are headed there by nature, because all have sinned, and so all must die. But God, in His mercy, has made one way for sinners to avoid those flames. He calls all men to repent of their sin and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and was raised to life again, who conquered death and hell for all who believe in Him. Now, for those who died before Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, like Lazarus in the parable, it was still the same faith that saved them, even as Abraham was justified by faith in God, faith in God’s mercy, and faith in the coming Christ. The rich man had no such faith. He was a physical son of Abraham, but not a spiritual son. Who has time for God, when money can buy so much happiness? Who has any need for God, when this life is going so well? His indifference toward God, and the resulting indifference toward his neighbor, was just as damning, in the end, as the willful sins that people commit against God and against His commandments. The adulterer and the murderer will perish right alongside the indifferent man who cares neither for God nor for his neighbor.
Now, it’s very unlikely that there’s actually communication between the souls in heaven and the souls in hell, but Jesus wants to teach a lesson here, so He includes one instance of such a communication in His parable, where the tormented rich man calls out to “father Abraham,” asking him to send Lazarus with a drop of water to cool his tongue. But Abraham said, “Son, remember that you received your good things during your lifetime, while Lazarus received bad. But now he is comforted here, and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who wish to cross over from here to you cannot, nor can they cross from there to us.”
The rich man could have gone over to Lazarus and offered him a little comfort during his lifetime; no chasm was fixed between them then. But instead the rich man chose to run his race alone, enjoying his riches, and left Lazarus to run his race alone, comfortless and miserable. After this life, after the finish line has been crossed, there are no such opportunities to help our fellow man, just as there are no more opportunities to seek God and His forgiveness.
And so, realizing that, the rich man’s heart goes out to his brothers, who are still alive, and with a sense of urgency for them, pleads with Abraham, I beg you, then, father, to send Lazarus to my father’s house. For I have five brothers—that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment. You see, the rich man wasn’t completely heartless. He loved his family; he loved his own. But that love doesn’t save; it doesn’t wipe out any sins. Only trust in God and His mercy for Christ’s sake will save, and after a person dies, there are no more opportunities to repent and believe. Still, even if there was no hope for the rich man, was there no hope for his brothers?
Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them!” And he said, “No, father Abraham. But if someone were to go to them from the dead, they would repent.” But Abraham said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then they will not be persuaded, even if someone were to rise from the dead.”
Once a person crosses the finish line of this life, there is no going back to guide those who are still running. There’s no information, no encouragement, no help to be given from the other side of the grave. The only help people have in this life—and the only help they need—is “Moses and the prophets,” that is the living and powerful Word of God which He inspired to be written down in the Old Testament, and now also in the New Testament Scriptures. Moses and the Prophets preached the Law and the Gospel, sin and grace, repentance and faith. They pointed forward to the Christ who would come. The New Testament preaches the same things, pointing back to the Christ who came. God, through the Holy Scriptures, calls all men to repent of their self-centered indifference toward God and man. He shows all men, through the Scriptures, how serious He is about sin, how desperate man’s situation is because of our sin, and how He has provided a Savior for all men in the person of His beloved Son. All are called to repent and believe in Christ Jesus. All are invited to be saved and forgiven through Him. But if all of those warnings and all of those invitations to believe mean nothing to you in this life, if you’re just going do what you’re going to do, live how you’re going to live, enjoy this life as much as possible, for as long as possible, then the finish line will come upon you suddenly. And then you will see how much you squandered your time here. Then you will wish you could go back and run your race differently, because you will not like what awaits you beyond the finish line.
But your race isn’t over yet. Your time of grace remains. Moses, and the prophets, and apostles still speak to you, and there’s still time for you to listen. If you see that you have been running wildly, mindlessly, selfishly, there is time to correct course, which is why Jesus told this parable in the first place. Repent today. Turn to the Lord today and receive His pardon today. And while it’s still called today, consider the finish line, the goal of this life and what lies beyond it in the next, and live your life accordingly. If you’re rich here, don’t become absorbed in enjoying what you have. Remember God and what He has prepared for you in the next life. And then look around and see if there’s someone who truly has a need with whom you might share. If you’re poor, don’t despair. Remember God and what He has prepared for you in the next life. And then trust in Him to provide you with daily bread, and be content with that. Whatever your situation in life, dear Christians, live this life with the next life in mind. Set your minds on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. And run in such a way as to win the prize at the end! Amen.
