Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (C) 2019

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Luke 16:19-31
Theme: The Rich Man and Lazarus

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

Jesus spoke many parables. He did so because He had vital things to say. Parables use analogies or comparisons. Therefore, they have their limitations. There is no evidence in the Bible that a person in hell can have an actual conversation with a person in heaven. But Jesus employs that possibility in order to drive home His point. And He does so emphatically. The language and imagery here are striking. Poor Lazarus, who has been mistreated all his life goes to heaven, and the rich man who neglected him goes to hell. A conversation ensues. The purpose is to teach about ultimate and eternal truths. Unsurprisingly, Jesus Himself is the decisive figure.

In hell, the rich man not only begs for relief for himself but shows concern for his brothers that are still living. But the opportunity to act on his regret has passed. His eternity is locked in. “Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”1 The chasm is evidence of the unalterable will of God. The Almighty has determined the partition between heaven and hell, and it cannot be breached. The dimensions are impregnable.

The message is unmistakable: There will be no second chances. Once you’re in the position of the remorseful rich man it’s too late. Now is the time to heed God’s warning. Now is the time to repent. Now is the time to trust in God’s mercy. Now is the time for faith to show that it is active in love. Now is the time to consider what is really most important in life. Repentance cannot be scheduled by us for a later time. It must be initiated by the Spirit. The rich man’s lack of faith was evidenced by his lack of love. Everyday Lazarus was laid at his gate and yet each day compassion was withheld. Compassion is not an optional virtue for Christians. Faith and hard-heartedness are incompatible.

Dear friends, the call to turn to God and away from sin is not fluid; that is, it can’t happen on our terms. The parameters of our repentance are not discretionary. We can’t define them anyway we’d like. Abraham responds to the rich man’s request to send Lazarus to his brothers saying, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.”2 That is, they have the word of God; they have the Bible. But the rich man insists someone will have to come from the dead to get them to repent. Only such a dramatic event will shake them out of their stubbornness. They won’t be moved by anything less. Abraham’s reply is resolute, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”3

Here the climax of the parable is reached. Jesus is previewing the lack of belief that will accompany His own resurrection from the dead. Someone will indeed come back from the dead- and not just anyone, the Son of God Himself- and still many will remain skeptics.
“Seeing is believing”, they say, but how and what do we see? Do we believe God’s promises because we see, or do we see (with spiritual eyes) because we believe?

Is it clear to us today that Ava was washed of her sins, became a child of God, and received an inheritance in heaven when we saw the baptismal water applied and heard the Name of God proclaimed? Is the Bible’s claim that this young soul is able to trust in her Saviour empirically evident? Is that why we believe in the power and blessing of baptism? Or do we see the blessing of this sacrament because we believe the promise of God? Is it not our faith in God’s trustworthiness (a faith the Spirit Himself must give) that gives credibility to this action? And is that not so with all of the most vital truths? We can see the Almighty’s creation, but how do we see the Saviour’s redemption?

The same conundrum applies in our daily struggle to follow God’s will. Sometimes God causes us to really feel the consequences of our sinfulness. Embarrassment, guilt, shame, and humiliation all help motivate us to seek forgiveness for our offences. The Holy Spirit works this motivation in us this through the hearing of God’s law. That’s what repentance involves. Of course, we might also feel the consequences of sin in other ways- regret, brokenness, hurt, and trauma- and be unaware or unsure about whether we are victims, perpetrators, or both.

But what happens when we don’t feel the effects of our sinfulness? How easy is it then to seek God’s forgiveness? If we’re not feeling remorse or regret over sin- and perhaps we’re in denial- the Bible calls upon us to believe that we are sinners who still need Christ’s forgiveness. How easy is it to see that Ava Thorpe needs forgiveness! Not very! But we believe it because ALL are conceived and born in sin. God tells us something that human reason can’t readily understand. And, dear friends, it must be true at some level- and probably for many a subconscious level- that one reason church attendance is generally in steady decline is because people don’t feel the need for forgiveness? They don’t believe it’s vital.

One thing we can be certain of is that Jesus was always teaching things that were critical and vital. He wasn’t given to trivial chit-chat. Today’s He’s teaching that the God who saves cannot be found just anywhere. We cannot construct our own access to a Him. He reveals His identity to us. We can see His capability in creation, but we can only see His compassion in the crucifixion. His might is evident in the laws of nature, but His mercy is seen only through the eyes of faith. Our Saviour is the One who hung upon the cross. There is no other. And there is no other means to answer the inescapability of our mortality. To die estranged from Jesus is to be eternally lost. That is the glaring and unmistakable point of the parable today. The rich man died alienated from hope and trust in God. He died on his own terms in his own way- full of indulgence in this life, but full of regret in the next.

In relation to God we are all like Lazarus. Even those most capable, successful, and confident in worldly terms are completely reliant on the grace of God when it comes to spiritual security. Like Lazarus who lay outside the gate of the rich man with no capacity to help himself, so too, we would all lay outside the gate of heaven never to enter under our own power. Christ had to come to us outside the gate, heal us of our sins, feed us with His sacrament, and make us honored guest of His kingdom. When we gather at this altar to receive the blessing of Christ’s body and blood we dine with Lazarus. At this table we are his peers.

Jesus said, “I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved.”4 His church is built on unalterable truth and “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”5 He said, The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”6 He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”7 What promise could be more comforting or assuring than these?

Jesus often taught using parables. In this way important spiritual truths were instilled. But the work of Jesus for our salvation was no parable, analogy, or illustration. Our redemption is not part of a virtual or simulated reality. Jesus breached time and space to become part of our fallenness. The gospel is not a theoretical ideology. The baby in the manger was the victim of the cross and the conqueror of the grave. Death itself has been defeated by Him. Satan is silenced. Hell is vanquished. Its gates are shut to all who believe while the gates of heaven are open. That’s vital information for Lazarus, and for us! Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost
29 September 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Luke 16:26 2 Luke 16:29
3 Luke 16:31 4 John 10:9
5 Matthew 16:18 6 Luke 19:10
7 John 11:25