Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] September 25, 2022 “It’s Really That Simple” Luke 16: 19-31 – Common English Bible “There was a certain rich man who clothed himself in purple and fine linen, and who feasted luxuriously every day. 20 At his gate lay a certain poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 Lazarus longed to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Instead, dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 “The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 While being tormented in the place of the dead, he looked up and saw Abraham at a distance with Lazarus at his side. 24 He shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I’m suffering in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things, whereas Lazarus received terrible things. Now Lazarus is being comforted and you are in great pain. 26 Moreover, a great crevasse has been fixed between us and you. Those who wish to cross over from here to you cannot. Neither can anyone cross from there to us.’ 27 “The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father’s house. 28 I have five brothers. He needs to warn them so that they don’t come to this place of agony.’ 29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They must listen to them.’ 30 The rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will change their hearts and lives.’ 31 Abraham said, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, then neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’” Last week’s parable of the dishonest manager was perplexing. It was unclear exactly what Jesus meant so I encouraged us to lean into the discomfort of not knowing. Since he taught by use of parables, perhaps it’s better to not be sure what Jesus is saying than to know exactly what he’s saying. Because the point is to make us think. However, that was last week, this is today. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus seems so straightforward, what else can we say? But let’s see. Context: In response to the perplexing parable of the dishonest manager, Luke told us that the Pharisees sneered because they were “money lovers.” But if they sneered at that story, they’re really not going to like the follow up. Jesus began, “There was a certain rich man…” A good story set up. Like, “once upon a time.” But with just one introductory word, rich, I can imagine hair rising on the necks of these already sneering men. Jesus describes a man who wore purple, something only the very wealthy could afford, wearing fine linens every day, something meant only for special occasions, and feasting luxuriously every day, something meant only for feast days. He’s not just rich. He’s the owner of a $150 million yacht obscene-rich. And at his gate, lay Lazarus. By the way, this is the only time Jesus told a parable that used anyone’s name. And FYI, this is not the same Lazarus Jesus raised from the dead. It’s a common name which, in Hebrew, means God is my only help. And how very true that was. Perhaps he’s a former servant who’s outlived his usefulness, no longer any good to the rich man. Or perhaps, as Eugene Peterson puts it, he is someone “dumped at the gate” of the rich man. Regardless, he’s suffering and so desperate, dogs lick the sores which cover his body. That’s quite a vivid image. This is not a cute puppy showing love. It’s a description of his extreme, you might say obscene, misery. When they both die, the rich man is buried. What happened to Lazarus? Was he just tossed aside? But then comes the great reversal of fortune. Lazarus is carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man is tormented, thirsty, suffering in flames. But notice, the rich man still treats Lazarus like a servant. “Go fetch me some water.” Abraham told him, you’ve already had yours. “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things, whereas Lazarus received terrible things. Now Lazarus is being comforted and you are in great pain.” Whether or not he realized the error of his ways, he doesn’t beg for mercy, just water. To his credit, he does want to spare his brothers the same fate – maybe because they are just as callous as he was. But, Abraham told him, you heard the prophets your entire life exhort you to care for widows and orphans, the poor, strangers and foreigners. You knew the right thing to do. It didn’t have to be this way. And if you didn’t listen to Moses and the prophets then, why would your brothers listen now? They’re not going to believe someone who returns from the dead. For the rich man, the parable ends with no happy reunion, no sudden realization, no Hollywood ending. Now, the sneering Pharisees might have scoffed that a man so rich is just a caricature, yet still have been offended. However, for those in the crowd listening to Jesus tell the parable, they may have cheered on with a sense of satisfaction. Finally, justice. Is that a good thing? Satisfaction in an afterlife. Is that something we should desire? I suppose we first have to ask if we believe in an afterlife. What do you think? Modern, educated people tend to dismiss the ideas of heaven and hell as antiquated. That doesn’t mean that modern educated people have any less interest in ideas about what happens after we die. Is there an afterlife? And if there is, is it the same for everyone – whether you lived a good, wicked, or unremarkable life? I’d love to know the answer. The Bible doesn’t give just one answer to that question. For millennia, Sheol was the answer. When people died, they went to Sheol – literally the place of the dead – with no judgments attached. That was it. Life was simply over. There’s something satisfying about that kind of simplicity. But humans always want to make things more complicated! Ideas began to evolve. Dr. Amy-Jill Levine lays out[1] some of them, such as in the Book of Daniel, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.” That’s not fiery torment, nor does it imply everyone but “many.” Around the same time, the Wisdom of Solomon states, “The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God and no torment will ever touch them. The ungodly will be punished as reasoning deserves.” No eternal fire. Just reasonable punishment. Like a time-out. Or bed with no dessert. Fire and brimstone sermons would be modified to “You’ll be reasonably punished” sermons. Centuries later, the Pharisees taught, “every soul is imperishable, but only the soul of the good passes into another body, while the souls of the wicked suffer eternal punishment.” Good souls pass into another. That sounds a little like reincarnation. And a little like divine karma. But remember: karma isn’t a punishment imposed; it’s a consequence. John the Baptist was a member of the Essene community and as a North Dakotan, I like what they had to say: “for the good souls there is an abode reserved beyond the ocean, a place oppressed neither by snowfall or storms nor burning heat but is refreshed by the ever-gentle west wind blowing from the ocean.” Sounds like San Diego is heaven! And, “The wicked are banished to a gloomy and stormy dungeon, full of never-ending punishments.” Winter in North Dakota for eternity. About 200 years before Jesus, Greek culture began influencing Judaism’s ideas about an afterlife in ways that still influence popular culture – heaven with pearly gates or the fires of eternal damnation. Eventually, all sinners dangling in the hands of an angry God. But Levine asks, “What purpose does eternal punishment serve, other than certain revenge fantasies?” Or attempts to control people’s behavior. And yet, doesn’t justice have to be found somewhere? And if not in this life, then when? Sometimes I wished I believed in a literal hell full of thirsty racists. And a section for email scammers chained to iPhones with never ending alerts. And people who took their $150 million super yachts to the grave with them but are confined to an area of water only the size of a bathtub. Hey, if there’s no justice in this life, why not? And if not fiery torment, then isn’t it reasonable to wish that at least some people will wake up from sleeping in the dust to eternal contempt? Or that good people will all live with an ocean breeze in a San Diego that has enough affordable housing? More to the point, should a rich man who wears purple and fine linens every day, and eats like every day is a feast day; should he face consequences? But not because he was rich. Being rich wasn’t the issue. The issue in this parable are consequences he faced because every day he stepped over a poor man at his gate covered in sores without offering the very care demanded by the prophets. He could have done something. Anything. Whereas last week’s parable was perplexing, Pat Wahlen said this one’s simple. Am I wrong, she asked? It simply says, “If you have money, help others.” Sermons are supposed to be longer than six words, but yes. This parable is not about how to gain eternal rewards or to avoid eternal punishment. Like many parables of Jesus, this is how you have a meaningful life today, which is to bring the kingdom of God a little closer for everyone on earth, as it is in heaven. One cannot have a meaningful life today without attending to the suffering that surrounds us. In the Book of James it says, “Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this life by learning all the right words but never doing anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?” And isn’t that simply the message of the parable? It’s not about consigning the rich to hell or presuming that Lazarus was justified simply by being poor. The point is to listen to and follow the instruction of our faith – from Moses to the prophets to Jesus – today. Not in some hereafter. One of my favorite lines about a progressive Christian faith comes from UCC pastor Kenneth Samuel: No pie in the sky by and by when we die. But something sound on the ground while we’re still around. It’s more than a “meaningful” life but one where our heart is changed into a deeper, more sacrificial, God-loves-us-enough-to-expect-more-from-us kind of life. Yes, it really is that simple: If you have money, help others. And if you don’t have money, help others. [1] Amy-Jill Levine, Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi, HarperOne, 2014
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