Rich in Christ

I was thinking about what I would share with my youth group in Sacramento two weeks ago, and I thought that they need to know about Christian responsibility toward the poor. So I utilized my last sermon manuscript on Luke 12. After the reflection I asked them to form three groups, and each group discussed about who they would classify as “the poor” in the society, in their neighborhood, and what we can do together to help them.

Then one of the youth asked me, “Are we talking only about those who are poor in terms of money, or also those who are poor in spirit?”

And the other one followed, “What about those who are physically poor?”
I didn’t expect those questions.

Our reading today is from Luke 16:19-31.
The Rich Man and Lazarus.

Lazarus-- one of the biblical names that is familiar to us.

Until this day, as far as I know, no one has found out the name of the rich man in this story.

As rich as he is: [he] dresses in purple and fine linen and feasts sumptuously – not just every weekend, but EVERY DAY.

While there, at his gate, laid poor Lazarus, hoping to forget his rumbling and hungry stomach from the crumbs which fall from the rich man’s table.

And suddenly they both are reported dead.

My concern is why Lazarus dies so fast.

Could it be because he doesn’t get anything really to eat...because the dogs get the crumbs…and the rich man is busy partying, does not care about such a thing, or perhaps just does not want his hands or clothes to get dirty.

And then something bad happens: sadly the rich man also dies. I don’t know for sure if the cause of his death relates to his lifestyle…but it’s possible.

Lazarus -- he is simply taken by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.

The rich man, on the other hand, is buried. He has a funeral.

Probably the most spectacular funeral of the year. The whole town marching with his family, with hundreds of mourners and music players, because his family can surely afford them.

The number of mourning days is probably extended from its usual length in their custom, and who knows if the memorial service finally becomes more like a party than a funeral.

And then now…
it is as if you can see the background scene has changed to something really different:

 The Abraham’s bosom where Lazarus is…

 and the Hades, the realm of the dead, with fire and all things relate to fire: smoke, the smell of it, the pain, and the gnashing of teeth – and there the rich man is.

Well, by the way this is a parable; a method of communicating true principles through stories.

And maybe at this point of the story, we are asking ourselves
Who is rich and who is poor in this parable?

Well we might ask too, monetarily?
Physically? Spiritually? Socially? And to expand it a little bit, intellectually?

And what if those questions are also asked to us this evening?
Are we rich or are we poor? Monetarily? Physically? Spiritually? Socially? Intellectually? And so forth.

We are all here to study theology, to sharpen our theological thinking.

Theology: in and of itself can be a haughty word: study about God [theos and logos].

We spend much of our time here studying, tracing the history and trying to understand theological thinking and so forth, which is good. It makes us able to argue, doesn’t it?

 The rich man is also able to argue. His hypothesis is that if Lazarus gives solemn testimony to his family they would NOT end up with him, the rich man, in that place. He is suggesting that they will change their lives once they hear what is going to happen to them directly from Lazarus.

 And Father Abraham argues back, they have Moses’ and the Prophets’ testimony with them; let them hear those testimonies.

And probably out of his own experience with his own family, the rich man emphasizes that they won’t; they won’t repent, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.

 But his argument is not quite compelling to Father Abraham who answers back: “If they do not listen to the testimony of Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

And this is part of what Luke is trying to convey to his readers.

The religious leaders and their establishment, who claim to be the descendants of Abraham;

Yes, they are proud to be the chosen nation.
Yes, they know about the Law, the Prophets inside and out.
Yes, they are rich in knowledge of the Scripture, yet they are poor, in the truest meaning of this term --

--because they cannot believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Redeemer of humanity.

They cannot believe because he is lowly, he is a son of a carpenter, and he is poor.

They don’t know that he becomes poor for them, for all of us, so that we all may become rich, in the truest meaning of this term.

Because through Jesus Christ, we have a relationship with God.

Lazarus is a poor man, he does not have anything, his health is failing him, but he has faith in God. How do I know this? Father Abraham, the father of the believers, knows him. Lazarus is in his bosom.

In the misery of his life, Lazarus has a good friendship – he has a good relationship – with God, and therefore he is given a place with Father Abraham. It is not because he was poor that he is there. It is because he is RICH.

Have we known Jesus?
Have we tried to know him that we know how to follow his steps?

Some have tried to know him by identifying what in His account is historical and what is from the realm of faith tradition. But as Albert Schweitzer said we can only know him by following him every day. It is in our direct encounter with him that we will know who he is…in a true historical and faithful understanding.

To care for those who he cares for,
To love the way he loves
To stand with those who are despised and rejected and to share with one another the good news that God welcomes everybody who is willing to repent from sins.

No matter how successful we will become or we have become;
No matter how great our achievement is in the sight of our neighbors;
No matter what we think about ourselves or others, good or bad;

if we don’t have a relationship with God, then we are poor --

-- and we risk wasting our chance to be at the place where Father Abraham is, because Christ is indeed risen from the dead, and He is among us, offering us a true and sweet relationship with God.

Only through and in Christ will we possess the true treasure that makes us truly rich, treasure that will never fail us: and that is to have a relationship with God. Amen.


Biblical Preaching class SFTS.