Rich Man, Poor Man and an Elephant

Mary Rodgers, Sept. 26, 2004
Luke 16:19-31

	Text: "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing." (Luke 15:25)

There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where the rich man was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames." But Abraham said, "Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to there cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us." The rich man said, "Then father, I beg you to send him to my father's house---for I have five brothers---that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment." Abraham replied: "They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them." He said: "No father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent." Abraham said: "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."

Before I was a minister I would read the story of the Rich man and Lazarus and secretly wish I was poor. M thinking was that I'd rather have a little suffering now followed by paradise for eternity than to have it the other way around. After I became a minister I read this story, and wish that I wasn't a minister I don't have to convince you that this passage has to do with money and possessions. The story does that all by itself. But as someone once said "preaching on matters of money is like teaching a pig to sing. It frustrates the teacher and it annoys the pig. Some say that "the frustration of preachers and the annoyance of hearers over sermons that address money can cause at best, tentative proclamation; and at worst they foster total silence and indifference. When this happens the economic elephant sitting in the Sanctuary is ignored." (Olson, Timothy The Pig and the Elephant Preaching in a Culture of Affluence Clergy Journal September 2004, pp 3-5)

I came across all kinds of reasons for the frustration and for the annoyance. Everything from the lack of a clear gospel message, to not knowing how to say things in a way that gets past the folded arms and furrowed brows of annoyed hearers. But here's the comment might hit home for many of you. It was by Timothy Olsen. He said: "most hearers do not become annoyed at the subject of money itself, nor do they resist guilt completely. He suggests that the annoyance stems from thinking that the preacher is out of touch with reality. Too often the call to give, live more simply and set aside chasing after "things" does not take into account the complexities of daily living and the complexity of daily economic decisions. (Ibid, p. 4) I believe what Olsen said is true. And although today I am the preacher, every day I am a hearer, Someone who wants to be a faithful follower, just like you, someone who want the Spirit of God to work through scripture to show us and then to empower us to live as God wants us to live. So instead of giving a sermon that is potentially out of touch with reality I think the best thing for us hearers to do is to walk together through scripture believing that God indeed has a specific Word for each one of us here today.

We will begin with the rich man and Lazarus and then we we'll move into so what? So what does this have to do with me? As with any passage, before you dive in it often helpful to see what happens around the given story.

I was surprised to find that including today, five of the last eight Gospel lessons have focused on money and possessions and anytime Jesus talks about something a lot it is important. Before we even get to today's passage four themes have emerged:

1. the potential deceptiveness of wealth,
2. the potential idolatry of possessions,
3. the importance of attending to the poor and
4. and last the critical importance of the manner in which one gives.

The climax of Luke's interest in money is the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. (Texts for Preaching Year C, p. 533) While most parables are sparse on detail Jesus goes to great lengths to set up the disparity between the rich man and Lazarus. (who by the way is the only named character in the story). The man is rich, he wears purple linen which is a sign of royalty and eats sumptuously every day. And Lazarus? He lays at the gate of the rich man and would have been grateful for the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs lick his sores and any good Jew that heard the story would know that that made him unclean and therefore an outcast.

Although there are more details in this story there are still a lot of things we do not know. We don't know anything about the rich man's heart. What kind of guy was he? I wonder as other have "did he invite friends over to laugh and point, did he have his security people lean on Lazarus to scare him off, and did they gag when the dog licked his sores? Did he notice the beggar? Maybe he said a prayer as he drove by while at the same time sticking to his policy of never giving anything directly to a street person. One writer said one thing that is missing from this from this parable is the sort of data people like to have when deciding whether to and how to help. It doesn't say for example, if Lazarus was deserving or lazy, drug addicted, mentally ill, or just a good Joe down on his luck. We don't know whether he cornered the rich man with pathetic spiels every time he left the house or whether he just lay there, mute day after day." (Luti, Mary J. Send Lazarus Christian Century September 9-16 2004)

We only know that the rich man dressed well and ate sumptuously and that Lazarus was at the gate, sick and hungry. And that, Jesus seems to say is all we need to know.

Some say that what happens next is shocking. Death, the great equalizer comes along and the rich man ends up in Hell tormented and suffering and Lazarus ends up in heaven, living in paradise with Father Abraham. Not only is it shocking it's frightening especially if on the economic spectrum of the rich man all the way to Lazarus you place yourself somewhere about here. (Show the congregation closer to the rich man than Lazarus). Which is, of course, where I place myself. Does the rich man go to hell because he is rich? It reminds me of the may times I visited New York City and walked numerous homeless people with averted eyes.

It must have been terrible for the rich man sitting in hell, hot and in agony realizing that indeed his 401ks and a good investment portfolio could not insure his future, even though it seemed like at the time they could. Money can be deceptive. "Send Lazarus to help me." He pleads.

Remember earlier when we said that there was a lot we didn't know about the Rich Man's heart? It was pointed out to me that here Jesus gives us some insight. One person wrote: "Surely the rich man is sorry that he failed to do right by that beggar. But even unspeakable retribution has not undone the self -beguilement the rich man feels in his heart. Yes his ways and means are gone but its stubborn residue remains: unconscious entitlement, reflex self-assertion. Privilege clings to the rich man even in hell "Send Lazarus to me" Even from the viewpoint of hell the rich man looks up and at best see Lazarus as a servant. He's beneath the rich man or so the rich man thinks so of course you can send for him with a curt command to refresh a damned but nonetheless important person who, because he is who he is ought not to suffer. You can also send him off to warn heedless brothers about the fate they are courting. But to all this Abraham says no. There are some things you cannot undo, some chasms that can be crossed. The rich man's heart. He never even got it. No repentance, no I'm sorry I'll change, Just I'm hot and in agony, this should not be happening. "Send Lazarus to me." How ironic it is that Lazarus is sitting up there beside God and Abraham and the rich man only sees someone less than himself a servant, one who should meet his needs. Up a creek without a paddle, the rich man remains in hell. Well that's the story. It's time for so what? In fact let's say it together: So What!

So what does it mean for us? What about that Elephant? The other day I was talking to Henry Brinton the head of staff at Fairfax Presbyterian and in the course of our conversation he told me about how a member of his church came up to him and said Henry "faith is not a journey, it's a struggle. "What a true statement that is. It honors how very difficult it can be at times to know how to follow Christ in this day and time. In honor of that struggle I want to throw out some insights that hit me as we walked together through this story. Not answers but insights. First, there is nothing wrong with being rich. There is nothing inherently evil about money. Jesus does not indict the man because he's wealthy. He is indicted because he never sees Lazarus. The difficulty with the relationship over all those years is that the rich ma never really sees Lazarus. Even in Hades he can only think of Lazarus as an errand boy. His wealth has so distorted his vision that he is unable to perceive (i.e. see) the plight of the beggar at his gate, to identify with his predicament, and to ease his suffering. The rich man wasn't asked to ease the suffering of the entire world, (which is what we sometimes think Jesus wants us to do). he was asked to ease the suffering of just one man. A couple of years ago I was in Seattle with some friends. We were down by the water and there were many homeless and hungry people. I would walk by feeling guilty and terrible. There were so many. And then I noticed my friend. When a homeless person asked him for money he said I won't give you but I will buy you some food. And then he proceeded to take a five dollar coupon for food from McDonalds out of his wallet and give it to the man. The rich man wasn't asked to ease the suffering of the entire world, he was asked to ease the suffering of just one man.

Second insight: As we struggle with matters of money and faith we can continue to go to scripture to be blessed in this struggle. Abraham, Jacob and Joseph were all biblical examples of people who had considerable means. There were biblical characters who has some means and even biblical characters who had very little means like the widow in the widows mite. The difference between them and the rich man was that they viewed all of their wealth through a theological lens and described it using the language of creation. Seen through this lens the material world is seen "as very good" A blessing from God. I read about a man who wasn't very wealthy but was doing ok who after reading tried to view his belongings in a new way, believing that they are here to help him connect with others. (not just to his friends and family but to others). Each year he asked himself the same question: How is what I have helping me be connected with others?

Finally a note about that chasm. You know the one Abraham says that can't be crossed. Will Willlimon writes that it is possible that each one of us can look down and truly see suffering Lazarus as we walk through the gates into our own well-kept world. Father Abraham was wrong he says because someone does come back from the dead, and despite our intense struggles in matters of faith and money someone has come back from the dead and told us this story; someone has risen in order to help us to see. That my friends is the good news today.

Amen

© Copyright, 2004, Rev. Mary Rodgers
All Rights Reserved.
Providence Presbyterian Church
Fairfax, Virginia