THE HOLY GOSPEL for many Lutheran churches on the Sixteenth
Sunday after Pentecost comes from Saint Luke. In this lesson, the story of
eternal fate for persons both rich and poor is told. The story
ends in prophetic words spoken that relates to the out pouring sacrifice of
Christ…
"There was a
rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously
every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of sores, who
desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table; moreover the dogs
came and licked his sores.
The poor man died and was carried by the
angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades,
being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in
his bosom. And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send
Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in
anguish in this flame.'
But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that you in
your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil
things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all
this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who
would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to
us.'
And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send
him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they also come into this place of torment.'
But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the
prophets; let them hear them.'
And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if some
one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and
the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the
dead.'" (Luke 16:19-31)
Opportunity Missed
Luke tells us that our Lord spoke to a mixed audience of
Pharisees and disciples, and related a story about the death and eternal fate
of two men. Not told by Jesus as a parable, however, the story described of the
fate of a rich person over against the restful eternal abode of a poor person.
Therefore, we today may say that the characters represent the socio-economic
strata of the persons to whom the story was originally told, and also
may be applied to similar persons in the world today.
We note that after a
life in which the rich man had ignored the plight of the poor, and saying nothing
else about the character of the two men... the telling revealed that the poor man was
carried by angels to heaven, while the other was received by the grave and Hades as the eternal habitation.
The heavenly location was depicted by Jesus as being graced by the presence of
Abraham. There in the company of the audience's faith ancestor, the poor man received eternal comfort.
The story told that across the chasm existing between the two realms, the rich man was always plagued by the blessed sight of the poor
man. He first asked for relief. Getting no respite from his capture and torment, he
then asked that the family that he had left behind might be warned, so that
they may learn to live differently.
We can safely say
that at this point in the story, that those gathered around Jesus
already had been given warning… for it was expressed in the Law and the prophets.
This pressed hard upon the hearers that as a sinful and stubborn people, they... and we also
today… do not take our Lord’s words of future judgment into account. Collectively, we do not adhere to
God’s warnings told.
At the last portion of the
story, where the rich man asked that someone may be sent from the dead to warn them... when the audience heard this, they likely knew that this request was against the dictate of Hebrew
scripture. There is no change given, in that it was written…
Surely for this word
which they speak there is no dawn. They will pass through the land, greatly
distressed and hungry; and when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will
curse their king and their God, and turn their faces upward; and they will look
to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they
will be thrust into thick darkness. (Isaiah 8:20-21)
The scriptural tradition upheld rightly is that the wide chasm between the two realms
is indeed fixed. It is not possible for the rich, the poor, or even Father Abraham...
to crossover. The great divide can only be crossed by the
power of the One who created, and yet creates… all things. The heavenly chasm
that cannot be crossed by human endeavor. At best the story reveals that those who go into punishment can behold the eternal comfort of those who are saved; whereas, no such vision is claimed for persons in the heavenly realm to "look down" upon persons still striving upon earth. Does this image counter the commonly held belief that our dear and departed relatives can watch over us?
Possible For God!
The question then arose in scripture, however..., “If that Holy One who set the
corners of the chasm in place, should cross the divide… would persons who consider
themselves as rich now believe?” Thus Jesus ended the story
with a very prophetic word. The statement was indeed prophetic for the answer spoke of
Jesus’ own death and Resurrection. The question pointed beyond the telling of the story to the eminent crucifixion
event… and the denial of its sacrificial character of Jesus' death by those who believed they could earn their way to the
heavenly realm. Jesus thus warned his listeners that day by saying…
'If they do not hear
Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise
from the dead.'"
Now…
lest we stand in judgment of the rich Pharisees, the impoverished, or the disciples who
listened to this story, we must recognize that these words of prophecy
are revealed to us today only by the power of the Holy Spirit. And, as scripture tells us…
“And we have the
prophetic word made sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a
lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in
your hearts.” (2 Peter 2:19-20)
We are called to carefully note that this was... and yet is... the revealed
message of salvation through Jesus Christ’s death and Resurrection. The Christ of God crossed the chasm as witnessed to us by the Holy Spirit. The message
was given by Jesus and then later told by Peter and the disciples after Pentecost.
This lesson thus now becomes a prophetic message said to us. The words guide us to
understand the salvation offered through Jesus.
 |
No Reason to Hide: Standing for Christ in a Collapsing Culture By Erwin W. Lutzer |
Take note! Just as in Luke’s day, when this story was related to the
disciples of the churches in Rome, Greece and Asia Minor, we also now may come to know
the sure and certain hope that God has reached in love across an unmovable chasm.
Gracefully, God did send someone to save us. Jesus himself came back from the dead to
retrieve those who will believe. Also note! Jesus related
to his audience that like Lazarus, we are saved by nothing that we do. We must rely
solely on the grace of salvation which is made available through faith given. For this reason,
we recall happily from the story that the angels took Lazarus to his heavenly rest
due to no earthly apparent reason other than his dependence on God's abundant grace.
What are we Christians to do
with this story? Since we work as the baptized in the Church., we are now called to carefully note that the Greek word for angels (angelos) is
interpreted as both as "angels" and “holy messengers”. Thus we know that the messengers from God are those
beings who are gracefully set apart as revealing spirits. Today we can rightly say that we walk alongside those who repeat this wonderful story. We can help to carry the “poor in spirit”
toward the heavenly realm.
Please know that you are invited to view our outreach videos...
"Judge Not, Lest You Be Judged"
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