Dives and Lazarus

Holy Communion at St Giles – Thursday 24 March 2011

Gospel Luke 16

Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.
The Lord is a great God, O that today you would listen to his voice.
Harden not your hearts.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. ²⁰ At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores ²¹ and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²² “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴ So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

²⁷ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

³⁰ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

³¹ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Danger in reading a passage and interpreting it as a freestanding story. “What is the context?” – anyone asked the meaning of a reading would do well to look up the context in which the passage appears.

The parable of Dives and Lazarus is about riches, but in a particular way. Chapter 16 starts with Parable of Dishonest Steward.

This parable itself is hard to interpret. A rich man sacks his steward. Gives him no chance to explain discrepancies in his accounts. Summary dismissal.

Steward, to ingratiate himself with other potential employers, does deal with each man who owes money to his boss. Reduces the debt dramatically in return for immediate payment. Since the steward still has his master’s authority to act, the deals stand.

Far from throwing him in jail for swindling his boss or accusing him of exceeding his authority, the rich man praises him for being shrewd.

Whoever is faithful in very little is faithful also in much. All very strange. Reaction of Pharisees to the story may help our understanding. They ridicule the teaching. Probably because see it as applying to themselves.

Jesus tells them: “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God.”

The Pharisees were stewards of the law, yet abused the trust they had been given. Having been dishonest with what they had been given, who would now entrust them with the true wealth of the Kingdom of God? Their love of money was too great, and no one can serve both God and Money.

The story of the rich man and Lazarus illustrates how roles are reversed. The Pharisees in this world have power and wealth, yet ignore the poor sick and dying under their very noses.

The Pharisees’ love of material things has blinded them to the warnings. Firstly by the Prophets whose words they profess to study, and by the Law they keep to the letter (but not the spirit). Secondly, they now have Jesus but reject him as the Messiah who has come to save.

The picture is of the Pharisees pleading after their death that the warning signs were not sufficiently clear and persuasive. They ask for an authoritative witness to be sent back to earth to warn their brothers in unequivocal terms. But that person is Christ himself, who is telling the story. If they didn’t heed the likes of Abraham, Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen to anyone, even one sent back from the dead.

For us though, there’s still time. And what better time than the season of Lent to reflect on all this?