In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
The problem with parables is that we can become too familiar with them – like an old joke that you've heard so many times and you just rush on into the punch line without even getting any amusement. We know, to get to the other side. We get this parable, pastor – greedy rich man bad. Ho hum. But that's not actually the point of the parable – this isn't meant to be a lambasting of the rich text, despite what people today might say. Jesus didn't tend to lambaste the rich – quite a few of them followed Him around, actually bankrolled His ministry. Allow me to reframe, to re-present the parable afresh.
There was a good man, a fine, upstanding pillar of society. This was a good man who was blessed by God. Everything he did was successful, and he enjoyed good things in life. He donated to all the right causes, was a pillar of the community. He was utterly respected – like Nicodemus he was a ruler of the Jews – the sort of man you would hope that your sons would grow up to be like, the sort of man you hoped that you daughter might marry. A good man, thoroughly blessed by God.
And then there was Lazarus. He was, oh, there's no really nice way to put it, but he was a bum. He had wasted his life. He lived rough, he was foolish, did dangerous things, hung out with the riff raff, and his life fell completely apart. You could see it when you looked at him. He was full of wounds; his own body bore the marks and scars of his ill-lived life. This wasn't just tragedy or bad luck – this was the chickens coming home to roost. Lazarus has with his folly, with his life of abuse, wrecked his body. And we see him in a bad state – and so his “friends” ditch him, they just dump him off at the rich fellow's house (they literally throw him there, in the Greek) – might be the only place Lazarus might get any care.
Well, whatever help that kind, good, rich man could give, it wasn't enough. Lazarus dies, having worn out his welcome in this world, and he is carried by the angels to Abraham's side... and there it is. The record scratch moment of the parable. Wait, what are you talking about Jesus? What do you mean Lazarus goes to be with Abraham – Lazarus was vile! He was wretched. I think you're a bit confused there, Jesus. Doesn't matter to Jesus, because He keeps on telling the story. The rich guy dies, and he gets buried with all the mourners there, and a nice grave, and well, then he's there is hell, burning and roasting away – WHAT? Wait, what are you talking about Jesus? This was a Capital fellow – surely he'd be at Abraham's side, at a good spot! Oh, no, no, no – this rich guy is deep down in hell – I mean, he has to look way up and way far away to see where Abraham is.
This is the setting for the parable, the surprise, the twist that we forget. We're so used to the rich man being the “bad guy” and so used to Lazarus being the good guy that we forget how shocking and upsetting this parable and it's premise is. And often we will make extrapolations on the story, things to make clear that really the rich man was a bad guy – clearly he wasn't charitable, so you need to be more charitable too. Well, it's not bad to be charitable, but that's not why the rich man is in hell in the story – Abraham doesn't lecture the rich man on how selfish he was. And it's not that Lazarus was some how noble in the story – he's not. He's pathetic – and the assumption, especially back then, was that he had done plenty of stuff to earn his pathetic lot. And frankly, it might actually be that way even by our standards – those wounds as they are described in the text seem to be consequences of his actions. So to anyone hearing this parable, the hinge, the great question to be answered would be this – how in the world does such a good guy, a well blessed man end up in hell? Especially instead of some wretched junkie who O.D.s on his porch.
Well, let's listen to this Rich Man's confession – because we hear him speak, and that's where we see what is going on in this man's heart. And he called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on 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.” It seems like a good start – have mercy. Not bad. But not really good. What does mercy look like here? Is mercy, “I have done wrong and I need forgiveness?” Is mercy, “I have messed up and I need deliverance?” No, not really. Here it's more, “Hey Abraham, you and I, we're both good people – help me out. It's lousy here, I need water. I wouldn't ask you to help, because you're a good fellow and you shouldn't have to suffer, but send that junkie Lazarus down here with some water to cool me off a bit.” Do you hear it – the pride in the background, the smugness. There is no reflection on why he is there, whether or not he deserves this punishment – simply that there should be relief, that someone the likes of him ought not be there. And the thing is, the crowd hearing Jesus preach this parable might be inclined to agree with him.
But Abraham cuts him off - “Child” - pause there. Abraham calls him child. Boy. Abraham doesn't call him son, Abraham doesn't treat him like family, and he doesn't treat him like an adult, like a brother. What does it mean if you address someone in a conversation as “Boy”? Or in the south if someone drops a, “Child”? You aren't a grown up, you aren't mature, you don't know what you are talking about. Abraham cut the rich man down to size. Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. Tables have turned, haven't they. You had a time where you were richly blessed – Lazarus had struggle and a rough, bad life. But that's not the way it is here. Things are different here. You aren't getting anything here – and all those blessings you had are gone. Lazarus is comforted, paracleted, Holy Spirited – but you are in anguish. Or, to put it this way, despite what we might have assumed simply by appearance, Lazarus actually had faith, had the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, while the rich man was in fact faithless and Spiritless – and thus His anguish. This isn't about works, this isn't about success, this isn't about good life decisions – this story all hinges upon faith. And the rich man, despite all his blessings that he had received from God, had none.
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 it's too late now, anyway. If you had paid attention to the Scriptures you would have known this. You would have expected this. But you didn't, so tough luck.
But the rich man retorts – 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. And here again, this is something that would have just sat poorly, would have made people's skin crawl a bit. I mean, the idea is nice, go warn my brothers – but this isn't how you treat Abraham. This isn't how you deal with Father Abraham – you're in torment and you're still giving directions. You're giving directions to Abraham? Ew. Which is why Abraham is curt, dismissive – They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. This is an official pronouncement – this is the king saying, “Let it be done.” “Make it so.” This should be the end of the story. They have the Scriptures – hear the Scriptures and have faith, believe in the promises of God and receive the Spirit – this is how salvation happens.
But this unbelieving rich man just won't shut his trap and listen. No, Father Abraham - if you happen to be wearing pearls, ladies, now would be the time to clutch them. This is shocking, this is vile. You don't backtalk Abraham like this, and you certainly don't contradict him, especially on matters of Faith. No, Father Abraham, but if someone 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 someone should rise from the dead.
Of course they won't be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. The Scriptures taught that there would be One who would be raised from the dead on the third day, even Jesus Christ who is telling this very story. And those who delighted in the Word and received the Holy Spirit would rejoice at Jesus' resurrection, and those who disdained the Word before the Crucifixion, well, they tended to keep on disdaining it afterwards. After all, come Good Friday, Jerusalem sided with the rich and powerful, the chief priests and the scribes and the Pharisees, rather than Jesus. Jesus looked like Lazarus – He was covered with wounds and sores – but Jesus earned them, back talking the chief priest, threatening the temple, claiming to be the Messiah – He had it coming.
By the teaching of the Word of God, by the working of the Holy Spirit giving you eyes of faith, you see differently. You see yourself differently – judging yourself not upon earthly success or failure, but by the Law of God which calls all, all of us unto repentance. And yet God promises salvation, promises blessings to come – and by faith you believe. By faith, Abraham believed in the coming promise – And [Abraham] believed the LORD, and He counted it to him as righteousness. Abraham at times lived an awfully rough life too – something we miss if we don't actually read the full account of his story. There are ups and there are downs – yet the hinge is this. Abraham believed the Lord, and thus Abraham was accounted righteous by faith. And this is the story played out in the Old Testament – all the heroes fail, all have flaws. The question was always do they repent and believe in the promise of salvation, or do they trust in themselves instead of God. This is the teaching of Moses and the prophets.
The promises of God that Moses and the Prophets pointed to have been fulfilled by Christ Jesus. God's love for our fallen race has been shown in Christ – who bore up our sin, our shame, the consequences of our sin upon the Cross, who rose from the dead defeating death and shame. The promises that have been applied to you – not only proclaimed to you in the Moses and the Prophets, but the Epistles of the Apostles and the Gospels as well – the promises that have been poured upon your head in Holy Baptism, the promises given to you in the Supper. There, in Christ, and there alone is life, eternal life, comfort, the Holy Spirit at work. No where else. It doesn't matter whether or not the world thinks you're swell – the world's standards change all the time, and generation after generation pick out new sins to highlight and new sins to ignore and new sins to celebrate all in a vain attempt to avoid the confession that I, yes, me, I am a sinner according to God's Word. No, you and I, we are sinners. And sometimes we even look as wretched as we are. But Christ Jesus has died for you, as He had promised to, and in Him there is forgiveness and life and the eternal comfort of the Spirit, all thanks be to God. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
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