© Rev. Lance Carrithers, all rights reserved.  Permission required to copy any portion of this message by any means. Email for permission: lance@firstchurchdc.com

Only in Luke: "One Hell of a Time"

Luke 16:19-31

Hell is a pretty horrible place to end up.  Fire.  Foul smelling, belching gas.   An eternity of damnation, suffering and pain.   So, most preachers, I guess would sum up a sermon on Hell by basically telling the flock that you should stay away from it.  Sort of like telling a child to stay away from a hot oven.  “Don’t touch that!  It’ll burn ya!”   Hell.  Yep, I reckon that in general, we’re agin it.

            Hell figures pretty prominently in this story Jesus tells.  In the 16^th chapter of Luke, Jesus is talking to his disciples about the folly of putting one’s wealth before one’s devotion to God.

“You can’t serve,”  or really, “you can’t submit to both God and wealth,”  Jesus says.  And the Pharisees hear him say this and they have a good laugh.   Ridicule Jesus and his seeming obsession with money.   That’s when Jesus turns and has a few words for the Pharisees, which includes this story.  

Lazarus, the beggar lived a life of tragic suffering on this earth, longing to eat even the crumbs that might fall from the table of the rich man, who lived a life of sumptuous pleasure and self-indulgence. 

Soon, they are both dead.  Lazarus, I might guess from hunger, and the rich man, from, well…who knows…clogged arteries perhaps from all that sumptuous feasting.   And in death, Lazarus is carried by the angels to heaven to be with Father Abraham.   The rich man, finds himself in one hell of a place, literally, consigned for eternity to be tormented in the agonizing flames of Hades.

We often make assumptions as to why certain people might spend eternity in heaven, and why others might go the other way.  What does this story tell us?   Anything there you can find that this poor man was faithful in his keeping of the law of Moses?  Or that the rich man was inadequate in his following of the religious code?   That’s how it was assumed then that people made it to heaven or hell.   But Jesus tells a story that suggests something very different.   Now…get ready….this will make many of us uncomfortable.   Jesus suggests that the poor man was taken to heaven simply because his life here had been hell on earth.  And that the rich man finds himself where he is because he had gotten all the good rewards in this life.   As Jesus tells the story, he has Abraham tell the rich man, “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.”

Can that be?   The poor and the suffering go to heaven simply because they suffered much in this life?   And the indulgent rich go to hell simply because they lived the good life?

As Jesus tells this story, it no doubt felt like a smoldering cinder burning inside the Pharisees who heard it.   Sort of feels that way to me, if I’m honest.  I live a pretty good life.  My clothes are pretty nice compared with some of the people who come to the church for assistance with rent or utilities or medicine.  I feast pretty well.  Not many crumbs left under my table, or on my plate for that matter.  I don’t want to hear a story where the rich man is sent to hell for no other reason than he had plenty when he was alive.   We all try to see ourselves in Bible stories, but that’s a game I don’t want to play this morning, because well…I see myself and it’s not where I would want to be in the story.

Those of us with plenty of resources, those who, like me, have enough to indulge ourselves might become more carefully aware of the needs of those who do not have enough.  Those who, in our culture who are wanting for adequate food, shelter, and health care.

            According to the Associated Press, the number of Americans living in poverty grew 5 out of the past 6 years, finally turning downward by 3 tenths of one percent last year.  At the same time, however, the number of those in America who lacked health insurance grew by another 2.2 million people last year, to a total of 47 million, up from 44.8 million in 2005.

            This parable, of the rich man and Lazarus, is heard differently depending whether you are one of the haves, or one of the have-nots, doesn’t it?  Perspective is everything.   Reminds me of the story of the man who walked forward in church to give his testimony.

            “I’m a multi-millionaire today because of God!" he said.  "I attribute it all to the rich blessings of God in my life.  I remember the day I turned my life, my all over to God.  As a young man, I went to a church service one night, to hear a missionary speaker tell about his work.  I knew I only had one lone dollar bill in my pocket and had to either give it all to God’s work or nothing at all.  So at that moment I decided to give my whole dollar-everything I had-to God.   And God blessed that decision, yes He did.  He allowed me to become a multi-millionaire because I gave my all to him."

            A profound hush fell over the congregation as the man moved toward his seat.  As he sat down, a little old lady sitting in the same pew poked him in the side and said, "Gave it all, did you?”   “I did!” he said proudly.  The old woman looked at him,  “I dare you to do it again."

            I’m sure the man thought it was hell sitting next to that woman that morning.

The rich man wants Lazarus to ease his own suffering.   The tables have been turned.  It is the rich man who now is the beggar.   And Lazarus with the means to ease his suffering.   But Abraham reminds the rich man that a chasm prevents Lazarus from helping him, even if he had the desire to do so. 

The rich man recognizing that nothing can be done about his own fate, also recognizes that his family is in danger of the same end.   “Warn them,” he pleads.  Send Lazarus to warn them.”   The rich man wants Abraham to send a sign to his brothers.  To warn them to heed the needs of the poor.  To quit living in self indulgence.  To use the resources at their disposal for the needs of all of God’s children, for fear that they also would come to have one hell of a time for all of eternity.

            But a sign, Abraham insists, is not what the rich man’s brothers need.  Only the truth of God’s word.   Perhaps if the man had discovered in this life what he discovered in hell, he would have realized that Lazarus was his brother as surely as those who lived inside his father’s house. 

Abraham supplies the simple truth to the rich man about his brothers.  “Those who do not respond to Holy Scripture--the law and the prophets, will not likely respond to anyone, even one resurrected from the dead.” 

Ah. 

Those who do not understand that Scripture makes it one’s responsibility to share what they have with those who have nothing, then it won’t matter much even if someone is raised from the dead. 

            Eventually, the rich man will get his sign--a sign from beyond the grave to get the attention of his brothers.  A man killed on a cross, to return from the dead as a sign, as a calling to live our lives for the needs of others.   A sign for all the rich man’s brothers and sisters, even today.  We’ve not only the law, not only the prophets, but also the gospel news of the resurrection of the Christ. Will we listen?   Or is Abraham right about those who are deafened by wealth and prosperity and comfort and abundance?

            Let’s see, last week, Luke’s gospel gave us Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan who tended to the needs of one laying by the side of the road.   This week, Luke includes the Savior’s story about a poor beggar whose needs were neglected by a man with more than enough to share.   Anything starting to take shape?   Next  week, we’ll hear about a rich farmer and his bumper crop.

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