The Rev. Canon Dr. Brett Cane, September 26, 2010
18th Sunday after Pentecost; 8:30 & 10:00 a.m., Holy Communion
“Are You Listening?”
Luke 16:19-31 (Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16)
Opening Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you have shown us that it is often not what we do but what we do not do that betrays the poverty of our hearts; help us now, to listen to the voice of your Holy Spirit, that we might carry out fully the will of our Father in heaven.
Introduction
The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus that Jesus told is one of his most well-known. When you heard it read, how did you feel? Did it make you wince? Did you think – “Oh, here it comes, either God or Pastor Brett is going to harp about the desperate people we see on TV and make us feel guilty for our affluence.” Or did it create despair – your heart is open to the plight of the poor yet you feel paralyzed by the complexity of the task of caring for everyone’s needs?
Don’t despair – I am sure most of us (myself included) have some if not all of these feelings when confronted with the tremendous contrasts between rich and poor, privileged and underprivileged, developed and undeveloped that this story epitomizes for us. As we look at this parable today we will see the basis it gives us for addressing these issues. We will look first at the problem of a closed mind and heart, then three things we need to hear followed by three things we need to do. We will see that it centres around the question “Are you listening?”
A Closed Mind and Heart
Listening, or taking notice of the situation, is one of the main themes present in this story of the Rich Man and the beggar Lazarus. The focus is on the Rich Man. First, we are told about his lifestyle – he is very well-off indeed. We read that “He was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day” (Luke 16:19). One set of his clothes alone would have cost between two and three year’s wages of the ordinary working person of that time. Then we catch a glimpse of his character. He is arrogant. He is aware of Lazarus at his gate because he refers to him by name later in the story, but in his daily routine he seems to ignore him. And, then, after death, he presumes to treat Lazarus as his lackey: “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue…send Lazarus to my father’s family…let him warn them” (verses 24, 27). Lazarus is there to go and do errands for him – to cool his tongue or to go and speak to his brothers still alive. Even in death, he still thinks of Lazarus as there to look after his wants. He also hints that he has an excuse “But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent” (verse 30) – if only someone had warned him in a spectacular manner, he would have changed his lifestyle. In death he is just as unaware of the issues as he was in life. This man has not heard – he has not listened.
Three Things We Need to Hear
What was it he needed to hear? The story tells us three things:
- We are accountable
- Seeing is not believing
- We can make a difference
1. We are accountable: First, we are accountable to God for what we do in this life with what we are given. We tend to think that if we just keep our noses clean and don’t muck up really badly that’s what God requires of us – in short, to be a nice person. We could be tempted to classify the Rich Man as the epitome of wickedness, but we need to realize that he wasn’t a drug dealer or bank robber – he probably had the appearance of being a fairly nice person – at least to his friends. After all, he was concerned about the eternal destiny of his brothers; he might even have been an Anglican if he had lived today! But we are told that his problem wasn’t so much in what he did – it lay in what he did not do. It was not that he did wrong things to Lazarus. It was that he did nothing for him. People have often said to me “I’ve done nobody any harm; doesn’t that mean God will accept me?” The question is not what bad you didn’t do, but, what good you did do?
What’s more, the story is clear that it is in this life that we need to make a difference. There have been films and TV series about folk who die who are then sent back to do good so they can atone for what they did while on earth and so qualify for eternal life. Touching as these stories are, Jesus shows us that this is not how things work. The Rich Man in the story is no wiser in the afterlife than he was when he was on earth. It is here that decisions about where we end up are made. We are accountable for what we do with what we have been given here in this life.
2. Seeing is not believing: At this point we might be tempted to say, “Well that’s not fair – if only the Rich Man had been given a second chance like those in the movies who come back to earth he would have changed his ways.” That’s exactly what he thought, as I mentioned earlier. “If only I had had a supernatural experience with God, I would surely have changed my ways. If I had seen how things really were I would have believed and acted differently.” This is why he pleads with Abraham for his family: “I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment…if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent” (verses 27, 30). If they see, they will believe.
Abraham’s response in the story is interesting: “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them….If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (verses 29, 31). Seeing is not believing, listening is believing. Listening means hearing with an open heart, ready to act on what God says. In other words, God has spoken to us in the Scriptures – if we are not open to what we read there, then nothing more spectacular will change our minds. I have often thought – if only God would appear to me in some great sign, then I would be more sure of my faith. But those signs are only useful if the heart is already open. After all, Jesus did many miracles and rose from the dead when he was here on earth and that didn’t convince his opponents then – it is the same today. I have often asked people who question me about the truth of the Gospel that if they had been there on the first Easter morning and had seen with their own eyes Jesus rise from the dead, would they then be willing to follow him and live for him? I have received the reply: “To be honest, no.” A commentator has said, “There is no way of demonstrating spiritual truth to those whose minds are not open to conviction.”[1] Your mind and heart need to be open to God’s truth in order to receive it. Seeing is not believing.
3. We can make a difference: Speaking about accountability and obedience can sound very heavy and overwhelming but we need to look at the story from a different angle to become excited and moved to action. If we are accountable to God and need to act on what we hear then that means we have a part to play – we are important. God wants to use us to make a difference in the world!
Many of us come to God only when we have a need – and God does meet our needs as we heard in the Psalm: “Because you love me…I will rescue you; I will protect you, for you acknowledge my name. You will call on me, and I will answer you: I will be with you in trouble, I will deliver you and honour you” (Psalm 91:15). But in our “me-centred” age and with all the dysfunction in our lives it is so easy to stay focused on ourselves and our needs. We forget that God meets our needs so that we can be restored and serve as co-workers with him in establishing his kingdom. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me I am sending you” (John 20:21). We are “saved to serve.” This is healing in itself – when we look at our failures and inadequacies yet realize that we are the very people God wants to transform so we can make a difference in the world that can be tremendously uplifting. We can make a difference.
Three Things We Need to Do
So where do we start? Here are three things we need to do:
- Listen to God
- Listen to the world
- Listen to yourself
1. Listen to God: We start where Abraham directs the Rich Man to – the Scriptures. This is where we find out what God is like and his will for us and pattern for our lives. We see there a a God of compassion, a God who is concerned about those who cannot help themselves – the poor and oppressed. We see a God who comes to us in Jesus Christ, “to set at liberty the captives and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Luke 4:18-19). We see that as God sent Jesus, so now, Jesus sends us (John 20:21). Have you taken seriously God’s call on your life to live for him, and accepted his forgiveness and offer of new life so you can make a difference for him? This is where we start.
Once we take a stand for Jesus and his kingdom, although we know that the kingdom of God will not be fully realized in this life, we are to show the signs of the kingdom within us breaking out into society. We take seriously the Biblical demands of God to do something about the problems around us. Some of these problems require practical action and/or political solutions. Remember that the problem of the Rich Man in the story was that he did not act. When we sit back and do nothing we are still taking a stand – we are saying that the way things are is all right. We cannot be inactive or apolitical. Seek God’s guidance about the issues. Listen to God.
2. Listen to the World: Armed with God’s guidance and power, we then listen to the world. Where are the Lazaruses at our door that God would have us care for? Where are the people we are to minister to? They are here in our city, in our country, and in our world. Like the Rich Man, we cannot claim ignorance of the plight of the needy – it is laid out before us daily on our TV screens and in our newspapers and on the internet.
Try to discover the causes of poverty and deprivation by getting to the root of the problems and seeing if you can help by acting together with others. One example is our church in Paraguay, which has bought land for aboriginal church members. They were persecuted and dependent on rich land owners with no way of freeing themselves from poverty until they could own their own land. Another example is our own parish school in the North End. It helps middle-school children who have dropped out of the system to overcome educational and social disadvantage and grow up to make a difference in their community. Listen to the world.
3. Listen to yourself: Finally, listen to yourself. “But,” you say, ”All this just makes me feel guilty. What can I do to help so many? I get the feeling my affluence makes me wicked and yet I’m not overly wealthy. I only have so much money to go around. I feel guilty!” There is true guilt and false guilt. False guilt comes from the assumption that making money and having money is evil, that we are hoarding what little there is to go around. True guilt comes from not being open to God’s will for us in the use of our possessions and the lack of willingness to be part of the solution to the problems which bring about poverty.
As you listen to yourself and discern true and false guilt, take stock of your own personal resources. How are you using the wealth God has given you? Look at your spending habits and see how much money God would have you put to work in the lives of those in need. Look at your time and abilities – are there opportunities for you to serve as volunteer or board member with a project or agency making a difference in people’s lives such as our school? And above all, look at your spiritual life. Praying for others and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ is the sure foundation for any long-lasting change. Jesus transforms the hearts of people – he gives new motivation to help the poor and new vision to those without hope. When people become true followers of Jesus Christ, their lives are changed and the effect is felt throughout their families and society. What part would God have you play? Listen to yourself and take stock of your life.
Conclusion
We began by looking at a closed mind and heart. Open your mind and your heart. Listen and hear that you are accountable, that seeing is not believing and that you can make a difference. When you listen to God, the world and yourself and act upon what you hear, then you will begin to see God at work through you in the Lazaruses of this world. Are you listening?
[1] G.B. Caird, The Gospel of Saint Luke. (Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1963), pg. 192.
