September 28, 2025

 Week after week Luke has been hammering us with stories, parables, interactions that highlight the relationship between the rich and the poor.  We’ve had the parable of the rich landowner and his steward, we’ve been reminded that life does not consist in the abundance of possessions, in following the rules, or in having the acceptance of your family.  Our other readings remind us that Luke is continuing a long tradition of speaking out against injustice from the Psalms and prophets and especially naming the chasm between the rich and the poor which is a human-made problem, not “Just the way it is.”  Then we come to today which is maybe the most vivid and direct stories related to this topic. 

Because Luke has been so relentless, I picked a book up off my shelf this summer that I must have inherited from a colleague.  I had never even opened it.  It is called “Rich Christians in age of hunger.”  It was written almost 50 years ago.  It is as pertinent now as it was when it was written, and maybe more so.

I’ve always been really careful not to say that bad things happen to us when we fail to do the good things God commands us to.  We all know bad things happen to us whether we do good or bad.  But the author of this book points out is that there are consequences to our actions.  He reminds the reader of the situation in the Old Testament when the wealthy landowners are taking over the farms of the poor and then putting those farmers to work there often for less than what it takes to feed themselves and their families.  He reminds us of all the scriptures that command care for the widow and the orphan and the foreigner in the land.  And he reminds the reader that the people in Israel are conquered and taken into exile and in the scriptures God says that is because they didn’t care for the least in their midst.  There are consequences to neglecting the poor, cheating them, changing the rules to favor the rich. 

So here we have the story of Lazarus and the rich man.  Today we have a story about a chasm between two people who lived actually very near to each other in proximity, but couldn’t have been farther apart in socio-economic means, in access to “the good life,” and in power, the ability to make changes, the ability to act, to do something about their position in life. 

No one ever gets named in the parables except in this story.  .  In all the parables Jesus tells only two characters are ever named and that happens in today’s Gospel.  Abraham is named.  Of course, he is the great ancestor who listened to God and left everything to bridge the chasm between himself and all those on his journey.  The second is of course, Lazarus, a name meaning “God is my help.”  For Lazarus, God was there for him, recognizing his pain and having compassion on him, to give him peace in the next life.  For the rich man, money was there for him, but money couldn’t help him after he died.  Money was a temporary idol, a false God without ultimate power. But God is one who we can invest in and who will show up for us when we need it most. 

The rich man has stepped over Lazarus countless times as he leaves his home and in life doesn’t seem to notice him.  But in death, it turns out he does know his name.  He asks Abraham to send Lazarus to him with some water to quench his thirst.  He notices him when he has a need that he can fulfill.  This rich man is seeing Lazarus, not as a person but as a means to get what he wants.  He’s still focused on himself and his own comfort.  He never apologizes, never repents, never regrets how he treated Lazarus.

The family language is profound in this story.  Father Abraham, the rich man calls out.  It is a reminder that John the Baptist warns those coming out to be baptized in the wilderness who say they have Abraham as their father, said that God could raise up children of Abraham from the stones all around them.  In other words you can’t conveniently call Abraham father whenever you feel like it if you aren’t going to act like children of Abraham in your life.  Abraham compassionately calls him Child.  Yes they are related but the man has such an immature faith and way of seeing the world as revolving around him.  He is only starting to realize that we are all related and that we all come to a time of need which can be a big motivation to have compassion on others.  The man again calls Abraham father and asks that Abraham send Lazarus on another errand to his father’s house to his brothers.  But this man has failed to see the brother that was directly at his gate, Lazarus.  He wants his brothers to be warned and given a chance to live differently.  However, Abraham is reminding all of us that we have the chance now and many multiple chances now to see the chasms, to see the brother, to do things differently right now.  Someday it will be too late.  There is an urgency to action.  There are consequences to our indifference for those we ignore and someday we will be the one on the other side of the chasm, thirsty, in need, hurting. 

            These scriptures are really hard to digest.  They cut really deeply.  What can we do for someone in need?   Having a plan for handing out food, water, and socks. 

Speaking up for programs that support the least of these.  Supporting NAMI and Lutheran Community Services NW.  Saying Yes in my backyard to low income housing and drug rehab. 

Jesus had everything—there at creation, co-equal with God, enthroned on high.  He came into our midst and there we were shivering and covered with sores at his doorstep.  We were pitiful sinners with no hope, no direction, hungering and hurting.  Jesus did not step over us.   He stooped to look into our eyes.  He saw that we are family.   He took us in and dressed our sores, put clothes on our back, a baptismal robe.  He gave us community in which to thrive and food in the form of his own body and blood.  And he gave his own life to give us life.  He had mercy on us and because of that we have new life. 

What are we going to do with that new life?  There are so many people in need that we encounter.  Some we help and some we step over.  The good news is that every day we pass through the gate is another opportunity to notice, to care, to act so that another person can also find new life and hope.  We love because he first loved us and we know what it is like to be redeemed, and we want everyone to know the love and compassion of our savior.