Luke 16:19-31 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost Sunday, September 25, 2022 “Live Like Lazarus”
“The pattern for many leaders is to be exalted in life and forgotten after death. The pattern for all who serve God – famous or obscure, respected or ignored – is that death is the door to glory.” With those words, the Archbishop of Canterbury of the Church of England began a relatively brief sermon for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth this past Monday. I did not tune in live to watch the funeral, which many believe was the mostwatched televised event worldwide. I did watch much of it after the fact. Like many people, I was curious about the pageantry, I was wondering what might be said, and I recognized that the end of the longest reign for any monarch of England ever was a historic occasion. I would also say that I was impressed by what I heard in the sermon and in the service. Biblical comfort regarding the resurrection and eternal life was shared, all based on the death and resurrection of Jesus. I was impressed and maybe a little surprised by this, because I kind of expected something different. I expected that I would hear more about what a good person the queen had been. I expected to hear about what a big loss came to the world at the time of her death. And I expected that if there was any mention of eternal life at all, it would have at least suggested that the queen had earned or deserved it. I was glad to have been mistaken about these things. And I suppose I expected those things because so many people have had so many false ideas about what really makes a difference in life and in death. In Luke 16, the Gospel we heard just a bit ago, Jesus told a story about life and death issues. It’s interesting that this story is not called a parable. It has some features that make people think it might have been, that it is a made up story. It is also possible that Jesus was recounting a real event, though there are some details that might make us wonder about that conclusion. In any case, he teaches some clear truths about the things that are important when it comes to eternal life. And what he tells us encourages us to live like Lazarus. So, how did Lazarus live? First of all, he suffered patiently on earth. Lazarus was a poor beggar. He had sores all over his body that were licked by dogs as he longed for scraps of food. His was the sort of existence no one would desire. He was in pain. He was hungry. He begged for whatever mercy others might be willing to give him. And most of the time, he did this right outside the mansion of a very rich man. In Jesus’ story the rich man doesn’t even have a name. But he had everything else. He had the fancy clothes and the gourmet food. In today’s terms we would expect that he had the fancy car and the biggest television and whatever else constitutes luxury. He was able to very successfully avoid any concerns about the dirty beggar at his doorstep as he went on enjoying his feasting and extravagance. Now there are plenty of people who look at this story that Jesus tells and they think the point is that being rich is bad and being poor is good. They know that Jesus says that the rich man went to hell and the poor man to heaven. They might even assume that heaven or hell is just sort of a cosmic payback that evens things out: if you had riches on earth, you need to face suffering, and if you faced suffering on earth, then you get rewarded. But you can clearly tell that Jesus is making a different point. After all, we also find Abraham in heaven, and he was a very rich man when he lived on earth. Living like Lazarus means that we take the attitude that he did. He patiently suffered when that was his lot in life. We don’t know whether he had made poor choices that got him there or if he had been mistreated previously or really any details about how he ended up in that circumstance. What we know is that he put his faith in action. When he suffered, he still trusted that God would take care of him and would ultimately bring him to heaven. Lazarus didn’t assume that he needed riches or luxury. He knew that those things could not possibly do him any good after death. And you know that’s the case, too. The rich man couldn’t take anything with him. Queen Elizabeth couldn’t take any of the rich treasury of the royal family with her after death. None of those things mattered. Lazarus suffered patiently on earth, and he was comforted forever in heaven. Again, we don’t know whether this glimpse into heaven gives us any details about what our experience will be. What we know will be