The Rich Man and Lazarus

TEXT: Luke 16:19-3119
There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table….

In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “Prosperity knits a man to the world.” (Screwtape, pg. 143) Prosperity comes in at least two forms. The first comes as a gift. It’s just as we learned in the Catechism regarding “daily bread” which includes, “everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods,” and so forth. These are given as a gift by our benevolent Creator, God the Father Almighty. But prosperity comes in another form. It’s called, “Stealing.” Prosperity that comes by stealing includes daily bread that God has given to someone else, but we take it without permission… or take it from him in a dishonest way. It’s the kind of prosperity that is gained by lying, cheating, and stealing. i.e. - Those who climb the ladder of success never minding who they trample on the way up. Those who raise their children and send them off to school only so that they’ll make a good living. The focus is on self . These belong to the second group of Prosperity.

In ancient Egyptian civilizations, it is interesting to see the tombs of the rich and famous. The wealthy were buried with an after-life in mind. The after-life was not heaven, but something they concocted. They dreamt up the idea that all their treasures were to be stored around the deceased and that when they woke up to the after-life, all of their treasures would follow them.
In the world today, most people would laugh at such an idea. But rather, this is the way the modern man thinks, “No, I know I can’t take my treasure with me, so I’ll live it up while I’ve got it right now.” It’s almost as if, in today’s world, very few even acknowledge an afterlife, let alone Heaven or Hell.

But the word of God is clear that beyond this life there is Heaven and Hell. And that Hell is place of torment while Heaven is a place of rest. Godless men do not think about the afterlife, and so, when it comes, they are completely surprised.

St. John calls Hell a fiery pit of sulfur (Rev. 20:10)… a place where the damned will be tormented by fire and brimstone in the presence of the angels and the Lamb. The smoke of their torment will ascend up forever and ever (Rev. 14:10). Their punishment will be unceasing; they will have “no rest day or night” (Rev. 14:11).

The rich man in our Gospel lesson remains tormented even today. Those words of Abraham still burn in his ears, “Remember son, that you received good things during your life.” And his iniquity has followed Him to the dregs of the Underworld. His torment is a constant reminder of his own unrepentant heart. Today the unrighteous suffer in only their soul, but a greater and more severe Day is coming when the unrepentant will suffer in both body and soul in the resurrection of the body. In that day it will be as St. John wrote in Revelation, “They will seek death and not find it; they will yearn to die; yet death will flee from them.”

Yes, prosperity knits a man to the world… even worse, all too often; prosperity knits a man to Hell.

But it isn’t prosperity alone that knits a man to Hell…. Unbelief must be added prosperity. Jesus said, “He that does not believe is condemned.” The rich man rejected Moses and the prophets (the Word of God). Even in Hell he continued to deny the Word. The rich man didn’t believe that the Law and Prophets would do his brothers any good. Even from Hell he tried to tell God how to go about His business of saving men, “send 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.” God’s ways are not our ways.

But let’s not misunderstand the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Prosperity is not a straight ticket to hell. Just as drinking, or dancing, or even smoking cigarettes are not sorts of mortal sins that mandates God’s damnation. And let’s not glorify Lazarus’s suffering too much either… lest we mistakenly think that if for some reason you get dealt a bad hand in this life, God will make it all better by promising a Royal Flush in Heaven. The Scriptures do not teach that suffering is a good work that earns Eternal Life.

The difference between Lazarus and the rich man is not found in one’s prosperity, nor in another’s suffering. The difference is in their hearts. Lazarus had a repentant heart, the rich man didn’t. Lazarus was saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Lazaraus was a sorry, repentant sinner who knew that he didn’t even deserve the mercy of dogs let alone his Creator. Lazarus believed the Law and the Prophets. He believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness. He believed in the Messiah - the One whose heal was bruised on the cross. The stricken, smitten and afflicted Messiah: Jesus. He clung to the Word alone, even while he went hungry he was fed the Bread of Life. He clung to the Word, even while his body was sore and oppressed and naked; he was covered with the robe of Christ’s righteousness, the very Christ Who is the Sun of Righteousness who rises with healing in His wings. (Mal. 4:2)
Prosperity knits a man to the World, and very often even into the fabric of Hell. But faith in the Word – the Law and the Prophets - knits a man into the tapestry of Heaven - the bosom of Abraham and the eternal unveiled presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

“He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away… as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His seed forever.
Whether or not God has given you earthly prosperity… pray that God would make you that like that holy beggar… weak, frail, knowing your need of forgiveness, dependent on Jesus’ mercy, grace and love… for of such is the Kingdom of God.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen