The Rich Man and Lazarus

CALL TO WORSHIP

Praise the Lord! Come, praise the Lord! Everything in heaven and earth, praise God! Praise the Lord, all creation – sun, moon and shining stars, Everything in heaven and earth, praise God! Praise the Lord, sea and land, animals, birds and all nature, Everything in heaven and earth, praise God! Rulers and nations, young and old together, Everything everywhere, praise the Lord!

HYMN

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord! (StF 186)

GATHERING PRAYER

We gather to approach our God. A God of justice and of love. A God who hears the cries of those in need, and who calls us to live in loving ways. May we draw near to God; may God draw near to us: Father, Son, Spirit – the triune One. Amen.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Lord guardian of our hearts, so often we have focused on the wrong things and turned away from those who need our help. Whether through thoughtlessness, presumption or fear, we have not embodied the abundant life you offer us. Re-tune our hearts to your Spirit and your perfect love, motivate us to find ways of helping, even when we feel limited or without resources. May we never turn away from doing something because we cannot do everything. Help us be light wherever we are, not keeping it to ourselves but working together to show your generosity. Forgive us, restore us, and guide us, we pray. Amen.

Loving God, thank you that it is not too late. Every day is a new chance to serve you, to love others and to be the people you made us to be. Thank you for forgiving us when we get it wrong. Thank you for being ever willing to begin again. May we dispense kind words and generous actions. May we be known for an attitude of love, that honours you and all you have made. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name,

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done.

On earth as it is in heaven,

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those that trespass against us,

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,

Forever and ever Amen.

HYMN

All my hope on God is founded (StF 455)

READING 1

Luke 16:19-31

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

“ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

HYMN

When I needed a neighbour, were you there? (StF 256)

SERMON

There are some passages in the Bible we wish were not there, taken out to make the message easier, the last two weeks readings are examples of that, we tend to avoid the idea of hell, but Jesus spoke more about hades than heaven, so we would have to remove a whole lot of the bible.

The story we heard today follows a teaching on stewardship.

We need to remember this is a made-up story and so the characters are larger than life. To bring out the message that Jesus wanted to show.

It opens with “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day”

Now purple cloth was very expensive, you may remember Lydia who was a trader in purple cloth, she was wealthy she was interestingly the first Christian convert on the European continent.

It was expensive because it took millions of Murex Sea snails and had to be done by hand to produce a small amount of dye. 

So, we know he’s rich He wore clothes that were expensive and comfortable, and we are told he feasted every day, not once or twice a week like going to an expensive restaurant every day.

And we are told he spent his time behind a large, impressive gate.

With wealth you can live life in selective isolation. It’s rather like famous people today who may go to places like Harrod’s, and they close the store for then one person to visit. In other words, you can isolate yourself on demand.

Outside the gate we meet the second person in the story a man called Lazarus, this is not the Lazarus the brother of Mary and Martha, remember this is a parable.

This man is covered in sores, and his company is wild dogs who come and lick his sores, not very nice.

There is an obvious contrast between the two men one is rich, and one is poor.

The rich man is covered in comfortable clothes the other is covered in sores,

He would give everything to have, even the crumbs from beneath the table. The crumbs we are talking about is stale bread that the rich use to clean their hands with then throw it to the dogs, that is what Lazarus would settle for.  

But there is something we need to note, the poor man is given a name, he is the only person in any of Christ’s parables who is named, the rich man we are told there was a rich man.

The name Lazarus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Eleazar and what does this mean.

It translates to “God has helped” or “one who God has blessed or is highly favoured”.

When we read this, how can we call him blessed. We tend to think those who have wealth and position we consider blessed but it’s not how God see it.

So, we face the question, those who have wealth are they really blessed, we may know some good people who go from one disaster to another and find it hard to understand, while some people we may consider bad seem to have a good life.

Riches are not bad in themselves lots of biblical people were rich and blessed by God, it is when riches become the priority, take the place of God.

The two men in the story live completely separate lives separated by this impregnable gate.

Then death come to them both.

Death is the great equalizer it doesn’t matter what we have. Or how rich we are we can’t buy another minute of life.

The thing to notice is Lazarus is raised up to Abraham, which by the way is how the Pharisees taught about heaven.

And we are told the rich man went down to the grave.

Now Lazarus has done nothing to earn his reward in heaven, just because someone is poor, they get a pass.

No, the truth is no one and I mean no one is good enough to get into heaven. It is only by grace that we are received.

You see there is nothing at all that to indicate that the rich man was dishonest, that he cheated in business.

CS Lewis, describe a meeting to share the Gospel with some wealthy businessmen and noted the manicured hands, their starched white collars, and beautiful cuff links and noted these are nice men lost in their niceness.

Why is the rich man in hell, well the previous reading speaks about failing the commandment to honour God.

This is a parable about someone forgetting the second commandment, to love your neighbour as yourself.

The rich man may have walked past by Lazarus every day and ignored his plight, not out of malice as we may walk past beggars today, unsure of the motives.

In India and Pakistan, there are still children who a crippled by their parents to beg from the passers-by's.

The rich man now in hell has got want he wanted he’s alone, forget the image of demons with pitchforks, he is alone.

Again, this is a parable as we are told the rich man can see Abraham and Lazarus.

He calls out. (picture) ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

He still feels that he has some power or influence over Lazarus.

But Abraham says there is a great chasm that is fixed, and no one can cross between, maybe a reflection of the gate that divided the rich man’s home.

The man shows he’s not selfish as he asks if Lazarus can warn his brothers.

Abraham says, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

The passage ends abruptly

 “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

This abrupt ending is pointing to the Pharisees, and to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus bringing home the need for all to repent and believe in our Lord                                                                                                             

HYMN

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

God, thank you for being a God of restoration. Thank you for reaching out to us all. Thank you for caring about how we treat each other, and for your encouragement as we live our lives. Help us to share what we have – whatever that may be – and together make our world a better place. Thank you for inspiring us to do this! Amen.

Loving God, we pray for those who wait at the gate.

For those who wait at the gate in poverty, seeking essentials from foodbanks, unable to afford to turn their heating on, walking the streets to save using fuel at home. We pray for all in poverty and need, that those who have will see and respond to the needs of those who have not. We especially ask that you will bless those who are planning winter warmth projects to provide support for those struggling as a result of spiralling fuel costs.

Loving God, we pray for those who wait at the gate.

For those who wait at the gate because they have nowhere else to wait for those whose homes have been destroyed by flood; for those whose home has been bombed; for those who cannot afford a home. We pray for all who are homeless or whose homes are unfit or unsafe. We commend to you those charities that seek to provide aid to those in countries that need help, for those who welcome refugees, for those who provide emergency shelter.

Loving God, we pray for those who wait at the gate.

For those who wait at the gate in sadness and grief, for those whose lives have been torn apart by the death of a loved one, for those who struggle to cope, for those who can't find a way to fit in. We pray for all those for whom those in mourning bringing to the surface grief they were seeking to ignore that they may find the comfort and strength that your presence offers.

Loving God, we pray for those who wait at the gate.

For those who wait at the gate of the church, for those who have been rejected, for those who fear they will be turned away, for those who don’t know how to access your strength and love. We pray that our churches may be inviting places of welcome where no-one is turned away and all are helped to experience the grace and peace that you offer.

As we enter the gate of our homes, our churches, our lives, give us eyes to see those in need and hearts to respond in the name of our Saviour Jesus. Amen.

HYMN

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart (StF 545)

BLESSING

Lord, we know that your kingdom exists wherever injustice is challenged, wherever the oppressed are set free, wherever the hungry are fed, wherever the helpless helped and foreigners welcomed. Help us to work for this, wherever we are this week. Amen.