First Sunday after Trinity (2026)

Luke 16:19-31

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, in our Gospel Lesson today, Christ speaks of the misuse of one’s possessions and how they can be abused selfishly using them for our own gain. This parable also points us to what Christ has done for us. So let dive into this parable and glean from it those teachings which are so precious for our salvation.

The Parable Explained

What are the parts?

Parables are meant to teach through story, and there is primary point that is to be drawn from the lesson, and they were a common method of teaching. For it paints a picture that can easily be remembered, however, we must also be careful to draw from it the right lesson, which is why the Apostles would ask Christ what does it mean? What is it all about?

We have the rich man and Lazarus.

The comparison between these two is remarkable. Physically they are not far from each other, a gate separates them, but their lives are dramatically different. One feasts sumptuously every day, the other desires to be fed with what falls from the table, one is clothed in expensive purple clothing, and fine linen, and the other’s comfort is that dogs come and lick his sores. Anyone who has had a dog, knows they are great companions, cute, loyal, but they are unclean.

There’s heaven and hades.

This brings a bit of surprise to the hearers, for you would think that the person who had the riches was blessed by God. The World believes that God shows his favor through material blessings, and his hatred through poverty. For whenever something pleasant happens to us, we are convinced that God is on our side, and whenever hardship comes upon our neighbor they must have done something wrong. I know what I said, we will come back to that in bit.

We have abraham.

This is the Father of the Jewish people, but Abraham’s name which was given to him by God, actually means Father of many peoples/nations. This is why you and I have hope for we share in the faith of Abraham, it’s not about the blood.

There is also the Word.

This is referred to at the very end, when Abraham tells the rich man in hell that his brothers have Moses and the Prophets, that is to say they have the Old Testament, and it is enough for salvation. This is important in discerning

Earthly and Spiritual Treasures

People confuse riches with God’s blessing.

It is curious how riches affect a person’s mind. If you as an individual falls into wealth, or inheritance it is a great blessing, but what about someone you don’t like, if they fall into riches, or inheritance, then what do we hear? They didn’t work for it, they don’t deserve it, or they only got it by being crooked, or taking advantage of their neighbor. Consider the nation in which we live. How do we compare with the rest of the world? What are our clothes like? What about our access to food? There are certainly those in our nation that are impoverished, and are in need of help, but how do we use what God has given us? We have to remember that it’s not about riches, or poverty, but

Jesus says blessed are the poor in spirit.

Not the poor in finances, food, or family, but in Spirit. Which is to say those who recognize what the Scriptures say, that we are sinners, and as we confess do not deserve anything from God, but temporal death, and eternal damnation. For rich and poor are the same before God’s throne, the sins of the rich are no greater than the sins of the poor in God’s eyes. So why does Lazarus go to heaven, and the rich man to hell? Well where does Abraham, who was rich, direct the man? To the only thing that matters, and

What matters is the Word.

You see the rich man’s contempt for the word, and what he wants are signs, and he is convinced that signs will be the thing that changes the mind of his brother. He shows his heart, for there he is in hell, chastising the one who sits in heaven, whose trust, belief, which is to say faith, in God’s promise was counted as righteousness.

Jesus and the Riches of Heaven

Jesus secured treasure for you.

The rich man exemplifies the attitude of most mankind that we use our gifts for our own desires, but Jesus who is adored by angels, and has all of creation in his hand, doesn’t need anything. The psalms speak of this, what doesn’t belong to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? All creation belongs to God. So when Christ became flesh, He did it not for himself, but for those who were in need. Jesus secured for us an eternal inheritance.

These treasures are spiritual.

They will not put a bit of gold in your pocket, or increase your material goods. For many christian it meant the loss of material blessing. That’s why in A Mighty Fortress it says, take they our life, goods, fame, child, or wife. But this isn’t our home, and the treasures that Christ secured aren’t here, but await us in the new creation. Christians have been persecuted for the faith and still are around the world, just as Jesus warned us. So when we interpret this parable according to Spiritual matters and material goods, you find that

We are Lazarus living in poverty.

We are sinners, and that is made evident not only in how we have treated our neighbors like the rich man did, and were not good stewards of what God gave us, but wasted our possessions in abundance of goods, food, drink, or any number of frivolities. We were in desperate need, and the Father turned toward you in love and provided for you. So

God has blessed us by the Word.

The same Spirit that inspired Moses, the Prophets, and the Apostles comes to us today through the Word to bring the blessings of salvation, and to bind our wandering hearts to Christ, that we may not end up in hell, but reside where Abraham, the father of all believers by faith dwells with the Lord.

The Great Value of the Word

God comes to us through the Word.

God only comes to us through the Word. This is important for people try to find proof of God’s blessings in material things. This is unreliable. You have folks throughout the Scriptures that are both rich and poor, who are both blessed and brought under God’s judgment. It is very easy to fall prey to the temptations of mammon, that is worldly wealth. In this parable,

Jesus is mocking the leaders.

The pharisees and the sadduccees who have confused riches with God’s blessings. We do that still today. Consider for a moment how people justify not being where the Word is. If my kid isn’t at the sport game, they won’t get a scholarship, and if they get the scholarship, well then God must have been blessing not hearing the word, or receiving the sacrament? The same can be said of our hobbies, our work, or just sleeping in and being lazy.

Jesus calls those who believe the Word blessed.

Jesus says, blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it. What does that mean? Today you are blessed, you might not feel blessed, you might not see that blessing play out today, but God’s Word is trustworthy and reliable and we can cling to it in all times of trouble. So looking at Christ what should we learn?

Casting Aside Selfishness

Our use of possessions relates to our spiritual state.

If you are wasting what God has given you on frivolous things, hoarding goods, wealth, food, and believe that it is a sign of God’s blessing, you don’t actually worship the true God. You have an idol, and you are letting the creation replace the creator. So stop for you can’t take any of this with you and God didn’t give it to you to waste.

To be clear the right use doesn’t save you.

For if we were to say that, then we fall back into the idea that our works would save us. But just because it doesn’t save, doesn’t mean we ignore using these things in a right fashion. For they were given to us for a purpose. For

All we have comes from God.

It doesn’t matter what it is, how much, or how little, but we have been given more than we deserve by our creator. So we make use of it thankfully, and we do so out of love for those who are around us for life is hard, and we ought to work to make it better. So

We are called to use it for our neighbor.

Who is your neighbor? The one who is in need. Be it your husband, who can’t cook to save his life, be it your wife who is struggling with a jar. Be it your parents, who don’t have the raw energy or time that you have as a child, or serving your kid who would have perished in their own filth. It extends out beyond our families, to our church, and our community. We are all dependent upon each other, and provide help each other out with what God has given to us.

How does the church stay clean? How do the lights stay on? How is communion setup? How do we provide for a pastor? How we keep teaching the kids? It doesn’t all fall on one person, but many people work together. That’s why its important to consider how you can help. It means setting aside some time and money, that the world would have us use like the rich man, but we are not disciples of the world, we are disciples of Christ who was lowered himself to the point of washing feet. Our blood will not make atonement for the sins of our neighbors, but God has given us other gifts to use to help.

So my Brothers and sisters in Christ, I know this sermon was a bit longer, but there is so much more to be gleaned from this parable, but we must stop here. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing through Jesus Christ, and it is our joy to share that Good News with all people, and to point them back to the Word of God that they might be saved. This is not all that God has given us, we also want to make use of our temporal gifts to help our neighbors in their hour of need. For Christ has freed us from the greatest worry we had, that of sin, death, and hell itself, which enables us to serve our neighbors in love. In jesus name. Amen.