************ Sermon on Luke 16:19-31 ************
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on October 26, 2003
Luke 16:19-31
World Hunger Sunday
"The Rich Man and Lazarus"
Introduction
Try to imagine the population of North America – around 316 million people. Now try to imagine a population almost 3 times bigger. That is the number of people worldwide that do not get enough food – over 840 million people. We are told that about 1.1 billion people do not have clean drinking water. About 25,000 people – 25% of the people of Visalia – die each day from hunger or causes related to hunger. Can you imagine every 4 days an entire city like Visalia being wiped out?
Hunger does not just happen overseas. We are told that 31 million people, 12 million of them children, live without enough food here in the United States.
I The Rich Man's Sin
A In the first scene of His parable Jesus tells us about a rich man "who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day" (vs 19). This sort of description tells us he wasn't just prosperous or well-off. Rather, he was enormously wealthy. He lived like a king. He was the Bible-time equivalent of a Kennedy or Rockefeller or Bill Gates. Whatever he wanted to do or get was well within his financial means. He wore fine clothes, had a mansion of a home with fine furnishings, was waited upon hand-and-foot by servants, and never once knew physical hunger or want. It was obvious that he was well-fed and fully satisfied with life.
To guard his wealth and protect his physical well-being his estate was surrounded by a wall. The entrance was blocked by a gate and armed soldiers. You see, back then, just like now, many people wanted to share in his wealth and envied him his success.
Jesus also tells us about a beggar named Lazarus. Lazarus laid at the rich man's gate. Through the gate's bars he caught glimpses of the mansion and gardens within. Each and every day Lazarus saw the rich man coming and going, eating and drinking, entertaining and partying, while his own body wasted away due to hunger. Lazarus was covered with sores and longed to eat what fell from the rich man's table.
What do we do with food that falls on the floor? Our normal response is to throw it in the garbage or feed it to our dog or cat. That's our normal response because we consider food that has fallen on the floor to be unclean. Lazarus, however, was so hungry he didn't worry whether the food was clean, covered with dirt or hair or germs. Lazarus was so hungry he longed to eat what fell from the rich man's table.
B In the next scene Jesus tells us that both Lazarus and the rich man died. Lazarus is carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man, on the other hand, ended up in the torments of hell where he begged for even one drop of water with which to cool his tongue.
What a reversal of fortune we see. Or, as Abraham puts it to the rich man:(Lk 16:25) 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.
C Why this reversal of fortune for the rich man? What has he done to deserve such a fate? Jesus wants to make the point here that the rich man was uncaring, that he showed no compassion, that he was greedy with his wealth and his possessions.
Notice, the dogs showed more love, compassion, and care for poor Lazarus than does the rich man. At least they came and licked his sores and eased his pain and discomfort. But the rich man, he did his best each and every single day to ignore the pleas, the stares, the hunger, and the needs of Lazarus. He didn't even give Lazarus the left-over scraps from his table.
Now we see the real purpose of the wall and the gate. It wasn't just to keep the thieves out but also to keep the needy out. The rich man didn't want to see them. He didn't want to hear them. He didn't want the comfort of his existence or the peace of his conscience to be disturbed by their shrunken forms and outstretched hands.
The rich man ended up in the fires of hell because his greed and lack of compassion clearly marked him as a man outside of God's grace. The rich man ended up in the fires of hell because his indifference to human suffering showed him to be unjust and loveless. The rich man ended up in the fires of hell because his failure to share showed him to be outside of the covenant and without faith. That's the negative message Jesus wants to bring by means of this parable.
But there is also a positive message. If those without compassion end up in hell then those with compassion end up in heaven. Of course they don't end up in heaven because of their compassion – for no one can ever earn their way to the side of Abraham; rather, they are in heaven because their compassion reveals them to be one of God's children, within the covenant, and a recipient of grace.
Let me put it, then, in the starkest possible terms. Those without compassion are without grace and end up in hell. And, those with compassion are full of grace and end up in heaven. Compassion, then, proves the reality of faith. Charity shows the presence of grace. And generosity indicates a close walk with the Lord.
II Wealth, Hunger, Compassion, and Us
A We may not like to admit this, but the parable of the rich man and Lazarus could very well be a parable about North America and most of the rest of the world. We in North America are 5% of the world's population; yet, we use 87% of this earth's food, shelter, clothing, and other resources. We are the rich man and outside of our gates, our borders, lies the world's poor and hungry: Somalia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Mexico. These people are so hungry and so desperate that, like Lazarus, they long to eat what falls from our tables.
Sometimes we may fool ourselves into thinking we are poor, that times are tough, that we have to struggle. "I'm not rich," you may say. "I have a hard time making ends meet. With house payments, car payments, growing children, braces, and Christian school tuition, there is precious little left." Yet, make no mistake about it: compared to 90% of the world we are rich, fabulously rich, richer than they can even imagine in their dreams.
"But we deserve this," you may say. "We work hard, get ourselves educated, practice good management, and are not lazy and shiftless." The LORD quickly sets us straight when we dare to think and talk this way:(Deut 8:17-18) You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." (18) But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth ...
B On this World Hunger Sunday Jesus warns us against the indifference of the rich man. He warns us against erecting our walls and locking our gates in order to keep the hungry out. He warns us against being greedy and selfish with our wealth. He warns us against not sharing with those in need.
We're good, really good, at talking about this. Every year we observe World Hunger Sunday. But the Lord wants us to do more than talk and listen. The Lord wants us to do more than get spasms of good intentions. I came across these lines this past week:Topic: Hypocrisy
Subtopic:
Index: 2994-2995
Date: 7/1995.29
Title:
I WAS HUNGRY and you circled the moon.
I WAS HUNGRY and you told me to wait.
I WAS HUNGRY and you set up a commission.
I WAS HUNGRY and you talked about bootstraps.
I WAS HUNGRY and you told me I shouldn't be.
I WAS HUNGRY and you had napalm bills to pay.
I WAS HUNGRY and you said, "Machines do that kind of work now."
I WAS HUNGRY and you said, "The poor are always with us."
I WAS HUNGRY and you said, "Law and order comes first."
I WAS HUNGRY and you blamed it on the Communists.
I WAS HUNGRY and you said, "So were my ancestors."
I WAS HUNGRY and you said, "We don't hire over 35."
I WAS HUNGRY and you said, "God helps those who help themselves."
I WAS HUNGRY and you said, "Sorry, try again tomorrow."
-- T. T. Crabtree, 1985 Pastor's Manual, (Zondervan, 1985), p. 91.
This was written in the 70's but I don't think things have changed all that much.
The point is that those who consider themselves to be one of God's children in Christ MUST share with the needy. Those who worship God must show compassion to the hungry. This is not an option. This is a requirement from the Lord for those who are saved by grace through faith. Showing compassion is a test of the reality of our faith.
C What exactly can we do? How can we show compassion to the world's poor and hungry? We can pray, of course. But, through CRWRC and Peter Fish, we can also give. We can join CRWRC's "FREE A FAMILY" program.
I am sure you all realize we are not to show compassion just to families in Africa or Asia. There are poor people in Visalia and area who also need our compassion. Hardly a week goes by, for instance, that someone does not call the church office looking for help. Love INC, Sister Ursula's Kitchen, Visalia Rescue Mission, Visalia Emergency Aid, the local Red Cross, and food pantries cannot keep up with all the needy people in our community.
I like what my parents and a couple of my aunts and uncles do at Christmas – they have done this for 2 or 3 years now. They buy Christmas presents for the smallest children and for all the rest they donate money on their behalf for relief work in Haiti.
I read this past week of a family that made a commitment to support several poor children in Haiti. A little more than $100 a month was enough to feed, clothe, and educate five orphan children who otherwise would have had no hope. In order for the family to carry out its commitment, there were sacrifices to be made. The children rode second-hand bikes. At Christmas time their presents were not as big and as many as what their friends got. Nevertheless, the family stayed with their commitment for almost 10 years.
One day the father came home with some exciting news. His company was sending him on a business trip to Haiti. His family could travel along. The children -- who by now were teenagers -- were thrilled that they would finally be able to meet the five orphans their family had supported for such a long time.
The second day in Haiti the family hired a jeep and drove 5 or 6 hours to the village where their young friends lived. What joy they all experienced at the meeting.
On the drive back to the capital city, the two children were strangely quiet. Their silence seemed so puzzling and strange that their father asked them what was wrong. "Nothing's wrong," answered his daughter. "I was just thinking that there is nothing we could have done with our money over the last ten years that would have made us happier than we are right now."
She was right, of course, because it is always more blessed to give than to receive. It is blessed to have compassion.
III How We Get Compassion
A When we look at the second half of our Scripture lesson we see the rich man begging for Lazarus to be sent to his brothers to warn them to repent and change their life before they also die and end up in the torments of hell.
Abraham pointed to the law and prophets and replied that if they are not enough to call people to repentance then the return of a dead person is not enough either.
God's law is filled with commandments about the poor and suffering. I read some of them this morning. I also read from the prophet's Micah call for justice (Micah 6:8). Over and over again we hear the prophets calling God's people to justice and righteousness. In the law and prophets we hear all we need to hear about showing compassion.
B So, if the law and prophets are not enough, and if a dead person brought to life is not enough, what is needed to make someone show compassion?
You all know – or should know. You need a new heart. You need to be born again by the blood and Spirit of Christ. You need to have the seed of faith and love planted in your soul. Then you are not only able to show compassion but you are eager to show compassion.
Conclusion
Make no mistake about it, congregation: we are the rich man in Jesus' parable. And all around us we can find Lazarus: in Visalia, Orange Cove, Dinuba, Los Angeles, Somalia, and Ethiopia. Now the question is: will the Lord have to condemn us for a lack of compassion? will the Lord have to say to us,(Mt 25:41-43) 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (42) For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, (43) I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
Or, will the Lord say to us,(Mt 25:34-36) 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. (35) For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, (36) I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
As evidence of God's grace in you, I urge you to show compassion. This is not an option. This is a requirement from the Lord for those who are saved by grace through faith. Don't forget, showing compassion is a test of the reality of our faith. So as evidence of God's grace in you, I urge you to show compassion to the poor and hungry around the world and here at home as well.
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