|
Back to Sermon Archives
September 30, 2007
George Bennett - Student Associate Pastor
Bridging the Chasms: a legacy of hope
Luke 16:19-31
19“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who
feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate lay a poor man named
Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what
fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.
22The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was being
tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.
24He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip
the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in
these flames.’ 25But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your
lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil
things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26Besides all
this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who
might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from
there to us.’ 27He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s
house— 28for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will
not also come into this place of torment.’ 29Abraham replied, ‘They have
Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30He said, ‘No, father
Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He
said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Deuteronomy 15:7
7If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of
your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be
hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor.
Isaiah 58:6-7
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo
the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every
yoke? 7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless
poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide
yourself from your own kin?
Prayer
Father in Heaven, We pray that this entire service – readings, music and sermon
be received today as you intend us to receive them & that our Lord present in
the Holy Spirit dwell in our hearts. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Introduction
Last night was a fabulous event. We had the Lack of Talent Show in the
fellowship hall and the place was packed. This event just filled me with
courage. I was able to see that we have a congregation that is able to embrace
people at all levels of talent. Being that this is my first sermon to the entire
congregation, I may very well need to take advantage of your generosity.
One thing I missed last night was the Potluck part of the event. We Methodists
are famous for our ability to pull together fantastic potlucks. Even though I
missed the one we had last night, I have seen my share. Have you ever noticed
that people play biblical roles at potlucks? We certainly could not have a
potluck without the servant ministers. These are the people who put out the
tables, make coffee, set out plates and cups, and they even make sure that there
is a spoon in the ambrosia salad. We have shepherds as well, my wife Leann is a
great pot luck shepherd. She gets the kids in line, makes sure that everyone
knows that we can be served on both sides of the table, and she never sits down
until everyone has all of their needs met. My instincts tell me that these
people exist in churches all around the world. But, I left a group out, this is
my group, I will call them the Grace Hunters. Picture Elmer Fudd sneaking around
the fellowship hall saying, "Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting gwace." What we do
is attempt to be last in the buffet line. I have never successfully pulled this
off, but I have tried many times. It turns out that Leann is a better shepherd
than I am a grace hunter, and she herds me into the line before I really have a
chance. Besides, some of the competition is very crafty. Once the line is
depleted, you'll here the guys egging each other on. One empty handed fella
telling the other, "You better get in line. It looks that fried chicken is
almost gone." You know what we are doing don't you? We are trying to put the
Bible to work at the potluck. We are fitting ourselves into the quote, "the
first will be last and the last will be first."
At first glance, we might assume that the story that Jesus is telling us is
another version of this famous saying; but I find that Jesus is using this
age-old plot to bring our attention his surprise ending.
Exegesis
Looking at the readings for this week, we can see a pattern of hope that seems
to be dashed to the ground in the gospel story. The prophet Jeremiah decides to
by land in a rapidly declining housing market. Jeremiah makes the purchase from
his cousin even though the country had just been seized and destroyed by a
foreign super-power. This act clearly expresses the hope and faith of Jeremiah,
that his people will one day be back in the promised land. The Psalmist also
uses hope as the theme of the message declaring that God is, "my refuge and my
fortress." I can't help but wonder why this parable from Jesus is mixed into the
bunch. It surely seems like this parable is another one of Jesus' hard lessons.
A slap in the face to the wealthy, much more a cause for worry than a cause for
hope; but that is just the first impression, let's go a little deeper.
There is a temptation to think of this story as another example of the theme,
"the first will be last, and the last will be first;" but instead, I find that
Jesus has used this theme to draw our attention elsewhere. Jesus was using a
story that many synagogue leaders in his time would tell, and that his listeners
were quite familiar with, but Jesus changed the ending. The story was always
told with a rich man and a poor man. Also, the characters would always die and
their fates would be switched. Though in the synagogues, Abraham would always
send a messenger from sheol to warn the living and save the souls of the wicked
relatives. Jesus' listeners did not expect to hear about an overwhelming
obstacle.
26Besides
all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who
might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from
there to us.’
What is Jesus saying by adding a chasm to the previously well known story? Who
fixed it, made it permanent? How did it get there? In the first part of the
story, the two characters never even speak to each other. We can't even tell if
the rich man knows that Lazarus even exists, but Lazarus is well aware of the
rich man. Therefore, a chasm may be growing from the rich man's lack of
compassion. Then in the second part of the story, the rich man still doesn't
talk to Lazarus, but assumes that Abraham will send Lazarus on a mission to do
the bidding of the rich man. Therefore, a chasm may be growing from a
relationship of domination. Even the fact that Abraham is called father by the
rich man indicates that the rich man believes that he is a faithful Jew set
apart by his religious practices. Therefore, a chasm may be growing from a
relationship of self-righteousness. All of the ways that the rich man
demonstrates that he is not the equal, a brother, of Lazarus are highlighted by
the addition of the chasm in the story.
Further, Abraham's insistence that the living must find their answer with Moses
and the prophets beg for an investigation. This is the only statement made twice
by Jesus for clarity.
They have Moses and the prophets; they should
listen to them.’ 30He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone
goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He said to him,
‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
At this point, it would be helpful to know what Moses and the prophets have said
about relations between the rich and the poor. We find Moses in the following,
Deuteronomy 15:7
7 If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of
your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be
hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor.
Then we can use the prophet that Jesus quoted more than any other,
Isaiah 58:6-7
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo
the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every
yoke? 7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless
poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide
yourself from your own kin?
It is here in this surprise ending that we find the message of hope that makes
this parable consistent with the hope themes that are clearly found in the other
readings. We can see ourselves as the targets for Abrahams revealing message. We
are not among the dead like the rich man and Lazarus. We are among the living
like the brothers. Our chasms are not fixed. We are free to bridge them by
following Moses and the prophets. This story is just like "A Christmas Carroll,"
by Charles Dickens. Remember when Ebenezer Scrouge finally wakes up and realizes
that he is not dead, that he can still make a difference? He is filled with joy
and hope for the future, and he jumps at the opportunity to change his life and
the lives of the people around him. I am convinced that this parable is built
upon the same plot. But it is important to honor both the hope that this message
offers us, and the hope that it offers the world in light of the fact that we
are compelled to be in actions that bridge the chasms that we may be creating.
Hermeneutic
The life of this congregation and this community is the place where we should
look for our chasms and our bridges. Even where we find our bridges, we can look
for ways to make them wider and sturdier.
The food distribution program is an excellent bridge, I have been able to see
this operation in action in the month of September, and I know for sure that our
congregation is providing a service that this community needs desperately. We
have done two distributions this month that each had seventy bags of groceries
to offer. The list of people that have been served by this program is now over
twelve pages long. The community knows that we are trying to meet a need, and
they are beginning to rely on us for help. Several people come back at every
opportunity. They are telling there stories about being dependent on social
security and running out of money before the groceries can be bought, about
applying for food stamps and being granted $10-$20 per week, then being cut off
after three months. The bridge is there, but the chasm is there also. The food
bank is our main resource, and it has an inventory level that is alarmingly low.
Also, even though we had seventy bags of food to distribute, we were forced to
turn people away because the need was greater than the supply. Yesterday, we
started handing out bags at 9:00am, at 9:10am Patty was telling us that we only
had twenty bags left. By 9:20am we served our last bag.
Another fantastic bridge that our congregation is building is our active
involvement in and advocacy for the homeless. We are a host for the Interfaith
Hospitality Network which houses families in churches until they can graduate
into a home of their own. Our youth participated in the box city fundraiser for
IHN held last Friday at Wingfield Park despite some pretty nasty weather. We
must be mindful of the chasm here too. Our homeless community has recently been
the target of hate crimes. Those who participated in the Cardboard Box City
event were also in a march of solidarity to honor the memory of James Beasley
who was the victim of a fatal beating in our area.
Lastly, we have another important bridge to claim. Our congregation has made a
decision to declare our building a safe place for our community. We know that
this means we may be called into action for any number of causes. We have
declared ourselves a reconciling congregation, and we want to acknowledge that
there may be endangered children that need a place where they can find
sanctuary. Still, we must acknowledge that the chasm in our lives around
security are extremely challenging. Last Thursday 54 people were taken into
custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These folks were easy for ICE to
find. They were at their jobs. Don't we have another opportunity for a bridge
here? How are Moses and the prophets speaking to us?
The Parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a road map for those who are
listening to Jesus to bring about the beloved kingdom by acting in the ways
prescribed by Moses and the prophets. The destiny of the listeners and their
world has not been written. How will we continue to develop within this plot?
Amen.
top of page
Archives
|
