Trinity 1 - Father's Day
Luke 16:19-31
v.24 And he called out, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame."
Dear friends in Christ, today we rejoice in the gift of fathers. Truly, fathers an important gift of God to us. They shape how we grow and learn, particularly in the area of faith. Indeed, some Christian traditions refer to their clergy as "father," recognizing that the man with spiritual authority over a group of people in a congregation to hear confession and forgive sins is truly their spiritual father in the faith. It is interesting, therefore, that in two of our texts, the O.T. and Gospel readings appointed for this Sunday, the spiritual father of all people in the Christian faith--Abraham (whose name means father of many nations)--is herein mentioned.
In our text, St. Luke is concluding this chapter in which Jesus discusses the attitude toward possessions in view of the life to come and the Gospel preaching to prepare people for it. This story that Jesus tells of the rich man and Lazarus seems to be in direct correlation to Jesus' words of the beatitudes in Luke 6:21 & 24, wherein Christ preaches to the people on the plain that, "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied…But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation."
The rich man is not just moderately wealthy, but one of the super rich. He is dressed in the richest of clothes--like royalty in fine purple linens--think silks and velvets, fine ermine robes, Calvin Klein and Armani. He feasts not occasionally, but every single day--rich food of fattened calves and fine wines--only the best of the best--the juiciest turkeys--the 23 year old rums--each and every single day--living opulently in the extreme.
Contrast that with poor Lazarus. He who was so sick that he needed to be carried to the rich man's gate--who was clothed not in fine linen, but in painful, open sores; he who was so sick and weak that he could not even defend himself from the dogs who came to lick his wounds; Lazarus, who longed merely to eat from the garbage of the rich man's table--that which fell upon the floor and was tossed out.
However, Lazarus was ignored. The rich man cared not for anyone but himself. Though Lazarus was continually at his gate--was ever before him--though the rich man had to step over him to get inside his own house--yet he had no compassion on him at all. He merely kicked him over to the curb so that he could park his Ferrari in the garage. Though he had the means and the ability to help--to show mercy to Lazarus--he ignored him, leaving him to suffer and die.
We should be shocked by this kind of callous attitude, dear friends. We should be disgusted and horrified at the hardness of the rich man's heart. And we should be greatly dismayed and repent--for this is the condition of our own hearts too. We, too, are consumed by our worldly possessions. We, too, ignore those around us in need. And so we must repent, lest we, too, be condemned and arrive in the place of never ending torment from which there is no escape or even the slightest relief.
For the contrast is again great between these two men in our text. Lazarus, whose name means, "the one whom God helps," died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side in heaven. The rich man also died and was buried. No doubt he received a most tremendous funeral with accolades from people of importance and fame, but it mattered not. For he entered into Hades and eternal torment. Though he calls out to Abraham to send Lazarus on a mission of mercy for him (note the thick irony of this request by a man who showed no mercy whatsoever to Lazarus during his earthly life), yet there is to be not even the slightest bit of relief for the rich man--not even a single drop of water to momentarily cool his tongue while he is consumed by the fires of hell. For there is a great chasm fixed between them that none may cross. And, as James writes (2:13), "For judgement is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy."
Take note, dear friends, once one dies and arrives in either heaven or hell, there is no chance to change--there is no crossing over from one side to the other. Where you are--there you will remain for all eternity. And we dare not rest our salvation upon our lineage or genealogy. The rich man was a Jew--a child of Abraham in the broad sense of the term. No doubt, he assumed his circumcision into the faith at eight days old was enough to forever guarantee his place in glory. We, too, are tempted to trust in our faith heritage. "My whole family has been Lutheran for generations. I was baptized and confirmed--now I'm good. I can ignore God and His Word and focus on myself--my wants--my desires--to the exclusion of all others--and I'm still going to heaven." Beloved, this is not so. Those who reject God and turn away from His Word, in effect reject God's grace given in Baptism and reject the Saviour who gives Himself in the Holy Supper. Those who show no mercy are in effect showing the fruit of their unbelief--and they will forever perish.
May our Lord Jesus ever preserve us from this! Rather, dear friends, let us heed the words of the prophets and apostles given in Holy Scripture and repent. For they testify to us of Jesus. Hold on to the promise of mercy in the life to come, as did Lazarus--who believed with patient joy and trust that God is his helper (despite his sufferings)--just as God is your helper as well.
Heed the words of Him who died and rose again--the Lord Jesus--the only One to suffer hell (while enduring the shame of the cross) and come out alive on the other side of the grave. Jesus has conquered sin, death, and hell for you! Though you are by nature unmerciful, greedy and selfish--though you labour for that which does not satisfy (earthly wealth and pleasure)--Christ calls you out of this sin and death by the mercy of His cross. His blood shed for you assures you of a place of rest in His bosom as you cling to His promises by faith.
By God's grace you study, read, hear, and learn His precious Word that directs you to the Father's mercy in Christ Jesus. Having heard that word the Spirit graciously leads you to believe in Him who is risen from the dead and now reigns in glory to all eternity--He who judges the living and the dead. It is He who promises to give you all good things and to comfort you in heavenly glory. All that belongs to Him--righteousness, salvation, and life everlasting--He freely bestows upon you--even now in your Baptism. The riches of the heavenly realm--the feast that knows no end--will all be yours in eternal glory.
So, beloved, fear not the Lord's judgement or wrath--for covered in the blood of Jesus that He shed on the cross for the forgiveness of all your sins you, even now, recline at Table with Abraham and all the saints as the Lord Jesus Himself prepares a sumptuous feast for you of His own body and blood that cleanses you from all sin and fills your hearts with His mercy, compassion, and love for your neighbour. Having freely received by faith the mercy of God in Christ Jesus that guarantees your place by Abraham's side as his child, you may now give freely to those around you--whether it be alms for the poor--or your prayers.
By God's grace you are Abraham's true child who believes the Word of promise concerning Jesus Christ--and whom the Lord God now counts it to you as righteousness. This assures you of a place in glory--all by the mercy of the Father given to you in Christ Jesus who died and rose again for you. Whose Word preached to you this day leads you to repent of your sin and trust in His forgiveness. May you ever be comforted in His Word of pardon and peace for you through the blood of Jesus--now and forevermore in the life of the world to come. God is your Father. And He will bring you to His place of rest in the bosom of His Son. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Luke 16:19-31
v.24 And he called out, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame."
Dear friends in Christ, today we rejoice in the gift of fathers. Truly, fathers an important gift of God to us. They shape how we grow and learn, particularly in the area of faith. Indeed, some Christian traditions refer to their clergy as "father," recognizing that the man with spiritual authority over a group of people in a congregation to hear confession and forgive sins is truly their spiritual father in the faith. It is interesting, therefore, that in two of our texts, the O.T. and Gospel readings appointed for this Sunday, the spiritual father of all people in the Christian faith--Abraham (whose name means father of many nations)--is herein mentioned.
In our text, St. Luke is concluding this chapter in which Jesus discusses the attitude toward possessions in view of the life to come and the Gospel preaching to prepare people for it. This story that Jesus tells of the rich man and Lazarus seems to be in direct correlation to Jesus' words of the beatitudes in Luke 6:21 & 24, wherein Christ preaches to the people on the plain that, "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied…But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation."
The rich man is not just moderately wealthy, but one of the super rich. He is dressed in the richest of clothes--like royalty in fine purple linens--think silks and velvets, fine ermine robes, Calvin Klein and Armani. He feasts not occasionally, but every single day--rich food of fattened calves and fine wines--only the best of the best--the juiciest turkeys--the 23 year old rums--each and every single day--living opulently in the extreme.
Contrast that with poor Lazarus. He who was so sick that he needed to be carried to the rich man's gate--who was clothed not in fine linen, but in painful, open sores; he who was so sick and weak that he could not even defend himself from the dogs who came to lick his wounds; Lazarus, who longed merely to eat from the garbage of the rich man's table--that which fell upon the floor and was tossed out.
However, Lazarus was ignored. The rich man cared not for anyone but himself. Though Lazarus was continually at his gate--was ever before him--though the rich man had to step over him to get inside his own house--yet he had no compassion on him at all. He merely kicked him over to the curb so that he could park his Ferrari in the garage. Though he had the means and the ability to help--to show mercy to Lazarus--he ignored him, leaving him to suffer and die.
We should be shocked by this kind of callous attitude, dear friends. We should be disgusted and horrified at the hardness of the rich man's heart. And we should be greatly dismayed and repent--for this is the condition of our own hearts too. We, too, are consumed by our worldly possessions. We, too, ignore those around us in need. And so we must repent, lest we, too, be condemned and arrive in the place of never ending torment from which there is no escape or even the slightest relief.
For the contrast is again great between these two men in our text. Lazarus, whose name means, "the one whom God helps," died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side in heaven. The rich man also died and was buried. No doubt he received a most tremendous funeral with accolades from people of importance and fame, but it mattered not. For he entered into Hades and eternal torment. Though he calls out to Abraham to send Lazarus on a mission of mercy for him (note the thick irony of this request by a man who showed no mercy whatsoever to Lazarus during his earthly life), yet there is to be not even the slightest bit of relief for the rich man--not even a single drop of water to momentarily cool his tongue while he is consumed by the fires of hell. For there is a great chasm fixed between them that none may cross. And, as James writes (2:13), "For judgement is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy."
Take note, dear friends, once one dies and arrives in either heaven or hell, there is no chance to change--there is no crossing over from one side to the other. Where you are--there you will remain for all eternity. And we dare not rest our salvation upon our lineage or genealogy. The rich man was a Jew--a child of Abraham in the broad sense of the term. No doubt, he assumed his circumcision into the faith at eight days old was enough to forever guarantee his place in glory. We, too, are tempted to trust in our faith heritage. "My whole family has been Lutheran for generations. I was baptized and confirmed--now I'm good. I can ignore God and His Word and focus on myself--my wants--my desires--to the exclusion of all others--and I'm still going to heaven." Beloved, this is not so. Those who reject God and turn away from His Word, in effect reject God's grace given in Baptism and reject the Saviour who gives Himself in the Holy Supper. Those who show no mercy are in effect showing the fruit of their unbelief--and they will forever perish.
May our Lord Jesus ever preserve us from this! Rather, dear friends, let us heed the words of the prophets and apostles given in Holy Scripture and repent. For they testify to us of Jesus. Hold on to the promise of mercy in the life to come, as did Lazarus--who believed with patient joy and trust that God is his helper (despite his sufferings)--just as God is your helper as well.
Heed the words of Him who died and rose again--the Lord Jesus--the only One to suffer hell (while enduring the shame of the cross) and come out alive on the other side of the grave. Jesus has conquered sin, death, and hell for you! Though you are by nature unmerciful, greedy and selfish--though you labour for that which does not satisfy (earthly wealth and pleasure)--Christ calls you out of this sin and death by the mercy of His cross. His blood shed for you assures you of a place of rest in His bosom as you cling to His promises by faith.
By God's grace you study, read, hear, and learn His precious Word that directs you to the Father's mercy in Christ Jesus. Having heard that word the Spirit graciously leads you to believe in Him who is risen from the dead and now reigns in glory to all eternity--He who judges the living and the dead. It is He who promises to give you all good things and to comfort you in heavenly glory. All that belongs to Him--righteousness, salvation, and life everlasting--He freely bestows upon you--even now in your Baptism. The riches of the heavenly realm--the feast that knows no end--will all be yours in eternal glory.
So, beloved, fear not the Lord's judgement or wrath--for covered in the blood of Jesus that He shed on the cross for the forgiveness of all your sins you, even now, recline at Table with Abraham and all the saints as the Lord Jesus Himself prepares a sumptuous feast for you of His own body and blood that cleanses you from all sin and fills your hearts with His mercy, compassion, and love for your neighbour. Having freely received by faith the mercy of God in Christ Jesus that guarantees your place by Abraham's side as his child, you may now give freely to those around you--whether it be alms for the poor--or your prayers.
By God's grace you are Abraham's true child who believes the Word of promise concerning Jesus Christ--and whom the Lord God now counts it to you as righteousness. This assures you of a place in glory--all by the mercy of the Father given to you in Christ Jesus who died and rose again for you. Whose Word preached to you this day leads you to repent of your sin and trust in His forgiveness. May you ever be comforted in His Word of pardon and peace for you through the blood of Jesus--now and forevermore in the life of the world to come. God is your Father. And He will bring you to His place of rest in the bosom of His Son. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
