God chooses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, the poor people of this world to shame the rich, he identifies with sinners and He cannot seem to get enough of those the world ignores.
Jesus is not interested in friendly preaching. I mean, you thought last week was tough, wait until you get a load of this week’s gospel. If last week was hard to preach because the parable seemed so unclear (Luke 16:1-15), this week’s teaching is even more difficult due to its clarity! Jesus contrasts a rich man in all of his luxury and pleasures of life with poor Lazarus whose wounds serve as appetizers for mangy dogs. The former, who much like the Pharisees (16:14) loved his wealth, finds himself condemned in his loveless idolatry. The latter, who is named by Jesus in this story, is clearly seen and loved by God and graciously greeted by Abraham on His way to see the Lord. The rich man is left in eternal poverty, and Lazarus enjoys the treasures of Heaven.
This account will hit your hearers in entirely different ways depending on their situation in life. For those who are wealthy and living a very comfortable lifestyle, Jesus’ teachings here will be quite unsettling. In fact, if you choose the reading from 1 Timothy 6 this week, all the pericopes aim their harshest law at the idolatry of wealth. On the other hand, for those hearers who have suffered through the poverty of this life, especially at the hands of the heartless wealthy, this account will be cause for great hope! The Lord sees, the Lord knows, and the Lord has prepared a place for them with His own shed blood (John 14:1-6). Just like with the parable of the prodigal sons (Luke 15:11-32), these words of Jesus will hit differently depending on who hears it.
With that in mind, the theme of this Sunday in all of the readings does take aim at the idolatry of wealth. Martin Luther nails this in his Large Catechism:
“There are some who think that they have God and everything they need when they have money and property; they trust in them and boast in them so stubbornly and securely that they care for no one else. They, too, have a god—mammon by name, which is money and property—on which they set their whole heart. This is the most common idol on earth” (Large Catechism: The First Commandment, paragraph 5-6, italic mine).
The wealthy and the poor find themselves idolizing what they either do or do not have. Such idolatry is eternally dangerous, as Jesus demonstrates in terrifying fashion, but such a preaching of the Law is necessary to kill such a powerful idol.
To preach this text, I suggest retelling the story while interrupting the account throughout with explanations and insights as to what is going on (see the Biblical Story Interrupted structure). In fact, I would begin by telling the story in the middle of the account where the rich man is beginning to grow frightened by his situation but is still not aware of where he is. You could use his ignorance as the driving idea behind the sermon: He did not realize his situation.
Therefore, you would start with verse 24 where the rich man is giving orders to Abraham to give orders to Lazarus. You could start by saying:
“He didn’t realize his situation. As the flames grew hotter and his thirst grew stronger, he defaulted to what he knew: Giving orders to servants to meet his needs. ‘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 the flames.’ This poor, rich man. He didn’t realize his situation.”
From there, explain why he did not realize his situation. Go back to how he lived in the lap of luxury, how Jesus describes his gluttonous use of his wealth, his lack of care for the poor on his doorstep. Then, talk about how his love for his wealth prevented him from realizing his situation. He was so comfortable with his lifestyle, he failed to see he was under the judgment of God for his idolatry.
Here, you could break and talk about the idolatry of money and the dangers we see of this in our own world today.
Then, go back into the story with Lazarus. Lazarus, this poor man who suffered outside the gate and was not even given food from Lazarus. In his poverty, he likely did not realize his situation either: That he was seen and loved by God. He is blessed, because though he hungers and thirsts in this life, he would be satisfied (see Luke 6:21). Certainly, the rich man did not realize Lazarus’ situation before God. He did not care about him at all.
In his poverty, he likely did not realize his situation either: That he was seen and loved by God.
Now, take an excurses to talk about the upside-down way God’s Kingdom works. You can speak of how God chooses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, the poor people of this world to shame the rich, he identifies with sinners and He cannot seem to get enough of those the world ignores.
The rich man could not look anything less like the God who had chosen His people (we see that by calling Abraham his father, he is claiming identity as Jewish). He loved his wealth, while God loved Lazarus. But now, as Lazarus realizes his glorious situation and the blessings God has graciously prepared for him, the rich man is starting to realize his fearful situation. He is terrified.
Abraham refuses his request. He informs the formerly rich man that his situation is as bad as it gets. He tells him Lazarus cannot cross the chasm between Heaven and Hell and the truths of the beatitudes and curses from the sermon on the plain (Luke 6) are now realities the characters in Jesus’ account are bound to.
It will be worth stopping here for another excurses. You would serve your hearers well to revisit Luke 6:21 and 24 where Jesus teaches, in straight forward fashion, what He tells here in a story. The hungry are blessed for they will be satisfied, and the rich are cursed because they have already received their consolation. This portion of the sermon is the harshest point of Law and, if done properly, will drive your people, who are so prone to idolizing money to ask questions like: What is our situation? What can we do?
Likely, your people may be wondering what their situation is at this point. Are they Lazarus? Are they the rich man? I think, perhaps, we might most identify with the situation of Lazarus’ brothers: People who need to hear what God has done to save us from our idolatry.
Here is where the end of Jesus story is so fascinating. The rich man pleads with Abraham to warn his brothers of this fate by sending Lazarus back to preach. He knows they too are living in such a way that they are headed in this direction (Here, Jesus clearly has the religious leaders in mind. Think on how even now the Lord preaches repentance to those who oppose Him!). Abraham says his brothers have all they need in the scriptures. “No!” cries the rich man. A person who rises from the dead will convince them! Abraham’s line is stunning, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (16:31).
Here is the situation for your hearers: God has, in fact, given them everything they need to save them from their idolatrous wealth. He has given them His scripture to tell them His will. He has given His Son who dies for wealthy and poor sinners alike, and who has indeed risen from the dead, so they would receive His salvation and a seat next to Lazarus in the Kingdom of God. So, why cling to your money any longer? Start passing the potatoes and dessert to Lazarus now. Give him a seat at your table and make sure he is well fed! After all, that is what Christ has done for him. And, to those who have been given such an abundance of daily bread, they can join Christ in their serving, even as they join Lazarus in being served by Jesus.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Luke 16:19-31.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Luke 16:19-31.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
