Rich Man and Lazarus 2024

Before I offer you some thoughts about this epistle

and gospel today, this tremendous gospel, this

parable, which is only found in the gospel of

St. Luke, the rich man, and Lazarus, just a few

remarks, housekeeping rules, if you like. After

the sermon, this is generally a good time that

parents find to take kids outside for a little

break. You don't have to. If your kid doesn't

need to go, don't do it. Maybe he does. Maybe

you need a break. I don't know. It's not for

me to decide. I'm up here in front of the altar,

so I just don't know. But I would ask that the

children don't play in the playground because

it's right outside the altar door. And we can

hear all that. It's just like kind of blasted

in. Don't play with balls. And, you know, I'm

afraid a wiffle ball is going to come flying

in the side door of the altar someday. Bikes

and skateboards, all that, it's a break. It's

not recess. So please keep that in mind. God

did not speak just a long time ago. You read

how the Lord came to so -and -so where Jesus

spoke this parable. He speaks now. You just heard

it. His words are written down by Luke. This

is where we meet God right now, this moment,

as we prepare to meet God in the Eucharist. First,

the word is given to us to cleanse our ears,

our heart, our thoughts. We meditate on those

words of the Lord. And then we're preparing to

receive the word. In our mouth. To consume him.

He comes to us. In his mercy. That way too. Not

every child. Little child can understand. What

the gospel is. But every child can receive. The

body and blood of Christ. So this parable. From

Luke 16. We read it. Every year. At this time

of the year. This is the time. in Sonoma County,

elsewhere, of the harvest, isn't it? It's a time

supposed to be of abundance. We hope fire season's

over. This is a time of God's richness to us.

The seeds were planted. God makes the growth.

That's scriptural. And it's just what happens.

And in this time of abundance, in this time of

harvest, We have something to share out of the

abundance that we have from God. So I think it's

in my mind anyway that Jesus spoke this parable

at the time of the harvest too. I don't know

that for sure, but the church gives us this parable

at precisely this time so we can consider what

God has given us and how are we going to share.

How are we going to distribute something for

those? who are needy and have less than we do.

And last week prepared us for today's gospel.

Last week, last Sunday. How so? Do you recall

it was the commemoration of the Holy Fathers

of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, and we talked

about the veneration of icons, we talked about

that council, how it was affirmed that painting

them, adorning our churches with them, and venerating

them, was to be restored after a time of terrible

discord in the church. So today, we make real

what we learned last week about veneration and

honoring the image of God, not just in the wood,

not just on the walls. We make the Sunday of

Orthodoxy real. We make the Sunday of the last...

judgment with the same message real. I was hungry.

You fed me. I was thirsty. You gave me to drink.

I was naked. You clothed me. Who's speaking?

Jesus. Jesus is speaking. I was in prison. I

was sick. You visited me. Lord, when did we see

you? naked or hungry or sick or in prison. And

you know what the Lord said. If you've done it

to me, you've done it in no uncertain terms to

the most. Down and out, the least person, the

most lonely person, the most poor person, the

most forgotten person, the most thirsty, hungry,

and sick, and lonely person, because we do it

for the image of God. There's no such thing as

veneration of icon unless you accept this fact,

that the image of God is in other people, even

those that we... Certainly, we simply just look

down on. So we honor, we serve, we venerate the

image of God, that other person as Christ. You

know this. This is not news to any of you. And

I know you all do this. You act this way because

you're Orthodox Christians. But in this time

of abundance in the harvest, the message takes

on a certain immediacy for us. This parable begins

with these words. There was a certain rich man,

there was a rich man, particular guy, no name,

because maybe he stands for all of them, I don't

know, who was clothed in purple and fine linen,

and he feasted sumptuously every day. Every day.

That's not good for your health, for one thing,

but every day. To whom is Jesus telling this

parable? Well, it's very good. a practice when

you read something from scripture to look what

comes before and look what comes after. And immediately

before this, St. Luke records that Jesus is speaking

to the Pharisees. They were lovers of money,

St. Luke tells us. They heard all these things

and they ridiculed Jesus. And he said to them,

You are those who justify yourselves before others.

But God knows your heart. For what is exalted

among men, what looks good, what's accepted,

what's famous, what's celebrated in this world,

is an abomination in the sight of God, says Jesus.

Ponder that. Rich man in purple and fine linen,

eating sumptuously every day, is directed towards

them, these religious people. We're religious

people. As I never fail to say to people, I'm

religious but not spiritual, when they tell me

they're spiritual but not religious. I'm religious

in that I can do this, I can serve at the altar,

I can pray, but really is my heart being changed

or am I the same? Am I the same? Do I never change?

Become more and more like the image of Christ?

So, this purple and fine linen is directed to

them on two levels. Please note, first, first

he means that they have the revelation of the

true God. They have the temple. They have the

scriptures. They have the ceremonies, the vestments,

the purple and the fine linen for the priests,

only the best. They have the sacrifices, the

sharing of the meal with the living God. They

worship the true God in a place, a very small

location geographically, surrounded by paganism

that does not worship the true God. They have

it all. And do they share? No. Jesus says they

hold all these things for themselves. That's

the story of the elder son and the prodigal son.

They don't share the riches of the faith. They

don't invite others to come in to be transformed

by the law of God. They don't invite sinners

to repentance and change. They're disdainful.

They're arrogant. They're dismissive of the poor

and the sinners to whom Jesus himself says he

has come for them. I think most of us could probably

do a little bit better at sharing with others

the good that God has done for us in our lives.

The good news. How God has helped us and exalted

us and cleansed us, forgiven us and fed us. And

now we can be clothed in the purple and fine

linen of the glory of the church. and feast sumptuously

here at the liturgy. Think about that. But secondly

in this story, and most obviously the message

is, the Lord is telling us in this parable and

in many other accounts over and over again that

one of the most difficult passions for human

beings to overcome is enslavement to possessions.

The rich man, again, nameless. He died, he was

buried. I'm sure that funeral was splendid. But

he was buried. He's in Hades. He seems to want

to order Lazarus through Abraham. Father Abraham,

send Lazarus to me. To have him give me some

water. He hasn't learned to repent even in that

place. He's imperious. He's bossy. But there's

a vast chasm, says Father Abraham. There's a

vast chasm. It's a pit of selfishness and enslavement

to passions which has resulted of ignoring the

needs of others right in front of your face.

On the doorstep. At the gate. The whole of this

rich man's life was moving toward this chasm

in his life. This rich man has, in fact, effectively

constructed it. He put together his own prison.

He's the creator of his own hell. He spent a

lifetime being accustomed to the absence of God

and the absence of responsibility to anyone else.

And day by day, Think of Marley and Scrooge,

right? Day by day, he forged the chain of his

servitude, and he became less and less free,

little by little, and the slave of what he owned.

By the way, this is not a parable about punishment.

It's not really a parable about life after death.

It's a parable about a man that appears to be

living, but he's truly dead. Looking at Lazarus

now, we see if we really want to elevate things,

we see that he represents Christ. Why? He has

nothing. What did Jesus say of himself? Foxes

have holes. Birds there have nests, but the Son

of Man has nowhere to lay his head. Where was

Lazarus laying his head? Outside the gate of

the rich man's splendid house. And he only wanted

a few crumbs that would fall from the table.

The man in the ancient times probably used bread

as a napkin to wipe his hands and face. Lazarus

suffers terrible. Terrible bodily pain. He's

covered with wounds. Who was wounded for us?

Christ. So Christ is teaching us to be liberal

in our giving. Because our giving is for our

salvation. Our giving is an opportunity to honor

the Lord. And mind you, there's no particular

virtue in being poor. There's no particular vice

in being rich. The virtue or the vice lies in

what we do. Love is lived in actions. Our deeds,

brothers and sisters, how can we serve the Lazarus

before us? Well, we have Catholic charities.

I heard a complaint that we shouldn't be involved

in Catholic charities because they're not Orthodox.

Well, if Orthodox had programs like them, it

might be a good thing, but we don't. Charity

isn't about theological arguments. So we have

Catholic charities. You, each one of us, can

volunteer at some level in some small way. To

be face -to -face, not just wallet -to -wallet.

Face -to -face, not just wallet -to -wallet.

You can volunteer in area food banks. They're

all over the place. You can volunteer at Angels

Unawares here on the first Thursday of the month.

You can take water to some homeless encampment.

Yeah, it's going to leave plastic bottles all

over the place, but that's not your worry. You

can make a blessing bag and give it out. There

is a Lazarus at your gate. I promise you that.

St. Gregory of Palamas, just to wrap this up,

he said this, our Savior has made salvation easy

because he loves us with an indescribable love.

He says this, our lowly our earthly, our bodily

needs, namely food and drink, the money we earn,

are in the end, in terms of eternity, nothing

but dust and ashes. Nothing in view of eternity.

And even of less value than anything else. Yet

these very things, worthless before the very

judgment seat of Christ, can be the means by

which if someone offers what he has in excess

of what he needs, to those who have nothing,

he can be saved. Because he ministers even to

Christ in that person. I suppose I could have

just said this simple sentence and not even given

you a sermon today. Do unto others as you would

have them do unto you. To our Lord who gives

us this... immeasurable love and these profound

teachings be glory and honor now and ever to

ages of ages. Amen.