The rich man in our Gospel reading today ended up being very
dissatisfied with the congregation that he had had while he was alive. The congregation’s
task is to use the Word of God so that those who hear him are led in the right
way that brings them to eternal life. Evidently this rich man either wasn’t
well led or he wasn’t listening. We see him in torment in hell. The suffering
is so bad that he wants Lazarus to give him just a drop of water for some
soothing relief. Had this man known what awaited him he would have lived very
differently from the way he had.
So why did this rich man’s congregation fail him? We are not
told, but it is not difficult to understand how this could have happened. All
that is needed is to consider how difficult it always is to preach the Word of
God rightly. The Word of God always meets resistance. We see this even with
outstanding preachers like Moses. God even did many signs through Moses, but
the people were always stiff necked. Discipline was carried out on the
Israelites with severe punishments, but they still wouldn’t quit resisting.
Another example of this kind of thing is with the high
places that the Israelites could never seem to get rid of. The best kings and the
best prophets would bring about reforms so that the Word of God was preached
more faithfully and often among the people, but no matter how impressive their
accomplishments might have been otherwise, they could never get rid of those
high places. Solomon, in his old age, even set up some of these high places.
How come they can’t get rid of these idols?
Answer: the people liked them. If the prophets and the kings
would have gone after these things to root them out, they would have had hell
to pay. So-and-so’s grandpa had put up that high place or worked on it or who
knows what else. To attack the high places was to attack the sentimentality and
traditions that had been built up for many years. So it just gets left alone.
If there happens to be someone bold enough to slaughter other people’s sacred
cows, then they are going to have troubles. They are going to be fastened to a
cross. There’s no telling if they will make it out alive.
We see this is so in the Bible. The hard life that Moses had
to live was because he didn’t just live and let live. He confronted sin,
faithlessness, or injustice wherever it happened to show up. It didn’t matter
if the people liked it or not. He wasn’t determining his actions by what was considered
popular. That made him all too often unpopular. In fact, many, most, or perhaps
even nearly all the Israelites hated Moses at one time or another. They often
wished that they had a different leader. Moses continued on in spite of all
this, but not everybody is a Moses. So what happens with preachers who aren’t
so faithful and courageous as Moses? That’s right: they keep their hands off
those hot topics.
We are not told the proportion of the rich man’s income that
he gave in his offerings to the Church. Maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal for
the rich man to give the amount he did, but his offerings probably were pretty
important for the congregation’s budget. What would have happened if the rich
man’s preacher went after greed and cold-heartedness—cut-throat business
practices and not giving a damn for those, like Lazarus, who could have been
benefited by his wealth?
The reaction to genuine criticism that hits its mark is
always the same. We are all cut from the same cloth. If a criticism hits home everybody
resents it. Show me the person who likes to be told that he or she is doing
something wrong? Such a person does not exist. Everybody wants to be left
alone, believing that the way that they are living is the right and proper way
to live.
So if the rich man heard criticisms that exposed his sin,
then he would at least frown at the preacher. He might do a great deal more. He
might quit giving. He might quit coming. Maybe he’d find some other church to
go to. Then it might not just be the rich man who is upset at the preacher, the
congregation might start to complain. Why does the preacher have to say or do
what he does? That’s no way to grow a congregation! Other congregations in the
synod don’t do it that way, why does he go out on his own like that? We should
give the district president a call. These possibilities are dreadful, as every
preacher knows. This rich man’s preacher, therefore, might have let this rich
man go on like he was. He didn’t lift a finger to help him, because the
customer is always right.
And so long as the horizon for our view is this earthly life
only, such preaching works well both for the preacher as well as the hearer. The
preacher doesn’t have the stress and heartache and hard work of dealing with
people who are upset. The hearer goes home happy every Sunday. He is not
disturbed by being judged and found wanting. When the hearer dies, the preacher
gives him a nice funeral where everybody is assured that the deceased has
crossed over into heaven.
But the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Preachers can
say whatever they want. What Jesus opens up for us today is the disturbing
possibility that although we think everything is hunky-dory, it might not
actually be that way. This fine upstanding citizen, this pillar of the community,
goes to hell, where he belongs.
The real thrust of what Jesus is saying in our Gospel
reading today is about preaching. The rich man wants Lazarus to come back from
the dead to his brothers. He wants Lazarus to rattle some chains and go bump in
the night. Father Abraham responds that his brothers have Moses and the
prophets. That is to say, these brothers can make use of God’s revelation that
has been written down in the Scriptures. Everything that they need to know
about salvation, about not going to hell, has been written in the books of
Moses and the prophets.
Here we see the real power that exists in a Christian
congregation and in preaching. If the congregation is devoted to God’s
revelation to us in the Bible, then salvation for sinners is given out in such
a place. But it won’t work if a congregation devotes itself to just any old
thing. For a congregation to actually be Christian it has to carry out what
Christ has actually given it to do. After Christ rose from the dead, but before
he ascended into heaven, he told us what is to be done:
Matthew records Jesus saying, “Go, make disciples of
every nation, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and lo,”
Jesus says, “I am with you until the end of the world.” Mark records
Jesus saying, “Preach the Gospel to every creature.” Luke records Jesus
saying, “Repentance and the forgiveness of sins is to be preached in my
name, beginning at Jerusalem and extending into all the world.” John
records Jesus saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whosoever’s sins you
forgive, they are forgiven them. Whosoever’s sins you retain, they are retained.”
All four Gospel writers say pretty much the same thing. The
disciples are going to make other disciples by preaching that we are to repent
for our sins, and believe that we are forgiven for Jesus’s sake. The Old
Testament says the same thing. Moses and the prophets direct people to the Son
of God, Jesus Christ, as the one who crushes the serpent’s head, redeeming us
from the devil, so that we belong to God and God belongs to us. The reason why
we do what we do and say what we say in the Christian Church is so that we may
believe and ever more firmly believe in Jesus, and so that we can help others
to believe in Jesus as well.
But Jesus himself says that if we are faithful to the
commission that he has given to us, then we are going to have trouble. People
do not want to confess their sins and turn away from them. They want to be able
to continue in their sins. People are highly offended when they are told that
they can’t do something that they want to do and continue to be a Christian.
People want to have the status of being saints without having to live the
difficult life that saints are given to live. It is when a preacher or a
congregation says “no” to someone, that is when the fur begins to fly.
In the case of this rich man, he should have been told that
his cold heart would land him in hell. If the seriousness of the situation
could be shown to him with disciplinary measures, then that would have been all
the better for him. This would have at least given him the opportunity to be
sorry for his sin. It doesn’t necessarily mean that he would have. He could
have remained proud and gone off in a huff. But it is also possible that he
acknowledge the truth that he deserves to go to hell, so that he may embrace
the further truth that has been given to us Christians to preach: that Christ
died for the ungodly. In him is forgiveness and plenteous redemption.
So what can we gain from this sermon today? Should we pray
for a Moses who courageously stands up for what is right regardless of the
consequences? I suppose we could pray for such a preacher, but there aren’t a
lot of Moseses around. There aren’t even a lot of Moseses in the Bible. We
should not be looking for a one man band to do it all while we sit on the
sidelines. Instead, we should all looking to do our part in making known God’s
revelation so that people are turned away from sin to faith in Christ Jesus.
You have all been given this revelation. It is yours. You
may speak it. Your speaking of it is no less effective than my speaking of it.
One of the reasons to congregate is so that we may speak it to one another.
Another reason why we congregate is that our mere presence
is important for our fellow Christians. Seeing you in Church is good for me. It
is good for others. You’ll even hear people say, “So-and-so was in Church
today.” Why does this make us happy? It’s because it’s actually a powerful kind
of nonverbal preaching. By people being at church they are saying that it is
important and helpful. They are saying that they are relying upon the Gospel
for eternal life—the same Gospel that you are relying upon.
Now during these strange times it has not always seemed
prudent to gather like we normally have. It still might not be prudent for
some, depending on their health and circumstances. In that case, we just have
to make do. But even with these strange circumstances it has been a blessing
that we have been able to congregate in the parking lot. This has cheered me
up. It’s cheered others up too. That’s because our presence is saying
something, even if we do not speak.
It is also important that you learn and grow and become ever
more active in furthering what we have been given to do as a congregation. We
Christians have declared war against the most powerful forces on earth. We have
declared war against the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. A lot of
people think that it is the pastor who does everything in this war. They just
sit in the pew. But that’s not how it works.
If the congregation is not pulling together with the pastor
in denouncing sin, carrying out discipline, and supporting and encouraging one
another, then this work cannot go on for long. If I, as your pastor, say or do
something controversial, it is within your power to run me out of town. Or you
can also just sit and watch from the sidelines. Or you can join in on that
work.
This is what was very likely lacking with the rich man. When
the pastor and the people are pulling together, fighting the same war, then
eternal goodness is the result. On the other hand, if the Word of God is
brought to nothing, if it is contradicted, if it is not preached because of the
fear of the consequences, then the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh is
winning. The congregational life might go on like it always has—peaceful and
serene, but let’s not just consider how things go in this life. What difference
does it make if this congregation is huge or tiny, if it lasts 10 years or 300
years? None of that matters on judgment day. Just ask this rich man. It’s the
work that a congregation does with Moses and the prophets that matters.
Our Gospel reading today should powerfully impress upon us
the importance of our war against all of God’s enemies who do not have eternal
life through Jesus as their goal. It is not yet possible for us to truly know
how important the spiritual gifts are that God has given to us. These gifts
might be the pastors or teachers we have had. They might be our parents or
siblings or friends or fellow congregation members. When these folks are
faithful to the revelation God has given in Moses and the prophets there is
salvation right here in our midst. People are saved from hell and enter into
that blessed place instead, where no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has it
entered into the imagination of the heart of man what God has prepared for
those who love him. But this doesn’t happen without a struggle. As Paul says,
it is only by many tribulations that we may enter the Kingdom of God. Therefore
we must all do our part in the roles and callings that God has given to us.
If you feel inadequate, that’s alright. In fact, that’s
good. That’s how the people of God have always felt when they fight against
God’s enemies. But you are not alone. We have a powerful friend who is with us
on the plain with his good gifts and Spirit. Ask ye who is this? Jesus Christ
it is. He is Lord of the angel armies. No true or lasting harm can come upon us
with him as our friend. Rely on him and even hell itself must yield to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment