Jesus says,
“Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things,
and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you
are in anguish.”
Even our bulletin cover betrays us
today, as we contemplate the Gospel according to St. Luke. For on it, we see
fear and fear leads us to focus on the rich man going to hell: what sent him
there, how he got there, and what we can do to not go there. Thus, even
Christians will present their belief as simply, “well, you don’t want to go to
hell, right?”
This is no witness to the
Christian faith. This line of thinking only leads us to the life of the rich
man and neglect of our neighbor. If our only mode of accessing the Christian
faith is “how not to go to hell”, then our worldview turns very black and white
and all we see are those going to heaven and those going to hell. And of
course, those going to hell aren’t worth our time, right Lazarus?
And it is not just that we take
time out and care for the poor and those who need our help in our community.
Those should be things that are our default positions. No one should lead a luxurious
life, nor live in worldly pleasures and perpetual feastings, nor should he be a
slave of his lusts and forget God (Against Heresies, p. 464). For, as Isaiah
says, “They [drink wine with] lyre and harp, tambourine and flute ...at
their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of
his hands.” (Isa 5:12)
Again, here is godly fear that the
Lord employs in order that we not be like these men, showing that if they had
simply obeyed Moses and the prophets, they would believe in Him whom these had
preached, the Son of God, Who rose from the dead, and bestows life on us.
But what are the deeds of the Lord
and the works of His hands? The prophets and the Psalms are quick to praise the
Lord for creating all things. Those are the easy things, although not many
people believe that these days.
And even though these things were
continually in front of their noses, I mean what on earth isn’t, God still
says, “But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his
counsel...but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did...Thus
they became unclean by their acts, and played the whore in their deeds.” (Ps.
106:13, 35, 39)
We have learned from the nations,
from the unbelievers, to do their works. Their works of unchurch. Their works
of unworship, unprayer, and unthanksgiving. So it is that we find condemnation
from Jesus, not because of works, but because of unbelief. “And this is the
judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness
rather than the light because their works were evil.” (Jn 3:19)
So the rich mans works and deeds
were evil enough to land him in hell, but Lazarus’ deeds were sufficient enough
to bring upon him the furnace of poverty, hunger, and distress. So it is with
the sinner. His works, by their very sinful nature, take him away from the
Lord’s work. Simply acknowledging God’s handiwork in creation is not enough.
The works and deeds of the Lord are
for Jesus to accomplish as He says (Jn. 4:34). And we already heard last week
that the works of the Lord are far above us and our ways. In light of this, we
must wait for God to show us His works. He must be the one to reveal them and
tell us that these are His works and no one else’s.
So we wait on Jesus and see what
He does, since the works of God are His alone. Miracles are not enough. His
work is to suffer and die for us which is the only true work of God.
In our Epistle, St. John
Abraham feared that the Lord would
not be able to keep His promise to give him a son, in the OT reading. The Lord
basically said to Abraham that Abraham will not be the heir, neither will his
relative, because Abraham feared and did not believe. Instead a son that is not
afraid, shall be heir. Not Isaac, but a son of Abraham none the less.
That son, the true Son of the
Father, is one Who will not only create numerous offspring of Abraham, but also
count our belief as righteousness. In fact, the Lord is in the business of
belief and confession (Ps. 111:3). Which finally are His works for us.
In fact, you may ask Him directly
if you don’t believe me. Ask what must you be doing to be doing the works of
God. Jesus answers you, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him
whom he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)
Belief. Belief is the work of God.
The work that God gives you to do on this earth, in this life. Belief that
there is a true Son Who is heir to an eternal throne. Belief that God created
all things. Belief that there is a perfect love given to you, for free. Belief
that there is a spot at Abraham’s bosom reserved just for you.
Here is the real Gospel. That you
are Lazarus, just as Christ was Lazarus on earth for you. Despised, forsaken,
rejected. In the furnace of God’s wrath because of sin. But, because of Jesus’
belief and Jesus’ faith, Lazarus’ sins are not counted against him. They are
removed from him as far as the east is from the west and because of that hidden
grace that does not look upon outward appearances, but on the heart, Lazarus is
carried to eternal peace.
The Christian does good to all, because
all good has been done to him. The Christian should not be so quick to point
out hell, as he should be to point out forgiveness and heaven to those who do
not yet believe, because forgiveness and heaven have been given to him for
free.
In the resurrection, because of
your belief, you will receive good things many times over the amount of bad
things you had in this life. Because of Jesus, you will not only receive
eternal peace, but such a great chasm has been erected so that there will be no
danger of you losing it. This is the Good News.
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