To quote Mark Twain: “There are two kinds of people in the world: those that say there are two kinds of people in the world and those who don’t.”
We certainly like to put people in categories, don’t we? By race, religion, economics, education, legal/illegal, short/tall, gay/straight, single/married/divorced, Lutheran/the rest of the world…
You name it, we can fit it into a category. The human filing system is not limited to others. We do the same for ourselves as well. Successful or not, we may look at ourselves as good or bad.
How many of you were thinking about which one of the categories you fit into as our Gospel lesson (Matthew 13:1-9,18-23) was read today? And if not you then some other person you know? Certainly, we here in church must be the good seed. Or perhaps your conscience is bothering you this morning about something and you feel like the bad seed. Which category do you fit into? Which category does your spouse or friend fit into? How about your next-door neighbor?
The disciples were surely thinking such. They asked Jesus to explain the parable to them. This is the only parable where such a conversation happens. They never ask again, so they must not have liked what they heard. Why is that? Consider this possible explanation: they knew good and well what Jesus was saying about the seeds. What they wanted to hear was which kind of seed they were. And in case Jesus didn’t know, they were the ones who had left hearth and home, family and friends, jobs and lives to journey with Jesus. Surely they were the good seed.
In our culture we have an emphasis on the personal, the singular action of the individual; not so in the eastern culture or First-century Palestine. Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, the point is made over and over and over again that Jesus is speaking to the community at large, the larger group, the whole family, the entire community. This parable is no different.
It would be a mistake to look at this as different individuals. Indeed, it is the characteristics of the group. It is the characteristics shared by the whole. It is a situation where a person is not either good soil or bad; a person is both. A community is not good soil or bad; the community is good and bad, complete and replete with all the thorns and rockiness, and pathways, and yes, even manure that goes along with the landscape of the human condition.
Do you understand that?
Consider the Disciples. They wanted to be good soil but they frequently doubted, often fled, failed in faith, sank when the storms got rough, ran when the going got tough, argued over who would be the greatest, chose violence over peace, doubted, pouted and touted their own power.
The truth is they were all of these things. The truth is that we are all of these things. The explanation left them with more questions than answers. Maybe that is why they asked for more explanation.
Consider the context: John the Baptist, the friend, the colleague, the cousin, had just been arrested. In the following chapter we discover he is executed. In the previous chapter we learn that the religious leaders have gone from being just a little agitated with Jesus to being angry to now plotting Jesus’ arrest and death.
The movement appeared to be in trouble and it is the human condition when things get bad, we want to know who the good people are and who the bad people are, who is for us and who is against us, who can be trusted and who is not trustworthy. This was not the easy answer the Disciples wanted. They wanted to hear that they were good, the Pharisees bad, and people must take sides. You are either a terrorist threat or you are not.
Now, here comes the surprise: Parables are about two things. Thus the word parable is like parallel lines or parallel bars.
The first thing a parable tells us is something about us. The second thing it does is tell us something about God. Nobody liked what the parable says about us, but what does it say about God?
Simply put, God is a terrible farmer.
Consider the time and place. Food in a desert, food among the poor and working class, food in the first century world is at a premium; every seed, every grain of wheat, every kernel is priceless and can mean the difference between starving and eating. It can literally be the difference between life and death. Along comes farmer God and with wild reckless abandon, He throws seeds in the road, on the briar path, on top of rocks, and in the parking lot.
Seeds in the gutter, seeds in the field, seeds cluttered on the floor, and even more on the stones. God would have been kicked out of the Future Farmers of America.
The parable is not only about people but about God, our God, a lavish and extravagant farmer who throws seeds of love and grace in the unlikeliest of places.
Isaiah, in today’s reading (55:10-13) again speaking to the enslaved nation of Israel, “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but I shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Paul in his letter to the Romans (8:1-11) says “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” God keeps on giving.
So when your heart is rocky, when the weeds of distress and the thorns of selfishness and greed seem to be overtaking the garden, when it looks like our life is producing only briars and your garden is not blooming, along comes this lavish, reckless and extravagant farmer God.
Which category do you fit into? The category is God’s garden.
Amen.

Last week I told Pastor Gary that I hoped I would not be like him without a voice this week. Well, I caught a cold, lost my voice, and hopefully you will all be able to hear me.
“If you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples.” This the Lord spoke to Moses when he had gone up the mountain in Sinai. He was referring to the Israelites. God said “The whole earth is mine, but you shall be a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. You saw what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to me.”
Moses gathered the elders and explained what God had commanded him. They all answered “Everything the Lord has spoken, we will do.” The Israelites committed themselves completely to God’s will.
It was right after this, in the next chapter, that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, which we all had to memorize, I am sure, in Sunday School when we were young.
God is telling Moses that the Israelites are His chosen people, His priestly kingdom.
Moses was told by God, “you saw how I bore you up on eagles’ wings, how I saved you and your people”. Psalm 91 is the psalm from which the song “On Eagles’ Wings” was written. “For he will deliver you from the deadly pestilence, under his wings you will find refuge. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
God told Moses that he had borne the Israelites on eagles’ wings and brought them safely home to Him.
“For to the angels God’s given a command to guard you in all of your ways: upon their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. And I will raise you up on eagles’ wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of my hand.”
Our second lesson from Romans 5 contains a very important sentence (Vs. 8): “God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God did not wait for us to become perfect, in order to love us; he loves us just the way we are. He died on the cross for us, to prove His love for us. He died so that we might have eternal life. He loves us, even though we are not perfect.
In our Gospel lesson today (Matthew 9:35-10:8) Jesus went about traveling through the cities and villages, teaching in the synagogues, always proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Along with his teaching, he cured the sick. Jesus was very compassionate for the crowds of people as he went about doing his ministry.
Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them the authority to cast out unclean spirits and to cure sickness and disease. He sent the disciples out to the surrounding areas, to proclaim the good news and to tell everyone that the Kingdom of Heaven has come near. The disciples were told to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and to cast out demons. They were to be as compassionate in their ministry as He was.
Jesus gave his disciples the authority for their ministry, but he remained as their source of direction and strength. In this way, the disciples became like Christ to others; they became his faithful followers.
An interesting note is that in this passage from St. Matthew, the twelve disciples are named. Jesus names them aloud as he commissions them to go out and proclaim the Kingdom of God.
Jesus told his disciples to go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, to go to the lost sheep, the sheep without a shepherd, and tell them about the Kingdom of God so that they might become believers, and be found.
Jesus sent his twelve disciples out to become shepherds for these lost sheep, to lead them, to guide them, and to bring them home to the Kingdom of God, to bring them to Him. The disciples were to proclaim to them the Gospel through his words and deeds.
Sheep are stupid animals. They wander aimlessly in the fields, the only thing they learn is to follow their master’s voice. Each shepherd could call his sheep and they would know his voice. Jesus was likening some of the people of Israel to lost sheep. He told his disciples to go out in search of them, to find them, to instruct them in the ways of the Gospel, and to bring them home: home to him.
God is our shepherd. In the twenty-Third psalm, we hear “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” He leads us through our daily lives, each and every day. He is always watching over us, just like a shepherd would watch over his flock, his sheep.
Our chapel has a painting of Jesus carrying the lost sheep in his arms. A symbolic picture of how Jesus carries us when we have lost our way.
The disciples were sent out to proclaim the Word of God, to proclaim the good news, to heal the sick, to share bread with the hungry.
Jesus’ sending of the disciples out into the countryside is probably our first example of evangelism. We are to be like disciples, going out into the world, proclaiming the good news of Christ to all who will listen. How do we proclaim this good news? We do not have to stand on street corners or on a soap box to do this. We simply have to live our lives as Christians, as Jesus would want us to do. We have to proclaim the good news by example.
We here at St. Paul’s definitely proclaim the good news and show our evangelistic spirit by example. We bring food to the food pantry; we stand and sing in front of the Elizabeth Detention Center; we use eco-palms on Palm Sunday; we give money to Lutheran World Relief so that it can help all those countries struck by catastrophe. We write letters to our Congressmen about allocating money in the budget for food for the hungry. We help our neighbors; we pick up people for Sunday services; we send cards when someone is ill to let them know we are thinking of them. We genuinely care for one another.
Here at St. Paul’s, we are one big family. We may be of different ages, different races, but we all share one thing in common: we believe in God and in His teachings and we try to spread that belief around.
In our Gospel lesson, Jesus sends twelve disciples out to preach his gospel. Each week we gather, as one family, as one member, to celebrate his life. We hear the lessons of scripture, we sing hymns, we hear a sermon, we share the Peace of the Lord, and we celebrate Jesus’ life and death in our partaking of communion. Each week we are refreshed and renewed through this hourlong service, so that we can go forth at the end of each service with the words “Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.” Go forth from this service to proclaim the good news and to share our bread with the hungry in our daily lives.
AMEN.

He was known for his gentleness that belied the strength that was below.
Always a gentleman, polite and caring; showing anger only when it was the response needed in the face of injustice, or danger to those he loved.
We all know that he was a carpenter. But he could fix more than woodwork; he could also make you feel better and important. His commitment to the poor was more than exemplary; it was gracious and it was heartfelt.
He fed the hungry and he did ot not from afar, where it was comfortable, but face to face. And though he was often denied justice and discriminated against in his own life, he never failed to believe in it or advocate for those who were denied justice.
He was wise and gentle and optimistic. He came from a poorer background but valued education. He was a leader among his friends. They looked to him for strength and especially in times of trouble.
And he died much sooner than his friends or family wanted him to. It seemed as if one minute everything was fine and suddenly it wasn’t. Nobody wanted it to end this way. He was however faithful to the end.
I am speaking of course of Jesus of Nazareth.
I could have just as easily been speaking about George. And it is not blasphemous or even absurd to compare these two carpenters. In fact the parallels go even farther.
Jesus always pointed to God. For those of us who have been privileged to know George Brantley, I think we can say that our lives are enriched and that we are even a little closer to God for it.
Only last week he was busy inviting people to our Jazz service at the Teaneck street fair. Two Sundays ago a call went out for volunteers to help in church. George left a note in the box of our Council President volunteering for whatever was necessary. The council member passed me the note having scribbled the words “Faithful to the end” across the top. And that he certainly was.
I will always be thankful that he was faithful to the end. He had that rare gift among Christians of never complaining about church.
He would always say to me after service “Pastor, I sure enjoyed church today.” Like he had been invited over to my home for dinner and a movie. He was faithful to this church.
And he was faithful to his family. Collette said he held her hand as he took her to the college dorm. And you know EVERYTHING embarrasses teenagers.
He was faithful to his friends. When he was a young man during the Second World War, he led his friends in a shoe-shining enterprise for the soldiers and sailors that passed through Manhattan. They were called the Canteen Boys. Sure it was for a little extra change, but knowing his character probably a way no matter how small to help out in the effort of his country.
In all of these things and for his faithfulness we can give God thanks, but our thanks would be hollow and in vain if we were to rely only on George’s faithfulness. For it is indeed now at this time that we must call upon God’s faithfulness.
Today, we have come here to remember George, to hear some words of comfort, to soothe the grief that can only be soothed by the mutual consolation of the saints. We have come here seeking hope. And we have come here to offer God thanks and praise for the gift that was this man. To speak his stories and recall his faithfulness for friends, folks and family alike.
But today’s story is about God’s faithfulness.
The faithfulness of God to George and the faithfulness of God to us.
The scripture lesson that we heard from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is often read at weddings and may seem odd at a funeral. In fact, it may be more appropriate at a funeral than at a wedding. For it is not about marriage at all! It is about a God that is faithful to his people, supplying them with a love to sustain them in the hardest and harshest of times; times like this one. I think George knew something of this love. This love that is not arrogant, or proud, this love that God has freely given us.
St. Paul brings this description of love to a climax by saying that this love never ends. Yes, even in death it continues. The scripture says that it endures all things, bears all things and that while all is fleeting and fading and everything in this existence comes to an end, love is eternal and it is abiding.
And the love God had for his child George, just like the love he had for his son Jesus, does not end today. St. Paul recalls and reminds us that God’s faithfulness is to the end.
The scene that day on Calvary was one of hopefulness. But God was not to be outdone. In a frenzy of love he proclaimed once and for all that death is swallowed up in victory.
And he declares the same for the man whose victory had once been in the boxing ring. Now that victory is eternal and everlasting.
None of us really knows what that final victory looks like, but I just bet that when Jesus gathered George at that heavenly home, that those two old carpenters had a lot to talk about. And between the two of them the place will never look better.
So faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these is love. Everlasting, all-embracing and faithful to the end.
Amen.

And so today like disciples of old, we are reminded that our lives are sacred because they are intimately tied to God. Our lives, each, sometimes broken and often drifting, are not lost. When you have a home you always have a place to go. Remember who you are.

AMEN

An Irishman walks into a bar in Dublin, orders three pints of Guinness and sits in the back of the room,drinking a sip out of each one in turn. When he finishes them, he comes back to the bar and orders three more. The bartender tells him, "you know, a pint of Guinness goes flat minutes after I pour it; it tastes better if you drink one at a time."
The Irishman replies, "Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in America, the other in Australia, and I'm here in Dublin. When we all left home, we promised that we would have a drink in this way to remember the days when we drank together."
The bartender admits that this is a nice geswture, and leaves it there.
The Irishman becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way, ordering three pints and drinking them in turn. One day, he comes in and orders only two pints. All the otherr regulars notice this and fall silent, assuming that one of the brothers has died.
When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says "I am very sorry for your loss, and I want to offer my condolences on the loss of your brother."
The Irishman looks confused for a moment, then a light dawns in his eye and he laughs loudly. "Oh, no," he says, "My brothers are fine. I've just quit drinking for Lent."
We have begun the Season of Lent. The forty days before Easter that Christians traditionally spend correcting some of the excesses of their lives.
The Irishman is not the only person in the world whose self-indulgence and weakness in the face of temptation. It is a pretty old story. Adam and Eve rationalize and shift blame so much in the story in Genesis 2 that it sounds like a presidential debate.
And then there is Jesus, In the 4th chapter, Matthew has a great story about how Jesus was tempted. The word in scripture for "to tempt" is the same word for "to test." And Jesus catches it from all sides. In Matthew, this story is the only time the devil directly tempts Jesus. The Pharisees and Sadducees (16:1), the Pharisees (19:3), Pharisees and Herodians (22:18), and a legal expert (22:35) all get their chances. Perhaps most of our temptations don't come from Satan, but from other people.
The devil in the story is apparently a Biblical scholar. Satan knows his scripture! We learn right away that people love to use the Bible for their own ends, to justify slavery, to justify prejudice against people who are "different."
Jesus is hungry. What is wrong with turning stones into bread (if one can do it) to feed the hungry? Later, Jesus will turn a couple fish and five loaves of bread into a feast for five thousand.
What's wrong with believing scriptures so strongly that he trusts the angels to protect him should he fall from the high cliff? Later Jesus will walk on water, perhaps slightly less difficult than floating through air.
What's wrong with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords assuming control over all the kingdoms of the world? Isn't that what we're expecting at the end of the ages?
Well...let's look at the three temptations:
In the first temptation, notice the plural. The devil talks about STONES and LOAVES. I have a healthy appetite, but even at my hungriest, I could never eat more than one loaf. What Satan is offering Jesus is the right to access. I have FOUR TV's in my house, and at no time am I able to watch all of them at the same time. We need Jesus to show us that there is a difference between what we need to live, and what we WANT.
We need Jesus.
In the second temptation, Jesus is on the pinnacle of the Temple, the house of God. The devil gives Jesus good Scripture as to how God could serve Him. "He will command His angels concerning you." But Jesus responds, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." We need Jesus.
The third temptation Satan offers Jesus the Kingdoms of the world; governmental power. The devil seems to have the power to give our world away. but Jesus doesn't fall for this because he knows that the world belongsto God. We need Jesus.
To whom does the world belong? It is not the devil's to give away, just as it is not ours to exploit, pollute or waste. The planet and all we own belong to God. We humans try and carve it up and separate ourselves; the haves from the have-nots, them and us, illegals and legals, Christian and Muslim. Jesus was having none of it.
The scripture says Jesus was tempted for forty days. That is a biblical way of saying a very long time, maybe even forever. Matthew wants to be clear that Jesus was not tempted once or twice or even thrice, but throughout his life.
The same holds for us. We fail, we give in, we make bad choices and somehow we don't even know how we got in the mess we are in or how to get out of it. But just as Jesus always defeated temptation, so it is that he always is ther to pick up the pieces when we don't.

Amen.

At least it was yesterday. Six dogs and a guinea pig named John to be exact. Yesterday's blessing of the animals brought our fine furry friends out and for the most part they seemed happy to be at church; that's the thing about dogs.
It seems that only God can love us that much.
In today's Gospel (Luke 17:5-10), the Disciples ask Jesus to give them more faith. It seems a reasonable request.
Earlier in Luke, Jesus sent the disciples out to have power over evil spirits and demons. They preached and healed, they went about without supplies of their own. They had faith to trust God for their necessities. They had faith to heal the sick and cast out demons. They had faith to proclaim the Kingdom of God.
Levi had enough faith to leave his tax booth and follow Jesus. Peter, James, and John had enough faith to leave their fishing business. They had enough faith that Jesus would teach them to pray and that their prayers would be answered.
When Jesus asks them to distribute five loaves and two fish, they seem to do so trusting that though the crowd numbered in the thousands, that somehow God would provide. They did not mumble; they did not stumble in their task.
But now, why are they asking for more faith? It seems that they have had and do have a great amount of faith; doing things that most of us would be hesitant to do. And here they are saying "Lord, increase our faith."
The context is Jesus teaching the disciples about their lives together, what it means to be the Church. In this teaching he tells them that they are responsible for the sins of others and the sins of their nations.
He tells a strong story about a poor man lying at the steps of the rich man and he gives this poor man a name, Lazarus (Hebrew for "God will help"). The rich man He calls Child of Abraham, a catch phrase of the day meaning a fellow citizen (much as we would say your "average American"). He stuns those around Him by saying that we all are responsible for one another and we are all called to work for the common good of the world.
Jesus has been saying some very, very hard things, some difficult things, some things that may seem unfair to us who are used to looking at personal responsibility and not corporate responsibility.
Do you remember the early story in the Bible from Sunday school. The children of Adam and Eve, the brothers Cain and Abel are torn apart by jealousy. In a fit of rage Cain kills Abel, spilling his blood in the soil. When God asked Cain, "where is your brother Abel?", Cain's reply is "am I my brother's keeper?"
It is a rhetorical question which is answered by God. The answer is Yes! Yes! You are your brother's keeper; you are responsible for his safety, his wellbeing, his life.
The Pharisees who have been listening, take exception to this whole conversation. They wanted to be responsible only for their own lives; surely no one would hold them accountable for the sins and shortcomings of the riffraff.
And then Jesus takes it a step further; he adds another layer. He says to them "you must forgive those who sin against you." Luke says seven times, Matthew recounts it at seventy times seven. Whichever it is, they are both perfect numbers, meaning each time someone wrongs you, then you must forgive, just as there are seven days in the week, you must forgive every day of the week.
The disciples seem to be okay with the concept of being responsible for one another; that the rich are in the same boat as the poor, that the haves are no better than the have-nots, that the wealthy are responsible for sharing their wealth, and that the powerful in society are indeed thy brothers' keepers. After all, most of them (except perhaps Levi) were not the rich, so the teaching was not that difficult for them. At best, most of them were simple working-class folks, so it was okay for Jesus to come down hard on the powerful, but then he brings the forgiveness business up.
You must forgive seven times.
The next verse is "Lord, increase our faith." All of these teachings they were fine with, all of the tasks before them they were fine with,the witness to the miracles and the missions they were sent on, all fine. But they do not believe that they have enough faith to forgive others. It is as if forgiveness is just too much for them. It is as if forgiving someone is the hardest task that we have.
Jesus' response to the Disciples that day is pretty much "you underestimate yourselves."
All things are possible through a little faith.
He takesb it a step further by telling them that a servant does only what is expected. And that God expects us to do our job and be forgivers.
Is there one among us who has not harbored the pain of being wronged? Is there one among us who has not imagines a scenario where we could not forgive some atrocity? Do we not all nurse our perceived wrongs and injustices?
It is indeed hard to be forgivers, to fulfill our job description of being the good-natured pet always willing to retturn to the master, no matter the injustice.....
But Jesus says "don't underestimate yourself!"

Can you imagine anyone who could be so cruel, so cold and so callous as to have a poor hungry man, covered with sores, being licked by dogs, lying in your doorway? A poor soul who asks nothing more than the scraps that fall from the table, sick and starving on your steps? What kind of person would do that? This man dressed in his royal purple and fine ry is a detestable person in our sight. We are and should be outraged at this character. No wonder he ended up in Hades. If ever anyone deserved it, this guy did!
It is easy to feel self-righteous about this guy...
Surely, any of us would be moved to pity. My experience with this congregation over the last year is that we are pretty much a group that cries at Hallmark commercials. We are softies. None of us would put up with such a thing. Or would we?
Ot is easy to pick out the good guys and the bad guys in this story. It is easy to come to a simple conclusion in this story. It is easy to delivera sermon that says "give more to the poor, pass the plate around, and then all go home." But as is the case with all of the Lord's teachings, things are not so simple. In fact, Jesus reminds his disciples time and time again that his teaching and our calling to be disciples is not easy.
As is the case in all of our Lord's teachings, there are some profound things going on in this story.
The first thing to keep in mind is that Jesus was teaching the disciples, but the religious leaders were eavesdropping on the congregation. Jesus describes these preachers as "lovers of money."
It was the tradition of the Pharisees to be poor and to not own much; but they associated with those who had a lot of money and influence. You know if you can't be rich, have rich friends. They were poor, but they were always getting invited out to eat. They were not exactly suffering.
The scene is set. The preachers are impressed with power. They admire it, and want to be a part of the big league. Jesus tells this story in earshot. And a contrast is set.
Remember in the first century, it was widely believed that to be rich was to win God's favor. we've talked about this before. The disciples, when they see someone down on their luck, ask Jesus who in this man's family had committed a sin that would lead to this result.
The rich, on the other hand, were rewarded because they were good people. We still have some of that today. When someone is rich, we automatically say they are blessed.
And our culture often blames the poor for being poor; they don't work hard enough or they are lazy. They deserve to be poor because of some type of basic character flaw, something that they are doing wrong.
But Jesus turns that way of thinking upside down. He sets up the story this way:
One man is clothed in rich royal purple, the other clothed in sores.
One man eats his fill (literally "grazes" in the text), the other longs for crumbs.
One man has dogs at his gate, presumably to guard the place, since the Torah forbids dogs as pets. The other is licked by dogs.
One man reclines at the table. The other man falls on the steps, too weak to move.
It is at this point that Jesus drops the first bombshell, one of many. The poor man has a name, the rich man does not. The poor man is named Lazarus ("God will help").
I can name lots of rich folks' names, movie stars, jet setters and celebrities of all kinds. But I cannot name for you one name of anybody we served food to at the shelter in Hackensack a few weeks ago.
It is almost as if we prefer the poor to remain namelss. Jesus gives this man who has nothing something to own, a name.
Anyone else would have remembered the rich man's name and forgotten the poor one.
And then, bombshell two. Death comes to the rich man who everyone believed to be blessed and loved by God the most is buried. The poor man is carried off by angels to paradise.
Next scene: after death and Bombshell number three: something happens (and this is where the story quits being about the redemption of the poor man and becomes a story about the redemption of the rich.)
The rich man asks Father Abraham to have Lazarus bring him some water, and to send Lazarus to warn his family.
Do you hear that? The man still considers Lazarus his servant, his inferior. Perhaps the reason he remains in his suffering is that he refuses to see Lazarus as his equal.
This guy was pretty bad in life, and not much better in death.
And then it happens, the fourth bombshell: Here is the key. Abraham refers to the rich man as child. He has not ceased to be his child.
Whenever you hear the words "child of" or "children of" Abraham. Jesus is talking about the entire Jewish Nation. He is speaking to the community, to the group, to the tribe.
Remember how the Pharisees are eavesdropping on the conversation? When they hear the phrase "child of Abraham" they must have immediately known that Jesus was talking about them. Don't you know that they could have just died! It's one thing to be listening to somebody else's conversation, quite another to realize that they are talking about YOU.
Notice that there is never any condemnation for the man being rich. Wealth in itself is not bad. In fact, scripture tells us that Abraham was rich, very rich, and he is in paradise. The text never says the rich man is evil or bad. Most would consider him a good person in his day. Jesus is instead talking about how the religious community and how the nation treats the poor and how God's judgment is on the nation for allowing others to suffer and go hungry when they have the power and resources to change it.
Do you know what that means? It means that the richest in the world are responsible for the poorest in the world. Period.
And like it or not, that is US.
Despite our own personal finances, we will be held responsible for what we do or fail to do as a community.
Now that is some serious stuff. And it is overwhelming. Most of us do not have any idea where to begin to fix the world's problems. Heck, we don't even know the names of most of the places where the poor are, and we certainly don't see them at our steps.
This story reminds us just how deep and systemic sin is. The man does not go to Hades for any number of things associated with an immoral life: drugs, promiscuity, make your own list. He goes because he is a part of the system, a system that we are often trapped in and cannot seem to get out of.
And then the Gospel happens. The situation as left by itself would be hopeless, but then we have Jesus.
Do you remember in the Crucifixion scene, Jesus is led to the cross wearing the fine purple robes of a rich man.
Luke sets up this dramatic scene of having Jesus exchanging places with the rich man, of having Jesus take the rich man's place and punishment; in turn, taking the punishment for the Pharisses. Yes, Jesus loved even the Pharisees, and Jesus loves us even when we act like Pharisees.
While none of us that I know of have won the lottery. We are still, most of us, among the richest people in the world. Few people in our country as a whole experience the degree of poverty rampant in other places. And we work hard and are entitled to be paid for that work. Even so, we don't do everything that is in our power to change the system, to sacrifice for others. That is when we need Jesus.
To free Lazarus from hunger, you provide him with food.
To free us from the hunger for things, we need Jesus.
To free Lazarus from disaese, you provide him with doctors and medicine.
To free us from the guilt of an uncaring heart, we need Jesus.
To free Lazarus from the elements, you provide shelter and clothing.
To free us from the elements of greed, we need Jesus.
Those eavesdropping and self-righteous preachers that day heard a story about how much they need God in their lives. That is our story today. Our world is in a terrible mess only God can make right.
Amen.