Crossing the Chasm: Luke 16:19-31 - Fourth Sunday in Lent

Today’s Gospel is one of those texts that haunts me.

While the Scriptures often speak about hell, Jesus’s parable takes place in hell.

A man is burning in the flames, and the reason, we are told, is because “during his lifetime [he] received good things,” leaving the poor man Lazarus to die of starvation and disease at the gate of his home, while he lived lavishly and feasted sumptuously.

He sees Father Abraham and Lazarus standing side by side from across the lake of fire, and he begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to warn his five brothers so that they do not come into that place of torment. Abraham refuses, because if they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, then nothing will convince them to change their ways, even if a sick beggar rises from the dead.

Photo by Deepak Adhikari on Unsplash

We encounter numerous evil people in the bible, responsible for countless deaths and untold human suffering. Compared to them, this man doesn’t seem all that bad. Sure, he was greedy, self-centered, without an ounce of empathy, but he wasn’t a bloodthirsty tyrant either. 

Click here to read the Scripture text

Compared to most people in the world, I live very comfortably, in a safe home, with plenty of food to eat, in a free and prosperous nation. Yet I encounter lots of beggars, especially when I’m waiting at stoplights throughout the City of Pittsburgh. It used to be that you’d see them only occasionally. Now, you see them at every corner. To be honest, it’s rare that I’ll give them anything, because I don’t want to get robbed when I pull out my wallet, and I have suspicions that they might buy tobacco, alcohol, or drugs with the dollar or change I’d give them.

That’s a terrible way to think.

I could end this sermon now by saying, “give to the poor or go to hell,” but that’s not the message of this parable.

Jesus spoke this parable during a heated exchange with the religious elites, who condemned him for keeping company with sinners. As holy men, they kept their distance from tax collectors and prostitutes, but also from sick people and poor people. Luke accuses them of being “lovers of money,” as they saw riches as a sign of God’s favor and poverty as a sign of God’s disfavor.

Yet, Jesus’s parable demonstrates the human cost of their arrogance. They are so consumed with self-righteousness that they commit a heinous unrighteousness: they leave an helpless man and a fellow child of Abraham to die of starvation and disease.

They are of the mindset that if people aren’t as holy as they are holy, then they are worthless to God. They keep their distance so as to maintain and assert their privilege.

The rich man kept Lazarus at a safe distance from himself until Lazarus died. When the rich man died, however, that distance remained.

Throughout the Scriptures, God enacts judgment on people by giving them what they want and allowing them to suffer the consequences of being consumed by what they desired.

There is a great chasm between him and Lazarus which cannot be crossed. Lazarus is safe with Abraham; the rich man is left to perish in the eternal flames.

This would suggest that neglecting the poor is an unforgivable sin, which I am most certainly guilty of. Hell is real, but God is not vindictive like the religious leaders are vindictive. God wants all people to be saved. Jesus wants the even religious elites to repent and come to faith, and some of them do, like Nicodemus, the synagogue leader Jairus, Joseph of Arimathea, and Saul of Tarsus.

We have the assurance of the cross that we are not condemned to an eternity in hell for our sin. Therefore, hell is not our focus. Our focus is on Jesus Christ, whose focus is on those who are going through hell right here on earth. A Christ-like heart is not indifferent to the poor. A Christ-like heart doesn’t judge the poor as lazy or entitled. A Christ-like heart doesn’t assume the worst about them. I’m sure there are some who misuse people’s money. I’m sure there are some who take advantage of charities and the government safety net. But it’s not up to us to make that determination just by looking at someone.

As Christians, we don’t see the poor as “other.” We see the poor as Christ. Moreover, the Church is not an institution that should be segregated by social status, race, or any other criteria people apply to place themselves above others. When you do that, it isn’t just Lazarus you leave dying at the door. It’s Jesus.

There is no other institution in our society where people from all walks of life, rich and poor, happy or sad, of good repute and ill repute, can gather around the table of grace. There is no other institution in our society where your belonging has nothing to do with meeting certain criteria. What draws us together is based not on what we’ve done or haven’t done, where we’ve come from, what we’ve achieved, or what we look like. What draws us together is the blood Jesus shed, the body that was broken, and the baptismal waters which make us pure and undefiled to dwell in his presence. We cannot be whole in Christ until everyone belongs.

It's Christ who makes you righteous, and not your good works, even those done on behalf of the poor. So don’t worry about hell. Jesus settled that question at the cross. You are freed in Christ to concern yourself with the poor and dying Lazarus.

So next time you see someone holding a sign at an intersection, you don’t have to give them your life savings or even everything in your wallet. What’s a dollar or two, a bottle of water, or a bag of chips to do the Lord’s work? Don’t concern yourself about what they do. Concern yourself about what Jesus would do, and the joy that will be yours in doing his work.