Another parable. It kept me busy n the sermon, so I did not get to the Amos passage, although reading the Amos passage certainly tied to the sermon. For our Time with Young Disciples, I had the kids choose who they wanted to be in the parable - the rich man or Lazarus. I had them go to different sides of the sanctuary so they were separated. I also let them choose after we first heard about the two men and then again after we learned about where they went when they died. In the gap between the two sides, stood the baptismal font, so I suggested to them that through Jesus we are called to close the gap because in our baptism, we are united with Christ and with one another.
“A Man Dressed in Purple”; July 13, 2025; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; Luke 16: 19-31; Amos 6: 4-7
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.[a] The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.[b] 24 He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus in like manner evil things, but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27 He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30 He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
Introduction: Another week of parables.
Another parable that seems to deal with how the world looks and operates vs. how the kingdom of God might look and operate.
Move 1: We cannot avoid the challenge in this parable, particularly since most of us are closer to the rich man’s demographic than Lazarus’.
a. Jesus sets up a contrast between the rich man and Lazarus.
1. The rich man does not have a name
the poor man does.
in fact, this is the only parable Jesus tells where any characters have names.
Abraham, the Old Testament patriarch
And Lazarus, the poor man lying outside the gate.
By the way, Lazarus literally means “he whom God helps.”
you may remember hearing this parable retold with the rich man having a name, but that is because later readers added a name for him - I suppose they could not stand for the poor man to have a name and the rich man not to have a name.
2. The contrast continues - the rich man wears the royal color purple and fine linens;
the poor man wears his open sores that the wild dogs come and lick,
the dogs are not licking to provide comfort like your favorite pet might do,
they lick because they can and Lazarus is unable to prevent them from doing so.
3. The rich man feasts sumptuously everyday;
Lazarus dreams of eating the scraps off the rich man’s table.
4. The rich man and Lazarus live in very different places in their world.
The rich man at the top of the world’s pecking order based on worldly values;
Lazarus at the bottom.
5. Symbolically, they are separated by a gate.
the rich man resides inside the gate;
Lazarus lays outside the gate.
and the two never have to meet.
b. but then, in the tradition of lots of stories told back then and even stories told now, a reversal takes place.
1. death arrives - and the distinctions between the two men continue.
2. the parable poetically describes how Lazarus is swept up into heaven.
the rich man unceremoniously dies and is buried.
and by the way, the rich man ends up tormented in Hades.
3. no gate between them, the gate taht separated the rich man and Lazarus in life is no longer there;
but now a great chasm between heaven and hell that cannot be crossed separates them.
c. this grand reversal should not surprise those who have been listening to Jesus,
or those of us who have been reading along in the Gospel of Luke.
1. We remember that when Jesus’ mother Mary speaks about his looming birth,
those words that we know as the Magnificat,
those words that we associate with Mary and beautiful music,
those words that describe what God is doing includes this:
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.
2. Or fast forward in the gospel of Luke to Jesus preaching at his home synagogue to begin his ministry, and we hear Jesus reads this passage from the prophet isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
3. From his mother’s words,
to his first words in ministry,
to this parable Jesus tells about the rich man and Lazarus,
we are hearing a description of how God is work to change the world from a place where people focus on seeking riches for themselves to a place where people seek right relationship with all people.
4. This parable is not a story about what heaven looks like.
or how horrible hell will be.
it’s not a story about how to get into heaven.
it’s a story Jesus tells to show what the new heaven and new earth looks like
and a call for all those listening to change their lives so that they,
so that we can participate most fully in the kingdom of God which Jesus ushers in.
5. To use concrete imagery from the parable Jesus tells, the question for listeners is how can those inside the gate and those outside the gate bridge the gap,
recognize thier connectedness
and commit to transforming the world to break down that which separates them.
Move 2: Ultimately, the parable is about seeing that GAP and responding.
a. You may have noticed that the rich man does not go outside the gate.
1. it’s not like he sees Lazarus lying there in desperate need and decides not to help.
2. He simply never sees him.
4. That’s the way the world was, maybe still is:
the rich man stays inside the gate;
Lazarus lies outside the gate;
and their two very different worlds will never collide.
5. And the rich man is satisfied, perhaps even joyful, that his life is going so well,
that he has fine clothes,
and food on which to feast.
6. All the while, Lazarus lays outside the gate, languishing there, with no help coming his way and no hope.
7. The gap between the rich man and Lazarus is so wide,
so accepted as the norm,
that it stands there unnoticed and unannounced.
Until Jesus comes along and tells a story that sheds light on the gap and demands transformation.
b. Some of you may have been on the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance web-site this week reading about the tragedy in the Hill Country and looking for ways to help.
1. You may have noticed that the acronym Presbyterian Disaster Assistance uses to describe our call to respond to crises is - G..A…P -
2. It stands for Give….Act….Pray.
3. As a way to bridge the GAP in crises, we Give from our resources,
we find ways to Act,
and we pray.
4. In short term crises, it is easy to see how those three actions give help and hope to those who lives have been greatly impacted by disastrous situations.
c. It seems to me as we hear Jesus share this parable, he is calling us to a similar response as we look at our world and the gap between the rich and poor.
1. Give - we are called to give aid those whose find themselves in poverty.
2. But, it is not enough to just give.
we also are called to act, which is probably the more difficult task.
as we look at our world, we cannot help but notice that the gap between the rich people and the Lazarus’s in our world not only exists, but is growing.
how are we acting to close the gap,
or are we just staying inside the gate and not even noticing Lazarus in dire needs just outside our view?
3. We know the challenge of changing the structures of the world.
WE know that serving alongside the poor has many challenges and no easy answers.
But we also know Jesus tells us a story about a rich man and Lazarus and calls us to respond.
4. Maybe that’s where prayer comes in as we seek to bridge the gap.
we not only Pray for those in need.
but we Pray for those of us who need to lead the charge to transform our world.
How are we bridging the gap so our world looks more like the kingdom of God?
Conclusion: we often read a parable and then ask, “Who am I in the parable?”
Is this case, the options do not seem too inviting.
Are you the rich man, who has a great life on earth, but ends up in hell?
or are you Lazarus who is destitute on earth, but ends up in heaven.
Neither choice seems appealing.
Maybe we are the rich man’s brother’s back home, still making choices about how to live their lives.
people who are invited to know the Risen Christ and hear his call to follow.
Abraham doesn’t think they will listen,
but maybe we will .
Jesus tells a story about a rich man and the poor man Lazarus.
who is listening?
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