Matthew 16.13-20; Tenth Sunday after Pentecost; August 21, 2011;

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Creston, Iowa;

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Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Matthew 16:13-20 ESV)

Grace and peace to you from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

And Peter said, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.”

Well, the confession doesn’t get any clearer than that. “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” Peter surely doesn’t understand all the implications of the confession, but he is saying something miraculous. The man, Jesus, his friend, his teacher, standing before him, breathing the same air, eating the same food, wearing out the same sandal leather, this human being is from God, himself; the promised Messiah; the Christ. Christ is a title that means “the anointed one.” Saying that Jesus is the anointed one is saying that he is the one set aside and appointed to do a specific task for God. The specific task of the Christ is to save God’s people from their sin. Peter was saying exactly that. He knew who the Messiah was supposed to be and why he was supposed to come. That’s the promise of God that Peter heard from his parents and his church. That’s the promise of God throughout Peter’s bible.

Peter may be thinking about the promise made in the garden:

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15 ESV)

It means that Satan is defeated. He won’t have control over God’s people anymore. This is the first promise of what the Messiah, the Christ, is going to do.

Peter may have been thinking about the promise made to Abraham as he sheathed the knife that was held at Isaac’s throat. You remember the story. God tells Abraham to take his son, his only hope for the future, and offer him as a sacrifice, a burnt offering. Abraham faithfully obeys all the way to placing the knife against the soft flesh of his son’s neck. God intervenes and provides a substitute and a promise. A ram is caught in the thorns. The lamb’s life is sacrificed in place of Isaac’s. Isaac is spared. A different sacrifice is given. Its blood is shed instead. And God promises Abraham:

and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:18 ESV)

This event isn’t just a picture of Abraham’s willingness to do what God said. It is a picture of faith, but also a picture of the object of the faith. It is a picture story of the Christ and Peter’s confession of faith. Jesus is the substitute in death for the sin of the world. Jesus is The Lamb of God, who comes to take away the sin of the world.

Peter may have even been thinking about the confessions of the prophets. Like King David who writes in Psalm 22 the very words Jesus uses on the cross:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? (Psalm 22:1 ESV)

Jesus is suffering the just punishment for sin. He uses David’s words (which are God’s Words) to describe it. God turns away from Jesus. God abandons Jesus to punishment and death and hell. Jesus receives the just punishment for sin, eternal separation from God, that’s exactly what hell is. The just punishment for sin is poured out on Jesus on the cross.

Peter may have been thinking about Isaiah. He describes the Christ as the one who carries the load of sin. The Messiah is the one who removes the punishment of the sins of the world, by bearing its burden.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6 ESV)

All this is Peter’s confession. It comes from God’s Word. All this is what it means when Peter says that Jesus is the Christ. It is something miraculous and amazing. He didn’t just figure it out on his own, God, the Holy Spirit revealed it to him. God, the Holy Spirit spoke through him. And it isn’t just the words that are amazing it’s also the fact that Peter utters them so clearly without reservation. In this instance Peter lives us to his nickname, the Rock. He is rock solid, faithful, and confessional.

My friends in Christ, Peter’s confession is our confession. “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” We’ve said it already a half a dozen times this morning. We’ll say it more times before our worship time is through. It is one of the reasons we gather as a congregation; to say clearly what God has given us to say about Jesus; to confess our faith in Jesus as the Messiah, our Savior from sin, death and hell. To worship God by proclaiming who He is and what He has done for us.

Peter gives a great confession. But he very shortly erases all that he said. When Jesus tells the disciples all what it really means to be the Christ, Peter reacts outside of his clear confession.

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:21-23 ESV)

Jesus sets Peter in his place. It’s as if he says, “You’ve forgotten what you just confessed. You are off topic. You’ve got something else at the center instead of me, and my life, death and resurrection, all that I have come to do. You are listening to Satan speaking to your heart instead of the Holy Spirit that spoke in your confession before. Get back on track. I am at the center. Confess me again as the Christ. Keep clear what I have come to do for you.”

But we are no different than Peter. Life happens. Stuff happens. Roofs leak. There are bills to pay. Pastors come and go. Long faithful members die. As the community shrinks attendance declines. Families fight and struggle for power. We worry and fret about survival. And our confession evaporates in a cloud of trouble. Jesus is not at the center anymore. So our Lord Jesus rebukes us. “Get behind me Satan. You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but instead the things of man have been put at the center.”

Jesus puts us in our place. “You’ve forgotten what you just confessed. You are off topic. You’ve got something else at the center instead of me, and my life, death and resurrection. You are listening to Satan speaking to your heart instead of the Holy Spirit that spoke in your confession before. Get back on track. I am at the center. Confess me as the Christ. Keep clear what I have come to do for you.”

How do we survive at such criticism? How do we react to God’s Word that convicts us of our sin? It is all in the confession. It is in the answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?”

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, come into the world to bring us forgiveness of sin. This isn’t some un-practical, un-revelevant thing. You and I are sinful. We tend push Jesus out of the center. We do it not only as the church, but also in our personal lives. As we just heard:

“… we have sinned in thought, word and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition.” (Divine Service, Setting Four, LSB, p. 203)

Life happens. Stuff happens. Our sin comes to the surface again and again. We pay for it over and over again; broken church, broken lives, broken promises, and broken friendships. It never ends as long as we live. We cannot free ourselves. And more than that, when we die in our sin, without faith in Jesus, there is only eternal punishment. There is nothing more relevant, more important than the message spoken by Peter, “Jesus, you are the Christ, the son of the living God.”

My dear Christian friends, today I come to you to proclaim exactly what I did the first time I spoke from this pulpit. With Jesus there is forgiveness. There is forgiveness in Jesus only. He has forgiveness for your failures, forgiveness for your broken promises, forgiveness for your thinking more of money than of Jesus, forgiveness for thinking that it is your job to save the church, forgiveness for thinking of yourselves first instead of others. Forgiveness is all here, in Jesus Christ. It is found here at the font, where born sinful people are washed clean and adopted by God; where sin is washed away forever; where God’s promises put on people with His name. It is found in Jesus on the cross. It is found in Jesus in His holy and precious blood shed for you. You receive it right here in, with and under bread and wine, Jesus’ special meal for you. It is found in his suffering and death as payment for the debt you owe for your sin. It is found in his bearing of your grief and sorrow over sin. He is wounded for your transgressions. He is crushed for your iniquities.

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. (Psalm 130:3-4 ESV)

What does that forgiveness mean? It means that as life happens, as stuff happens, our sin is taken care of. We can serve each other without fear. The things we do for one another are washed clean of sin. Our self-serving motives are taken to the grave by Jesus. Dear Christians, confess with me and Saint Peter, the confession that makes all the difference for us. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Christmas Eve; December 24, 2010; Luke 2:19;

But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. (Luke 2:19, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I once heard about a child who told the story of Christmas. I don’t remember all the ins and outs of it, but I do remember one phrase. Mary treasured up all these things and pounded them into her heart. Well, it makes a certain amount of sense doesn’t it? What second grader is going to know or understand the word pondering? Now, she probably understood the idea of pounding something. If she had brothers, she’d probably even been on the receiving end of a pounding. Her brothers had something they wanted her to know, so they pounded her till she remembered it. That was an object lesson in the making. Mary, the mother of Jesus, pounded these things into her heart. I’m sure she did. All these wonderful events; shepherds, angels, magi, special travel arrangements made in the middle of the night, these things didn’t happen every day. God’s hand in the birth of her child wasn’t subtle. Mary was probably the first human being to really understand the meaning, the reality of God coming into the world in human flesh. She suffered the pains of child birth when God was born. She knew these events were events to be remembered. She pounded them into her heart. When she held the infant Jesus in her arms and fed him at her breast, she must have been overwhelmed to hold God, feed God, and change God’s diapers. She pounded these things into her heart. When she and her husband took him to the temple to be circumcised, on the eight day, when he cried at the pain, at the first shedding of his blood and the prophet told her that her heart would be pierced; she pounded these things into her heart. As he grew, learned to walk and talk, skinned his knees, worked with his Joseph, laughed and played and cried, just like any other completely human growing baby boy; she pounded these things into her heart. When he was twelve and stayed behind in the temple wowing the scribes and the Pharisees with his knowledge of God and his understanding of scripture. She and Joseph were in a panic when they couldn’t find him. They were angry, but soon they understood. Jesus was doing what he had come to do; she pounded these things into her heart. When Jesus ministry began in earnest, when he turned water into wine, when he healed the sick, when he preached to the gathering crowds, he spoke with authority showing he wasn’t just an ordinary prophet; she pounded these things into her heart. She’d need to remember all these things. Her son, isn’t just any human baby, he is the son of God. He wasn’t born to live a life for his own sake. He lived his life for her. He live his life for you. Mary, Jesus’ mother, saw all these things first hand, she saw Jesus living his life for sinful human beings. She saw God’s love expressed in human form. She saw grateful human beings reacting to God, in the flesh; she pounded these things into her heart. So, with Jesus standing bleeding from thorns in his scalp, torn flesh from the Roman scourge, bruises on his face from being pounded with human fists, she recalled the things she had stored up in her heart. She maybe didn’t fully understand why God-in-the-flesh would allow himself to be treated so, but she knew who he was. And so this too, she pounded into her heart. She remembered Simeon’s words about the pain she would endure. With each blow of the hammer that pounded a nail into Jesus hands and feet, she felt the pain she was warned about, a mother’s pain. And yet it was nothing compared to the pain that her son, Jesus bore. You see, this her son, the God-man, Jesus Christ, was born of the virgin for this very purpose. The life he lived, the life Mary pounded into her heart, was lived with the purpose of suffering the guilt and shame of sin. He lived his life to suffer the death of sinful men. What Mary saw on the cross, wasn’t just her son, it was her Savior. With all of his life stored in her heart, what she saw on the cross was the sinless Son of God; God, himself, restoring a relationship to his people. God doing what was necessary, what you and I, (and she) can’t do for ourselves. Jesus Christ, true-God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified dead and buried; And Mary saw it all, and pounded these things in her heart. But it wasn’t over. The joy Mary felt at the birth of God’s son, was given in full measure when he rose again. Then she understood fully what God had done through her son. All that she had pounded in her heart came flowing out in joy.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:4-6, ESV)

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11, ESV)

So, this evening, what are you pounding into your heart? Christmas gifts, or the Christmas gift? As you listen to the account of your Savior, do you hear about the Savior for you? Do you pound Jesus Christ and his life, death and resurrection for you into your heart?
Think on Jesus, the son of the Virgin, God in the flesh born for you, and pound that into your heart. Think about Jesus keeping God’s law perfectly for you and pound that into your heart. Think of Jesus suffering for you, think of Jesus dying on the cross for you for the forgiveness of your sin, and pound that into your heart. And pound into your heart the joy that Jesus promises to come again. You will live with him forever.
I guess the little girl had it right. Mary kept all these things and pounded them into her heart. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Ruth.1.1-19a; Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost; October 10, 2010

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In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” (Ru 1:1-19, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Two men were traveling in a deep woods. All at once they were confronted with a huge bear. One of the men, thinking only of his own safety quickly climbed a tree. The other, who was unable to climb, was now unable to fight t ferocious animal by himself flopped on the ground and played dead, because he had heard that bears won’t touch a dead body.

It must have worked because the bear sniffed at the man for a moment and then being satisfied that he was indeed dead, left him be. When the danger was past, the man in the tree came down, saying, “It almost looked as if that bear whispered something into your ear!”

“He did,” answered the other. “He said it isn’t wise to keep company with a person who would desert his friend in a moment of danger.” The story is one of Aesop’s fables.

There’s an old joke about a motorcyclist who took a girl named Ruth for a ride, hit a bump and so he continued on “Ruthlessly.” Really there’s more of a pun there than most of us realize. You see, the name Ruth actually means “friend” or “companion” so the ruthless biker was also “friendless.” But the name can also mean “to be satisfied” or “refreshed.” It’s actually what we find in the book of Ruth that God has given to us. In that account we see that Ruth is a true friend, in the very best sense of the word. She refreshed Naomi her mother-in-law even when Naomi was old.

The story is a particularly wonderful one. It takes place at a time before Israel had a king, some 400 years before Jesus was born. There was a man named Elimelech. He lived in Bethlehem with his wife, Naomi and his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. When a famine struck the area they packed up all they had and moved to Moab (which was on the exact opposite side of the Dead Sea). Moab was a well watered highland so the drought and famine didn’t affect the people there. While they were there, some ten years, Naomi lost her husband. We don’t know why he died there is no reason given. Soon afterwards it seems, the sons married Moabite women. Their names were Orpah and Ruth. Then tragedy struck again and the two sons also died. Again we aren’t told why, weather it was a plague or an accident, doesn’t really matter. Naomi and her two daughters-in-law were left to themselves. Now since she heard that the famine in Bethlehem was over, Naomi decided to return home.

At first the two women joined her. But Naomi insisted that they go back to their parent’s homes, where they could begin their lives again. Both women refused the first time but after a second pleading Orpah did exactly what was asked. Ruth, however, vowed to stay no matter what. And here is where we find the words that we most often associate with Ruth. “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” (Ruth 1:16-17, ESV) These words are words of true friendship; they go far beyond family loyalty and duty. Ruth lives up to her name by becoming Naomi’s friend, companion and comfort.

Naomi and Ruth seem to have a remarkable friendship, almost twin like. Similar to the bond we sometimes see in “identical” twins. Some of you may have been fortunate to have that kind of friendship. For some it is in marriage. Some find it in bonding with a child who has grown. Still others find this kind of relationship in old school mates, co-workers, army buddies, neighbors, fishing companions, or teammates.

These people are people you trust. You enjoy their company and seek out times to be with them. You enjoy the same kinds of activities, talk long into the night, relax, work, laugh and cry together. Most of the time and in most ways… you are true companions. There is something wonderful about that kind of partnership, that kind of relationship. They are a glimpse of the kind of relationship God would have with us.

But there are always times when friends can’t be in complete agreement. Imagine two people standing in a rowboat. If both of them leaned over the same side of the boat they’d both end up in deep water. Sometimes friends, too, have to disagree and “lean the opposite way” for the benefit of both. None of our earthly relationships are trouble free. When we expect that we usually end up alone.

Many people expect that their relationship with God will be trouble free, too. You have maybe been guilty of that, just as I have. It’s easy to say that we should turn our troubles over to God, when we really mean that we intend to give them to God so he can fix them and fix them now. And then we get disgusted with God when he leans the other way. And our troubles persist. What we really want from our “friendship” with God is someone who’s bigger than we are to take care of the things we can’t handle. And sometimes we forget that God’s ideas, plans and expectations for our lives may be very different from our own. It can be very unpleasant when God leans the other way.

But, God is more than just our good friend. His love and care for us is way beyond our understanding. He fixes our problems in ways that we never could understand. Sometimes, because he knows what is best for us, He even allows problems to persist in our lives because it helps us to understand that we need him beyond the need to be free from pain or trouble. Because he is more than only our friend He doesn’t always allow us take the easy road.

It’s a picture of God that we see in Ruth’s friendship with Naomi. There was no guarantee that she would be better off with her mother-in-law. In fact, quite the opposite was true. When she said where you die I too will die be buried, she may have well expected it to be soon. Such was the fate of widowed women in those days. Yet, she sacrifices herself not just for the sake of their friendship, she gives her very self for the old woman. It seems she loved Naomi more than she loved herself. Her willing sacrifice turns out to be their salvation. For Ruth it all paid off in the end. She married a wealthy Jewish man, had children and lived a full new life. But, it was no accident. Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David, and an important link in the line of the promised Savior. She was a part of God’s plan to build a friendship to you.

God’s love for you is no accident either. In fact, God guarantees your future through the Savior who was Ruth’s distant great-great-great-great… grandson. God builds a relationship, a friendship with you through His own self sacrifice. We hear Jesus echoed in Ruth’s words… “For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people… Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried.” That’s what Jesus did. God, himself in human flesh, lived where people live, walked were people walked, ate and slept where people ate slept. And most importantly died as people die, and was buried. That’s God extraordinary love for you and me that he lived as any man would have lived, except he lived as a perfect friend, always loving completely, always giving completely. That giving completely is most clearly seen on the cross where he dies, like any human being would die, except not like any human being. It’s there that Jesus shows that His friendship is so much greater than any friendship we could ever hope to have. Jesus death on the cross is not just Jesus giving himself for one friend, or a certain group of people. It’s not just Jesus taking care of you and me. It is Jesus bleeding and dying for the sins of all the people of the whole world. It is a complete and total giving of himself for everyone. We don’t have friends like that, we aren’t friends like that. But Jesus is. He is because His love compels him to be.

Ruth said to Naomi. “May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” It was a promise she made probably slashing a finger across her throat, as if to say, “I’ll die before I desert you.” Jesus promises you and I even more than that, with his friendship. And he seals his promise in his own blood. One way to look at it is this. Ruth could have died for Naomi. If she did it would have been a wonderful self sacrifice. But Ruth still would have been dead the next time Naomi needed help. Jesus isn’t dead. That’s the most powerful thing about what he has done for us. He died, but didn’t stay dead. He suffered death for you and me, but he got up and walked out of the tomb. That’s exactly why Paul could right these words for us; For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ro 8:38-39, ESV)

Jesus is our best friend because he dies on the cross for us. But He’s our greatest friend because he rose from the dead, and lives with us right now, in every day of our lives. He does something no human begin could ever do.

It still doesn’t mean that in whatever you choose to do he won’t lean the other way. He doesn’t promise that your life is going to be easy and free from trouble. But what he does promise is that He is your Ruth, your friend, your companion, your comfort. He is right there right in the middle of your pain and suffering. And he also promises one more thing that Ruth couldn’t promise Naomi. He promises that through it all you he will be your friend, it won’t last forever, and it really will be alright in the end. And the proof of that promise is seen in the empty tomb… Jesus empty tomb… and yours. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Luke.16.19-31; September 26, 2010; Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost;

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““There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘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. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ” ” (Luke 16:19–31, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ.

My name is Dives. I was very rich man. I guess you could say I was destined to be rich and everyone knew it. My parents even gave me a name that means ‘rich.’ Dives it means – ‘rich.’ But you probably know me as simply the ‘rich man’ from that story that Jesus told: “The rich man and Lazarus.” Yep, that’s me, ‘the rich man.’ Oh, how I wish that it wasn’t. But, everything is just as Jesus said. Notice the story, how Jesus told it. Lazarus is mentioned by name. I’m simply called ‘a certain rich man.’ You see, Lazarus’ name was written in the book of life, just like yours, but not mine.

I was rich, living a life of luxury in my home. I had everything I wanted. Fine purple linens and great feasts, every day. Oh, what a life it was! I rarely left home, I didn’t have to, I had everything I needed, right there. And besides, someone had laid that beggar at my gate. In order for me to leave I’d have walk by him and be reminded that he was there. Oh, I knew him well enough, I had seen him, and I even knew his name, Lazarus. Just to hear it turned my stomach. He was pathetic, lying there with sores all over his body… always asking for food. One of my servants even had the nerve to offer him the table scraps. I was infuriated, “What will my dogs eat! Let Lazarus feed himself.” I just wanted him gone. I asked the house steward to open the gate and let out the dogs. “Maybe,” I thought, “they’d scare him off.” It was the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen. The dogs didn’t attack him. They just went up to him and licked his sores. Lazarus just lay there… In reality, looking back, those dogs had more compassion for Lazarus than I did.

I know what you’re thinking. I’m a pretty vile human being. To treat poor Lazarus that way… to not care about his pain and hunger… to care more about my dogs than him… and your right, all of that is true. But, don’t forget, you and I are cut from the same fabric. We come from the same source. I think more of myself than anyone else… but let’s face it; it’s the common human condition. When was the last time you saw someone you just wanted to avoid? Someone in dirty cloths? Someone whose skin was a little darker than your own? How did you feel about the person that sat down in the next booth at the restaurant? The person who ruined you meal, the one you could smell the minute they walked in the door? You know yourself, just like I know me. I just had the luxury of displaying my feelings in purple.

I couldn’t wait for Lazarus to die. Well finally, he was put out of my misery. One morning I heard that Lazarus was dead. I didn’t usually need any reasons to party but I held a feast in his honor, or rather a feast in his absence. I didn’t know that I would follow so closely after him. I didn’t know that death would come for me so soon.

Do you know what the name Lazarus means? It means: “The one whom God helps.” How ironic it is that even though I was rich, he was the one favored by God. I was sure that I was the one that God liked best. After all, I was given all those blessings, money, food, and clothing. And so much of it! Remember the story? Remember how Jesus describes Lazarus death. "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.” What a picture, poor Lazarus carried off to Abraham’s side by the Holy Angels. It’s the kind of thing I expected for me. I was treated so well in life; I should be treated well in death. “The rich man also died and was buried.” Jesus said. That was it. All my life amounted to, was a hole in the earth.

Don’t get me wrong; my problems didn’t come because I was rich. My wealth was indeed a blessing from God. In fact there are many of God’s faithful people who are even wealthier than I was. My problem was that I trusted the gifts rather than the giver. I forgot that I didn’t deserve what I had been given. What I deserved was to be lying there with Lazarus, sores and all. If it weren’t for the promises of God, we’d all belong there with Lazarus. He trusted in the promises of God and I didn’t. He was carried away by the angels to be in fellowship with God. I was sent to torment.

I can’t begin to describe my suffering. When I looked up and saw Lazarus there with Abraham, all I wanted was some small portion of relief. If only I could have a single drop of water… If only Abraham would send Lazarus here with it… Surely Lazarus would have at least that much compassion. Surely he could serve me in that way. “Father Abraham!” I cried out. “Sorry my child.” He said. “It’s impossible. You had it good in life. Lazarus didn’t. He was lying on your doorstep; you could have helped him without even going out of your way. But, now it is impossible for him to help you, even if he wished to do so. God has fixed a great chasm between us. No one can cross it. That was all there was to be said. I knew I deserved my torment.

It was then, for the first time ever; I began to think of other people. I had five brothers. They too were as I was. Selfish and not trusting in the promises of God. What of them? Was there a way to save? “Father Abraham!” I called out again. “Send Lazarus to my brothers. They will listen to him if he is a witness to what their deaths will bring them.”

“They have already been told,” said Abraham. “They have God’s word through Moses and the Prophets, they can listen to that.

“No,” I insisted. “It will take much more than that. They need someone to come back from the dead. That will be enough of a sign for them. They will then turn from their evil ways.”

“Hardly!” he replied. “If they don’t believe Moses and the prophets, even a resurrection will not be enough. If God’s word isn’t enough for them, nothing will be.”

That is how the story goes. I hadn’t believed God’s word. I thought I was blessed by God already. I hadn’t cared for the people God had placed before me to care for. God laid Lazarus at my doorstep. I simply stepped over him. God had given me brothers. I didn’t care for them until it was too late. My destination without God was this fiery place of torment.

I want you to think again about what Abraham said to me. 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' You see the point of this story isn’t about rich verses poor. It isn’t about what heaven and hell are like. It’s about the word of God. You see what was true for my brothers, as also true for me. I knew that they didn’t believe what Moses and the prophets had to say. I didn’t believe it either. Jesus says that for those who don’t believe, even a resurrection wouldn’t be enough. No sign would be enough. He walked around the country side providing proof after proof, miracle after miracle, but still some refused to believe. Even when He was raised from the dead, there were people who still didn’t believe in him. Jesus used my story to convict the Pharisees and drive them to repentance. But, they had no faith. They wouldn’t repent.

As for you, beloved children of God, you have been blessed with faith, just like Lazarus. You hear God’s word regularly and believe it. You gather together to celebrate Jesus life, death and resurrection. The very same resurrection he talked about in my story. You have been given faith to believe that God sent him to be your Savior, to suffer and die for you. To win for you forgiveness of your sins. Jesus Christ took all of them, even the sins that you do that remind you of me, and he carried them to death. There on the cross he bore the sins of the whole world. The selfishness, the lies, and the evil thoughts against people who are different. They went with him into the grave. And, when he rose again, they were gone. You see the resurrection of Jesus Christ isn’t just proof of who he is, it’s proof that what he did, he did for you! Your story is already different from mine. Because of Jesus Christ you will be carried off to Abraham’s side, just like Lazarus. Because of Jesus Christ you have been blessed with gifts that I can only imagine.

At least you can learn this from my story. There are people that God has laid at your doorstep, just like he laid Lazarus at mine. There are people all around you who need the love of God, in Christ Jesus. You know and believe what God has done for you. You believe the word of Moses and the Prophets. You know that Jesus died and rose for them too. God has given you many gifts, talents, money, and time. Use them to reach out to them with his love. For you, God’s love in Jesus Christ means salvation. Share that Good News with those around you. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ. Amen.