Sunday, September 30, 2007 Sermon

"What if each person were given two lives to live?"

Sermon titles are usually meant to be one-liners that either capture the listeners’ attention or summarize the entire sermon in one sentence. Today, I pose the question, in light of the Gospel reading (Luke 16:19-31), “What if each person were given two lives to live?” “You only live twice, or so it seems, one for yourself, and one for your dreams.” Unless you are James Bond, 007, we ordinary people only have one life, and that’s it! Or, unless you were a cat, then you may have nine lives to spare. Some of us indeed have been given second chances in life, after close calls, accidents and brushes with death. We are grateful for those second chances in life. It certainly gives us a whole new perspective on and appreciation for life.

On the other hand, we all live with regrets, if we live long enough. How often have you thought about the regrets that you have? If only we were given a chance to do things differently and get everything right again, wouldn’t it be nice? If we could work our lives with the pause and rewind buttons, or using the undo function of the computer, wouldn’t it be nice? However, perhaps mistakes are really the necessary means for us to learn and grow, trying to make the best of what is left of our lives?

Today’s story of the rich man and Lazarus speaks of two lives, two people in the extreme ends of the spectrum of wealth and poverty. It issues a warning to Jesus’ listeners, but the question remains dangling in the air, awaiting a response from each listener, including you and me!

This is the second story in a row that Jesus starts off the parable with the saying, “There was a certain rich man…” This man lived in extreme luxury. He was clothed in purple and fine linen, which was the description of the robes of the High Priests and cost a lot of money. He feasted in luxury every day! The word used here for feasting is the word that is used for a glutton and a gourmet meal feeding on exotic and costly dishes. Notice that he did this every day! It not only speaks of excesses, but in so doing, he definitely broke the fourth commandment on the Sabbath. Different commentators have mentioned that in Jesus’ time, neither knives nor forks nor napkins were used. Food was eaten with hands, and in very wealthy homes, rich people would cleanse their hands by wiping them on hunks of bread, and then the bread would simply be thrown away. It was that piece of bread for which Lazarus was waiting, as it was being tossed from the table.

In this story, the rich man is not given a name, even though he is often called Dives, which is the Latin word for the adjective “rich”. Ironically, the poor man has a name, which is the only character given a name in all of Jesus’ parables. (Not even the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan were given any names.) The name Lazarus literally means “helped by God” or “God is my help”! By contrast, he lived in utter poverty and degradation. This beggar is indeed the symbol of helplessness and humiliation. So helpless was he that he could not even ward off the street dogs that pestered him. The unclean animals licked his sores, thereby making him unclean, as if he had not been unclean already. But at least, the dogs showed him more mercy and attention than the rich man who never noticed him at the gates of his mansion.

The dramatic reversal of fortunes after the death of these two persons underscores the question I pose: what if each one had been given two lives to live? After this life, the fate of the poor and the rich becomes completely reversed. Can we be so sure that what we sow in this life will not affect what we reap in the next life?

The major point of this story has to do with the character of the rich man and his failure to use the two kinds of opportunity granted him: one by his wealth, the other by his religion. First, he used his wealth irresponsibly in self-indulgence and for selfish ends. He was too callous to care for and have compassion for the poor beggar by his gates. His sin was one of indifference. He did nothing for the misfortunes of others. All that time, he had ignored the Scriptural teachings of Moses and the prophets. The opportunities were open to him through his religion, but he chose to turn a blind eye to those warnings.

It is very likely that this parable may be a criticism against the popular belief that wealth was a sign of God’s blessings and approval, while poverty was a sign of punishment from God. Some even took this belief another step further to conclude that they had better not interfere with God’s punishment of such evil people -- even though the Hebrew Scriptures are clear about helping the needy. The rich man’s attitude of indifference could be explained by such thinking. The same attitude can be found today in the opposition to HIV/AIDS care and research, or indifference to other social ministry to the poor and the disadvantaged. They try to justify the misfortune of these people as God’s punishment for their sins and refuse to do anything about their suffering. Since they must have deserved their fate, they cannot possibly be innocent. The innocent suffering of Jesus on the cross puts a huge question mark on this thinking, too.

The warning contained in the ending reminds me of the story of Scrooge in The Christmas Carol: a story that touches so many generations, simply because it speaks the same truth. Are we haunted by the Ghosts of Christmas past, present and future? If so, we still have hope, because the warning is still being heeded. Are we like the rich man’s five brothers, who have the opportunity, prior to dying, to hear Moses and the prophets and repent? Are we willing to listen to the warning and take actions now? We may have the advantage that someone has been raised from the dead to warn us, but the resurrection by itself does not necessarily lead to faith and repentance. It is in remembering the word, not just from Moses and the prophets, but most of all from Jesus himself that counts!

Speaking of remembering, in the 1992 Toronto Diocesan Synod, we had the privilege of hearing the Rt. Rev. Barbara Harris, the first woman bishop in the modern Anglican Communion. She spoke powerfully and passionately about the differences between charity and justice. Charity is giving from surplus, from what is left, we give away what we do not need or want. It is painless and selective giving; it is passive and involves no risk. It is usually band-aid solution to the larger problem of poverty. However, justice is “compassion and love distributed”. It is sacrificial: it involves pain in the giving, proactive and risky. It requires actions in the struggle for systemic change, challenging the political, economic, social or other structures which cause poverty or injustice in the first place.

Churches are good at charity, because it is pretty safe and harmless, it does not seem too political or controversial. No one would put down the work of charity – it is simply nice! But to do justice is a lot more difficult, it involves giving away more than money and extra things we do not need anyway. It requires us to give away power and privilege, in order to empower someone else. It knocks us off our pews, whether they are comfortable or not.

“When I feed the poor, they call me a saint. When I start asking why they are poor, they call me a Communist!” – Archbishop Romero in Central America

“If any of you happens to witness an injustice, you are no longer a spectator, you become a participant, whether you choose to act or not. You now have the obligation to do something” – June Callwood

Christians are given two lives, in this world and the next. The two are not separate, but definitely connected. Don’t just take the warning of the story of the rich man and Lazarus as a call to do charity and to satisfy our guilty consciences, but as a call to a real change of attitudes and values, to think and do justice, empowerment, and taking God’s love to another level, to a more concrete and practical way of showing God’s love and mercy. Then, love is indeed good news, relevant both to this life and the next.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Fr. Victor +
Church of St John the Divine, Scarborough ON
www.stjd.ca