God’s grace, peace
and mercy be with you. My sermon today is entitled
Three Rs of Christian
Living, and my focus is our Gospel (Luke 16:19-31). Let us pray. Heavenly
Father, the psalmist wrote,
“I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go
to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are standing within your
gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten
our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to
you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.
Three Rs, as in the letter R, refers to the foundations of
education: reading, writing and arithmetic. We use the phrase “the three Rs”
because each word has a strong R sound at the beginning. The term is ironic,
since everyone knows that two of the words do not actually begin with the
letter R.
During the 17th century, New England teachers
summed up learning as "four Rs" - Reading, 'Riting, ‘Rithmetic and
Religion. These days, school districts identify three Rs as Relating,
Representing and Reasoning. All this to say that my three-pointed sermon is
Repent, Right and Relationship – and what those Three Rs have to do with
Christian living.
First, repent. A simple definition of repent is to feel or show
sorrow for something bad or wrong that you did and that you want to do what is
right. Repentance is a major theme in Luke, but before Jesus began his earthly
ministry, John the Baptist proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins (3:3).
Jews taught repentance long before John appeared on Jordan’s
banks. In Deuteronomy, we read, “When you and your children return to the
Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according
to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your
fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations
where he scattered you.” (30:2-3)
The Chronicler wrote, “If my people, who are called by my
name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and
will heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:14)
Prophets echoed repentance in their preaching. In Isaiah, we
read, “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In
repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your
strength.’”(30:15) Jeremiah wrote, “After
I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was
ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.”(31:19)
Ezekiel exhorted, “If a wicked person turns away from all the sins they
have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that
person will surely live; they will not die. None of the offenses they have
committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they
have done, they will live.” (18:21-22) So, John or Jesus did not
introduce repentance. It was present from the days of Moses.
From Repent to Right. Simply defined, right means morally or
socially correct; agreeing with the facts or truth; or speaking, acting or
judging in a way that agrees with the facts or truth.
Its root word is from the Greek, orektós, and the
Latin, rectus, meaning straight. The Ancients said the straight
muscles in our bodies – the thigh and abdomen – enable us to stand straight or
erect. In English, the word right emerged as straighten or direct, and the
obvious connection between right and righteous is easy. God called people to
live righteous lives, that is, morally acceptable lives, and called them to
stand up straight for themselves and others; that is, to live in relationship
with others. We stand erect and see straight with our brothers and sisters
beside us. That brings me our third R – Relationship.
The word relationship means the way two or more people, groups
or countries talk to, behave toward or deal with each other, or the way they
are connected. The root word of relationship is the Latin word, relatus,
meaning to refer, but initially from latus, meaning side. Think
latitude or lats if you exercise. To stand in relation or to have a reference
point, or to bring something into relation with something else is how people
used the word in the 17th century. “To feel connected or
sympathetic to” emerged in psychology around 1950. However used, the word
connotes a connection. As God’s people, we relate to one another in righteous
living. We stand and see straight with our brothers and sisters beside us.
Now that we have the three concepts – repentance, right and
relationship – let us examine our passage. Our parable opens with Jesus
contrasting two characters. The rich man is unnamed, but Jesus named the other
man Lazarus, meaning “the one whom God helps.” The rich man lived large. A
clothes hog, he covered his body with purple linen and silk, but the only thing
that covered Lazarus’ body was sores.
While people reserved feasting for special occasions, this man
partied to the extreme. He feasted sumptuously seven days a week. Lazarus, like
the prodigal son who would have been content with pig food, yearned to be
satisfied with food scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, the
fact that dogs licked his sores only added to his humiliation. A crippled
beggar at the gate of the rich man’s house where people came and went, Lazarus
was the perfect recipient for almsgiving.
The parable provides a fitting conclusion to chapter 16 and the
attitude toward possessions in view of God’s Kingdom. In addition, the
description of the rich man suitably depicted the Pharisees, who were lovers of
money. They were like him, who knew, yet ignored Lazarus. On the other hand,
Lazarus represented society’s outcasts. Though his life was pathetic and
pitiable, his name suggested importance in God’s sight.
At the moment the Pharisees identified with the rich man and the
outcast identified with Lazarus, Jesus introduced the Great Reversal. Lazarus
died and angels carried him to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man died and was
buried.
From Hades, the rich man opened the conversation by asking
Father Abraham to have mercy on him. This recalled Pharisees who came to John
the Baptist and claimed, “We have Abraham for our father,” yet refused to
repent and submit to John’s baptism (Lk 3:7-9). Unlike Zacchaeus, the
chief tax collector, whom Jesus dubbed a son of Abraham (Lk 19:9), the
rich man refused to repent. Zacchaeus repented and welcomed Jesus into his home
for he knew that simply being a son of Abraham did not protect him from
condemnation.
The rich man did not speak words of repentance. He realized his
condition was permanent and pleaded for help. He still thought only of himself
and his needs, and not those of Lazarus. In response, Abraham told the rich man
to remember what happened, that is, to read back and interpret events that took
place. Lazarus begged at the gate, while he lived large and ignored the
beggar’s needs.
This parable illuminates the story of the unrighteous steward
who showed mercy toward his master’s debtors, because he trusted in the mercy
of his master. Because God treats sinners with mercy, the rich man so should
have treated Lazarus, and the Pharisees should have treated society’s outcasts
with mercy.
Still unrepentant, the rich man requested that Lazarus go to his
brothers, for he realized repentance was crucial to salvation. Yet, he did not
consider the Word of God sufficient to produce repentance. Instead, he desired
a miraculous sign – someone raised from the dead. While the Old Testament
contained accounts of the resurrection (2 Kings 4:8-37; 13:20-21), why would his
brothers believe another’s testimony if they did not believe the Scriptures?
Abraham suggested they listen to Moses and the Prophets read in
the synagogue. In other words, heed the Scriptures read during worship and take
them to heart. As hearers of the Word, they would know all they need about the
kingdom of grace, characterized by mercy and almsgiving to people like Lazarus.
The conclusion for the Pharisees is this: If they do not stop scoffing at
Jesus’ teaching about the proper use of possessions, they would find themselves
with the rich man in eternal torment.
Now, let me examine our Gospel in light of my three Rs of
Christian living – repentance, right and relationship. It is easy to see Jesus’
call for repentance. As I explained earlier, repentance is a basic Biblical
teaching, which includes righteous living in relationship with people like
Lazarus.
True Sons of Abraham heed God’s commandments. In Exodus, we
read, “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its
yield, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor
of your people may eat. … You shall do likewise with your vineyard and … olive
orchard.” (23:10-11) Leviticus legislated, “When you
reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its
edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall not
strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your
vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner.” (19:9-10)
Deuteronomy repeated the command to live righteously with others (15:4-8), and
Proverbs taught, “Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he
who hides his eyes will get many a curse.” (28:27)
Isaiah exhorted, “Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the
oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with
the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked,
to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” (58:6-7)
That Abraham suggested the rich man’s brothers listen to Moses
and the Prophets read in the synagogue is the message Jesus directed to the
Pharisees. You see, one of Luke’s goals in writing his Gospel was to encourage
rich Christians to attend to the needs of the poor and to share material goods.
We can easily imagine the impact this parable must have had on the Church’s
rich members. Sobering and scary, it should do the same to 21st-century
American Christians.
Some early Christian Pharisees who saw no need to observe Old
Testament Law regarding right living in relationship with the poor needed to
repent more than anyone. Let me repeat that because it applies to Christian
living today. Some early Christian Pharisees who saw no need to observe Old
Testament Law regarding right living in relationship with the poor needed to
repent more than anyone.
We live in a rich country. However slender our personal
fortunes, they dwarf the incomes and possessions of people in most countries. Even
if we get laid off, we can still collect unemployment. In many other countries,
this is not the case. In other words, Lazarus is among us! Do we choose to
ignore Lazarus? Do we distract ourselves with foolish pleasures as the rich man
did?
Neither Jesus nor Luke was an economist or a politician, but at
a certain point, the problems of poverty and homelessness turn into economic
and political matters. How we deal with the poor personally and socially is one
of the challenges we face today.
Most of the time, we live righteous lives in relationship with
the poor, and yet, even if that is always true, we cannot afford to gloss over
this parable. Pastor Arthur Just, who digs into Luke in his commentary, raises
the idea of the proper use of possessions. He writes, “The proper use of
possessions in view of the coming age and the Old Testament testimony,
including [the] resurrection … prepares people for the Gospel and the life to
come.”[1]
The proper use of possessions prepares us for the Gospel and
eternal life, and for how we live as a Gospel people today. Folks, if we are
not a Gospel people, what kind of people are we? If I am not a living Gospel,
what kind of Christian am I? If I am not a repentant sinner who lives
righteously in relationship with society’s outcasts – widows, orphans, the poor
and the foreigner – what kind of Christian am I? So, my friends, I pose a
delicate question: How do I use my possessions? Delicate indeed, but one to
ponder.
I worked for an organization that promotes church planting in
Asia, Africa and Latin America. One of our donors, a financial advisor,
informed me that when he told clients about this nonprofit, some replied, “I
want you to tell me how to invest my money, not how to spend it.” In other
words, asking people to consider how they use their possessions is a delicate
question, but it needs to be pondered.
Friends, I imagine you are in a relationship with our Triune
God, and, like the Trinity, in relationship with other people. I ask you to do
only one thing. Ponder the three Rs of Christian living. Am I a repentant
sinner who strives to live in right relationship with the outcasts of society
and shares with them my possessions for the greater glory of God? Ponder that
question, and when you do, may the peace of God that
surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1]
Arthur A. Just, Jr., Luke 9:51-24:53. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House
(1997), p. 634.
