"Bridging the Chasm and Rising from the Dead" - Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent

Bridging the Chasm and Rising from the Dead
Lent 4 (Narrative Lectionary 3)
March 10, 2013
Luke 16.19-31

 “I don’t like this parable,” my colleague said, and I can relate. There’s not a shred of gospel anywhere in this text. Jesus tells parables to stretch our imaginations, and this one almost stretches ours to the breaking point. If the Bible “comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable,” this parable indicates that most of us are the latter. If all we had of the Bible was this story, our view of life after death would be that those that are tormented in this life would have ease in the next while those who have it easy will be tormented. Come to think of it, I guess that’s at least partially the view of a good many Christians today.

Yet, it’s not that simple, mostly because the Bible is rarely that simple, or at least that clear-cut. Certainly, Jesus wants to get our attention, and it’s important to note that this story comes in a body of teaching about the dangers of wealth as he is traveling with his disciples to Jerusalem. Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus condemn wealth. In fact, wealth is often seen as a blessing from God. However, Jesus does have a problem with what wealth can do to us, how it can get in the way of our relationship with God and with each other. The danger of wealth is that we can become complacent, self-righteous, and even uncaring.

Even so, the thrust of the parable toward us may be more through the actors that are “offstage” than on. One set of actors gets a mention in passing, the five brothers the rich man is so concerned about. Ironically, the rich man begs from Lazarus the same thing he denied him in the past life, mercy. When this is denied him, the rich man begs for the opportunity for his brothers to repent. Through the rich man’s words and actions, which remain virtually self-centered even in death, we are challenged to consider which words of scriptures we might be ignoring in our lives and where we might need repentance.

Repentance has been a red thread that has been running through the parables of Jesus this Lenten season. We know that repentance involves saying you are sorry and asking forgiveness about wrongs we have done and things we have left undone, as the old confession goes. We also know that repentance means to change one’s mind, to turn around and go the other way. Last week we added a new dimension to repentance, the realization that we are accepted by God. This week we encounter yet another aspect of repentance, that it is somehow tied to the resurrected life. The real push of this parable is the promise of resurrection, not as a destination but as life lived now.

This brings us to the other character that has been offstage: Jesus. I wasn’t totally honest when I said that there wasn’t a shred of good news in this text, because the parable points to the risen Jesus. God can do what Abraham cannot, bridge the chasm between our tormented existence and life found in Christ. When faced with the one who died and was raised we are prodded from our complacency and drawn back into a relationship with God and with each other. Ironically, the more responsive we are to human needs, the more aware we become of our own humanity and need for God’s grace.

Last weekend I had the privilege of going on retreat with our confirmation youth and adults to a place called Urban Immersion in Minneapolis. They will be sharing their stories next week so I don’t want to steal their thunder, but I will tell you that they spent time learning firsthand about the effects of poverty with the opportunity to walk with and serve others. I have seen “repentance” in their lives as their eyes have been opened to those who lay at their gates, in the sense they have a desire to share the new life in Christ with the least of these our sisters and brothers. So, as we walk the way of Jesus to the cross and empty tomb, may God bridge the chasm of our lives, crucifying our blindness and bringing to new life our call to serve others as he has served us. Amen.