Genesis 15:1-6; 1 John 4:16-21; St Luke 16:19-31
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
And Abram believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness. When the Lord made the promise to him that he would be the father of many nations and that from his loins the Promised Seed would come, all Abram had was the Word. He did not have a son, a proper heir, only his servant Eliezer. He was already old, advanced in years, and his wife too. All he had was the Word that God was gracious and merciful to carry through and bring forth the Seed who would bring blessing to all nations. Such faith alone saves. But such faith is never alone.
St John wrote, This commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. Let no one comfort himself that he shares the faith of Abraham if he is without love toward the brother. Faith alone justifies. But the faith that justifies is never alone; it is always accompanied by the fruits of faith, the works of love.
Did the Rich Man in the Gospel text have faith? He surely thought so. Even in the torments of Hades he lays claim to being a child of Abraham. And strange to our ears, perhaps, Abraham claims him as his own, calls him, Child.
But his faith was a sham. This is revealed by the fact that he could walk past the beggar Lazarus, thrown at his gate like a piece of garbage and left there to rot, pitied only by the neighborhood dogs who sought to alleviate his suffering by licking his sores. What sort of faith is this? That a man has less pity than a dog? But he not only walked by the beggar - he feasted in Lazarus’ sight! And poor Lazarus would gladly have joined the dogs to rummage the garbage for the crumbs. But no one gave him a thing. Are we to suppose that this Rich Man had faith?
Now it is entirely probable that the Rich Man rarely missed the opportunity to attend the Synagogue. He may even have had a special seat of honor - the rich and famous often did. But when it came to the time of the words of Moses and the Prophets read in the Synagogue, he listened, but he did not take them to heart. He did not let the words sink into him and reduce him to fear. He did not realize that God meant exactly what He said: Cursed is he who does not continue in all that is written in the book of the Law and do it (Dt 27:26).
To him it was a form of entertainment, a nice break in the week. Maybe it was just a social obligation he had to fulfill. Whatever. He came. He listened. But He did not hear. He did not heed. And so he was a man without the faith of Abraham, the faith which alone is reckoned for righteousness, the faith which is never alone, but always breaks forth into deeds of love for the neighbor. For all his pious pretense, all his worldly prosperity, the Rich Man was an unbeliever.
How can I arrive at this conclusion? Consider: when the Rich Man is in torment in Hades he asks Abraham to send Lazarus back as a warning to his five brothers. Abraham responds, 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. Even in hell unbelievers despise the Word, think little of it, and do not afford it the power that is truly has.
Abraham, though, is no unbeliever. He knows the power of the promises of God, the might of His Word. The Word that called him from unbelief to faith. The Word that brought him from death to life. That Word that gave him a child and through the child the promise of the One who would bring blessing to all. That Word sustained him all the days of his pilgrimage. That Word kept him humble before God so he never trusted in his own deeds.
But the Word also made him fruitful in good works; in charity and love for his neighbor. And that Word at last brought him to the eternal Promised Land to recline with the Seed surrounded by the angelic host as numerous as the stars. And so he says to the Rich Man, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”
Here we sit. Richer in the Word than they were. For God has given us the witness of the Apostles and Evangelists to add to Moses and the Prophets. Indeed to fulfill them! We have not merely the foretelling of the One who would bring blessing to all. We have the fulfillment! We know how He came to us who could not get to Him. That He who was rich, yet for your sake became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich (2 Cor 8:9). That God who is Love gave His only begotten Son, who was thrown outside the Gate and given to die on a garbage dump, in order to redeem us, poor, miserable, beggars.
We have the One who came back from the dead that men might hear and believe! This no mere corpse revival like the Rich Man wanted. This is a whole new order, through suffering and loss and misery and death unto life eternal in the One who is Life. But He didn’t remain long on earth afterward; only forty days and then, pfft. Off.
Because you know what would happen if He stayed the way the Rich Man wanted? The world would treat the resurrection as just another funny wrinkle in the grimy face of history and not as the result of a faith that clings to a whole new order promised in the Word. They’d try to sell it as something interesting; as news. If the risen Word were left on earth they’d get Him on Jimmy Fallon and Good Morning America. After that they’d probably make Jesus: The Movie. Then Jesus I - IV. They’d pour out money and fame and wealth and mammon, more extravagant than the Rich Man, but they wouldn’t understand one bit of the truth of the Word of Moses and the Prophets. So the One who came back from the dead didn’t warn unbelieving rich men, but gave the Preaching Office of the Holy Word and ascended into heaven.
This is why the Word of the Lord is read and preached so intentionally and poignantly to you! This miserable, despised, and rejected Word is, in fact, alone sufficient and powerful unto salvation. This Word, fuller and richer than Moses and the Prophets, is laid out for you week after week in order that your sore stricken souls may be healed with the balm of the Gospel and you may be given a place at His Table as dear children, feasting sumptuously on the Food of Eternal Life. For these are the true riches. Given from the One who is perfect Love and saw your miserable estate. In Him you have confidence for each and every day, including the Day of Judgement.
But are there any here who are like the Rich Man? Any who merely hear and do not truly receive and believe the Word that is spoken? Any who imagine they have faith when their hearts remain as cold as stone to the needs of their neighbors? Know for certain that such faith is just fake faith. Not real. Useless on the Day of Judgment. Historical knowledge of Bible facts is not what God reckons to anyone as righteousness. As St James points out - even the demons believe like that! (Ja 2:19)
So what ought a person do if he wonders if he is like the rich man and his brothers? Again, Father Abraham points the way. He doesn’t tell you to get busy showing love in your life as though deeds of love are what bring faith alive. No. Fruits don’t make the tree. Rather, he tells you to listen to what the Word of God says. Hear it. Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest it. Take it to heart. For, the Lord says through the prophet Isaiah, This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My Word (Is 66:2).
Dear children, let the Word do its work. Faith cometh by hearing; and hearing by the Word of Christ. The Spirit of Christ is eager to give faith to all who will listen, where and when it pleases Him. And such faith cannot help but break forth into deeds of love; for faith which saves is passive, it is receptive; such faith always has an object to which it lays hold in the Word. And in the Word is God Himself, who is Love. Whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him. And then such passive faith which receives is always in action, showing mercy and love and kindness and charity to the neighbor as he has need. We love because He first loved us.
For we are but poor, miserable beggars. Lazaruses all. Those whose help is in the Name of the Lord. In love He stooped into the gutter in order to lift you to Himself, to recline in Abraham’s bosom. Thus do we pray, having received Him who is Love Incarnate in the Holy Eucharist that this salutary gift of Christ’s own Body and Blood would strengthen us in faith toward God and in fervent love toward one another.
In such faith you can be confident of dying a blessed death, the prayer of Lazarus your own prayer: “Lord, let at last Thine angels come, to Abr’ham’s bosom bear me home, that I may die unfearing. And in its narrow chamber keep, my body safe in peaceful sleep until Thy reappearing. And then from death awaken me that these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God Thy glorious face, my Savior and my Fount of Grace. Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend, and I will praise Thee without end” (LSB 708:3).
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
And Abram believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness. When the Lord made the promise to him that he would be the father of many nations and that from his loins the Promised Seed would come, all Abram had was the Word. He did not have a son, a proper heir, only his servant Eliezer. He was already old, advanced in years, and his wife too. All he had was the Word that God was gracious and merciful to carry through and bring forth the Seed who would bring blessing to all nations. Such faith alone saves. But such faith is never alone.
St John wrote, This commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. Let no one comfort himself that he shares the faith of Abraham if he is without love toward the brother. Faith alone justifies. But the faith that justifies is never alone; it is always accompanied by the fruits of faith, the works of love.
Did the Rich Man in the Gospel text have faith? He surely thought so. Even in the torments of Hades he lays claim to being a child of Abraham. And strange to our ears, perhaps, Abraham claims him as his own, calls him, Child.
But his faith was a sham. This is revealed by the fact that he could walk past the beggar Lazarus, thrown at his gate like a piece of garbage and left there to rot, pitied only by the neighborhood dogs who sought to alleviate his suffering by licking his sores. What sort of faith is this? That a man has less pity than a dog? But he not only walked by the beggar - he feasted in Lazarus’ sight! And poor Lazarus would gladly have joined the dogs to rummage the garbage for the crumbs. But no one gave him a thing. Are we to suppose that this Rich Man had faith?
Now it is entirely probable that the Rich Man rarely missed the opportunity to attend the Synagogue. He may even have had a special seat of honor - the rich and famous often did. But when it came to the time of the words of Moses and the Prophets read in the Synagogue, he listened, but he did not take them to heart. He did not let the words sink into him and reduce him to fear. He did not realize that God meant exactly what He said: Cursed is he who does not continue in all that is written in the book of the Law and do it (Dt 27:26).
To him it was a form of entertainment, a nice break in the week. Maybe it was just a social obligation he had to fulfill. Whatever. He came. He listened. But He did not hear. He did not heed. And so he was a man without the faith of Abraham, the faith which alone is reckoned for righteousness, the faith which is never alone, but always breaks forth into deeds of love for the neighbor. For all his pious pretense, all his worldly prosperity, the Rich Man was an unbeliever.
How can I arrive at this conclusion? Consider: when the Rich Man is in torment in Hades he asks Abraham to send Lazarus back as a warning to his five brothers. Abraham responds, 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. Even in hell unbelievers despise the Word, think little of it, and do not afford it the power that is truly has.
Abraham, though, is no unbeliever. He knows the power of the promises of God, the might of His Word. The Word that called him from unbelief to faith. The Word that brought him from death to life. That Word that gave him a child and through the child the promise of the One who would bring blessing to all. That Word sustained him all the days of his pilgrimage. That Word kept him humble before God so he never trusted in his own deeds.
But the Word also made him fruitful in good works; in charity and love for his neighbor. And that Word at last brought him to the eternal Promised Land to recline with the Seed surrounded by the angelic host as numerous as the stars. And so he says to the Rich Man, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”
Here we sit. Richer in the Word than they were. For God has given us the witness of the Apostles and Evangelists to add to Moses and the Prophets. Indeed to fulfill them! We have not merely the foretelling of the One who would bring blessing to all. We have the fulfillment! We know how He came to us who could not get to Him. That He who was rich, yet for your sake became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich (2 Cor 8:9). That God who is Love gave His only begotten Son, who was thrown outside the Gate and given to die on a garbage dump, in order to redeem us, poor, miserable, beggars.
We have the One who came back from the dead that men might hear and believe! This no mere corpse revival like the Rich Man wanted. This is a whole new order, through suffering and loss and misery and death unto life eternal in the One who is Life. But He didn’t remain long on earth afterward; only forty days and then, pfft. Off.
Because you know what would happen if He stayed the way the Rich Man wanted? The world would treat the resurrection as just another funny wrinkle in the grimy face of history and not as the result of a faith that clings to a whole new order promised in the Word. They’d try to sell it as something interesting; as news. If the risen Word were left on earth they’d get Him on Jimmy Fallon and Good Morning America. After that they’d probably make Jesus: The Movie. Then Jesus I - IV. They’d pour out money and fame and wealth and mammon, more extravagant than the Rich Man, but they wouldn’t understand one bit of the truth of the Word of Moses and the Prophets. So the One who came back from the dead didn’t warn unbelieving rich men, but gave the Preaching Office of the Holy Word and ascended into heaven.
This is why the Word of the Lord is read and preached so intentionally and poignantly to you! This miserable, despised, and rejected Word is, in fact, alone sufficient and powerful unto salvation. This Word, fuller and richer than Moses and the Prophets, is laid out for you week after week in order that your sore stricken souls may be healed with the balm of the Gospel and you may be given a place at His Table as dear children, feasting sumptuously on the Food of Eternal Life. For these are the true riches. Given from the One who is perfect Love and saw your miserable estate. In Him you have confidence for each and every day, including the Day of Judgement.
But are there any here who are like the Rich Man? Any who merely hear and do not truly receive and believe the Word that is spoken? Any who imagine they have faith when their hearts remain as cold as stone to the needs of their neighbors? Know for certain that such faith is just fake faith. Not real. Useless on the Day of Judgment. Historical knowledge of Bible facts is not what God reckons to anyone as righteousness. As St James points out - even the demons believe like that! (Ja 2:19)
So what ought a person do if he wonders if he is like the rich man and his brothers? Again, Father Abraham points the way. He doesn’t tell you to get busy showing love in your life as though deeds of love are what bring faith alive. No. Fruits don’t make the tree. Rather, he tells you to listen to what the Word of God says. Hear it. Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest it. Take it to heart. For, the Lord says through the prophet Isaiah, This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My Word (Is 66:2).
Dear children, let the Word do its work. Faith cometh by hearing; and hearing by the Word of Christ. The Spirit of Christ is eager to give faith to all who will listen, where and when it pleases Him. And such faith cannot help but break forth into deeds of love; for faith which saves is passive, it is receptive; such faith always has an object to which it lays hold in the Word. And in the Word is God Himself, who is Love. Whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him. And then such passive faith which receives is always in action, showing mercy and love and kindness and charity to the neighbor as he has need. We love because He first loved us.
For we are but poor, miserable beggars. Lazaruses all. Those whose help is in the Name of the Lord. In love He stooped into the gutter in order to lift you to Himself, to recline in Abraham’s bosom. Thus do we pray, having received Him who is Love Incarnate in the Holy Eucharist that this salutary gift of Christ’s own Body and Blood would strengthen us in faith toward God and in fervent love toward one another.
In such faith you can be confident of dying a blessed death, the prayer of Lazarus your own prayer: “Lord, let at last Thine angels come, to Abr’ham’s bosom bear me home, that I may die unfearing. And in its narrow chamber keep, my body safe in peaceful sleep until Thy reappearing. And then from death awaken me that these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God Thy glorious face, my Savior and my Fount of Grace. Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend, and I will praise Thee without end” (LSB 708:3).
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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