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19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 24 He called out, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.' 25 But Abraham said, "Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' 27 He said, "Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' 29 Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' 30 He said, "No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 He said to him, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' " (Luke 16: 19-31 NRSV)
A very happy Monday to you and yours, dear Friend! I pray this finds you well. Nellie and I were blessed yesterday by the welcome and hospitality shown us by the Medina UMC in Medina, Texas. Our thanks to them for being so nice to us and a prayer for continued blessings on that congregation. And I pray all of you blessed one of God's congregations this weekend in worship and praise.
The late Rev. E. V. Hill once preached on a trip he and his wife took to a certain prosperous community where he had been invited to preach. As they drove into the community their prosperity was evident immediately. There were manicured lawns, beautiful homes, splendid cars on every street. E.V. turned to his wife and said, "Something is wrong in this place! Do you sense it too?" Mrs. Hill said, "Yes! I know what it is! There is no graffiti in this place at all!" So once he took the pulpit Rev. Hill shared that with the congregation and also added, "And with your permission I would like to take a spray can and begin a graffiti campaign of my own. I am only going to spray one word on each wall, car, and property you have. And that word is Temporary!"
One day, we will wake up to our death. And all we enjoyed or endured during this life will be gone. Jesus shares this parable to teach that lesson. He begins with the coveted position of a wealthy man. Dressed in the finest clothing, this man known only as "rich man," enjoyed his status and his wealth. He also enjoyed the finest dining experiences of the day. He also enjoyed the luxury of fine housing with gated protection. He lived in his fine world, separated from the harsher realities of the poor. Just outside his gate lay a sick and hungry man. His sickness was that his body was covered in sores. The sores attracted dogs which licked these sores. The man's name was Lazarus and he would have given anything to eat from the crumbs from the rich man's table. But he never did. He dies, and we believe from hunger. At his death, angels from heaven come and carry him to be at Abraham's side. The rich man also dies, and Jesus simply says, "was buried." Jesus also says that the rich man wakes up in Hades (a nice way of saying 'the other place.') and is tormented as we believe will be the expected of an eternity separated from God. The fires of Hades made the rich man thirsty and we realize that he can see Lazarus, who is alive and living well by Abraham's side. The rich man calls out to Abraham and says, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames." The man who may have been sick of the sight of a sore-covered, poor, hungry man, and who went out of his way from having contact with Lazarus, now wants the tip of his finger in his mouth to help cool his suffering. Abraham answers the rich man with the truth; "Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross from there to us." He begs then, "Please send Lazarus to my father's house - for I have five brothers - that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment." Abraham has to reply, "They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them." The rich man persists, "No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent." Father Abraham says, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."
The Bible says, "the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6;23). To die in sin is to die separated from God. The evident sin of the rich man is selfishness; a self-centeredness that kept the rich man from sharing with the lesser blessed some of what could have kept the poor man from dying. We meet Lazarus during the last days of his life. We can only assume what his life may have been about; but that he died and was carried by angels to Abraham's side shows there already was a relationship with God, and as a result of that relationship, he was rewarded with an eternal life that would not end. The rich man's only true relationship was with his money and his possessions and once his life died so did that relationship. He was buried and from that burial spot he enters Hades where his torment begins. And the torment is so severe, his thoughts turn to his five brothers that they may have a relationship with God too. And regardless of the pleas lifted by him, Abraham replies with the truth; the scriptures stress the need for our relationship with God to be that which saves us from an eternity separated from God. And that is our reality as well. We have heard the Good News. We have heard about Jesus' desire to have us as His. There is no other real option.
The opening story from Rev. Hill applies here. Some people are so in love with their things they lose sight of what really matters; they begin to place things over people, and themselves over others; all of which are not Christian. Jesus' message was always of the first being last, and the last being first, and doing unto others as we would like for them to do unto us. The rich man clearly showed he came first, and others did not matter.
PRAYER: Loving God, as we pray, we ask forgiveness of those times we have been like the rich man, and have ignored the poor or less fortunate. Help us to share freely with others. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Do what you can to share with others about the chasm that exists between those who die in the Lord, and those who do not!
Blessings of love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
The new pimplesandwrinkles.org podcast on hymns features a brilliant musician and choral director, Dr. Sterling Allen of Good Shepherd UMC of Cypress, Texas. Please click on the media section to hear it.
