1st Sunday after Trinity - 12 Jun 1955
12 June 1955
Luke 16:19-31: “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is given as the Gospel for today – the first Sunday after Trinity. The rich man came to realise when it was too late to do anything that there was a great gulf fixed between him and Lazarus. The gulf was fixed not by wealth and poverty – these are just facts that the story takes for granted – but by a breakdown in personal relationships. The rich man found himself in torment, we are told in the story. Why was he in torment? Not because he was rich, but because he had not cared. In his lifetime there was a barrier between him and Lazarus because of his great wealth and Lazarus’ poverty, but the rich man had made no attempt to break through the barrier. He was probably a highly respectable and respected man in society. We are not told that he did anything for which he could be blamed. Except just that – he did nothing. He probably classed the beggar and the dogs together as beneath his notice.
He was not concerned about other people’s needs or for the family welfare – until he found himself in hell. To Christ that kind of selfish living was utterly immoral. The parable in no way teaches class warfare because we find Abraham shepherding Lazarus; and Abraham was a wealthy man. The parable is not meant to be a condemnation of economic inequality. It is a condemnation of the sin of trying to live for ourselves with no concern for the welfare of others. This kind of self-centred life is described in the New Testament as death.
How can men pass from death into life? There are many gulfs in society today – the gulf caused by racial antagonisms, social inequalities, different economic levels, education etc. How can bridges be laid across these gulfs by which men are estranged from one another? The Church had come to know very early in its experience that the barriers which divide men are transcended when they respond to that love which comes to claim them freely and unmerited in Christ. “We love because He first loved us”, St. John writes in his epistle, which we had as our portion today. God loves us and so we should love one another. The love which men have for one another is a manifestation of the divine life. “God is love”, as the Epistle puts it, “and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God.”
Albert Schweitzer aged 31 gave up the principalship of a theological college to become a medical missionary in Africa. He was a Doctor of Philosophy, Theology and Music and an author of various books. He could have had a comfortable life in Europe. He set out to bridge the gulf. That was the way he responded to God’s love. “We love because He first loved us.” “God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God.”