Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Sermons 

This morning’s gospel lesson is a parable of unfulfilled expectations and great reversals. If we were first-century Jews familiar with the scriptures, what we were expecting to hear from Jesus is not what we are hearing in this story.

At the very beginning, we were expecting to hear the name of the important "rich man," not the name of the miserable "poor man" Lazarus. After all, we all know the names of the top-rung members of the social ladder; no one cares enough about those clinging to the bottom rungs.

We were expecting that the rich man would be the one "carried away by the angels to be with Abraham," but it turns out to be Lazarus. We were expecting Lazarus to suffer for all eternity, but it turns out to be the rich man. There is something wrong with this picture, don’t you think?

This parable turned first-century expectations topsy-turvy. But more than just upsetting deeply-held social values, parables like this one certainly contributed to Jesus’ growing reputation as a trouble maker. Telling people – especially Pharisees, lawyers, scribes, and other powerful people – what they don’t expect to hear is a sure way to get into trouble. And what powerful people don’t want to hear is any bad news that challenges their power.

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The story is told that, when John F. Kennedy had been elected President of the United States, his father Joseph told him that he should name his younger brother Robert Kennedy to be the Attorney General in the new administration. The reason? That Bobby Kennedy had years of practice of standing up to his older brother Jack. A former ambassador to Great Britain, Joseph Kennedy knew from first-hand political experience that a President needed at least one close advisor willing to say truth to power, no matter what the personal cost. Who better than a brother!

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Another strategy for getting good advice was commonplace in medieval and early modern Europe. In those days, kings employed court jesters to proclaim truth to power. These early comics were defined as being outside the inner circle of power, but they were permitted – even encouraged – to make remarks that would have been impossible for a senior-level counselor to offer. We still get a little bit of this in the very popular comic strip "The Wizard of Id," where the drunken jester "Bung" zings the King from every angle.

How much safer it would have been for Sir Thomas More, the great friend and confidant to King Henry VIII of England, if Thomas had been a mere court jester rather than the King’s closest confidant and principal advisor on church-state relations. As a court jester, he might have been banished, but he wouldn’t have been beheaded – which is what happened to him in 1535 for raising objections to the "Act of Succession," a new law that provided the King with unprecedented rights vis-à-vis the papacy.

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In modern America, we have become accustomed to listening to our court jesters late in the evening. Over many years, Steve Allen, Jack Parr, Johnny Carson, and Jay Leno became very successful serving as our national court jesters. Even politicians listen to their opening monologues on The Tonight Show in order to measure America’s pulse. Being skewered during the opening monologue is a sure sign that you are an important and powerful person.

But there is an important difference between Jay Leno’s jokes in the opening monologue each evening and the parables that Jesus offered up to his first-century followers and critiques. Even Leno understands that his jokes are "disposable" and have a short half-life tied to the political events of the moment. In contrast, Jesus’ parables have become timeless proclamations of truth to power.

In this morning’s parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man appeals to "father Abraham" to send Lazarus to the house of the rich man’s father, adding "for I have five brothers." The rich man begs for Lazarus to be sent so "that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment." But what kind of warning is Lazarus to give them? And how will he do it?

Not surprisingly, Luke’s gospel does not offer any details, either about what the brothers have done that requires a "warning," or what they should be doing instead. We don’t know if they are stealing from the poor, mistreating the widows and orphans, or violating some other ancient commandment. It would have been much more helpful to know what sins they were committing and what good deeds they were failing to do. Luke’s gospel leaves all this to our imagination.

So, let’s imagine. Open your Worship Bulletin and turn to this morning’s Confession. Listen now, as I read aloud what we all proclaimed earlier in the hour:

Merciful God,

we confess that we have sinned against you

in thought, word, and deed,

by what we have done,

and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you

with our whole heart and mind and strength.

We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

In your mercy forgive what we have been,

help us amend what we are,

and direct what we shall be,

so that we may delight in your will

and walk in your ways,

to the glory of your holy name.

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" . . . by what we have done, and by what we have left undone." This was the fear of the rich man for his five brothers. This provided the urgency behind his request. But Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them." But the rich man continued his pleading to Abraham by saying that his brothers need someone truly special, such as someone who would go to them from the dead, in order that they would be convinced to repent – literally to turn around and be transformed.

Think for a moment about what the rich man was requesting. He wouldn’t settle for the writings of Moses or the prophets. He knew from his own experience that their words are not powerful enough to transform his brothers. He was certain that something far more dramatic, extraordinary, and unexpected would be needed. Who better to send than Lazarus, the outcast who used to eat the scraps from the rich man’s dinner table and have his sores licked by dogs.

The rich man believed that the transformed Lazarus, who presumably was known to the five brothers, would be able to transform them. The rich man hoped that Lazarus could proclaim truth to power – and that his five brothers would hear and respond.

We, too, have the writings of Moses and the prophets. But we also have the life of Jesus as an example of how to speak truth to power. And we have this parable of the rich man and Lazarus as an example of the great reversal that God promises to all. And, finally, we have our own personal commitments to peace, justice, and inclusiveness in God’s kingdom.

In the end, what does the Lord require of us to bring our brothers (and sisters) to the truth about who they are and to whom they belong? It may take more than pleading. It may take more than logic. It may take more than humor. In the end, it takes faith that God will lead our brothers (and sisters) to find the right answer to the question: "Will they be convinced?" Amen.

©2007 Van Kemper  (email: rkemper@trinitypresdallas.org)