Until No Chasms Are Left

Sermon-18 Pentecost Proper 21-Sept. 26, 2010
The Cloud of Unknowing, "O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of that Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Let me get some misunderstandings out of the way.
My name is John Hagan. I am NOT Canon Neily’s younger brother. I am NOT filling in for him while he is on vacation. And yes, you are stuck with me.
I went on vacation to Scotland for 2 weeks with 11 folks, many of whom were from Trinity (some of whom came back), and then Deborah and I went to France for 2 weeks with some other friends. I was not under arrest, in rehab, or being held hostage by Deacon Dick as several people have asked . We had a wonderful time. In Scotland we visited some sacred islands, and took a walk. In France we visited a lot of churches. I’m sure you want to hear more about the trip, so after church I have 1700 pictures that I would like to share with you.
Ok, enough of that. This is a busy day for us, with a lot of important things going on so I’m going to keep this short
First, let me get some of the things out of the way about today’s gospel. There is a long tradition about this story, it’s called “The parable of___________________ (Dives and Lazarus). The Latin word for rich man is “Dives” so when people heard this story in Latin, they assumed that was his name. This is the only parable where one of the characters is named, “Lazarus”. This is not the same Lazarus who is Mary and Martha’s brother, who is raised from the dead. This is just a character in a story. The name Lazarus means, “The One Who Is Helped by God”. So the story is known as Dives and Lazarus. In the 1100s a group of knight crusaders started an order devoted to the care of lepers called, the Order of St. Lazarus.
I want to tell two short stories and make one important point.
This is from a sermon by Dr. Amy Richter:
A man told this story of his experience just before his father died. The man and his sister were taking care of their father who was in the last stages of cancer, the man staying with their bed-ridden father during the day and his sister staying with their father through the night.
It had been a hard day. The man and his father had not always gotten along well, and on this particular day his father was especially irritable and giving him a hard time. The man was impatient, waiting for his sister to come for the night shift. He had his coat and shoes on so he could leave as quickly as possible when she arrived. But he heard his father call to him from the other room. He went in, and his father asked, “What do you think happens to us after this life?” A big question. A serious question. The man didn’t have many words, but he thought he could show his father his answer. He got into the bed and lay down beside his father. He asked him, “Dad, do you love me?” “You know I love you,” his father said. The man touched his own chest and then touched his father’s, right above his heart. The man asked, “How much of our ability to love do you think we use during our lives? Ten percent?” “Fifteen,” said his father. “Okay,” said the man. “In heaven,” he said, touching his own chest and then his father’s, “100 percent.”The next day the man got a call from his sister, telling him his father had died, quite peacefully. But before he died, he made a gesture she didn’t understand. Just before he died, he looked at her, and he touched his chest – his heart – and then reached up and touched hers.
In the gospel of Luke everything is always upside down. The poor are lifted up, the outsiders get to come in, the despised become the favorites. So in the story of Dives and Lazarus you can see this coming. A freed black slave in the Union Army saw his ex-owner being led away in chains as a prisoner and said to him, "Hello massa, bottom rail on top this time."
That’s the gospel of Luke, the bottom rail is always on top.
But this parable goes a little farther. Doesn’t it surprise you that there’s no hope for Dives in this story? Doesn’t it, offend you that Father Abraham says, “there’s nothing you can do to change things”? The chasm is too wide. Tough luck. Doesn’t it bother you?
So is this story just that we should become poor? Is that it? Is it that we all are supposed to become Lazaruses? Here’s the second story. This one is from a sermon by There is a large African-American church in New Jersey. Around election time , the minister gets contacted by candidates asking if the politician can come and address the congregation. Can we visit your church? Can we speak to your church? Can we lead a prayer in your church?
Here is what this congregation does. They introduce the candidate seeking office to the whole congregation. Then they invite about six members of the church to stand with the politician. And then the preacher says, "Mrs. Jones is a senior citizen on a fixed income. Your voting will affect her life. This is Mr. Ellison, he is truck driver, with no health insurance. Your voting will affect his life. This is Mrs. James worked at the plant that has now closed. Your voting will affect her ability to provide for her family. And this went on. Then they would pray for the candidate.
How would you feel as the candidate? What would this do to you as someone running for office? Who was Jesus telling this story for? Better yet, who are you in this story? Dives? Lazarus? Father Abraham? The dogs? Amy Richter says, in this story, we are Dives’ five brothers. We are the ones trying to hear the message. It’s not our job to be poor-or to be rich. We are supposed to hear that there are people at our gates who are hurting and in pain. Our job is to do what Dives couldn’t-to see them. And then to cross the chasm. Now. Remember that earlier story about the father and the son? In heaven we use 100% of our love to touch each other. But we can do better now. We don’t have to wait. What if besides the Law and the prophets someone came back from the dead and told us that we can do better, that we need to be better? That we need to see and hear those who are hurting, suffering , starving. Now. Would we? We are the 5 brothers. Put your hand on your heart. Go ahead. This is a great symbol. How much of our ability to love do you think we need to use while we are alive? How much? Until there are no chasms left. Amen.