"Lessons from Lazarus"

Readings: Psalm 91:1-6,14-16, Jeremiah 32:1-15,1 Timothy 6:6-19,  Luke 16:19-31
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, on September 25, 2022

"Lazarus and the Rich man" is a drama of three acts. In act one the Rich man feasts whilst Lazarus festers. In act two the Rich man fries whilst Lazarus feasts. In act three the Rich man pleads for mercy whilst Lazarus enjoys Paradise.

Act One: The Rich man feasts whilst Lazarus festers

Picture the scene. "A rich man habitually living in splendor".  A man who thinks he has it all. Dresses like royalty. Fine Linen and purple.  Attire reserved for the cream of society, Emperors, Governors, Princes and Ceasers. Rolex watch. Ferrari in the garage, parked next to the Rolls Royce. Thick pile carpets. Chandeliers. Paintings by Rembrandt and Cezanne hanging on the wall. Gold medallion the size of a saucer hanging round his neck.  Silverware on the table that shone like... well... silver.

He clicks his fingers.  The string quartet playing Mozart in the corner bring their immaculate performance to a close. In comes the butler and the attendant maids with dinner. "Would sir like the Lamb or the Beef?"  He points at one and it is served onto his plate whilst the maid pours an ample quantity of sparkling wine into the sparkling crystal glass. "Give the other to the dogs" he says.

He rises from his table and strolls across to the window where he stifles a yawn as he surveys his ornamental garden, the fountain he had specially imported from Italy, the rare Japanese trees lining the mosaic path that led to the summerhouse. His yawn dissolves into a smile.  "Ahh" he sighs contentedly "It's all soo perfect."He sits at the table. With a click of his fingers, the Mozart resumes and dinner is consumed.

Outside, beyond the security fence, beyond the barbed wire and video surveillance cameras, beyond the high, broken glass rimmed wall that kept the views and smells of the squalor of the city from invading the rich man’s castle, lies the poor man, Lazarus, at the gate.

Those gates. So impressive. So impassable. What went on behind those walls was anybody's guess.  But Lazarus was beyond guessing. He had been laid at the gate by some well-meaning passerby in the hope that somebody might take pity on him. His filthy clothes barely concealed the rotting sores that covered his body. Bent over in pain, it is difficult to say if that is a human being or a pile of rags. His face contorted by pain.

He drifts in and out of consciousness. His lips bloated and blistered. His eyes glazed. He can't remember when he last had food. Times were good when he worked up at the rich man’s house. Times long gone by. "Sleep, sleep, let me rest for there is no pain in my dreams."

A passing dog sniffs at the wreckage of this once proud man. It idly paws at him, but seeing no reaction moves along the alley to investigate the more profitable trash cans.

Act Two: The Rich man fries whilst Lazarus feasts

As he bites into the succulent beef steak, the rich man is aware of a numbness in his left arm, that rapidly spread up his arm, across his chest and felt uncomfortably like a severe attack of indigestion. He tried to catch his breath, but the pain became stronger, more intense, like an elephant sitting on his chest.

Then the pain was gone, and he found himself in an unfamiliar environment. It was dark and cold. At the same time, he was burning up. A place of dark shadows and deep sighs. A place of longing and loneliness; desperate loneliness characterized by a total absence of light or love.

He was aware of others around him, wrapping their darkness around themselves like fearful animals caught in a trap.  There was weeping. There was pain. And there were haunting memories of tasks left unfinished, words of love that were never spoken, constant compromise and failure, never forgiven, never atoned for. Now it was too late.

He remembered this place from his nightmares. When you sleep in life you wake to a new day. In this sleep of death, he felt he would never escape his most fearful dreams. Sheol. The waiting room for Judgment.  Hades. Hell. The place of the dead.

For a moment the darkness cleared. He glimpsed, through what looked like the perimeter wall of his estate, there, on the other side, through the impassable gates; green fields, clear cool springs and flowing water, warmth, light and... who was that?

Father Abraham! Laughing, talking, with someone at table. Who was that close by his side? It looked like that servant ... What was his name, "I remember, Lazarus, that was him, Lazarus. Oh, things will be all right now.  Lazarus will be sent to help me"

Act Three: The Rich man pleads for mercy whilst Lazarus enjoys Paradise

The Rich man called out "Father Abraham... Send Lazarus over here with some of that clear cool spring water. I'm burning up here. Send Lazarus." “He heard a voice in the darkness, "Your wasting your time rich man.  Lazarus is not going to be taking care of your errands anymore.”

Then Abraham spoke. "Child, you had your share of good things. Lazarus had nothing.  Now he has his reward, and you have yours. Remember that wall you built around yourself? Your security, your protection from having to care or share? Death has closed the gate.  You can no more share in this table than Lazarus could share yours. Those things you welcomed in past days have determined your welcome in eternity. Your actions have fixed a great chasm between us, "

A great sadness descended on the Rich Man. He hung his head and choked back tears. He thought of his family. "Abraham... one thing... just send Lazarus to my Father’s house, I have five brothers, warn them, tell them of this dreadful place".

Again, a voice from the darkness; "You are not listening. Rich man... Lazarus is not going to be taking care of your errands anymore.” Abraham said, "Why send Lazarus? God's already sent them the message of Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them. They have a synagogue to learn in, teachers to help them, scriptures to reveal God's way, God has provided for them the Word they need to hear, they're hardly likely to listen to Lazarus".

The rich man pleaded. "Don't you see! If you send Lazarus, a man who was dead, but has come back to life, it will work. They'll turn their lives around; they'll start living right." Again, a voice from the darkness. " Lazarus is not going to be taking care of your errands anymore.” Sadly, Abraham replied, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead!"

Lessons from Lazarus

In Scripture the measure of how welcome eternity will be to us appears to be measured by the neighborliness we show to each other on earth. Those who in their pretensions enthrone themselves as Kings and see others as mere pawns to be used for their personal face a harsh awakening.

God has sent to us the words of Moses and the prophets. We furthermore have the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, a grace event that was only emerging as Jesus told this tale.

That grace was powerfully revealed to the disciples when they witnessed another man, this time not the Lazarus of this parable, but Lazarus, a brother of Mary and Martha, a great friend of Jesus, brought back to life from the tomb. (John 11)

The Sting in the Tale

Yet the sting in the tale is the very last verse. People hear the parable and think, "Now who do I identify with, the rich man or with Lazarus?"

But at the end of the parable, we are called to identify with the ones who had been sent the message of Scripture, the ones to whom the testimony of Christ died and Risen would be told:- the Father and five brothers of the Rich man.  (Verse 31) "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead".

The Resurrection of Jesus makes all the difference. The conclusion of the parable is to point us to personal repentance and to embrace the message of the Living Christ for ourselves.  It is more than just a story about humanitarian aid or a picture of judgment on the self-centered.  As we declare every Easter, "Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!"

These final words suggest that the hope of the world lies in me and you accepting the gospel message of the Good News of the risen Christ. Accepting it in a way in that causes us to embrace in love those who stand at the gates of our lives in need of help and prayer.

God has done everything God can do to persuade us to accept His love. God has given us the Word of Truth in the Scriptures.

He raised His Son, Jesus Christ from the dead.  God sends the Holy Spirit to be our Helper and Guide.

It is for us to respond; through loving actions towards our fellow human beings, through faithful stewardship and worship, through living our lives in a way that brings glory to the name of Jesus Christ.

There are indeed many lessons we can learn from Lazarus. 

To God be all glory!

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

"Tony Malonely“

 

Readings: Psalm 7:1-9, Jeremiah 8:18:9:1,  1 Timothy 2:1-7, Luke 16:1-13
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, September 18, 2022

Tony Malonely enjoyed the high life. Classy suits. Expensive wines. Fine cigars. As associate manager of a mid-size commercial trading outlet he was doing well. In fact, he had just got back from a trip to Vegas. And the best thing about it was that it hadn’t cost him a dime. With his talent for creative accounting and his abilty to be more than a little economic with the truth the company had covered the bill for the whole trip, and as everybody knows “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” But not always.

There he was. Sitting in his air-conditioned office, leaning back in the leather office chair with his feet up on the oak desktop when the telephone rang. It was the boss’s line. He leant over and pressed the button for speakerphone. A distorted voice that was indicative of anger barked out “My office. Now!”

Tony quickly made his way to the only office that was bigger and brassier than his own. One of the two enormous doors was already half open and Tina the secretary, who as usual had one hand raised drying her nail polish, waved him straight past her desk… without the usual inane smile on her face. “Shut the door Tony” boomed the boss “We need to talk.”

Tony made his way across the expanse of office to the desk and sat down. The boss threw some photographs across the desk to him. “Explain these” he said.  Tony looked in horror. There he was at a blackjack table. There he was coming out of a show that certainly wasn’t family entertainment. And that was him dissapearing into a limo with the redhead.

The boss snarled sarcastically and sneered… “So… how was the convention in Ohio, Mr Malonely?” “I… ermm.. that is..” For once Tony Malonely had ran out of baloney. “Tony” said the Boss, “Do you want to know something?” ‘Sure boss’ said Tony gulping hard. “You’re fired.  You got a couple of hours to clear out your desk… and Tony? Don’t ever ask any one even remotely associatted with this company for a reference!”

Tony realized it was useless to plead his case. He made his way back across the thick carpet, out of the door, past Tina (who was still drying her nails, smiling inanely, and didn’t even look up), back to his own office, back to his own desk, shut the door, leant back in his chair and his mind started to process. What should he do now? Stay calm. Think it through. What are the options?

He could try a different company or start over at something else. No… he was to old. And who’s going to take me on after this! He could get out there and beg for forgiveness and hope that mindless compassion might sprinkle good fortune down upon him. That wasn’t going to work. What he needed were some friends! And he only had two hours to find them.

“Now wait a minute”. He pulled up the main accounting window on the computer screen and began to analyze who owed the company the most money right now. In the current economic climate there were a number of creditors that were really having a hard time meeting their payments. And the boss wasn’t one to let such things go.

“There” he said. “The Olive Oil contract.” Payment was well overdue on a shipment of a hundred barrels of olive oil.  And he knew the company well enough to know they couldn’t pay. He calls them up. ‘Hey, Joe… it’s Tony… over at Traders… yeah that’s why I’m calling… you owe us for a hundred barrels… right. What if I said that if you can get it by the end of the week we’ll let you pay for fifty and we’ll call it quits! You like that! Hey anytime. Just trying to do the right thing. You have a good one too, my friend!”

He looked again at the screen. What about the wheat shipment? Gives them a call. “Mr Kellog… yeah that’s right Tony Malonely… yeah I know you are having trouble paying… that’s why I’m calling… look…you owe for a hundred… how about I charge you for eighty and we forget about the other twenty? Yeah? You like that. That’s me… Tony Malonely, anything to help an old friend.” And so the calls continued. One by one he called every debtor and gave them the sort of breaks that they only dreamed of!  

Meanwhile back in the Bosses office, in the last hour he had received a number of unexpected calls. The first, from Joe, manager of the the Olive Oil company had taken him by surprise. Joe had been gushing with thankfulness. “Thank you so much… for giving us this break. We’re never going to work through anybody else. Customer loyalty, man you just redefined it! That Tony Malonely… good guy you got there!”

Of course, the Boss couldn’t lose face by telling Joe at the Olive Oil company that he didn’t know what he was talking about. And so, the hour went on… call after call, promising loyalty and praising Tony!

After the twentieth call the Boss couldn’t help reflecting that, despicable, dishonest, total crook though he may be, Tony Malonely was one shrewd dude who didn’t know the meaning of the word loser! Always ready to find a new angle, always on the look out for a way to turn somebodies’ misfortune to his  personal advantage, you had to hand it to him, Tony Malonely was the man!

And I’m hoping you noticed that Tony Malonely was very similar to the man that Jesus told a story about in our reading from the Gospel of Luke today. After telling the story, Jesus added that if the Tony’s of this world were able to look after their self-interested lives by their own street-smart ways, then shouldn’t the people of God be able to harness their creative energies, not for doing wrong, but for doing good? I love the way that Eugene Petersens ‘The Message Bible’, transliterates verses 8 and 9 of Luke 16.

 "Now here's a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you'll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior."

There are some phrases in there that could really revolutionize the way we live our lives both as individuals and as churches. “Use every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival”. That’s deep! That’s what God did through the cross of Jesus Christ. There cannot be a more adverse set of conditions than a death by crucifixion. Yet it was followed by the miracle of resurrection.

In our lives we reach those dead ends where we feel like its ‘Game Over’. We just want to roll over and die. But Jesus in our story from Luke is saying that there’s people out there in the world who have a better attitude to survival than those of us who are seeking to follow Him! That we could benefit from some street-smart, surviving by our wits alone, rock bottom experiences.

Again, from ‘The Message’; “Concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you'll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior." I fear that as churches and good decent people we play that game of ‘trying just to get by on good behavior’ day after day, year after year, rather than truly exercising our hearts and minds in the risky business of faith without a safety net.

‘Concentrating our attention on the bare essentials’ means redefining what is necessary and what we could let go.  That doesn’t mean that we have to let everything non-essential go, just that we come to understand the difference between what is important and vital and life giving, and the rest of the stuff that we fill our lives with.

How do we do that? We begin with the small things. Everything begins with the little actions, the consistent practices, the everyday virtues. A crook begins his crooked ways one crooked act at a time. Likewise with faith. A faithful person is one who is consistently faithful!  It starts with the small things. Fred Craddok in his ‘Interpretation’ commentary on Luke writes,

“Most if us will not this week christen a ship, write a book, end a war, appoint a cabinet, dine with a queen, convert a nation or be burned at the stake. More likely this week will present no more than a chance to give a cup of water, write a note, visit a nursing home, vote for a county commissioner, teach a Sunday School class, share a meal, tell a child a story, go to choir practice, or feed the neighbors cat. Luke 16:10 ‘Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much’.”

We also need to be clear about who and what we are being faithful to. The closing line of our passage couldn’t put it much clearer. “No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Luke 16:13)

We are either building a Kingdom on this earth, (a Kingdom which will be ultimately be taken away from us) or we are building our lives with the Kingdom of God in mind.  ‘Wealth’ it has been said, “Is a great servant, but a terrible master”.  It is not about how much we have, but what we do with what have, that defines who we are serving!

There are many Tony Malonely’s in this world who are quite clear on whom they are serving. They are out for number one and will do everything they can to keep it that way. But there are lessons we can learn, even from them. If they can give their all for aims that ultimately will leave them lonely, how much more should we be committed to values that can change our world for the better. And it is the little things that make the big difference in the long run.

Let us pray that we can go into this next week committed to doing what we can with what we have in order to bring glory to God. When the problems come, as they may, let us not wallow in them but be as street smart as Tony Malonley and use the ‘situation of adversity to stimulate us towards creative survival’.

Above all let us seek to be servants of God, faithful stewards of the Kingdom who seek to solve the problems of our world by not becoming one of them. May we be people of God with the ability to harness their creative energies to doing the right thing! And to God’s name the glory. Amen.

The Reverend  Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

"The Potter”

Readings: Psalms 139:1-18, Philemon 1-21, Jeremiah 18:1-6, Luke 14:25-33
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, on September 4th, 2022

Ever thrown a pot? I don’t mean thrown a pot at somebody, but had a chance at working on a potters wheel?  You watch a professional doing it and it looks like the easiest thing in the world. But, if you are as creatively challenged in the pottery field as I am, and you get to take your turn, then you pretty soon realize that it is not that easy.

Clay just does not behave itself. You squeeze it one way, and it all squirts out the other way. Bits fly off and won’t go back on again. You get covered in the stuff and end up with a, “Well I’m not quite sure what it is, but, man, I’m proud of it. Fire up that kiln Mr. Potter and let’s bake this creation to be preserved for eternity”.

You can imagine archeologists 2000 years from now, digging up your weird object and having long debates.
 “Well I think it’s a holder for flexible pencils”
“No, No, No, it’s part of a musical instrument and you blow it like this”
“You guys, it’s not a musical instrument, it’s a medical tool for removing ear-wax.
Oops. I think it’s stuck. Can anybody give me a hand?”

The job of the Potter is not such an easy one. Unless, that is you have the skill for it. Maybe it’s something you are born with. Yet even if you are born with it, you still have to work at it. That’s a lesson another potter had to learn. I’m sure if you asked some kids to think of a potter, they would probably come up with the name of Harry Potter.

Maybe some of you are familiar with the Harry Potter series. The very first volume “The Sorcerers Stone” gives the account of Harry’s earliest days.  Harry is the son of two good magic workers, who are killed when he is a baby by a wicked wizard and Harry is ‘adopted’, rather unwillingly, by the Dursley family, who treat him terribly.

The Dursley family has a spoiled brat of a son called Dudley Dursley, who gets all he wants and more. He has two or three of everything, including bedrooms, whilst poor Harry sleeps in a spider infested cupboard under the stairs at No 4, Privet Drive. Even though Harry “Not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous” is kept firmly in his place, he keeps turning the tables on his adopted parents and becomes vaguely aware of powers in himself that he can’t explain.

Later, things change, and Harry has to go away to a special school 'Hogwarts' where he learns how to use and be in control of the gifts and talents that he has inherited from those who went before him.

There is something special about Harry - but there is nothing particularly special about a lump of clay. There is nothing particularly beautiful about a lump of earth out of the ground. Yet in the hands of a skilled craftsman that lump of unsightly, no good, mess can be made into something wonderful, something priceless, some thing totally unique.

At the time of our Old Testament bible reading the people of Israel were in a bad situation. Their lives were being formed by a whole lot of things other than God. They were trusting in things that couldn’t satisfy, believing in idols made by their own hands to get them through their lives.

 God, who had chosen these people to be to be the nation who would show the world what astonishing things could happen when people opened up their lives to God’s influence, was not pleased to see what a mess they had become.

Through the prophet Jeremiah God chooses to speak to the people. Jeremiah is sent to watch a potter at work. But the Potter is having a bad day. The clay won’t act as it should. It’s almost as though the clay is fighting back against him. He pushes it this way and it won’t go that way. He makes it into one shape and it chooses to take another shape.

To use Harry Potter’s imagery, this is Dudley Dursley clay. Out of shape. Spoilt. In spite of everything that is being done for it, this clay is not going to shape up. This clay is exasperating the potter’s skill. What the potter has to do is start over again. Maybe pound it a little bit, shake it up, and put a bit more water on it to make it more malleable.

This time Mr. Potter gets it right! As the scripture says, “He remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make” (verse 4).  You can almost picture the Potter holding it up and saying, “Allright. Now that’s more like it.  Beautiful”.

Then comes a wonderful promise that Jeremiah takes to the people of God. For sure there is a message of judgment on them for being a stiff necked and rebellious people, but there is also a great dawn on the horizon.

“"Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD." Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand”.” (verse 6)

This is a tremendous picture and a hope filled promise that Jeremiah is laying before us.
Everyone of us is born into life, a little like Harry Potter, full of the special things, some inherited, some unique, that make us who we are. We are all astonishing creations and demonstrations of God’s creative work.

It’s fantastic when new mums bring their little ones to church. You look at those babies and you can’t help but go “Coo” and “Aah”. Of course at three in the morning when they want feeding and changing is another story – but there is just something so wonderful about a new creation. All the potential. All the trust. The helplessness and innocence.

Doesn’t last for long though does it? Doesn’t take long before the hands of different potters start to shape our lives and our minds. It can be a hard knock life that deals us a rotten set of cards and we can spend a lot of time in our own equivalent of a spider-infested cupboard under the stairs.

It doesn’t take long until something of the spirit of Dudley Dursley starts getting to us. We become self centered and arrogant and “I want it now” and “Give me more” types of people.  Particularly in regard to God.

“Lord, I know what you say about following You, but You just don’t understand what I’m going through right now!” Really? The God by whose power we were knitted together in our mother’s womb, doesn’t know what a hard time we are having? Jesus who died upon the cross in heart wrenching agony, doesn’t understand what a tough time is?

In every church I have served there are always those who are down on their church. “It’s not like the old days. What are we going to do? How are we going to get through?’ 

And the question that forms in my mind is always the same, “Where is our faith? Who are we trusting? What Scriptures are we believing in?” See, if we are trusting in what we ourselves can do, if we think that if we just try a little harder and do just a little more, then I agree with you, we haven’t got a hope.  That is not going to cut it.

Jesus has laid down the terms for being faithful so plainly that it’s almost frightening. “If anybody wants to be my disciple, then let them take up a cross and follow me”. The Dudley Dursley in us responds (sarcastically), “Yeh. Right. I’m going to do that!”

“What come to Sunday School? I’ll have to get up earlier! I’ll learn enough about God in my own way.” Oh yes?

“What, increase my offering! Don’t you realize how much I give already? I have more important things to waste my money on.” Oh yes?

“What, spend more time in prayer and getting to know God’s word and worshiping and serving, what do you think I am some kind of religious maniac. I have a life to live in the real world, you know. It’s a question of priorities’ Oh yes! How true.

I keep getting that picture of the clay in the potter’s hands that is kicking back saying, “No, I won’t go your way I do it my way or we don’t do it at all”. And it all keeps drowning out the promise, the promise that Jeremiah wants to offer, but the clay is so busy trying not be molded, that it can’t hear.

“Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD." Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand”

“Can I not, O people of God in Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord, “Can I not still take broken lives and wounded hearts and compromised promises and make something beautiful out of them? Behold, like the clay in the Potter’s hand, so are you in My hand”.

Of course, if we are allowing our lives to be formed by a whole lot of things other than God, if we are trusting in the things money can buy to satisfy, if we have fallen into that idolatrous trap of believing that we can get by without so much commitment, (without going to extremes like taking up crosses) then for sure we will reap the fruits of what we are sowing. And it will be rotten fruit!

It doesn’t have to be that way. God is good. God’s love is a rock, a solid foundation. Christ wants our commitment, not so He can add our name to a list of those who are on the Lord’s side, but so we can enjoy the intimacy of a heart relationship with God through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Will we stand on the promises of God this day? Do we not have the light of God’s Word to uphold us and carry us through?  Then let it shine, let it shine, let it shine! Be a Harry Potter – claim your inheritance as children of an awesome God, children whom God has gifted with as many different graces as we are different people.

And grow in that Grace! Make use of the opportunities you have for study and worship. Get to Sunday School. Be regular in worship. Give as though God actually counts for something astonishing in your life. Fan that flickering spark until your heart is aflame for Christ.

Today we gather around a table that clearly illustrates both God’s commitment to us and the commitment God asks of us. “If anybody wants to be my disciple, then let them take up a cross and follow me.” God hasn’t promised us an easy way. But God has promised that God’s Spirit can work on the hard, misshapen clay of our lives and create something beautiful.

May such be an experience that we all get to see happening in our lives.

AMEN!

The Reverend Adrian J Pratt B.D.