True Riches; Lazarus is at Our Door!
5th Sun of Luke Oct. 24, 2021, True Riches, Luke 16: 19-31; 2 Cor. 9:6-11
What a study in the contrast between heavenly and earthly success, we are given today! That which the world teaches us is of supreme importance was achieved by this nameless rich man. He wore the finest clothes and lived and ate “sumptuously” every day. Great word, really describes the lifestyle of the rich and famous. Is that our goal? To live the “sumptuous” dream? I’m sure the rich man had a great funeral, and everyone knew of his passing. “Great guy old whatz his name.” We aren’t even told his name, but simply “He died and was buried.” No “memory eternal” being sung here.
In contrast we are introduced to Lazarus who had to be “laid” at the gate of the rich man, as he was paralyzed and covered in sores. He received more comfort from the affection given from the local dogs than from the rich man. He would have been grateful for the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yet, we know his name, Lazarus means “God is my help.” His memory is eternal, remembered by God and all Christians for 2000 years now! When Lazarus died, he was met by the angels who joyously escorted him to heaven, to Abraham’s bosom.
In today’s gospel we hear this rich man begging Fr. Abraham across an uncrossable divide between Paradise and Hades, to just send the blessed Lazarus to him with a drop of moisture. We learn that our lives continue far beyond the boundary of our physical death. That the true purpose of our short lives here on planet earth is for us to prepare for our place in the everlasting kingdom of God.
When Lazarus was laid at the gate of the rich man, it was meant to be of benefit to the suffering Lazarus, but of even more value to the poor rich man, who was desperately poor in the eternal riches of the kingdom of God. The rich man doubtlessly walked by Lazarus several times daily as he came and went through his gate. Probably the first few times he considered doing something, but soon he hardly even noticed him as he stepped around him. Failure to act on our good intentions causes our hearts to crust over and become more insensitive. The time to act is always NOW, upon realizing what God would have us do. St. Isaac the Syrian says, “The great sin is our lack of sensitivity to sin.”
We resemble the rich man in this parable far more than we resemble Lazarus. The poor and the suffering are a great gift to us who have the means to help them. We can trade in a few quite worthless dollars that we often squander frivolously, and receive in return everlasting heavenly riches that are completely safe from thieves and inflation. St. John Chrysostom in explaining the immense value of almsgiving says “For there is nothing more profitable than this trade and traffic. It is preformed on earth, but is completed in heaven….But it is not the amount of money given that can purchase heavenly things, but the disposition of the giver, as is shown by the gain of the widow who with her two mites gave more than all the rest.” Christ Himself says earlier in this chapter (Luke 16:9) “…make friends for yourself with unrighteous money, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much.”
For those of us who have wealth, it is not really ours; it is not given but rather lent to us from God. We can take none of it with us when we die – except for what we have given away to those God-given opportunities we are presented with. while alive. Our wealth is not for our own use, to live “sumptuous” lives. Its main purpose is so that we can be good stewards of that which the Father has entrusted us, for the benefit of them and ourselves. We are to convert “unrighteous money” into true riches for our salvation. Wealth is a great test of what is most important to us. We see in today’s parable, the result of not understanding this, and of not acting upon this understanding. The rich man remains horribly impoverished in true heavenly tender, because of his choosing to not meet the physical poverty needs of Lazarus his “houseguest” when he could have so easily done so. If only the rich man had understood and acted upon this God-given opportunity, Lazarus would have been at the front of the line welcoming him into Abraham’s bosom and extolling his great generosity and hearing from God, “Well done my faithful servant.” What a wasted opportunity! Let us learn from this.
God is always bringing us these wonderful opportunities, laying Lazarus’ at the gate of our lives for us to benefit from. But of course, the choice is always ours, as to whether we close our eyes and step around the blessing, or recognize it and act, and benefit eternally from it.God never interferes with our choices. He has given each of us the great gift of free will as our birthright as His beloved human creatures. God has foreknowledge of what we will do, but He does not interfere or pre-ordain our actions in any way. All of eternity which contains past, present, and future is open before God. St. Porphyries of whom I am especially fond said; “He respects our freedom. He does not abolish it. He loves us; he does not make us slaves; He gives us worth. God does not intervene in our freedom; He respects it fully. We are responsible, because we do what we want. God does not compel us…Consequently it is not God who pre-ordains and decides, but mans’ free will.” It is our actions that transform us into God’s children and bring us into the kingdom. Our knowledge and good intentions are of no use unless they cause us to act. It is our actions, in synergy with the ever-present grace of God, that allow us to grow into the “likeness of God,” and adoption in Jesus Christ.
Christ gives us a very practical and simple test to measure if our faith is real or theoretical. What did we do or not do for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the poor, the sick and the prisoners? In as much as we did or did not help the least of these, we did or did not minister to Christ Himself. Let us take heed. The Christian life is a life that calls us to action. Yes, God loves us beyond anything we can comprehend. That is why He provides countless opportunities for us to grow into the likeness of Christ. But we must choose to do these things, uniting our will with His. Our only opportunity to get this right, to establish ourselves solidly with Christ and His Church, with the angels and saints, is right now, during the very short time we are alive here on planet earth. Upon our death, will our souls be found to have more in common with the self-willed, prideful and selfish ways of the demons, or the God focused nature of the angels? Almost every decision we make will put us on one of these two paths. It is critically important that we get to know well the path to God, while we are here and can still repent. As we are taught by the Fathers that after our death our soul’s inclination will not change.
We all have a guardian angel, and they are protecting us and fervently interceding for us, that we might choose to do the things that bring us closer to God and His kingdom. All the angels will be gathered with Christ at the judgement seat. They will be defending us against the accusations of our enemy Satan, the “accuser of the brethren.” Let us act upon the God-given opportunities that we are granted, that we might give our devoted and loving guardian angels something to work with. There is a very instructive story regarding our guardian angels care for us in the life of St. Arethus of the Kiev Caves whom we are commemorating today (https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2021/10/24/103045-venerable-arethus-the-recluse-of-the-kiev-near-caves ).
What joy awaits us at our death – our entrance into true life – if we have used our time here on this short visit to planet earth to seek the kingdom of God. What horror and regret, wailing and gnashing of teeth will be ours if we frivolously pursue only a better earthly life – selfishly striving to live “sumptuously.” Let us learn from this sobering gospel lesson to act quickly to seize the opportunities God puts at our doorstep. To ask God to open our eyes to see the Lazarus’s at our gates whom God sends us for our salvation. Glory to Jesus Christ!