April 24, 2000

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May 7 Lesson

Put the things of life in their proper places ___Luke 16:13, 19-31 ___13 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." ... ___19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. ___22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' ___25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' ___27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' ___29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.' ___30 "'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' ___31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

___By Bill Blackburn
___To get into this lesson from Scripture about priorities, let's consider this bit of logic: The root of obedience is joy. God commands us to care for the poor. Therefore, caring for the poor brings great joy.
___Or here's another one: Being kind to the poor is to lend to the Lord (Proverbs 19:17). Jesus calls us to "lay up treasures in heaven" (Luke 18:22). Therefore, being kind to the poor puts treasure in heaven.
___Here's one more: Jesus calls us to care for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the ill-clothed, the sick and the prisoner. He says when we do so, we minister to him (Matthew 25:34-40). Therefore, when we do not, he will say to us, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41).
___Both the Old Testament and New Testament are filled with commandments about caring for the poor and all of those Gandhi called "the last, the least and the lost." How obedient are we to those commands?
___The story Jesus tells about the rich man and Lazarus is one of several stories he tells to make a point that many of the Pharisees are blinded to the needs all around them because of their love of wealth (Luke 16:15).
___Jesus' account of a poor man named Lazarus (meaning "God helps") and his rich neighbor is teaching by pointed contrast. One is rich. The other is poor. One lives in luxury. The other is in misery. One goes to Hades. The other rests in the bosom of Abraham in paradise. One suffers in eternity in ways he never did in this life. The other knows comfort and peace he never knew on this earth.

___"There was a rich man ..."
___Jesus draws the picture clearly and quickly. This rich man was finely dressed down to his linen underwear and "lived in luxury every day."
___But there was a man lying at the entrance to this rich man's house.
___This man, Lazarus, was in a pitiful condition. He was sick. He was hungry. His body was sore-covered. It seems that at times his only companions were the dogs, who came and licked his sores. Surely in his condition, he was shunned by many and ignored by most.
___How many times did the rich man step over Lazarus hurrying to his food-laden table? How many times did he pass by on the other side ignoring the plight of this beggar? How many times did he pause to consider Lazarus was a person created in the image of God?
___In 1945, at the end of World War II, Bob Pierce saw, really saw, one scared, hungry child he had almost ignored. He began to pray, "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God." That prayer led to the founding and development of what is today the world's largest Christian relief organization, World Vision.
___What if every day you and I prayed, "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God"? What breaks the heart of God in your neighborhood, church, city and county?
___As I have prayed that prayer for Kerr County, two words keep coming to me--destruction and despair. Satan tears up lives, families, minds and bodies, and in the process, hope is dashed. For Christians to take back territory Satan has claimed involves conflict and spiritual warfare. And most us who grew up with the idea that the essence of being a Christian was to be "nice" are not very equipped for spiritual warfare.

___"The time came when the beggar died ..."
___And so did the rich man. The angels carried the poor man to Abraham's side. The rich man died and went to Hades. The poor man was now in luxury, while the rich man was in torment.
___Often "Hades" simply refers to the place of the dead akin to the Old Testament term "Sheol."
___But here it obviously means a place of torment, as Jesus tells the story of these bound together in life across the chasm of inequality and together in death across the chasm of separate eternal destinies.
___The rich man chose to live a life that was sumptuous but inherently sinful. In his importance, he ignored some of the important things of life. As it is said, "A man wrapped up in himself makes a small package."

___"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember ...'"
___The rich man appealed to Father Abraham to get formerly poor Lazarus to come put a drop of water on his tongue for relief in the midst of the fire.
___Abraham, who replies straightforwardly but gently ("Son"), reminds the rich man of the luxury he lived in and the poverty of Lazarus on Earth. In other words, "Son, this is one camel that just didn't make it through the eye of the needle."

___"Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus ..."
___The rich man, as Jesus tells the story, now realizes the fix he is in is fixed. But he remembers his five brothers. Almost as if Lazarus still is an underling, the rich mans asks, if Lazarus can't come cool the rich man's tongue with a drop of water, can't Lazarus go from the dead and convince his brothers of the errors of their ways? Can't he tell them that values chosen have consequences?
___Abraham, however, says no again.

___"They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them."
___The rich man tells Abraham that's not good enough. But, he says, they would listen to someone like Lazarus who is back on the streets from the dead.
___Abraham says that if they don't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen to someone risen from the dead. As New Testament scholar Frank Stagg says in
"Studies in Luke's Gospel," "The rich man and his five brothers needed better ears, not a clearer warning."
___After all, did everyone believe in Jesus after he raised the other Lazarus from the dead? And did everyone believe in Jesus after his resurrection?
___The torment of the rich man is deeper now. His wealth-blindness while on earth is now obvious. He had not chosen "the better part." Relief is not coming, but it looks like his brothers were.

___What's the point? Why did Jesus tell this story?
___Jesus was dealing with the blindness, arrogance, pride and self-righteousness of many (not all) of the Pharisees. According to Luke 16:14-15, the Pharisees' love of money, their self-justification and their sense of superiority seen in part in their sneering at Jesus caused them to value what was detestable in God's sight. And God knew their hearts.
___But how does it apply to us?
___Almost 20 years ago, pastor and Bible teacher Don Harbuck wrote in a Sunday School lesson on this passage, "The roots of behavior grow in the soil of devotion to some master." Jesus told us we cannot serve two masters. "You cannot serve God and money" (Luke 16:13).
___Are we blinded by possessions and prejudices to the needs around us? Who is Lazarus, the poor man, in our life?
___The haunting thing is that we could be stepping over, ignoring Jesus. Remember Matthew 25. "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me" (Matthew 25:45).
___About 20 blocks from the White House, the doors of the Sojourners Neighborhood Center open early for the Friday food line. About 300 families regularly visit.
___One morning, Mary Glover, one of the workers, is asked to lead in prayer as all of those who will be serving this day join hands and bow their heads. Here's this 70-year-old servant of Jesus praying: "Thank you, Lord, for waking me up this morning. Thank you that the walls of my room were not the walls of my grave, and my bed was not my coolin' board. Lord, we know that you'll be coming through this line today, so help us treat you well."
___Bill Blackburn is president of Partners in Ministry in Kerrville and former pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Kerrville.

For thought and discussion
___ Given your spiritual gifts and your work history, what special abilities and passions could you use to aid the poor either directly or indirectly?
___ Do prejudices hold you back from helping the poor, such as, "They're all poor because they're lazy" or "In this economy, there's no excuse for being poor"?
___ If Lazarus had been sent back to Earth, what would the rich man have wanted Lazarus to tell his brothers?
___ Why do Texas Baptists come primarily from the middle and upper classes? What does this fact say about our view of the gospel?
___ What ministries does your church have with the poor?
___ If you feel your church cannot reach the poor in your area, could it begin a church that would?
___ What would that new church be like? How could your church help it get started? What tasks might your Sunday School class do to support the effort?
___ When you look at your checkbook and your calendar for the last three months, how much money and time did you spend to help the poor? What are some ways you and your family can reallocate your time and resources to serve the poor?

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