September 28, 2025: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard.  Amen.

Lordy – what a gospel for our time.  It practically preaches itself – but don’t get too excited… you are not that lucky.

Now, you may have thought when the gospel first opened that you were getting a repeat of last week, because Jesus starts this parable the same way “There was a rich man…”  But, as we will see, this is a completely different message Jesus is giving us here, so let’s take a look. 

The rich man in this parable is never named, but the poor man is called Lazarus (not to be confused with Mary and Martha’s brother whom Jesus brought back from the dead).  Anyway, the rich man…okay – you know I need to give this guy a name (because, if we don’t, I am likely to break out in song with “If I were a rich man, Ya ba dibba dibba…).  So, assuming no one wants to hear that, let’s call him Edmund, or Eddie, from the Old English word for protector of wealth!  Anyway, Eddie had fine clothes and lots of food, but Lazarus, whom Jesus points out was right outside his door (or gate), lay hungry, thirsty, and in pain from sores that were left untreated, except by the dogs who licked them.  All Lazarus wanted in the world were just the scraps that might fall from Eddie’s table, but they never did. 

Before we continue, my dog Lexi would like to point out the following: “Exegetically speaking,” my dog says, “the dogs in this parable are offering comfort and healing, as dogs

Prof. Lexi Wilcox, the three-legged Wonder Dog

do.  They are not trying bother the sores of the poor human, Lazarus.  As we dogs know, our saliva has good stuff in it for healing wounds.  Human saliva does too, but humans don’t have as good a tongue as us dogs. So, the dog was demonstrating for the humans how to be – which, is not surprising.  After all, our name spelled backwards is God.” 

Thank you Prof. Lexi.  Now, back to the humans and this gospel.

Lazarus died, and…because wealth does not buy you immortality, so too does Eddie.  They end up in very different places in the eternal afterlife – one in heaven, the other in hell.  The long and short of the rest of it is that Eddie finally sees he has erred, and begs Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers so that they might change their ways and avoid his fate.  Abraham refuses saying `If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” 

Leaving the drop mic moment that this must have been for the disciples when they encounter the risen Jesus, and remember this parable he told, let’s go back to what Jesus is saying here. 

First, let’s be clear about one thing: Jesus is not condemning those who have money. 

That said, let’s go back then to look at what happens a little more closely.  Eddie wants to warn his brothers that they may avoid his peril.  And THAT is the crux of the parable. 

Eddie wants to warn his brothers, but here’s the thing that he missed in his life on earth…

Lazarus is his brother too!  And no, this isn’t a Darth Vader “I am your father, Luke” moment.  Lazarus is not Eddie’s biological brother.

No, what Eddie missed in life is his connection to Lazarus, and he doesn’t even see it when it is laid out for him visually.  I mean,  he calls Abraham father, but who is Abraham at that moment caring for like his own child?  Lazarus!  So, if Lazarus is Abraham’s child, and Abraham is father to Eddie, then…Lazarus is Eddie’s brother.  If A+1=B and A+1=C, then…B=C.  And you thought algebra was a waste of time. 

Anyway, Eddie never thought about Lazarus as his brother, and certainly never treated him like one.  Instead, Eddie over consumed on his wealth, while his brother Lazarus lay outside Eddie’s gate dying for lack of food and proper care. 

Now, whenever I preach on this text, I always like to include a bit of another sermon on it given by a far more gifted preacher – the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..  One, because so many people who rightly admire Dr. King for his civil rights work, while denouncing religion, forget that he was first and foremost, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  His faith was the foundation for his work.  And, in this particular sermon, King cuts right to the core of the message of Jesus in a way no one else can.

In King’s sermon, we first need to know two words that will sound different than what we heard in the text today.  The was a time that the rich man was known as Dives, because the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible used the word “dives,” meaning “rich,” to refer to him. This tradition began in the Middle Ages, when readers of the Latin text began to use Dives as the rich man’s name, even though the text itself does not name him. And in the King James Version prominently used in Dr. King’s time, the chasm was called a gulf.

So, let’s get to that excerpt of King’s sermon, which some of you may remember from the last time I preached on this text. 

It was given at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church on October 2, 1955, and he said “…There is a gulf that originates in the accident of circumstance. Circumstances make it possible for some people to get an education, while other people are denied the opportunity. Circumstances make some people rich, social prestige, while others are left gnawing on the crumbs of obscurity…So in the parable Lazarus was poor, not because he wanted to be, but because tragic circumstances had made him so. On the other hand, Dives was rich because fortunate circumstances had made him so. There is a circumstantial gulf between Lazarus and Dives.

Now Dives’ sin was not that he made this gulf between him and Lazarus; this gulf had come into being through the accidents of circumstance. The sin of Dives was that he felt that the gulf which existed between him and Lazarus was a proper condition of life. Dives felt that this was the way things were to be. He took the “isness” of circumstantial accidents and transformed them into the “oughtness” of a universal structure.  He adjusted himself to the patent inequalities of circumstance.[…]

Dives sin was not that he was cruel to Lazarus, but that he refused to bridge the gap of misfortune that existed between them. Dives sin was not his wealth; his wealth was his opportunity. His sin was his refusal to use his wealth to bridge the gulf between the extremes of superfluous, inordinate wealth and abject, deadening poverty.”

“He adjusted himself to the patent inequalities of circumstance… Dives sin was not his wealth; his wealth was his opportunity.”

Eddie took the blessings he had received in life as what ought to be, rather than what is, and he never leveraged the blessings he accumulated in his wealth to bridge the divide between him and his brother Lazarus. 

Today, we see so much of this going on, do we not?  I mean, I have to wonder if any of those powerful folks today, who own 99% of the world’s wealth, have ever heard this parable.  And it sure is a timely one for what is happening in our country now. To be clear, the chasms in our day are about more than wealth – it is about power, and like wealth, power could be used to close the chasm of circumstance, but that is not what we see power doing now, is it? Instead, power is being used in this country to oppress, to instill fear, to destroy.

Our President and the Congress recently passed a bill that they called “big and beautiful.”  Yet it lines the pockets of those with the most wealth, and to pay for it, the bill strips healthcare from millions of the poorest people in our country.  There is nothing beautiful about it.

Today the media we consume, and thereby a primary (and perhaps only source of news) is controlled by a handful of white  wealthy men, and is often used to prop up this system of economic inequality, rather than to expose the abject poverty of our sisters and brothers.

Those in power are trying to also use their faith – their Christian faith of all things – not to love and serve the least of these, but to oppress – aligning not with Jesus, but with white supremacists in the quest to instill Christian Nationalism – a heretical movement that propagates a false gospel.

The President is also using his position, not to reduce the widening gap between rich and poor, but to buildup more wealth with his own cryptocurrency launched to provide an avenue for gifts by anonymous international sources, along with other marketing gimmicks. 

And instead of tending to the sick that lay outside the proverbial gates of nation and the world, he pulled funding for USAID that provided lifesaving aid to the most desperate populations around the world, eliminated research funding for cancer and other diseases, and propagated conspiracy theories about vaccines and Tylenol. That last one is yet another attempt to blame women for their child’s autism (a part of the sad sexist history of our country), and to stigmatize those on the spectrum.

And rather than seeking to unite us across our differences, and use the wealth of our nation to do this, he and the Congress added billions to the efforts of ICE to detain and deport immigrants, is sending troops into cities (but only those led by the other party), and is trying to lock up his enemies through selective and malicious prosecution, all while stripping away funding for programs that aid the least of these. 

Did he even read the gospel he hawks for profit?

Now to be clear, this President does this hoping we will fear him, hoping that we will become numb to his crimes against our sisters and brothers, hoping we will choose the path of Eddie, as we step over the Lazarus in our midst.

Well, let me perfectly clear, Mr. President –

WE WILL NOT!

We, the followers of Jesus, hear the cries of Lazarus now – in our lifetime – and we will not turn our backs or close our hearts.  We will go to him and care for his wounds – the festering sores of bigotry and hate, poverty and oppression.

We, the followers of Jesus, will not stand by while our brown and black sisters and brothers are unlawfully arrested, detained, and deported without due process of law, and treated with disrespect.  We will fight for their rights, be a voice for them in the streets, and be the light that exposes the darkness of our nation’s heart.

We, the followers of Jesus will not align with any attempt to further demean women and girls – denying them equal opportunity, and attempting to instill a sense of inferiority within them.  We will proclaim to all that God created us in Her image – male and female – and we all reflect that image just as we are.

And perhaps most especially during times of authoritarian power grabs, we, the followers of Jesus, will never fear bullies.  They are but weak cowards seeking to hurt others as they must have been hurt themselves.  We will pray for the healing of their heart, as we stand steadfastly in their way.  For we know that bullies always back down when confronted.

We will do all this, because as followers of Jesus, we are the repairers of the breach, the ones called to bridge the chasm between God’s children – not in the afterlife, but here – now.

That is our life – that is our call!

You know, there is a meme that was floating around Facebook this week that speaks to this pivotal time in our nation and in our lives in Christ.  It read: “There’s something deep happening beneath the surface of the world right now.  You can sense it in your soul. This isn’t just about countries or politics.  It’s energy.  Light and darkness are battling.  And, if you’re reading this, you’re likely one of the souls who came to help.  Keep shining. Keep praying.  The world needs light more than ever.”

There is indeed a battle of darkness and light happening right now – in this country – and we have a choice to make.  It is the same choice people in Germany made decades ago.  We can choose to be silent, to fear, to turn our backs and hope it will all go away, or that “someone else” will come to rescue us.  Or, we can realize that we are children of God, and if children of God, children of Light, and Christ’s light shines in every single one of us. 

There is nothing that can defeat the light of Christ – not the Romans and their cross, and certainly not the likes of an octogenarian dictator wannabe bully or his minions. 

God’s love is more powerful than his hate.

Christ’s light is far brighter than the darkness he tries to instill.

And the strength of the Holy Spirit in us will overcome the fear he hopes will topple us.

So yes – keep shining, keep praying.

Because the world does need light more than ever.

And you are the light of the world.

Amen.

For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible):

Sermon Podcast

The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox            

Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge

September 28, 2025

Pentecost 16 – Year C – Proper 21 – Track 1

1st Reading – Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

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