First Sunday after Trinity

1 John 4:16–21

St. Luke 16:19–31

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Hell is getting your way forever. You want to resist God? You want to keep your sins to yourself instead of letting them stay with Jesus on the cross? Then God will let you do that. He loves you, so He will not force you. You can go where you want, get what you want… and you can go to hell. Don’t believe me? Just ask the rich man. Abraham explains what you need for salvation: you need Moses and the Prophets—you need the Bible. You need the Word of God that gives you Jesus, forgives your sins, and resurrects you. “No, father Abraham,” says the rich man. “You’re wrong, with all due respect. I know what’s needed. I know what’s right. I’ll have it my way.” And that’s why the rich man is in hell.

He cared nothing for others, as evidenced by how he failed to notice the poor beggar laid on his doorstep. And he cared nothing for God, as he evidently refused to listen to the Scriptures either during his life and after it. And if anyone else is thinking, “Well, at least I listen to the Bible and believe it,” make sure you also listen to this particular Scripture from 1 John: If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. So, the rich man didn’t love God and he didn’t love his brother. He was alone. He only cared about himself. And so, in the end, that’s all he got: himself. Hell is being alone. Hell is caring about yourself, all by yourself.

In this life the rich man wanted material goods to comfort his body: nice clothes and sumptuous food; a nice job that brings in enough money for the games and toys on the side; health, security, and a nice retirement. And while he was getting all of that he ignored his bad conscience. He let his soul languish and be tormented by sin and doubt and fear. And whenever he got a little worried—whenever he woke up in the middle of the night wondering if God might actually punish him—he shoved it all back down and moved on to more happy times and fun stuff. See, he got everything he wanted for his body, while killing his soul. But in death there is no comfort for the body. So, in death, he got the only other thing he ever wanted, he ever worked for: torment for his soul.

This is really why damnation is so terribly sad—they choose it. God loves people. He does not force them into heaven. But they do not love Him. They reject Him and force Him away. And nobody gets to push God around with no consequences. So, God does not force people into hell either. They don’t want God’s forgiveness and mercy. They don’t want His love. They want their sin. They want to do things their way. And they get it. They get what comes from pushing God away. Hell is having your way forever… and finding out your way is torture.

But if hell is getting your way and ending up alone, then heaven is God’s way and ending up at a party with God and all His saints. Just ask the poor beggar Lazarus, now at Abraham’s bosom, by his side. Lazarus is leaning against Father Abraham, resting his head against his shoulder or upper chest, because that’s how you did it at a good party, late at night with close friends. At the time of Jesus, you didn’t sit on chairs at a high table. You reclined on cushions around a low table. And sometimes you leaned on the close friend next to you. Remember John, the beloved disciple, leaning his head on Jesus at the last supper.

So, heaven is reclining at table, not eating alone, but enjoying a feast with good friends. The Holy Trinity is the original community: Father, Son, and Spirit with each other, talking with one another, sharing with each other, loving one another. God is love—that can only be said of the Trinity, where there is an eternity of love between the three Persons. So, heaven is also a place of love. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. Hell is solitary confinement, where you’re trapped inside yourself forever. But Heaven is everlasting community: God and His saints with each other, talking with one another, sharing with each other, loving one another.

So, Lazarus gets what God wanted for him. And that did mean suffering for Lazarus in this life. There’s no promise from God for everything being perfect and easy. God doesn’t really care that much about your happiness. He cares about your blessedness, your holiness. He cares that you end up with Him, because He loves you. Just look at Father Abraham and the other patriarchs of Israel. They all had suffering in this life. They all lived in the promised land without every owning it, and in that promised land they all suffered from famine. By faith Abraham went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God (Hebrews 11:9–10). They made do with less. They trusted God and suffered for it, because they knew a better home and life was in store for them.

So, yes, Lazarus missed out on some of the good things in life. He didn’t get the nice clothes, the sumptuous food, and instead of health insurance he had stray dogs. He didn’t get any of the comforts for his body, but he got something even better. Lazarus got a good conscience by faith in His Savior—He got comfort for his soul. He listened to God’s faithful Word—He listened to Moses and the Prophets. And in death, the pains of his body didn’t matter anymore. But instead, he got to experience the comfort and peace that he always had in his soul.

Dear Christians, you have everything this poor beggar had and more. You have many good things in this life, but more importantly, you have exactly what Lazarus had. You have Moses and the Prophets, and the Apostles, and the Gospels. You have the whole Bible full of God’s loving promises for you. And you even have the powerful Word of the Man who really did rise from the dead. You have the crucified and risen Jesus in your midst, speaking to you and confirming all His promises to you. You have Him, right here in this Holy Supper that He gives you. So as a proof of the forgiveness and life He has promised you, He gives you His body to eat and His blood to drink. There can be no doubt about it with a Supper like that, He loves you and wants you with Him. He gives you here a blessed foretaste of the comfort and peace to come in that eternal heavenly feast of love.

Hell is getting your way forever. And really, how awful is that? Anyone who’s seen a kid throw a tantrum knows that’s it’s no good for him to get his way. Getting my way? I’m the worst! Who needs that? Heaven is getting God’s way forever—getting mercy and love, comfort and peace—getting the Father, Son, and Spirit, and a great big party with all God’s saints that has no end.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

First Sunday after Trinity

St. Luke 16:19–31

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

If you heard Jesus’ story about the rich man and Lazarus for the first time, it would probably surprise you when you hear that the rich man ends up in hell. Maybe it was still a surprise for you today. The poor man Lazarus dies and is brought to Abraham’s bosom, meaning Lazarus is a true child of Abraham and so a child of God. The rich man also died and was buried… and in hell, he was tormented. It sounds as if the rich man was surprised too. He tries to claim familiarity with Abraham, saying, “Father Abraham, send Lazarus to comfort me.” In the torment of Hell's flames the rich man's cry for mercy is finally boiled out of him. But it’s too late. Whether or not Father Abraham’s reply surprises us, it should call us to repent: “Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things… but now… you are in anguish.”

Our Lord threatens to punish all who break his commandments. Therefore, we should fear His wrath and not do anything against them. So, why are we afraid of so many other things instead? We fear that we will not be liked, or that our lives and deeds will not be remembered, instead of fearing that our lives and deeds are not faithful to God and to His Word. We’re afraid that our family may not be happy, but we’re not afraid that our family might lose faith and salvation. We are more afraid that we might have to work more hours for fewer dollars, or that it might rain on the weekend—than we are afraid of temptation. Why do we fear the disapproval of men more than God Himself? Repent. 

To have no other gods means more than just placing no trust in our wealth and reputation, which we struggle with almost constantly. To have no other gods means more than simply to love God more than the things of men, or even to love going to Church and never get bored or critical during the sermon. But to have no other gods also means that you shall fear God above all things. Jesus said, “Do not fear those who can only hurt the body (or the economy, or the society). Fear God who can throw both body and soul into hell.” Fear God who shows no partiality, no favoritism. He is not impressed by riches or patriotism or even morality. Fear God, or you too will have had your good things in this life... and then nothing but punishment.

But do not misunderstand our Lord's parable. He does not reward poverty and punish riches. He is not merely the balancing force of the universe, making sure that people get what’s coming, or that the poor underdog triumphs over the evil corporate rich men. That would be a god after our own image. We cannot make ourselves poor to earn a place with Lazarus in heaven, and it won’t help to inflict ourselves with hunger or injuries. The problem was not that the rich man was rich, and the solution was not that Lazarus was hungry. The problem, the crisis is about not hearing. “Send Lazarus to my brothers to testify,” the rich man says. “Someone from the dead would lead them to repent.” 

But that would not help. They have Moses and the Prophets. They have all they need. But the rich man actually says, “No. Those are not enough.” Even in Hell, even to Abraham who still calls him “child,” the rich man cannot accept that the testimony of the Scriptures is enough. But he got his reward, he got the things he desired, and they have left him alone in hell. 

But Lazarus, who had nothing at all, he had the one thing needful. He has Moses and the Prophets; and he has the One they testify about, and so he has life. He has the One who died, poor, wounded and ignored outside the gate: our Lord Jesus Christ. The name “Lazarus” means “One whom God helps.” And so, in Jesus, Lazarus was helped, He received mercy. In Jesus, Lazarus was given riches, health and food for his weakness. In Jesus, Lazarus found comfort and finally found rest. 

The rich man and his unbelieving brothers were deaf to the conviction of Moses' Law and dead to the prophets' call to repentance and faith in the Lord. So not even a resurrection could persuade them. But Lazarus believed God’s Word, and so the One crucified in his place and raised on the third day spoke the certain promise of rest from temptation, the calming of all fears and healing from sin and, finally, the promise of his own resurrection. 

You know this Jesus too, because you hear the Scriptures that testify about Him. You know that His death has swallowed up death, that He has broken Hell's gates for you and that with faith in Him you have nothing to fear. 

But for now temptation remains. The never ending quest for riches and earthly security drives your appetites. Your fears threaten to crowd out Christ's light and peace. Worries put His sufficiency out of your mind. And when you look at your own meager, half-hearted repentance, and how you still go after the sins you know you shouldn’t, you are tempted to despair. But take heart in this: His Word is still heard. Your repentance is half-hearted because you are still in the flesh and a war rages within you, but there is repentance and there is faith. The Lord Himself sustains it despite your Old Adam. The Lord continues teaching you to hate what your fallen flesh loves, and teaching you to love what He gives. 

Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Abraham received the promise of the Offspring in whom all nations would be blessed. He trusted that promise. And from that promise he was credited with the righteousness of Christ, the promised Offspring. The Lord’s mercy was his. And that is why Abraham recognizes Lazarus as his own and receives him at his bosom. Lazarus also trusted in Abraham’s promised Offspring, Jesus Christ, and so he is Abraham’s true son. And so are all who trust in Jesus, Abraham’s Offspring. His promises are given to us by Moses, the Prophets, and the Apostolic Scriptures, and they create faith in us. And so we bear the name of the crucified Savior who gives His life for us. We are Christ’s, and so we are also Abraham’s children, heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29).

It’s really no surprise then that we, like poor Lazarus, find ourselves bearing the cross of trial and temptation. The cross that we bear is the mark of Jesus. The reason that sin and temptation hurt and fill us with regret is because Christ is our only righteousness, because we bear His Name and we are His. The reason we feel and fear our doubts is because we have faith. Unbelief is not bothered by guilt or doubt. So, your struggle with sin and doubt is the mark of those redeemed by Christ the crucified. It is the mark of those who are precious to Him.

And even though you cannot see this mark with your fleshly eyes, it is not easily erased. The Lord Himself marked you with His cross in the lavish flood that drowns your Old Adam and preserves your new life. When you hear His testifying Word preached and proclaimed here, Christ is rewriting His Word on your heart. And He confirms this mark upon you with the most tangible thing of all: eating and drinking a feast in which He gives Himself to you. Again and again he marks you with His cross so that no false promise of riches or success and no fear of worldly trouble will be able to tear you away from Him.

Finally, when the Lord pulls back the curtain, faith is able to see the truth: Lazarus was the blessed one all along. He was truly rich. He was the heir, the son who had everything, because faith receives Christ’s righteousness, and that is enough. His Word is enough. And the Lord’s gifts are enough. His mercy endures forever. And soon He will call us from this vale of tears. Soon He will send His holy angels to bear us to Abraham’s bosom. And there we will receive only His good things, the righteousness of Christ that is already counted to us by faith.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.

Adapted from Rev. Sean Daenzer, Trinity 1, 2015, verbachristi.blogspot.com