Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Luke 16:19-31
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  September 25, 2022

You might feel like this story of Jesus is easy enough to understand. It seems natural to compare the suffering of Lazarus to the luxury of the rich man. And it’s true, the rich man seemed to have it all. He was habitually living in lavish luxury everyday. He was likely envied by the community for his wealth. Probably well respected. We could even put the best construction on things and believe he allowed Lazarus to live by his gate. We can come to the conclusion that by earthly standards he was a decent human being and not the total, selfish jerk that we might think him to be. And yet, I would contend that the rich man suffered, even here on this earth. Not to downplay the sufferings of Lazarus, but the rich man suffered possibly without even realizing it. 

As a general rule, we need to be careful not to read too much into the details of Jesus’ stories. And yet, the details are not unimportant. We’re told what the rich man had, yet we notice what he didn’t have here on earth–a name that was known to God. Isn’t it interesting how he’s just called a rich man and the “poor man” in the story has a name, Lazarus, which means “God has helped.” We also know that this rich man didn’t have an appreciation on earth for the blessings God gave him. Earthly riches, as we heard last week, don’t satisfy. Apart from God, they are vapor, they leave you empty. No matter what you have, it is never quite enough–so the next shopping trip, the next vacation, the next better version of whatever I currently own, the next job, the next whatever needs to fill the void. And it does…for a time…but it doesn’t last and the “rich man” is back to square one–still seeking to fill the void of not having a name or relationship with God.

How many people in our own church, in our own community, in the world are like the rich man? They think that taking care of their physical body is more important than taking care of their soul. They imagine that they are the master of their own fate and they dare to disagree with God on what is truly important in life. They mistakenly think that the number one goal in life is to have a pleasant life on earth and worry about eternity later if indeed there is an eternity. Yet, how many of them are truly happy because of the decisions they have made? 

Are we in danger of making the same mistakes? Unfortunately, it’s easier than you think. It’s unbelievable how “safety conscious” we’ve become as a society. Helmets for riding bicycles, locked doors at our schools, and mandatory seatbelt laws are just a few examples. But it even goes beyond that. Did you know that you are not allowed to take your newborn baby home unless they are strapped into their car seat? And that car seat has to be properly installed before the hospital can release the child? Now, who of us wouldn’t want to take the utmost care of that infant? We all would, right? Their physical safety is one of our highest priorities. And yet when it comes to baptism, a spiritual protection, we’re willing to wait months? Or who hasn’t made sure that their retirement is as secure as they can make it? We diversify our investments and we save so that we can live comfortably after we retire. And yet when it comes to Bible study and worship and making sure our everlasting retirement is secure, we just can’t seem to make the time. How can we avoid becoming people who share the rich man’s eternally purposeless view of life on earth? By finding real wealth in heavenly treasure. By understanding that enough is really enough!

When is enough, enough? Have you ever thought of that? Did we get enough rain this year? More than enough at some points, right? And yet, I can guarantee that in the not too distant future we’ll be lamenting the lack of rain. When is enough enough? How many toys do our children have? More than enough, right? And yet there’s only 96 shopping days left until Christmas and we’re only a couple of weeks away from the toylands at your local Fleet Farm and Farm and Fleet will be open where our children will try and convince us that they want this, that, and the other thing because what they have isn’t enough. When is enough is enough? It goes beyond material things too, doesn’t it? If God would only give me a little more proof, then I could convince so and so. If we had more youth programs, then more people would come. If we could just have awesome miracles, then people would get it.” ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 

Notice what Abraham says to the rich man. ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen to them.’  In other words, “They have the Word of God and that is enough!” Just think about that for a minute. All the people of the earth had at this time was the Old Testament. The Law and the Prophets were all the people had and that was enough. There was enough in the Old Testament to share the good news about the promised Messiah. There was enough Gospel in the Old Testament that the Holy Spirit could use to bring someone to faith. Nothing else was needed. 

But the rich man wasn’t convinced. The Word of God wasn’t flashy enough for him, it wasn’t inclusive enough for him. It was too simple, too plain, too old to be relevant. Lord, your Word isn’t enough, we need something more!  “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” And how true those words were in Jesus’ day! Miracle after miracle flowed from his ministry. People did rise from the dead multiple times. And still he was rejected, still he was thought to be a fraud, a blasphemer, a criminal worthy of death. My dear friends in Christ, it was enough for the people of this world to have the Old Testament. For the Holy Spirit worked through that Word of God to bring people to faith. There was enough gospel, enough good news about the promised Messiah, enough promises about God’s deliverance for anyone to be saved. Jesus made it clear when he said, “They have Moses and the Prophets.”  Now think about what we’ve been given! We’ve been given the full revelation of God! We not only have the Old Testament, but the fulfillment of the Old Testament recorded in the New Testament. We’ve been told exactly who the Messiah is, exactly what he did, exactly what it means for us. We’ve been given two Sacraments that impart forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. In other words, Enough is Enough!

But for some reason, enough isn’t often enough for us, is it? We get frustrated when we seem to be doing everything right and people don’t come. And when we look around us and see people flocking to churches where they don’t talk about sin, where the sacraments are downplayed, where your purpose in life comes from how much you can do, we start to wonder if God has given us enough. We start asking those “if only” questions. And instead of trusting Jesus’ words that we’ve been given Enough, we start looking outside of God’s Word for answers. 

One look at the physical life of Lazarus would be enough for most people. Lazarus was so hard up and so pitiful that you wouldn’t want to gaze at him. Lying day after day at the gate of the rich man, longing for garbage to eat, so covered in festering sores that the only physical comfort he received was from the wild dogs, who would lick him. And yet, Lazarus was the man who suffered less in this story. To the eyes of the world, it looked like God had abandoned Lazarus. But to the eyes of faith, God had given Lazarus enough. And Lazarus patiently endured because he knew he had enough. He knew that enough was enough because he had the promise of Jesus.

God has given all of us the sure and certain promise of salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus lived perfectly, suffered willingly, died innocently, and rose victoriously for us. He has given everything that he earned by his willing obedience to us. He has given each of us the robe of his righteousness. He;s give us forgiveness for all of our sins. He’s given us motivation for living now and life for eternity. He’s given us salvation from the torment of hell. My dear friends, he’s given us enough. And it’s all here for us in his Word and Sacraments. It’s here for our use. We can ‘t ever use too much. God’s grace will never run out. We don’t need anything else, we don’t need any other message. It may seem boring or weak or plain or even old, but as God told the Apostle Paul, so he tells us: “My grace is sufficient for you, because my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will be glad to boast all the more in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may shelter me. That is why I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For whenever I am weak, then am I strong.”

You have Moses and the Prophets, and that is by no means a disappointment. You have Moses and the Prophets, and that is by no means insufficient. How do I know? Because while the rich man was tormented in hell, Lazarus reclined in heaven. The name Lazarus means “one helped by God.” Lazarus had nothing to offer God. He was sick, poor, unsophisticated, and uneducated. He was a pain to human eyes. All he had in this world was Moses and the Prophets, but that was enough. While the rich man made his own heaven on this earth, Lazarus looked for a heaven to come. He suffered in this life and now will never suffer again. He had the promise. He believed it. He was saved. He had no reason to believe. Everything around him said he was cursed and hated by God. He had no proof he would be saved. Nothing had gone his way so far. He had no great experience or argument to which to cling. He only had the promise. The promise was enough. You have Moses and the Prophets. You have the revealed will of God. You have the promise. You have Christ in Word and Sacrament. You are saved. You have a home in heaven waiting for you. You have real wealth in that heavenly treasure. Believe it. Never let it go. Never wish it were more, because it is all that matters. It is enough. Amen.