Preface: Talk with the children about beggars.

Sometimes it is instructive in a sermon to follow the Scripture, in this case the gospel more closely, line by line and with the assistance of the Fathers.  This is, therefore, what we shall now do together.

The Gospel appointed for today is the well-known story of the rich man, commonly called Dives, and the beggar, Lazarus who lay at his gate, full of sores, with no one to help him but God. His condition was so bad that he was covered with festering sores which the dogs came and licked. St Ambrose makes the point that: “… not all poverty is holy, nor are all riches criminal, but as luxury disgraces riches, so also does holiness commend poverty.” In this he follows the teaching of St Paul that “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10).  However, it is the love of money that is the problem here, in other words the pursuit of luxury. This is what condemns. Neither is poverty praiseworthy, except insofar as it reduces the temptation to commit the sin of greed and, therefore, this is one less obstacle to the pursuit of holiness. This gives the beggar Lazarus a distinct advantage over the rich man Dives. The prayers of the poor are often more reliably sought than the prayers of the rich. It is the poor who will defend us at the great Day of Judgement, not the rich. Almsgiving, the relief of poverty, is a holy task both with those who respond to an immediate need and those who attempt to make society more economically just.

We know what’s coming next in the story, of course. The rich man is in hell, the poor man in heaven. The rich man’s destination has been defined by his greed; the poor man’s destination by his utter dependence upon God. Although the beggar had nothing, in truth he had everything from the beginning and now in heaven a great gulf is fixed between him and the rich man who can now only taste the torment of being loveless. St John Chrysostom talks of the rich man’s state during life as a living death. He comments on this parable thus:-

He died then indeed in body, but his soul was dead before. For he did none of the works of the soul. All that warmth which issues from the love of our neighbor had fled, and he was more dead than his body. But no one is spoken of as having ministered to the rich man’s burial as to that of Lazarus. Because when he lived pleasantly in the broad road, he had many busy flatterers; when he came to his end, all forsook him. For it simply follows, and was buried in hell. But his soul also when living was buried, enshrined in its body as it were in a tomb.

Sin, therefore, is a living death. In life, there is already a great gulf between those who are spiritually dead and those who are spiritually alive. After death, this gulf simply becomes fixed and none may go from one side to the other. Out of charity we should pray for the unrepentant dead. Nevertheless, it is a very serious matter if a soul has not repented before death, either by one righteous deed or by a sincere confession of fault.  An example might be the confession of the penitent thief crucified with Christ. This saving repentance is usually accompanied by a righteous life, disciplined by God’s providence (for good or for ill), in the actual circumstances of our lives and a willing sacrifice from us in response. Without this way of the cross, our passions would overwhelm us. Listen again to St John Chrysostom: -

For should poverty press not, ambition urges; if sickness provoke not, anger inflames; if temptations assail not, corrupt thoughts often overwhelm. It is no slight toil to bridle anger, to check unlawful desires, to subdue the swellings of vain-glory, to quell pride or haughtiness, to lead a severe life. He that does not these things, cannot be saved.

So, if you truly wish to be saved, take upon yourself the way of the cross, be generous to those in need, sacrifice yourself to the poor, be their prophetic voice before the heedless rich, just indeed as St John Chrysostom did when he testified by word and deed against the miserly, ostentatious wealth and corrupting power of the ruling elite in fourth century Constantinople.

The final piece in the story concerns the rich man’s desire to warn his family of their impending doom should they not repent. Interestingly he asks Abraham to send Lazarus on this mission. But, Lazarus is not his servant, his lackey, to be ordered about hither and thither. The rich man’s contempt for the poor not only still tortures him in hell but prevents him from seeing clearly that nothing is to be gained, either by those in heaven warning those on earth, or indeed, by mighty signs such as the resurrection. Abraham, who speaks for God, makes the obvious reply that if the Law of God from Moses is not enough to warn them, they will not be persuaded.  St Gregory the Great says about this: -

But soon the rich man is answered in the words of truth; for it follows, and he said to him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe though one rose from the dead. For they who despise the words of the Law, will find the commands of their Redeemer who rose from the dead, as they are more sublime, so much the more difficult to fulfil.

This is a warning to all of us then about virtue, practical goodness. The law cannot save us but if we neglect to fulfil the least of its demands, or if we make our obedience conditional on displays of divine power then no faith on earth will save us. Salvation for a Christian is God making good that deficit from perfection that we discover when we attempt to serve God, a falling short. Nonetheless, we must always serve even if inadequately and attend in all seriousness to what God requires from us. This story teaches that not attending to the desperate condition of the poor is a line that we dare not cross, for beyond that line and, indeed, beyond death, there is a great gulf fixed between the God-saved and the self-damned. For now, we have a time to repent, to have faith and obey God with righteous deeds.  However, the time we have left may, for some of us, be exceedingly short. Behold the bridegroom cometh in the middle of the night! Let us not then sleep in sin but rather arise and do the works of God as befits His children; for so it pleases the Lord of self-giving, unconditional love. Only love in life can cross that gulf!