There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day.  And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table.”  Now some of you are probably wondering, “How can Deacon John spin this story to make us feel good?”  I can’t.  Not even a politician could turn this into a feel good story.  It is meant to make us uncomfortable, maybe even a little worried or nervous.  Since June, everyone of our Gospels has taken place as Jesus heads towards Jerusalem and his death on the cross.  And as we heard before, crowds were following him and listening as he told them what was involved in being his followers, his disciples.  He told them that there is a cost to being a disciple; it will involve sacrifice, may turn families against each other.  He warned the people not to get too attached to material things, to focus instead on eternity, on the things that matter, that last forever.  And he described the great love God the Father has for each one of us, a love so great that He never abandons us, always forgives us, always wants us with Him, enjoying the banquet, the feast, the celebration.  And today He tells us how we are to act toward each other, care for each other.
Let’s look at our Gospel.  Now the rich man was not evil, it doesn’t say he cheated people to make his money.  He didn’t steal from Lazarus, he wasn’t the cause of his poverty.  The rich man just had money.  But what he does not have is a name.  A name would tell us something about him; a name is a point of contact, a relationship.  Luke is letting us know that this person is isolated, walled in, no contact with the world.  He doesn’t even know that Lazarus exists, even though he is lying right at his door.  His sin was not that he had money, his sin was that he was indifferent to the suffering around him.  Blind.  The Gospel message is simple:  the more we isolate ourselves from others, the more we isolate ourselves from God.

You see, the rich man had to know Lazarus was there.  He had to know Lazarus was suffering, starving.  He had to step over him every time he left his house.  But he never saw Lazarus, saw him as his brother, even though they were both children of Abraham.  In fact, even when he is suffering in Hades, he only thinks of Lazarus as a servant, “Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am suffering torment in these flames.”  Christ calls his disciples to no longer look at others as rich to poor, saved to sinners, healed to hurting.  But rather brother to brother.  The rich man was never willing to share.  Are we?

The government recently announced that they were increasing the immigration quota by over 30%, partially to accommodate more Syrian refugees.  What was our reaction when we heard about the increased quota?  But the reality is that change will probably never affect us, none of them are going to be relocated to the Village.  So what about closer to home?  How do we treat the greeters at Sam’s Club or the cashiers at Walmart or Cranfords or the gate guards?  Are they just there to “serve” us?  Do we ever look at their name tag, smile and greet them by name?  What about the waiters and waitresses that “serve” us?  Do we see them as brothers and sisters in Christ?  Do we hate to leave a decent tip because it is just taking more money out of our pocket?  Who is outside our door, in need, suffering, lonely, that we ignore?  Who do we “step over” to get on with our life?

What is the message, the “take home” for us from the story of the rich man and Lazarus?  Quite simply, the poor need us to get out of poverty.  And we need the poor to get out of hell!