Listening is a very basic form of
compassion and indeed hospitality. When we feel that someone has
heard us we feel like we’ve been shown respect. Back in my
seminary days I took a few pastoral care courses that were simply
about listening. Believe me listening is a very hard skill to learn.
No one is a natural at it. Even now after all the classes and years
of experience I still wreak at letting people know that they’ve
been heard. It’s very easy too. All you got to do is actually
listen and then briefly summarize back what you’ve heard. The
problem comes with the urges to give advice or to share an episode
from your own life which are instinctual conversational devices we
use to turn a conversation around to being all about me. Listening
is a very hard skill to learn.
In the Bible listening or hearing is
important. In pastoral care courses we were taught listening as a
simple a conversational tool for helping some someone not only feel
heard but also hear for themselves what they said. But, in the Bible
listening involves doing. Someone may have heard the words you said
but until they do what you asked them, they didn't hear you. Hearing
is completed when the words that go forth from your mouth produce the
desired response from another.
Looking hear at the Parable of Lazarus
and the Rich Man, the reason this rich man was being tormented in
Hades rather than standing at the side of Father Abraham was his
failure to listen. His failure to listen to Moses and the Prophets
and therefore not listening to God. His not listening exhibited
itself in his ignoring the poor man Lazarus who daily lay outside his
door covered in sores and hungry. If you were to read the first five
books of the Bible and then the prophets you would quickly learn that
listening to God involves taking care of the poor in your midst.
This rich man did not listen.
Yet, there was more going on here than
just some rich guy ignoring a poor guy who daily lay outside his
door. All we’ve got to do is walk a few blocks in any town and we
all will be guilty of that. The problem was that one child of
Abraham ignoring the needs of another child of Abraham completely
tars the revelation of himself that the Trinity wanted to give the
world by calling the Old Testament nation of Israel into existence
beginning with Abraham. The way of faith that the Trinity started
with Abraham would be the Trinity's way of ultimately saving humanity
from sin and death and restoring his image in humanity. The Trinity
is the mutually loving and hospitable communion of God the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit and humanity. Humanity was created in the image
of God and therefore is supposed to be a loving and hospitable
communion too, but we're not.
The first eleven chapters of Genesis,
the true Old Testament, tells us that God dealt with humanity's not
listening and being the image of God once before in the days of Noah
when he all but destroyed humanity by flood. Yet, he vowed never to
do it again. With Abraham in chapter twelve of Genesis, the New
Testament begins. The Trinity called Abraham and told him to go to a
land that he would show him for God was giving him a land and making
him to be a great nation through which all nations would be blessed.
Abraham went and his descendents became a great tribe in the land of
Palestine. Yet, in time Abraham's descendents found themselves
enslaved in Egypt so God delivered them with a mighty hand and made a
unilateral covenant or treaty with them declaring, “I will be your
God and you will be my people.” Having recently been delivered
from slavery from Pharaoh they had no trouble giving their “amen”
to that covenant and to living according to his ways as revealed in
the Ten Commandments. Thus, the Triune God of grace gave them the
Ten Commandments so that if they made these commandments the core of
their community life they would not only be a blessing to all nations
as the Trinity promised Abraham, but also they would in fact
demonstrate that our God is the only true God who is steadfastly
loving and faithful and an abundant provider. The nation that
worshipped the LORD God would be abundantly provided for, always
protected, and their community life would be just, fair, equitable
and beautifully rich in neighbourliness. Moreover, by living
according to the Ten Commandments they would reflect forth into the
world the image of the mutually loving and hospitable communion of
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in whose image humanity is created.
So, back to the rich man, this rich
child of Abraham's ignoring of Lazarus, another child of Abraham in
his great need was an utter denial by this rich man of his own claim
to be a child of Abraham and thus of being one of the people of God
and therefore in this parable Jesus places him in Hades. The rich
man in his power and greed cut himself off from being one of the
family of Abraham thereby creating for himself an uncrossable chasm
between himself and being in the bosom of Abraham with Lazarus.
Even in Hades the
rich man ignored Lazarus and was only concerned with his own
concerns. First, he doesn’t notice that Lazarus had been healed.
He just wants Lazarus to bring him water and this even after he had
let Lazarus lay hungry at his own door. He still doesn't respect
Lazarus as a person, a human being. Then he asks Abraham to send
Lazarus to his five brothers to warn them, but Abraham refused
saying, “They have Moses and the Prophets to listen too,” which
they weren’t doing so the rich man insists that if someone from the
dead would warn them they would surely listen. Abraham sternly says,
“If they do not listen to Moses and the
Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the
dead.” I think we know where this is going.
Putting this parable into its context,
Jesus told it not to his disciples but to the Pharisees who were very
devoutly religious people who also loved money and power and inage.
The Pharisees like the rich man were not really listening to Moses
and the Prophets even though they attempted to follow the Law of
Moses to the tee. If they had been truly listening, they would have
worked at legalistic observance of the Law but rather at being a
just, fair, equitable, and faithful community that reflected the
image of their God. They would have shared their wealth rather than
just getting richer by means of twisting the Law the LORD God gave
them to their own advantage and calling themselves blessed because of
their legalistic obedience. Because of their love of power and money
the Pharisees did not listen rightly to Moses and the Prophets nor
could the good news of Jesus’ resurrection convince them to turn.
That’s enough
talking about rich Pharisees from 2,000 years ago. What about us who
have heard the voice of the resurrected one, who do listen to someone
who has come back from the dead? What does listening look like for
us the disciples of Jesus? First, we too cannot ignore Moses and the
Prophets. Because we have heard the good news of Jesus death and
resurrection with ears opened by the Holy Spirit we have been adopted
into the family of Abraham and we as a church share the same
blessing/burden that ancient Israel had as the people of God. We are
to take the Ten Commandments and the prophets’ call to faithfulness
and justice very seriously so that people can see what God is like.
Jesus said, “It
is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke
of a pen to drop out of the Law” (v. 17). I would encourage you
all to pick up your Bibles and read from Moses and the Prophets and
let yourselves be addressed by them for by the gift of the Holy
Spirit to you as those who share in the resurrection of Jesus Christ
you have been given ears to hear them and hearts that are hungry for
the words of the Word that are in the Bible.
In 1 Timothy 6:6-19 Paul gives us some
very practical direction as well. Contrary to most TV preachers Paul
says that godliness is not a means to financial gain. Rather,
godliness goes hand in hand with contentment. We brought nothing
into this world and we can’t take anything with us. Therefore,
having enough is enough and in that realization one finds
contentment. Love of money is the root of all kinds of evils and
Paul urges indeed begs us to flee from all the materialism and
consumerism that surrounds us and rather pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. The Trinity has
not called us to be his people so that we can act like the culture
around us with cottages and cars and gadgets galore. He has called
us to be faithful to him, to fight the good fight of faith keeping to
our confession and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
God will provide us with everything we need therefore we must in
turn strive to be rich in good deeds, generous, and willing to share.
We are to lay up treasure for yourselves in heaven. It may seem
unimaginable but the good that we do now in this age and life will
persist into the coming age when we too will be resurrected and there
will be a new heaven and a new earth. Friends, take hold of this
life that is truly life, take hold of your relationship with God the
Father that is freely given to you through Christ Jesus the Son in
the Holy Spirit. Pray, read Scripture, come to Bible study, initiate
a means of outreach that we can all share in as a church, increase
your generosity to others. Turn your backs on the materialism and
consumerism that seeks to enslave you and be the free people of God
for which he has purchased you at the cost of Jesus’ own life.
Amen.
