Before I offer you some thoughts about this epistle
and gospel today, this tremendous gospel, this
parable, which is only found in the gospel of
St. Luke, the rich man, and Lazarus, just a few
remarks, housekeeping rules, if you like. After
the sermon, this is generally a good time that
parents find to take kids outside for a little
break. You don't have to. If your kid doesn't
need to go, don't do it. Maybe he does. Maybe
you need a break. I don't know. It's not for
me to decide. I'm up here in front of the altar,
so I just don't know. But I would ask that the
children don't play in the playground because
it's right outside the altar door. And we can
hear all that. It's just like kind of blasted
in. Don't play with balls. And, you know, I'm
afraid a wiffle ball is going to come flying
in the side door of the altar someday. Bikes
and skateboards, all that, it's a break. It's
not recess. So please keep that in mind. God
did not speak just a long time ago. You read
how the Lord came to so -and -so where Jesus
spoke this parable. He speaks now. You just heard
it. His words are written down by Luke. This
is where we meet God right now, this moment,
as we prepare to meet God in the Eucharist. First,
the word is given to us to cleanse our ears,
our heart, our thoughts. We meditate on those
words of the Lord. And then we're preparing to
receive the word. In our mouth. To consume him.
He comes to us. In his mercy. That way too. Not
every child. Little child can understand. What
the gospel is. But every child can receive. The
body and blood of Christ. So this parable. From
Luke 16. We read it. Every year. At this time
of the year. This is the time. in Sonoma County,
elsewhere, of the harvest, isn't it? It's a time
supposed to be of abundance. We hope fire season's
over. This is a time of God's richness to us.
The seeds were planted. God makes the growth.
That's scriptural. And it's just what happens.
And in this time of abundance, in this time of
harvest, We have something to share out of the
abundance that we have from God. So I think it's
in my mind anyway that Jesus spoke this parable
at the time of the harvest too. I don't know
that for sure, but the church gives us this parable
at precisely this time so we can consider what
God has given us and how are we going to share.
How are we going to distribute something for
those? who are needy and have less than we do.
And last week prepared us for today's gospel.
Last week, last Sunday. How so? Do you recall
it was the commemoration of the Holy Fathers
of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, and we talked
about the veneration of icons, we talked about
that council, how it was affirmed that painting
them, adorning our churches with them, and venerating
them, was to be restored after a time of terrible
discord in the church. So today, we make real
what we learned last week about veneration and
honoring the image of God, not just in the wood,
not just on the walls. We make the Sunday of
Orthodoxy real. We make the Sunday of the last...
judgment with the same message real. I was hungry.
You fed me. I was thirsty. You gave me to drink.
I was naked. You clothed me. Who's speaking?
Jesus. Jesus is speaking. I was in prison. I
was sick. You visited me. Lord, when did we see
you? naked or hungry or sick or in prison. And
you know what the Lord said. If you've done it
to me, you've done it in no uncertain terms to
the most. Down and out, the least person, the
most lonely person, the most poor person, the
most forgotten person, the most thirsty, hungry,
and sick, and lonely person, because we do it
for the image of God. There's no such thing as
veneration of icon unless you accept this fact,
that the image of God is in other people, even
those that we... Certainly, we simply just look
down on. So we honor, we serve, we venerate the
image of God, that other person as Christ. You
know this. This is not news to any of you. And
I know you all do this. You act this way because
you're Orthodox Christians. But in this time
of abundance in the harvest, the message takes
on a certain immediacy for us. This parable begins
with these words. There was a certain rich man,
there was a rich man, particular guy, no name,
because maybe he stands for all of them, I don't
know, who was clothed in purple and fine linen,
and he feasted sumptuously every day. Every day.
That's not good for your health, for one thing,
but every day. To whom is Jesus telling this
parable? Well, it's very good. a practice when
you read something from scripture to look what
comes before and look what comes after. And immediately
before this, St. Luke records that Jesus is speaking
to the Pharisees. They were lovers of money,
St. Luke tells us. They heard all these things
and they ridiculed Jesus. And he said to them,
You are those who justify yourselves before others.
But God knows your heart. For what is exalted
among men, what looks good, what's accepted,
what's famous, what's celebrated in this world,
is an abomination in the sight of God, says Jesus.
Ponder that. Rich man in purple and fine linen,
eating sumptuously every day, is directed towards
them, these religious people. We're religious
people. As I never fail to say to people, I'm
religious but not spiritual, when they tell me
they're spiritual but not religious. I'm religious
in that I can do this, I can serve at the altar,
I can pray, but really is my heart being changed
or am I the same? Am I the same? Do I never change?
Become more and more like the image of Christ?
So, this purple and fine linen is directed to
them on two levels. Please note, first, first
he means that they have the revelation of the
true God. They have the temple. They have the
scriptures. They have the ceremonies, the vestments,
the purple and the fine linen for the priests,
only the best. They have the sacrifices, the
sharing of the meal with the living God. They
worship the true God in a place, a very small
location geographically, surrounded by paganism
that does not worship the true God. They have
it all. And do they share? No. Jesus says they
hold all these things for themselves. That's
the story of the elder son and the prodigal son.
They don't share the riches of the faith. They
don't invite others to come in to be transformed
by the law of God. They don't invite sinners
to repentance and change. They're disdainful.
They're arrogant. They're dismissive of the poor
and the sinners to whom Jesus himself says he
has come for them. I think most of us could probably
do a little bit better at sharing with others
the good that God has done for us in our lives.
The good news. How God has helped us and exalted
us and cleansed us, forgiven us and fed us. And
now we can be clothed in the purple and fine
linen of the glory of the church. and feast sumptuously
here at the liturgy. Think about that. But secondly
in this story, and most obviously the message
is, the Lord is telling us in this parable and
in many other accounts over and over again that
one of the most difficult passions for human
beings to overcome is enslavement to possessions.
The rich man, again, nameless. He died, he was
buried. I'm sure that funeral was splendid. But
he was buried. He's in Hades. He seems to want
to order Lazarus through Abraham. Father Abraham,
send Lazarus to me. To have him give me some
water. He hasn't learned to repent even in that
place. He's imperious. He's bossy. But there's
a vast chasm, says Father Abraham. There's a
vast chasm. It's a pit of selfishness and enslavement
to passions which has resulted of ignoring the
needs of others right in front of your face.
On the doorstep. At the gate. The whole of this
rich man's life was moving toward this chasm
in his life. This rich man has, in fact, effectively
constructed it. He put together his own prison.
He's the creator of his own hell. He spent a
lifetime being accustomed to the absence of God
and the absence of responsibility to anyone else.
And day by day, Think of Marley and Scrooge,
right? Day by day, he forged the chain of his
servitude, and he became less and less free,
little by little, and the slave of what he owned.
By the way, this is not a parable about punishment.
It's not really a parable about life after death.
It's a parable about a man that appears to be
living, but he's truly dead. Looking at Lazarus
now, we see if we really want to elevate things,
we see that he represents Christ. Why? He has
nothing. What did Jesus say of himself? Foxes
have holes. Birds there have nests, but the Son
of Man has nowhere to lay his head. Where was
Lazarus laying his head? Outside the gate of
the rich man's splendid house. And he only wanted
a few crumbs that would fall from the table.
The man in the ancient times probably used bread
as a napkin to wipe his hands and face. Lazarus
suffers terrible. Terrible bodily pain. He's
covered with wounds. Who was wounded for us?
Christ. So Christ is teaching us to be liberal
in our giving. Because our giving is for our
salvation. Our giving is an opportunity to honor
the Lord. And mind you, there's no particular
virtue in being poor. There's no particular vice
in being rich. The virtue or the vice lies in
what we do. Love is lived in actions. Our deeds,
brothers and sisters, how can we serve the Lazarus
before us? Well, we have Catholic charities.
I heard a complaint that we shouldn't be involved
in Catholic charities because they're not Orthodox.
Well, if Orthodox had programs like them, it
might be a good thing, but we don't. Charity
isn't about theological arguments. So we have
Catholic charities. You, each one of us, can
volunteer at some level in some small way. To
be face -to -face, not just wallet -to -wallet.
Face -to -face, not just wallet -to -wallet.
You can volunteer in area food banks. They're
all over the place. You can volunteer at Angels
Unawares here on the first Thursday of the month.
You can take water to some homeless encampment.
Yeah, it's going to leave plastic bottles all
over the place, but that's not your worry. You
can make a blessing bag and give it out. There
is a Lazarus at your gate. I promise you that.
St. Gregory of Palamas, just to wrap this up,
he said this, our Savior has made salvation easy
because he loves us with an indescribable love.
He says this, our lowly our earthly, our bodily
needs, namely food and drink, the money we earn,
are in the end, in terms of eternity, nothing
but dust and ashes. Nothing in view of eternity.
And even of less value than anything else. Yet
these very things, worthless before the very
judgment seat of Christ, can be the means by
which if someone offers what he has in excess
of what he needs, to those who have nothing,
he can be saved. Because he ministers even to
Christ in that person. I suppose I could have
just said this simple sentence and not even given
you a sermon today. Do unto others as you would
have them do unto you. To our Lord who gives
us this... immeasurable love and these profound
teachings be glory and honor now and ever to
ages of ages. Amen.