First Sunday after Trinity. - Rev'd Paul Taylor LL M

First Sunday after Trinity. Luke xvi:19; 1Jn iv:7.

The parables in the Bible are unique in that they are 1 dimensional.

This rich man was clothed in purple, the color of Caesar. So he is a traitor to Israel. This is probably the source of his wealth or perhaps how he kept his wealth during the Roman occupation. He dined sumptuously every day. This shows he did not work or keep the Sabbath day. The fourth commandment requires work six days and one day of rest. Even the servants are not to be worked.

So even with the economy of language and one dimensional characters we find a portrait of a man that was a traitor and violated the Ten Commandments. However, the parable does not say the man was not sent to hell for either of these things. The rich man never did anything to Lazarus. Lararus was sitting in his gates, clearly visable, yet he saw him not. It is for this he was sent to hell. A truly frightening concept.

I would note in passing that modern men are quick to say Jesus never said there was a hell, but here is one of his references to a place of utter torment.

This punishment for not noticing does not mean that God will give you a pass for violating the Ten Commandments. The one dimensional aspect of the parables shows much more is required. The sin of the rich man is that he could look at the suffering and sin of the day and not notice. You are called to look the suffering at your door.

The question this parable raises is what are we required to notice? In the day of the welfare state and safety nets, much of the begging done today is for drugs and alcohol and we tune out the sales pitch. There is no duty to support someone's addiction. The danger is that you will tune out the beggar who is at your door.

Jesus, in his earthly ministry, sought to have a higher standard imposed to enter the Kingdom of God. It is through reading the master's words and reviewing the Old Testament standards that we begin to get a sense of what is required. St. Paul, the great lion of God, thunders in his Epistles that in Christ Jesus the standard is higher.

The Espistle appointed for today is not from St. Paul, but from St John
(1 Jn iv :7). John talks about love. God Almighty's tough love is the message of the Bible.

This Love is very powerful and without it we go to the place of torment. The gulf between heaven and hell are fixed so that one can not go from one to the other even on an errand of mercy.

Dr Louis Tarsitano put it this way:
“But the fact remains that the rich man is in hell, and that fact should give us all a moment's pause. He is the proof, from Christ's own lips, of what St. John had to say in this morning's Epistle: He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him (1 John 13:14-15). In the Bible, love is not what we feel, but how we act. When the rich man did not act to save Lazarus, when he did not use his wealth to comfort him, God counted his lack of action as
hatred and murder, and on the basis of that divine judgment, God condemned him to hell: not to forgetfulness and nonexistence, but to perpetual torment apart from the fellowship of God and his Saints.”


The question that is asked of you is have you noticed someone lying at your gates?

Paul Taylor June,2005
Revised July 8,2006