In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The account of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke chapter 16 is supposed to teach us about the good life. Jesus tells us a story about two different men, with two very different lives to show us what kind of things in this life actually matter and what things don’t.

If you didn’t know anything else about them, you’d assume that the rich man had a much better life than Lazarus did. After all, the rich man was rich! He was clothed in purple and fine linen, meaning he had a lot of expensive clothing, and he feasted sumptuously every single day. Apparently, the rich man was so rich that he lived in one of those gated communities, because that’s where it says poor Lazarus was laid out on the ground. And speaking of Lazarus, well, Lazarus had next to nothing. His body wasn’t covered in purple and fine linen. It was covered with sores. Lazarus didn’t get to eat like a king. He barely got to eat anything at all. As our text tells us, he longed for even the scraps of food that fell from the rich man’s table. No doubt, the rich man was been a very prominent person in town, and well respected in the community. That’s why it says he got a funeral after he died. But the only friends that Lazarus had were a pack of dogs that would come by every once and a while to lick his wounds.

And yet, where did each of those two men end up for eternity? The rich man we’re told died and went to hell. The body that he lavished in this life with expensive clothing became food for the worms. The tongue that he used to taste so many exquisite foods longed even for a drop of cool water. In this life, the rich man, received his good things, but then all of those things eventually came to an end. Lazarus, on the other hand, when he died, he went to heaven. Even though his life is this world look miserable, when he left this world, the angels came and carried his soul to Abraham’s side. 

So, the first and most basic thing that we learn about the good life from this text, is that it can’t be measured simply by the things that we have like money or material possessions. Rich people aren’t necessarily rich, and poor people aren’t necessarily poor. At least, not in the truest sense of those terms. In fact, if God can take away everything that we own in a moment, then how can we claim that we even own it at all? We don’t. Everything that we have belongs to the Lord. It has been entrusted to us by God, and eventually He’s going to ask for it back. And when He does, He won’t ask for our permission before He takes it.

That teaches us to look at our possessions differently, and use them for godly purposes. God didn’t give us the things that we have simply so that we could spend them on our passions. He wants us to use them for His glory and the service of our neighbor. There are lots of different ways that we can do that, but one of the main ways according to God’s Word is through our tithes and offerings that we give to the church. What we put into the offering plate is a reflection of what we value. “Where your heart is,” Jesus says, “there your treasure will be also.” What we Christians treasure more than anything else is the Gospel. It’s the forgivness of sins in Christ. Not only do we want to have a place to gather together to receive it, and a pastor who is called and ordained to give it to us, but we want that for other people too. We want it for our kids, and we want it for those who don’t yet know it. So, even if it requires financial sacrifices on our part, we are willing to make them, because of the sacrifice Jesus has already made for us. Isn’t it an amazing thing that God gives us the opportunity to participate in the advancement of his Kingdom by the meager amount of money that we give to the Church to spread the Gospel. Money that belongs to God already.

Another thing that we learn about the good life from the story of the rich man and Lazarus is that it’s always defined by faith. How come Lazarus got to go heaven and the rich man went to hell? Well, it wasn’t just because the rich man was rich and Lazarus was poor. Having a lot of money, or not having any of it at all, isn’t by itself the cause of anyone’s salvation. We know that from this text alone, because who was it that was waiting for Lazarus when he got there? It says, the angles came and carried him to Abraham’s side. That’s very interesting. Because Abraham, according to the Old Testament, was not a poor man by any means. He had so many flocks and herds that at one time he had to split off from his nephew Lot, because there wasn’t enough land for them to go around. So, this shows us that it’s possible to have money and still be saved, even if it’s more difficult. Remember what Jesus says about wealth in Matthew chapter 19, “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, then for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” That’s because riches can easily pull our attention away from the things that actually matter. They can deceive us into investing everything toward this life, even though this life doesn’t last forever.

The problem, though, is not with having money itself, but with trusting in your money, and worshiping it instead of Christ. And that’s what the rich man did. The reason why he went to hell wasn’t because of what he had. It was because of what he didn’t have. He didn’t have any faith. We know that the rich man didn’t actually believe in Jesus, and trust in Him for the forgivness of his sins, because he despised God’s Word and didn’t love his neighbor.

First, the rich man despised God’s Word. Even after he died and went to hell, he still didn’t think that God’s Word was something worth listening to. That’s why he told Abraham to send someone one from the dead to try and get his brothers to repent, and argued with him, when Abraham said that they didn’t need them because they still had Moses and the Prophets. The rich man didn’t think that was good enough. He thought that the written Word of God was useless and that his brother needed something more if they were going to be saved. But God’s Word is the only thing that can save a person’s souls. God’s Word is the exclusive tool that He uses to bring us to faith. It’s the instrument that the Holy Spirit works through to call, gather, enlighten, and sanctify the whole Christian Church on earth. If someone won’t listen to God’s Word, then there’s nothing that be done to help them spiritually. And on the flip side, as long as a person is at least open to hearing what God’s Word has to stay, there’s still hope for their salvation.

You can almost image exactly what kind of guy the rich man was like. He was like one of those people who comes to church maybe once or twice a year just to keep up appearances. But when the pastor preached about repentance, forgivness, and feeding your faith with the Word and Sacraments, he didn’t pay any attention. Oh yes, he nodded along with the sermon, as if he cared, but when it was over, he went right back to his same old life of selfish ambition and neglect for the means of grace. Once a year seems like plenty of church time for someone who doesn’t think that they’re that big of a sinner. But how could that be enough if you know the true depravity of your condition?

The other reason why we know the rich man didn’t have any faith, was because of how he treated his neighbor. Every day the rich man had an opportunity to help poor Lazarus who was laid at his gate, but the rich man refused to take it. Maybe he thought that Lazarus deserved to be there. Maybe he thought that if he helped him, Lazarus would never learn to help himself. Who knows how the rich man rationalized his greed and convinced himself that what he was doing was actually a virtue. But God saw right through it. What does Saint John tell us in his first Epistle? “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him.” The rich man closed his heart to others, because his heart was not open to the love of Christ. You can’t give what you have not received, and the rich man had not received the Gospel. He didn’t know what it was like to be saved by grace, and have all of your sins forgiven even though you don’t deserve it, so he withheld things from others when he thought that they didn’t deserve too. But he didn’t deserve what he had either. And then, he got what he deserved for good, which was God’s eternal punishment.

Compare that, though, to what we hear about poor Lazarus. Our text makes it clear that even though he was poor, Lazarus never wanted to be like the rich man and trade places with him entirely. But that’s how it is for a lot of poor people. They’re in the same spiritual condition as the unbelieving rich, because even though they aren’t rich, that’s all that they want to be. Instead of spending their life protecting what they have, like people who have a lot, they waste aways their life wishing that they had more. But not poor Lazarus. All that Lazarus wanted, we’re told, was to eat the scraps of food that fell from the rich man’s table. He would have been content with next to nothing, because Lazarus already knew that he had everything. Even though his body was covered in sores, he knew that in God’s eyes he was clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covered all his sin. Even though he didn’t have any earthly bread to eat, he knew that he had full access to the Bread of Life Himself. Unlike the rich man, Lazarus trusted in Jesus. He knew that when you have Christ, and the forgivness of all of your sins, you have everything worth having, even if you have nothing else.

There’s only one thing in this life that can’t be taken away from us. That’s what the story of the rich man and Lazarus is really about, and that’s how we know what really counts as the good life. The only thing that can’t be taken away from us, is the salvation that God gives us through Jesus. It’s the promise of eternal life that belongs to all those who put their trust in Christ, and rely on Him for forgivness. Remember what Jesus told Mary and Martha that one time that He came into their house and did a Bible study? Martha, we’re told, was busy with much serving, while Mary sat at the feet of the Lord and listened to his teaching. So, Jesus said to Mary, “She has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

There’s nothing in this life that can’t be taken away from you at any moment. You could lose your house. You could lose your health. You could lose your spouse or your children. You could lose your own life. But if you’ve already died with Christ, if you’ve been joined to him through a living faith, that relies on His Word and clings to His promises, you’ll be raised to new life again. No matter what kind of life God gives you to live here in this world, you’ll enjoy never-ending life with Him in eternity.

So, don’t waste away your life on things that don’t matter. Invest it in the things that do. Don’t skip church. Never miss out on hearing God’s Word with your brothers and sister in Christ, and don’t neglect taking Communion. Read your Bibles at home and say your prayers every night. Be generous with what you have, and gladly tithe your income. Love and serve the people around you through your various vocations, and tell them why you’re doing it. It isn’t because you’re trying to earn your salvation, it’s because you already have it. It’s because Jesus gave everything that He had to save you, so how could you withhold anything that you have from others?

The good life is the life of faith.  It isn’t measured by how much money you have.  It doesn’t come by getting a bunch of stuff.  The true value of the good life is hidden in the life of Jesus Christ. It’s revealed to us in God’s Word, which tells us about how the Son of God suffered and died in our place. When you listen to what God’s Word teaches, you know what it means to be truly rich. You know that when you have the forgiveness of your sins in Jesus you are rich even if you’ve lost everything else. You know that when you a clothed with the righteousness of Christ through faith you are precious in the sight of God even if you are covered with sores inside and out. You know that when Christ has washed you clean in your Baptism, and purified you with His blood in Communion, you’re a child of Abraham, and someday you’ll enter into an inheritance that is far better than anything this world has to offer. Because even if you find yourself lying on the ground, beaten down by life, when you die, the angels will come and carry your soul to heaven. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.