A Homily given by Deacon Ben Jones, assisting Deacon;

St. George’s Anglican Church, Raleigh, NC;

on the First Sunday after Trinity, A.D. 2009.

“Pride and Arrogance vs. Belief and Faith”

+ In the name of God the Father, and of God the Son,and of God the Holy Ghost, Amen.

Luke 17:22.  “and it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried.”

Only Luke in his account of the Gospel includes the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man because it continues the reoccurring theme of the corruption and self-centeredness of worldly wealth and the pride and arrogance this wealth can encourage.  Jesus is directing this parable to the Pharisees for a very specific reason.  Lazarus, (not to be confused with the Lazarus of Bethany, the brother of Mary and Martha), carries the meaning of this parable far beyond the corruption and the concerns of wealth.  We will pay close attention to the Pharisees and to the Jewish nation who fail to respond not only to Jesus Himself, but to His teachings as well, which are the root, the formation, of His faith and belief.  Luke further tells us in the Acts of the Apostles, “That Christ should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.”1  A responsive Jewish nation would have embraced Jesus as the Christ.  Instead, they rejected Him and His doctrines which were to be the fulfillment of the Jewish faith.

The prideful and arrogant Pharisees and scribes, who Christ acknowledged as the legitimate religious teachers of the Jews, should have been the ones telling the Jewish nation of God’s love for them.  They should have been teaching and exhorting, and admonishing the Jewish nation to repent and to return to God and to receive His love and forgiveness.  However, because of the Pharisees’ and the scribes’ pride and arrogant behaviour to the Jewish nation, (the nation that didn’t measure up to their standards), they excluded them and considered them accursed.  This pride and arrogance was equally prevalent among the Israelites as well.

The Jewish nation was truly rich.  They were the chosen of God.  They continually feasted on God’s Spiritual blessings.  These very gifts of God caused them to stumble due to pride and arrogance.  They gloried in the gifts without glorifying the Eternal God, the giver of all good things.  Instead of being a “royal Priesthood”, one of God’s many blessings to this Jewish nation, they loathed and despised the surrounding Gentile nation.  (Ex.- The Syro-Phoenecian woman who was compared to a dog.)  St. Paul taught against this exact pride and arrogance of the Jewish nation and prays for a return to Jesus Christ.  “Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.  I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall?  God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.”2  As we begin to understand the examples of the local and the national rebellion against Jesus and His teachings, let’s see how this pride and arrogance existed on a personal level.

First we get a description of the rich man.  “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple, and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:”3  This type of clothing would not have been out of the ordinary for one of considerable wealth during this time period.  The wearing of purple was associated with royalty, while the wearing of linen was prescribed for priests.  This rich man could have been a member of the prominent Sanhedrin.  His position in society was really not the important issue at hand.  What is important is how he should have used his position for the good of society.

“And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores.  And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.”4  The Greek name Lazarus is a form of the Hebrew Eleazer, which literally means “he whom God helps”.  The use of the name Lazarus is significant to this parable, for the Gentile nation would indeed become “those whom God would help”, through the crucifixion and resurrection of His Son.  Lazarus is depicted as a beggar.  Upon the death of both Lazarus and the rich man, we find that the position of “wealth” takes on a new meaning.

“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried.”5  The wording of this verse of scripture should tell us all that we really need to know.  We are told that Lazarus dies FIRST and is carried by angels IMMEDIATELY into the bosom of Abraham.  Notice there is not a mention of his burial.  Then we are told the rich man died and was buried.  This probably meant that he had a worldly ritual to bring his worldly life to an end.  The deaths of both the rich man, (who represented the Jewish nation), and Lazarus, (who represented the Gentile nations), are symbolic in this parable.  Their deaths illustrate a change in the status and position between the Jews and the Gentiles.

To confirm the lesson of this parable, let’s look at the meaning of Lazarus being carried into Abraham’s bosom.  In Old Testament times, being in one’s bosom is to be in position of closeness, to be highly regarded.  This symbolism is indicated by the ancient practice of having guests at a feast recline on the chest of their neighbours.  The place of highest honour would therefore belong to the one seated next to the host calling to mind the example of St. John the Apostle at the “Last Supper”.  The imagery of Lazarus with Abraham is explained for us in Galatians.  “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.  And the scriptures, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed.  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”6  Gentile believers become “sons of Abraham” through faith in Christ.  This faith will allow the Gentiles to no longer to be “strangers and foreigners” but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the Kingdom of God.

For centuries the Jewish nation had received the benefits of being God’s chosen race by virtue of being Abraham’s physical descendents.  However, after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, this place of honour and blessing would be given to the people that are represented by Lazarus.  This is the meaning of being “carried by angels into the bosom of Abraham” in this parable.  Lazarus was receiving the benefit of “the promise of God”, of “the very Covenant” Abraham made with God.

The death of the rich man takes a completely different meaning.  Symbolically the death of the rich man shows that the house of Judah would become “unseen” by God due to their unbelief.  There would come a time when the Jewish nation as a whole would no longer be God’s favoured nation.  Their hardened hearts lead them to rebel and to reject their Messiah.  The Israelites illustrated by the rich man are in a state of unbelief.

We must ask ourselves a very simple question considering as an example of God’s Kingdom, the “Covenant between Abraham and God”.  “And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward Heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be.”7  “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generation for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”8  Are you the chosen due to the “Old Testament Covenant”, God’s promise to Abraham that his offspring would be as the stars in Heaven??  Or, are you a part of the “New Testament Covenant” as being a star in Heaven because you chose to be the chosen??  There is a great deal of difference.  We make a conscious choice.  God has given us through the teachings of His Son, our foundation of Faith.  We choose to believe in a loving God through His plan of salvation given to us through His Son.  As Christians we have chosen “LIFE” in Jesus Christ.

By the parable, Lazarus is smiling back at us in the comfort of being in God’s Kingdom.  What about the rich man??  The rich man chose to be prideful and arrogant in his wealth.  He did no good with it outside of himself and possibly a clutch of his closest, wealthy friends.  This brings us back to him “faring sumptuously every day”.  This rich man did not choose to believe and to have faith in the teachings of Christ.  If he had made this choice, Lazarus the beggar may have benefited from the man’s wealth other than gathering a few crumbs of the waste.  Who knows??  However, here is what we know.

We make that conscious choice by being at Mass this morning to Worship God and to give Him praise and thanksgiving for His gift to us, His Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.  As well, we will participate in that “perpetual memory of that His precious death and sacrifice”, as that “reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice.  We then receive God’s New Covenant, the Body and Blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, that “Grace of God”, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

AMEN.

+“AND NOW UNTO GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY GHOST; BE ASCRIBED ALL MIGHT, MAJESTY, POWER, AND DOMINION, MOST JUSTLY DUE THIS DAY, BOTH NOW, AND FOREVER, WORLD WITHOUT END,  AMEN.”

1 The Acts of the Apostles 26:23.

2 The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans 11:9-11.

3 The Gospel according to St. Luke 16:19.

4 The Gospel according to St. Luke 16:20-21.

5 The Gospel according to St. Luke 16:22.

6 The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians 3:7-9.

7 The Book of Genesis 15:5.

8 The Book of Genesis 17:7-8.