"The Best Time is Today" - Luke 16:19-31 - September 30, 2001

This past week a man came into the church begging for gas money. He said he needed to drive to Nashville, Tennessee to retrieve his stolen van. He said the van contained his tools which he needed to do his work. He also stated he had contracts but without his tools he couldn’t fulfill them.

This is just one example of the folks who either call the church or walk in every week, looking for financial assistance. Sometimes I am able to refer them to a source that can help. Sometimes I feel really compassionate and give them money out of my own pocket. Other times I give them food or clothing. Sometimes I just listen to their heart-wrenching stories.

I have heard about every hard luck story in the book. After awhile there is a tendency to become indifferent or even insensitive. I can’t understand how people end up in such dire circumstances. I hate to turn anyone away and there are times when I feel guilty when I am unable to help them.

In "Parables of Jesus," George Buttrick said that "true charity is more than flinging a coin at a beggar." That is only a superficial way of helping someone with a need. There has to be what he calls a "fundamental neighborliness," a deeper and more pervasive attitude of caring for another person. Perhaps he is on to something.

When I hear stories like this one in the Bible I am always reminded of the need to feed the hungry and help the poor. The story portrays a rich very man who is totally oblivious to a very poor man in his neighborhood. The poor man had a name, Lazarus, but for the rich man, he was nameless. Lazarus was helpless, poor, sick, and unable to take care of himself. People passed by him every day, including the rich man, but no one gave him aid.

Lazarus, who was neglected in his earthy life is now cared for in the life after. On the other hand, the rich man is totally helpless. He begs God to have Lazarus intervene on his behalf but that is impossible. The gap between the two men is fixed and the rich man is thirsty and helpless. It is an absolute reversal of their positions while on earth.

Usually the story is interpreted to mean the rich man’s prosperity hindered his ability to reach out to Lazarus. I believe, however that Jesus didn’t intend this story to be a model for establishing a food pantry or creating a social services agency. It was his reluctance to connect, to see Lazarus as part of the community. Its more than a story about the "haves" and the "have nots." Its about realizing, whether we like it or not, we are connected to people that we don’t know. The crisis on September 11th has certainly made us aware that we in the United States do not live in a vacuum. There are people who live outside our borders who are deprived, oppressed, starving and living in fear.

Remember, this story is being told by Jesus to his disciples. He has been giving them a series of teachings on how to be people of faith. Faith is practical. Faith is reaching out to others with unconditional love. It is living a life that searches for the lost, (Luke 15). It is a life that forgives and cancels debts, (Luke 16). It is a life that is committed to the needs of those around us, (Luke l4). It is a life that is gracious and "makes friends"(Luke 16).

For the rich man it was too late. He created the gap between himself and Lazarus because of his choices to be non-neighborly in the past. He lived in isolation, guarded from people in the world who did not share his position of privilege. Now he finds himself in isolation again. Only this time, he can’t turn the clock back. A great chasm exists, one that is impossible for him to close. The chasm exists because it existed before. His unwillingness to connect in the past simply continues in the present.

This is not just a story about life and the after life. This is a story about the present. How we connect to the world today is transcendent. In other words, today is the most important day of our lives. It is what we do, now, at this very moment that determine whether we live in isolation or in community.

Recently I read a sermon by Rev. James Liggett on this story and I was struck by one of his comments. He said, "It never occurred to him (the rich man) that he might be the one who needed to move." We have a habit of becoming complacent. We make no effort to change or alter our lifestyle until we experience some crisis. I have met hundreds of people who don’t make a decision until they are forced to do so. You could say that this story vividly illustrates the non-decision makers. But, to do nothing or to not make decisions is really a decision.

This is something that has always bothered about church folks. We have the attitude that people in our community will somehow find their way to our church door. We take our faith for granted not realize that each of us is called to live out or faith by reaching out to those around us. That means we have to move toward them; inviting them, giving them directions, befriending them, teaching them and encouraging them.

The rich man never made any attempt to move toward Lazarus. He didn’t talk with him or bother to get to know him. He saw no connection between them. Now, he needs Lazarus. He is the only one who can help him. Here he is, completely isolated and stuck, and ironically he wants Lazarus to move toward him.

I heard someone say the other day that the reason we weren’t prepared for the acts of terrorism against us is because we never imagined that anything like that could happen. Besides hesitating to "move" we also have a tendency to suppress our imaginations. There is a need for us to cross over the chasm from the left side of our brains to the right side. Our calculating, processing, factual minds need to be counterbalanced by creativity, risk-taking and a passion to be imaginative.

The recent terrorism attack has promted toy makers to take a second look at the toys they are making. Some are turning from fighters and warrior types to rescue and medical types. Mattel, for example, has produced a special New York City firefighter version of its Billy Blazes Rescue Hero. Lego said it was ordering some of its products off the shelves since an instruction book included an aircraft bombing a city and FAO Schwartz has stopped selling a missile launching helicopter. Wayne Charness, a spokesman for Hasbro Corporation said, "We are looking at everything through a different set of glasses."

The way to bridge the chasm that separates the church from the rest of the world is to see those outside the church with different glasses. Like Lazarus, everyone has a name, a personal identity, a history and a personality. The only way to connect them to the church is to be "open" to strangers and see them as children of God up close and personal.

When the man asked me for money I suggested he might use his skill of laying tile by doing a small project for the church. I thought that was fairly imaginative. He, on the other hand balked at the opportunity. I was offering him more than a way to make a few bucks. I was offering a way to connect to the church. He refused, but it has been my experience that people connect when we are willing to use their talents.

The story of Lazarus and the rich man is quite imaginative. It is vividly described and takes place in the future. We have to remember that it is a parable, a teachable moment, a lesson. Jesus is teaching us a lesson. The time to move is today. The time to use our imaginations is today. It is time to open our eyes and see the world outside of ourselves. Also, there are no mistakes in life, only lessons.

The reality of the terrorist attack on America is only now beginning to sink in. Families are burying their dead. Others are filing applications for missing persons who are presumed dead. What we are learning is they all had names. They were from all over the world. A few were former residents of Ohio. We also have local family connections.

God wants us to be connected, reaching out and knowing our neighbors. Otherwise we live in isolation, tormented, our souls thirsting for love. God wants us "move," changing our ways, our perspectives, taking risks. And God wants us to use our imaginations with the confidence to create and wonder. With God there is no chasm, no divide, and no torment. With God there is peace, harmony and togetherness.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio