Sermon for the 16th Sunday after Trinity

Sunday 26th September 2004

Preached by Rev Brian Parker

Do it now!

Over these past few days we have listened to reports about the wretched situation facing Kenneth Bigley – an ordinary man, in a good job, building a home and due to retire in three weeks.

Now he is in the cruel hands of terrorists. The reality of what he is suffering is beyond us – hard to comprehend.

Kenneth is a man with a strong family around him- a family who have been moving governments and anyone else who will listen to them to do something to save their son, their father, their brother, their husband.

The family have led from the front and with church leaders and priests and members of the church family in Liverpool and with countless others around the world they have prayed for his safety.

Perhaps it is the intense concentration on this one individual’s plight that makes the horror and evil of terrorism all the more real. It smacks us in the face, frightens us, angers us and we scream for justice.

One of Kenneth’s neighbours said: “Ah, the poor man, I pray for him every day.”

‘The poor man’. It’s a familiar expression that we understand. It’s an expression of sympathy and reaching out –it’s a word of comfort to him in his misery. It’s not a description of his economic status..

Jesus describes ‘the poor man named Lazarus’ in dramatic terms – terms intended to stir us to be comforters and to reach out, even search out those in need.

“The poor man Lazarus” was destitute and without hope. Jesus doesn’t mention his clothes – rags or whatever – only the sores that covered his body. He was dressed in painful sores that marked him out in society as unclean and repulsive.

And the pain in his soul was compounded by the uncaring attitude of people around him – people who could have helped, who had every opportunity to help but didn’t.

The picture of ‘poor Lazarus’ is further darkened as we see him making pathetic attempts to grab a morsel of food dropped by the dogs. They are pariah like scavengers, mongrels who abuse him further by licking his sores, barking at him and snapping at his heels.

“Poor Lazarus.” He is a man deprived of what we regard as basic human rights, deprived of family love and care, deprived of help, deprived of friends.

Jesus said: “give to the poor.” St Paul said: “Be ready to give, and glad to distribute.”

We would all want to give Kenneth Bigley his freedom this morning – if only we could.

But we do reach out to him and his family -we are compelled to notice his situation and we yearn to help.

When Jesus told the story of ‘poor Lazarus’ and the attitude of his neighbours he was attacking their complacency and apathy. He was saying help him now.

Now was the important time – when you have opportunity to do good –do it now. The opportunities will run out. So take stock of how you are living – now.

That’s the underpinning urgency in the story. Of course enjoy and be glad in the lifestyle that you have but don’t use it as a cushion to blank out the real world.

As someone said we get too comfortable, so much so we may ‘block out the sound of people crying and deaden our sense of duty”.

Everyman deserves to be protected from the pariah like mongrels who bring suffering and death on the innocent.

In his teaching Jesus bestows on each individual the dignity of ‘ a name’ – Lazarus. But the uncaring, the cruel and the indifferent, the apathetic and the greedy – he does not name.

In that omission there is a judgement; a condemnation and the terrible pain of seeing God’s children waste opportunities and ultimately waste their lives.

So we pray for Kenneth Bigley and his family. We reach out to them.

We pray for justice and compassion in the world, in the face of injustice and cruelty. And we accept that whatever we can do for those in need - we are compelled by the love of the suffering Christ to do it now.

‘Lord, we pray for the poor
and those who don’t have enough to eat.
We pray for all who need help.
We give you ourselves
For you to use
In helping them.”

Amen.