First Sunday after Trinity, June 19th, A+D 2022
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, South Dakota
Good Fear - Genesis 15:1-6, 1 John 4:16-21, Luke 16:19-31
What are we afraid of?
What should we be afraid of?
Is fear good, or evil?
Can we be fearless?
Fear. Perhaps the poor man Lazarus didn’t have much
fear, for he had nothing to lose. Maybe
he was too busy suffering to fear.
Certainly all the fears that typically torment us had already come to
fruition in his life… poverty, sickness, being an outcast from his community… I don’t want to suggest somehow that Lazarus
had it good in his poverty and illness.
But as a penniless, friendless, disease-ridden beggar, would Lazarus
have feared that things would get much worse?
The prospect of his own death likely wasn’t as intimidating for Lazarus
as it is for us. For he had been dying a
little bit, every day, for a long time.
What did the rich
man fear? Anything? He was wealthy enough to throw extravagant
parties for his friends. Life was good. Certainly the rich man didn’t demonstrate a
pious fear of God. For the rich man,
like Lazarus, was an Israelite, a blood descendant of Abraham. And the LORD God had called all the children
of Abraham, all the people of Israel, to cultivate a soft spot in their hearts
for the poor and lowly and down and out, just as the LORD had demonstrated when
He rescued them from suffering and slavery in Egypt.
But the rich man
did not care for the poor and lowly.
Maybe he was totally heartless.
Or maybe not totally heartless, but rather afraid to get involved with
the problems of others. He certainly did
not get involved personally with Lazarus, for example, maybe taking a plate of
leftovers out to feed him.
“Now understand
me,” the clothed in purple might plead, “I allow this sickly beggar Lazarus to
lie at my door, and pester my guests for charity, as they come in and out to my
parties.” “But get involved with Lazarus
myself, to actually connect with him and help him in some concrete and intimate
way? No thank you. Too messy.
He’s covered in sores! That’s
just too much to ask, don’t you think?”
Whatever his
motivation, in the end the rich man was not afraid of ignoring and neglecting his
brother, the poor Israelite lying at his door.
Besides, he had a party to host, and guests to impress.
The rich man’s
wealth, and his failure to get involved in the needs and suffering of his
neighbor Lazarus are clues to his eternal fate, for they reveal his true god,
his idol. Earthly wealth and prosperity
are so enjoyable, right now. Just a few
months of inflation eating away at the buying power of our income has totally
absorbed our attention and changed the political calculus of our nation. Material wealth and comfort can easily get in
the way of focusing on the one truly needful thing, which is a good relationship
with the One who does the final accounting, the reckoning that really
matters.
The God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob gives every blessing we have, and sees how each one of us uses
the blessings He showers down. The Giver
of every good gift blesses us, that we might in turn be a blessing to
others. Almighty God sees everything. And He can and does count everything, because
His heart is concerned for those who suffer.
God sees. He counts. And there is no escaping His reckoning, His
judgment.
Three thousand
years ago, when the Word of the Lord appeared to Abram, God knew that Abram was
afraid. The LORD had given Abram great
wealth, and great promises. But he was
afraid of old age, and biology, the facts on the ground, facts which spoke
against the promise God had made to him.
Abram and Sarai were old. This
one-flesh couple, who would later be renamed Abraham and Sarah, had been
married many decades. But they had no
children. God had personally promised
Abram that they would have children, indeed, a huge number of
descendants, a great nation would come from them. Even more, God promised that through Abram’s offspring,
His seed, every family on the earth would be blessed. Abram was torn, it seems, between these
wonderful promises, which he wanted to believe, and the reality of his
childless marriage to Sarai. So the
Word of the LORD comes to Abram and calms his worries: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very
great.” The Lord’s gentle words lead
Abram to confess his worry: I know what
you promised, LORD. But I still don’t
have any children, and I don’t see how Sarai ever could.
In response, the Word of the Lord doubles
down on the promise: Fear not, “your
very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he
brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars,
if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your
offspring be.” 6 And [Abram] believed
the Lord, and [the Lord] counted it to him as righteousness. Abram believed the Word of the Lord, and so
God declared that he was righteous, that He and Abram were in a good
relationship, simply because Abram believed the Promise.
Fear not, the Lord
will fulfill His promises. The Lord will
provide for every need of His faithful people, and most especially, He will
provide for our greatest need.
And what is our
greatest need? Is it to have splendid
banquets filled with wonderful friends?
These are indeed blessings from God.
Heaven, after all, is described as exactly that, a never-ending wedding
feast for all the friends of the Bridegroom.
But that’s heaven. On earth,
feasts, while wonderful, are not the most important thing. The rich man focused on this very thing,
enjoying splendid feasts with friends, and he ended up cast out of God’s
presence forever, separated from it by a chasm, able to see into Paradise, but never
to enter.
Is our greatest
need health and a full stomach? These
are indeed important blessings, which the Lord loves to provide. But they are not our greatest need. Lazarus lacked both, and yet he is forever
blessed, receiving every good thing at Abraham’s side in heaven.
No, our greatest
need is to hear the message of Moses and the Prophets, the message the rich man
did not hear and believe. It is the
two-part message that is the over-arching theme of all of Scripture, the
message of sin and grace. Moses and the
Prophets tell of our rebellion against God, and His unexpected mission to
rescue us rebels, despite who we are and what we do. Moses and the Prophets speak the message of
Law and Gospel. They proclaim the
reality of our sinfulness, and the just consequences sin brings to us. And they also announce the lovely message of
God’s mercy and grace, given to us in the Seed of Abraham, that One special
descendant, who would be a blessing to all families on the earth.
The Law of God rightly
fills us with fear, not because it is bad or unfair, but rather because we are
broken and rebellious. The Gospel, the
Good News, the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected,
drives out fear. Because the Gospel is
the declaration that the sinless Son of God is our righteousness. He is the Promise that Abram believed, and
consequently was counted righteous before God.
Jesus Christ is your Promise, and your Righteousness, just the
same. By faith in Jesus, you, like
Lazarus, are truly a child of Abraham, a member of his family, which is the
family of God.
So, what are we
afraid of? There are good
reasons to fear. The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom, after all.
Righteous fear confesses our greatest need is a solution to our sins and
our sinfulness. Righteous fear knows
that knows there is no reason to hope in ourselves. Righteous fear cries out to God for
mercy.
And to all who call
on the Lord for mercy, the Word of the Lord made flesh, Jesus Christ says: Fear
not. I am your shield. I am your great reward, freely given, because
my Father is merciful. Fear not, I am
your blessing. In Me your sins are
atoned for and your seat at the heavenly banquet is guaranteed. I have loved you unto death, and to new
life. I have loved you this way, so that
my love could drive out your fear.
The fear of the
Lord that leads to repentance and faith is good, good for sinners. Even though we have been saved, been declared
saints by God, we are also still sinners.
So, this Godly fear continues to be necessary in our lives, until we
reach the Kingdom of Heaven.
But there are other
fears that the Lord would like to help you leave behind. Are you afraid your sin is too much to be
forgiven? You are a big sinner, no
doubt. So am I. But our sin cannot be bigger than God’s Son our
Savior. His blood covers all sin. So confess your sins, and hear His Word of
forgiveness, free and full. For Jesus’
sake, God reckons you righteous.
Are you afraid of
suffering? Because we are not yet
perfected, we all do. But Jesus Christ
has passed through all suffering, removing its power over you. You will suffer in this life. But Jesus is with you in the middle of your
suffering. Fear not, He will not leave
you. He will bring you through suffering
to joy.
Are you afraid of
loving your neighbor, afraid of getting involved in their problems? Because we are not yet perfected in love, we
all fear the messiness of caring for others.
But the Word of the Lord tells us the way to overcome this fear. We love because He first loved us. So, to better love your neighbor, get more of
Jesus’ love for you. Come and get His
forgiving love every opportunity you have, and He will turn you into the
neighbor-loving child of God that He desires.
Are you afraid your
friends and family will think you are weird if you truly strive to make the
Word of the Lord the center and focus of your life? You’re right, some of them undoubtedly
will. But don’t fear being weird for
Jesus, the Word made flesh. True wisdom
looks like foolishness to the world.
Fear not. Dare to be a fool for
Jesus. And maybe, through weirdo you,
your friends and family will hear the Word, and be drawn to salvation by the
love of God revealed and delivered in Christ Jesus.
Perfect love drives
out fear. We have not and will not
achieve this perfection in this life.
But we can see perfect love in Jesus, who died and rose again to reveal
God’s perfect love for us. Keep your
eyes on Jesus, and rest in the promise that God counts His perfection as your
perfection. By His Spirit He will drive
out your fear and forgive your failures, every day, until that Day when He
calls you to Himself, to take your place alongside Lazarus and Abraham and all
the faithful, Amen.
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