Godly Poverty, and True Wealth

Sermon for the First Sunday after Trinity
June 7^th, A+D 2026
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, SD
Godly Poverty, and True Wealth – Luke 16:19-31

 Audio of the sermon is available HERE.

   You are poor.  That is the truth, about you, and me, about all of us gathered here this morning.  You and I are poor.  Shall we mourn and cry?  Or should we rejoice? 

    My bride is reading a book titled “The 5 Types of Wealth.”   I took a peek at it the other day, after I realized that the Rich Man and Lazarus would be our Gospel for this morning.  The author identifies five types of wealth:  Time, Social, Mental, Physical and, lastly, Financial.  Looks pretty interesting, especially because the type of wealth most of us think of first, financial or material wealth, is listed last.  And, from my quick scan of the book, it appears the author believes that financial wealth is the least important type of riches. 

    The book appears to be entirely secular, no mention of any kind of spiritual treasures, as far as I saw.  Nevertheless, there is value in the author’s priorities.  The Bible, in particular the Book of Proverbs, warns again and again against making an idol out of our possessions, our wealth.  So far in 22 years of ministry, I have yet to encounter a dying soul who wanted to review their tax returns and retirement accounts as their end drew near.  No, dying people want more time, to be with loved ones.  They wish they didn’t hurt so badly, and that they could still do things, still be active.  Money is important.  But, time, relationships, mental and physical wealth are all more important than money.  I think the author of “The 5 Types of Wealth” is on to something.    

   He’s on to something, but not the main thing.  I think there is likely a lot to learn from him, but he has not landed on the most important thing.  But no worries.  For the main thing, this morning Jesus gives us the cautionary tale of “The Rich Man and Lazarus.” 

   You are poor.  The main thing is to be the right kind of poor.  You definitely don’t want to be poor like the rich man.  He was clothed in purple and fine linen and feasted sumptuously every day, but in a painful irony, his great financial wealth had become the focus of his life, which made him truly poor.  He was effectively enslaved to his riches, which made him heartless. 

   It is a terrible poverty of the soul to have a poor, sick, sore-covered beggar outside your door, and ignore his need.  Even though he was materially wealthy, the rich man was poor toward God, which was revealed in him being poor toward his fellow man, his fellow Israelite, Lazarus.

   Lord preserve us from such poverty of the heart toward You!  For such poverty is eternal.  To use economic terms, to be wealthy is to have a lot of “goods.”  Those who end up in Hades, cut off from God forever, are thereby cut off from every “good,” because every truly good thing comes from God.  The rich man finally and unendingly experiences the worst poverty, a self-inflicted want which never ends. 

   Avoiding the rich man’s poverty is at the heart of the Christian faith.  But there are other kind’s of poverty.  You are also poor, truly, because of the fact that, in and of yourself, you have nothing to offer to God.  Apart from God’s grace and help, you and I have nothing worthwhile to give to or do for God.  Each of us is, as the old confession of sins makes us say, “a poor, miserable sinner.” 

   That phrase, “I, a poor, miserable sinner,” along with any other authentic confession of sins, is not so popular in much of Christianity, especially in America.  But let us not be fools.  That is what the Apostle John says about Christians denying their sinfulness: If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)   In other words, to deny our sinfulness means we are fools. 

   So, do not be a fool.  Instead, rejoice to have been, however painfully, brought to the knowledge that you are a poor, miserable sinner.  Because the Lord only saves sinners.  As Jesus declares, “those who are healthy do not need a physician, but rather those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  (Mark 2:17)   And again, “the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) 

   We are not to celebrate the fact we are poor, miserable sinners.  No, we are to fight against our sinful flesh.  Nor are we to pick favorite sins that the Bible condemns and try to pretend they are no longer sinful, that things which the Bible clearly condemns are somehow now good and right. 

   At the same time, we are wise to accept and confess the uncomfortable truth of our miserable sinfulness.  Because when you know you are poor, then you can rejoice, like Lazarus.  As you are confessing your sins, you are made ready, even eager, to hear the Good News of God’s rich grace.  Confessing, repentant sinners are right where Jesus wants them, ready to be helped, ready to be saved. 

    So, acknowledge your poverty, and confess that you are totally dependent on Jesus and His forgiving love.  Receiving His free, undeserved handout is right where you want to be.  Right where God wants you to be.  Indeed, this blessed poverty is already hinted at in our poor man’s name: ‘Lazarus’ means “God is my helper.”  We do not want to be covered in sores, and we are not required to share in Lazarus’s material poverty.  But still, let us all be like faithful Lazarus, in the main thing. 

   You are rich!  Reverend Nabil Nour, an East River LCMS pastor and also a Palestinian American born in Nazareth, is found of declaring, “I am the richest man alive.” 

    You are rich!  But, God forbid we be wealthy like the rich man in our Gospel this morning.  Many of us are doing pretty well, financially.  In fact, if we compare ourselves to the population of the world, almost all of us have far more material goods than most human beings.  Let us pray that our affection for our earthly goods does not turn us into miserable fools. 

    I often wonder if maybe the rich man actually thought he was being kind to Lazarus.  I mean, what a sweet begging-post he allowed him to have, right outside the front door of his home.  The guests invited to the rich man’s sumptuous banquets had to pass right by the poor man.  The rich man may have thought he was providing Lazarus with great opportunities for begging.  I cannot say for sure the rich man thought this way.  But, we do know that God did not consider the way he treated Lazarus to be loving. 

    We must not behave like the rich man.  But too often, we do.  Because caring for needy people is uncomfortable, it takes time, and can require us to endure various unpleasantries.  But the Biblical truth is that all of us sinners on this earth are facing the same ultimate problems; we are in this together.  And God does expect us to care for the needy, hurting people that He places right next to us. 

    The rich man neglected Lazarus, and instead focused on enjoying his earthly goods.  Worse yet, he neglected the main thing, the far greater gift from God that was delivered to him through the Word of Moses and the Prophets.  God’s true Word, that has as its goal delivering the Truth that is Jesus of Nazareth, the only Savior of sinners, this is the gift that should have been the focus for all of ancient Israel, and should still be the focus for the New Israel, the Christian Church. 

    For Jesus to say that the rich man’s brothers would not believe, even if someone should rise from the dead. is pretty ironic, since Jesus would rise from the dead, and faith in His death and resurrection is what saves.  But our Lord’s point is that saving faith in His Resurrection comes by hearing the Word, by hearing Moses and the Prophets.    

    There is no other means, no other way, no other thing that God has promised to use to make us eternally rich.  The riches that Pastor Nour loves to boast about?  The Bible teaches they are God’s Son, Christ Jesus, the only Savior of sinners, connected to you by baptismal faith.  Your riches include the Holy Spirit, the Divine Comforter, speaking to you through His Word, dwelling in you as His spiritual temple.  And what is richer than the eternal Father, rejoicing to call you His very own child, through His only-begotten Son, Jesus.  These priceless gifts are yours today, through the Word of Moses and the Prophets, and of the Apostles, the eyewitnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus.  These words guarantee a heavenly inheritance to all who believe. 

    You are poor.  You are also rich, through faith in Christ Jesus. How then, do the poor-and-rich people of God live in this world today? 

    Let’s start by recognizing that neither earthly poverty nor earthly wealth can make us right with God.  Abraham had huge flocks and herds, and many workers.  Job was the wealthiest man in the East.  Kings David and Solomon were fabulously wealthy, in earthly terms. 

    On the other hand, the patriarch Joseph endured the worst earthly poverty, being sold into slavery, and then thrown into an Egyptian jail.  Elijah the prophet suffered want and persecution, which required him to depend on the charity of a widow woman, and also drove him to flee from the vengeful Queen Jezebel with only the clothes on his back.  Naomi and Ruth suffered crushing poverty, losing husbands and sons, and enduring famine.  The infant Jesus, under the care of Mary and Joseph, began His human life in poverty, depended on the generosity of women during His ministry, and died naked and alone, as even His clothing was bartered over by His executioners. 

    There are materially rich and poor Biblical saints.  Not so important.  The main thing is that they all confessed their sinfulness and need for a Savior.  Well, not Jesus, He was not sinful.  Still, He confessed our sin as His own, in order destroy its power to accuse us, on the Cross, and then rise to new life, to reveal Himself as our Savior.  And so, all these Biblical saints were eternally wealthy through the Promises of God, to which they clung in faith, the faith that God credits for righteousness. 

    Moses and the Prophets and the Apostles do not leave us wondering how, then, we poor-and-rich Christians should live.  We are not to trust in any earthly good, but instead fear, love and trust in God above all things.  We are to thank God for all His many blessings, and put all of them to good use, investing them, not just in pleasing ourselves, but also in blessing our neighbors.  Our time, our relationships, our physical and mental capabilities, and our material wealth, all these are given to us in trust by the Father.  He would  have us invest them for the good of others, and always with an eye on eternity. 

    I am not just talking about donating time, talent and treasure to support your Christian congregation and the broader Church.  The Lord wills that all your use of the blessings He bestows on you be God-pleasing.  Biblical stewardship encompasses your entire life. 

    A sincere effort and self-examination in the light of this truth will keep us all humble, repentant and seeking God’s ongoing mercy.  This daily forgiveness and renewal of God’s children, along with extending the kingdom of Christ to more souls, these are the reasons the Church on earth exists.  And certainly the regular activities of His Church make up the hub of the wheel through which the Holy Spirit delivers the blessings of Moses, the Prophets and the Apostles. 

    The more clearly we understand our own need, our sinfulness, and the better we grasp the riches of the Gospel, the more we will be determined to support the Church.  Here at Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s, God has provided great riches for us.  Along with regularly feasting on the Gospel, this past week we witnessed the joy of our dual parish, as members from ORLC and OSLC joined together to tackle the basement carpet removal in Hill City.  God be praised. 

    Members from both congregations are actively seeking to draw friends and family and neighbors into our fellowship, keeping me busy during the week.  The Holy Spirit who came down at Pentecost is still lighting fires of faith. 

    Next week at ORLC’s Voters’ Assembly we will consider setting aside a good portion of the surpluses the Lord has provided in recent years to establish a grant fund for Mission and Ministry, for the short term and for the long.  And this afternoon at our Joint Parish Council Meeting, we will do some dream-casting, compiling and discussing ideas we would like see come to fruition over the next decade.    

    The future heavenly riches and blessing we have in Christ Jesus are beyond our comprehension.  His mercy is new every morning, and it lasts forever. 

    God grant us ever to focus our eyes on these promises, so that we and many more people may know where true and eternal treasure is found, and so that we also be moved to use our earthly riches wisely, for the good of God’s people, in the Name of Jesus, Amen.