Pentecost 16, Sept 25

This past Monday afternoon I watched two funeral processions. Like many of you and like
over 4 billion people around the world, I watched Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral. I was
moved by many things but one thing I found especially poignant was the drive from
Westminster Abby to Windsor castle where she was laid to rest. People lined the 25 mile
stretch of roadway and by the time the procession reached the castle, the hearse was covered
with flowers mourners had tossed out along the way. Queen Elizabeth was the daughter of a
king and mother to one. She was a nation’s mum and deeply admired by the entire world.
The other funeral procession I saw that day was along interstate 94. A hearse led a much
smaller procession to a cemetery somewhere on the east side, I assume. There were about 5
cars following the hearse two of which were rusty, beat up pick-up trucks. I have no idea who
this person was because THEIR funeral was not a televised global event. And I’m guessing
very few people witnessed it. Whoever was in that hearse may have been someone’s spouse,
or parent or sibling. And they were, of course, someone’s beloved child.

Read more: Pentecost 16, Sept 25

There was a great divide between these two deceased – at lease from a human perspective.
So many eyes on one. Hardly anyone noticed the second. God saw both. And loved both.
Today’s Gospel is about seeing people. It’s about how God sees and loves. And how he gives
us the same eyes to see and love.
Lazarus, the poor man in Jesus’ story, sat outside the rich man’s gate every day begging. He
would have been hard to avoid and difficult to miss. Beggars by nature have a keen sense
about heavy traffic areas and high visibility locations. But the rich man doesn’t see Lazarus
sitting right at his front gate. Even in the afterlife, the rich man recognizes the beggar, even
calls him by his name but still only sees him as someone to be used for his own needs. He
continues to treat Lazarus as if he were a servant, asking that Abraham send him to bring a
drop of water and to warn his brothers. The rich man fails to see Lazarus as a person, as an
equal, as one deserving of compassion and regard.
It’s obvious that we struggle to see past the labels we put on people who are different from us.
But we even fail to see the person at our gate. Those in our everyday lives. Those inside our
doors. In our families, in our schools, at work, in our congregation. There are those among us
. . . who are hard to avoid and difficult to miss … that we simply do not see. We do not see
what they suffer and what they need. When we are frustrated or angry or hurt, when we get
busy or self-absorbed, we ignore our neighbors, we do not see them, even when they are
close by.
In Jesus’ parable there was a great chasm that separated Lazarus and the rich man. It’s that
chasm that prevented the rich man from seeing Lazarus as a person, as someone beloved, as
someone’s son. And that great chasm lies between us and the people God has called us to
love. We can feel it. It damages our relationships. It creates disappointment and alienation.
It keeps us focused on self and it is no life.
But Jesus stepped into that chasm – into that lonely darkness. He left the riches of heaven to
become poor for our sakes. No one saw him for who he really was. But Jesus had eyes to
see. And he saw what others overlooked.

or example, Jesus saw the needs of an ailing woman crawling to him in the crowd that others
stepped right over. He saw a beloved child of God even when demonic voices were
possessing his mind and tongue. He saw the blind man and the leper – the ones others had
cast aside. He saw the broken sinner when others saw someone deserving only punishment.
He saw the hunger and thirst of those who gathered to hear him. He saw them and loved
them as God’s children.
Jesus sees the lost sheep when others see a lost cause. He sees the lost coin when others
see something or someone of no value. And he gathers all of them . . . all of us . . . into the
gentle loving embrace of Abraham’s bosom.
On the cross Jesus even saw you. So far removed in time and space and yet so close in him
there in the cross’s shadow. He saw you: a desperate beggar. Let’s be honest. That’s what
we really are. Behind all the fancy clothes and the masks we wear we are broken, ailing,
hungry and thirsty. And Jesus sees you. He sees your needs. He sees what you suffer. And
in seeing you, loves you all the more.
And it is with his eyes that we see our neighbor. God created us to be in relationship with
those around us and we experience the fullness of the life God intends when we see all the
people God has placed in our lives. When we are attentive to their needs – when we listen to
their hurts – when we share the promises, when we share his love, when we share ourselves –
we are sharing Christ. It’s never too late to start seeing the things God sees and to see all the
people God has placed in our lives.
The suffering rich man in the story thinks it is too late for HIM and so he asks that Abraham
send someone to warn his siblings of the judgment he was suffering. But Abraham says, “they
have the Moses and the prophets . . . and even if someone rises from the dead, they won’t
listen.”
Wait a minute! We have God’s Word . . . and all the promises they contain. We even have
someone who has risen from the dead! That living word of love is here. That risen loving
Christ is here. He will bring us to life and open our eyes. He will equip us to be his
messengers. He will stretch out our arms to gather and embrace the neighbors at our gate.
This parable is more than just a warning not to overlook those around us in need. It is an
invitation to see differently and by seeing with Jesus’ eyes to live a life that is a more
meaningful, more joyous and more abundant life. This life is what Paul calls “the life that really
is life.” A life made available to all in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – no matter what
our earthly status or situation is. It is a life in which we become the people Jesus sees: not
just SOMEONE’S son or daughter, but wholly and completely GOD’S beloved child.