I have told a lot of the stories of Jesus over the years. One parable upon which I have never preached is this one! It’s a tough parable to read. It is not for the squeamish and the faint of heart. That’s probably why I have avoided using it—even though I know it well. 

This parable is the story of two men; one is very rich, and one is very poor. The rich man neglects the poor man outside his gated house. In the end both men die. God pulls a switch. The poor man goes to heaven; the rich man goes to hell. 

There’s a comic version of this story in the movie “Trading Places” with Eddie Murphy and Dan Ackroyd. It’s the story of the “down and out” versus the “high and mighty.” 

However, Jesus is not particularly humorous here. It’s the only place where I can find that he designates someone to Hell. He says that neglect or failure to notice the poor is God’s ultimate “no-no.” At the very least, the parable should cause us to pause and reflect. 

A few weeks ago I watched a re-run of “Larry King Live” on CNN, where King was interviewing Billy Graham. Larry King tried to get Billy Graham to speak out on some of the social issues for the day, specifically on homosexuality and abortion. Graham politely declined. “I don’t get into those things,” he said. Larry King then asked, “Well, what worries you the most, Dr. Graham?” Without hesitation Graham answered, “Poverty. The poor.” This parable would seem to validate that answer. It may be even that Billy Graham was thinking about this parable when he gave the answer. 

Concern for the poor and Kingdom living are intertwined. There’s a story of a United Methodist minister who ended up by mistake in a political rally. It was one of those festive, banner-waving occasions. He unavoidably got into a conversation with an inebriated man. The man was surprised that a minister would be at a political rally. “My dear brother, what office are you running for?” he asks.  

“My dear man,” replied the minister, “I am a candidate for the Kingdom of God.” 

Replied the other, “That’s good. And I think you will win. Because I know everybody here at this party, and believe me, nobody else is running for that position.” 

“Running for the Kingdom of God,” says Jesus, “implies passion for the poor.” Listen to some of the key elements of the story. 

THE RICH MAN FEASTED SUMPTUOUSLY 

First of all, Jesus tells us the rich man feasted sumptuously. He engaged in the really fine things of life. 

There’s a story of a stockbroker who made millions for a Middle Eastern sheik. He wanted to buy her a gift as a thank-you. She said it wasn’t necessary. “I was just doing my job,” she responded. “No, I insist,” said the sheik. “Well, okay,” she said. “I could use a few new golf clubs.” 

A few weeks passed and the sheik called her on the phone. He said, “I got you some golf clubs. Is it okay that only two of them have swimming pools?” 

The rich man in Jesus’ parable owned a few golf clubs with pools. AND, he feasted sumptuously, daily. It was probably like being on a cruise ship for life! He enjoyed elegant food and lots of it. He drank lots of Evian and Perrier! All the while a desperately poor man starves at his front gate. 

THE ISSUE IS “IGNORING” 

But the real issue in this parable is not the rich man’s wealth. Rather the issue is his ignoring the poor man at his gate. He had not abused the man. He did not ridicule the man. He simply ignored him. The poor man was rendered invisible to him. 

That reality is so easy for some of us today. For most of us, poverty is not in our face. We are insulated. We are provincial. 

That has certainly been the case for me. My entire life has been seemingly insulated from poverty. It’s not necessarily wrong. It’s just a historical fact. I know in my head that poverty exists. But I grew up in Mt. Lebanon. I lived in North Huntington Township and McCandless Township and Upper St. Clair Township, and now in Peters Township. I have seen my share of some poor families. I have seen lots of poor homes along the way. But seldom have I really known what life is like inside those homes. 

One of our United Methodist bishops has said that every Christian—as a part of his or her discipleship—should befriend at least one poor family. 

Poverty prevails in our world. Too often it is desperate, killing poverty.  

In recent months I have felt a great deal of enthusiastic support for the Jamaica trip coming up among the poor on that island. I have expressed to you profound gratitude for over $90,000 raised for the Nyadire United Methodist Hospital in one of the poorest sections of Africa. But just as I was feeling good about these two things, I went on Monday night to view a presentation on Kenya, done by two members of this congregation. It is a story about a place where AIDS and poverty is claiming lives by the thousands. Can there be anything worse than an AIDS epidemic in the midst of poverty? At the same time I keep reading about death and starvation in the Sudan. 

In a bit of almost comic irony, a few days after seeing the Kenya film, we left with our granddaughter on a Walt Disney cruise. There we feasted sumptuously! 

I know that I have not done enough. Jesus said, “Make the poor an upfront priority in your discipleship. If you don’t, you truly break the heart of God.”  

FIVE BROTHERS 

The parable also tells us the story of five brothers. The rich man died and ended up in Hell. He called to Abraham across the chasm between Heaven and Hell and asked Abraham to go back and remind his five brothers of the priorities that they should observe. I believe Jesus was telling us that you and I are those five brothers. 

Jesus says, “Make lifestyle choices that align you with God.” He is not asking you to give your wealth away. Jesus only said that to one man, as far as we know. He only said it one time. But he does ask us to make changes that align us with Kingdom living. 

There is a story about Robert Schuller, who was visiting one day in the home of actor Lee Marvin. They sat down for lunch on a patio by the pool. Marvin said, “Dr. Schuller, would you please return thanks?” 

Schuller prayed a prayer something like this: “Dear God, we thank you for all of this beauty that surrounds us this day, for the wonderful home that Lee Marvin has for his use, for this good food and the multiple blessings of life.” 

The Schuller looked up and asked if Marvin would like to say a prayer of thanks too. Marvin thought for a moment and after a pause he said, “Dear God, help me to give something back.” 

Have you ever felt that way? Maybe you are not especially rich, but you are so incredibly blessed that you want to give something back? Is that not what Jesus is saying in this parable? 

Obviously Jesus was not being totally original here. His story is consistent with other passages of Scripture. Consider just two. In Deuteronomy 15:7 we read, “If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor.” 

Or consider this passage in Isaiah 58:6-7. “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them…?” 

Is this not what Jesus said in the parable? The rich man’s five brothers have “Moses and the prophets”! 

Can we solve the problem of poverty? Or is it a problem that is absolutely unsolvable? There is a story of three Middle Eastern men whose father had died. In his will the father left his sons the camel herd. There were 17 camels in all. To one son he left one ninth. To another he left one half. To another he left one third. 

The brothers could not solve the problem of the will. They argued among themselves as to how to make the solution. You couldn’t divide 17 into one ninth, one half and one third. Finally they took the problem to a wise man of the tribe. The wise man heard their story. Then he took his own camel and put it with the herd, making it 18 camels. Then he gave one brother one ninth, or two camels. To another he gave one half, or nine camels. And to another he gave one third, or six camels. Two plus nine plus six equals seventeen. The wise man then took his own camel and walked away with a smile on his face. 

Can we solve the intricate problem of poverty in our world? One writer thinks we can. Jeff Sachs wrote an article on “The End of Poverty” in Time magazine earlier this spring. Sachs says there are three kinds of poverty. One is extreme or absolute poverty—the kind that kills. There are an estimated 1.1 billion people in poverty on the earth. Eight million of them die each year—too poor to stay alive. 

There is also a “moderate level” of poverty, and there is also a “relative level” of poverty. Sachs believes we can eliminate extreme poverty by 2025 (or in 20 years). He says we can solve it. 

I have no time for the details of his solution here. Although he does say this about the United States: “The richest and most powerful country, long the leader and inspiration in democratic ideals, is barely participating in global efforts to end poverty… thus undermining its own security.” (“Time” magazine, March 14, 2005, p. 54) We are the five brothers! 

Another writer presented a story on the assistance to the tsunami victims last winter. From February 22^nd to March 18^th a large team of doctors and nurses from Massachusetts General Hospital went to Indonesia. There they partnered with a large group of Indonesian volunteers to bring relief. On the last night of their service an Indonesian spoke to the group. She said this: “When a large group of good and caring people are collected together in one place like this, it creates a certain energy of its own which has far-reaching effects.” 

Is that not a suggested or urged priority through this parable? We can no longer afford to ignore the desperately poor. 

BOTH MEN DIE 

In Jesus’ parable, both men die. Everyone dies! Jesus seems to be saying, “It is not when you die that is important, but it is how you live.” 

There was an interesting survey a few years ago on what causes people to live longer or to die earlier. Certain lists of death predictors were brought to the forefront. Listen to some of these.

• If you have an annual physical exam, you can add three years to your life. If not, you can subtract three years.
• If you volunteer on a weekly basis—unpaid work for non-family members—you can add two years to your life. If not, you can subtract one.
• If you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day you can subtract 4 years from your life.
• If you are a religious person and practice your faith you can add two years to your life.

There were 22 questions in the survey. 

Jesus says, “Live a healthy life. Pay attention to the poor. Pay attention especially to the extremely poor—those who cannot live without your help.” 

I do not see in this parable a condemnation, but rather a cautionary call. This is not a bitterly harsh story, but an expression of God’s hope. Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time…So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” I believe we find something of the will of God in this parable. 

Many of you studied Henry David Thoreau in school, and you probably read these words from “Walden”: I went into the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to confront only the essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” 

“Do not ignore the poor,” said Jesus. That is God’s priority. Make lifestyle changes that will allow you to live as Kingdom people. 

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church!