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As we gather, we recognize that we live, work, pray, and play
in the traditional lands
of the Cowichan Tribes and Coast Salish People.
We continue to commit ourselves
to the work of reconciliation and relationship-building
with our First Nations neighbours.
Call to Worship:
You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich,
yet for your sake he became poor,
so that, by his poverty,
you might become rich.
2 Corinthians 8.9
O Come, Let Us Worship
Gathering
Almighty God:
to you all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hidden.
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ, our Lord. Amen
Collect:
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church,
being gathered by your Holy Spirit into one,
may show forth your power among all peoples,
to the glory of your name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
The Proclamation of the Gospel:
Luke 16. 19-31
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Let Us Pray
As scattered grains of wheat are gathered together into one bread,
so let us gather our prayers for the church,
those in need, and all of God’s good creation.
Our response today:
God of grace:
Hear our prayer.
O God, rich in mercy,
fill your church with righteousness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
Empower the baptized, by your Spirit,
to be rich in good works and ready to share.
God of grace:
Hear our prayer.
Protect the earth and its creatures.
Provide water, food, shelter, and favorable habitats,
especially for endangered species.
Preserve threatened ice caps, glaciers, parks, and beaches.
God of grace:
Hear our prayer.
Increase justice in nations, local governments, and courtrooms.
Guide lawyers, and those who hold public office,
to act with compassion and discernment.
We pray for all candidates who have put their names forward
for the City of Duncan and the Municipality of North Cowichan.
God of grace:
Hear our prayer.
Give food to the hungry. Set the captives free.
Lift up those who are bowed down.
Watch over the stranger. Tend to those who are ill.
In our parish, we pray for:
Roy & Gail; Daryl & Sue; Maureen; Geoff; Jay;
John; Carolyn; Joseph; and those on our hearts.
Stir us to act in the best interest of our neighbours.
God of grace:
Hear our prayer.
Enliven our praise.
Inspire musicians, artists, poets, and all who create beauty in this place.
We give thanks to our Music Leader, Ginette, and to all our readers.
God of grace:
Hear our prayer.
Enfold the saints who have died in the arms of your loving care.
Grant that the holy angels accompany us, and bring us to eternal life,
with them, in the light of your presence.
God of grace:
Hear our prayer.
Gathered together in the sweet communion of the Holy Spirit,
gracious God, we offer these and all our prayers to you;
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen.
Sermon: The Venerable Brian Evans
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of
our hearts be ever acceptable to you, O Lord. Amen.
“Who Is My Neighbour?”
Or, I could have said, ‘How well do I know my neighbour?’
Living in a Strata which is town homes, one might think they know their neighbour well.
This is not always so.
The person in the unit next to us--we know her name, that is it. At the same time, we are close in the sense we know we would be there for each other.
In many ways, we all live in the same context as the Royal Family. We are no less private than they. Only difference: we do not create the same amount of curiosity.
Today’s gospel places before us two individuals who, one might say, could not have less in common, or be more a stranger to each other: Lazarus and a “rich man.”
At the outset, I have always been curious as to why we never know the name of the rich man, while we do know the name of the beggar at the gate. He is Lazarus.
The Rich Man and Lazarus were neighbours.
They would have encountered each other daily.
Possibly, a number of times each day. We wonder how much they know about each other.
Jesus sets up the story for us, giving location, status, and such.
Then the two men die.
Who would have expected the location of their souls following death? The time and place would have suggested a different outcome.
The rich man and Lazarus are on opposite sides of the great chasm—between a life of eternal life of happiness and joy, and the other, to life of humility and agony.
Let us back up and take a closer look at these two individuals.
Rich Man was self-indulgent, and this is the age of self-indulgency. The contrasting lifestyles of these two men is so obvious that you can’t miss it.
Dives was a connoisseur, a lover of the arts, one who knows and appreciates fine living, Michelin restaurants. We are told in vs. 19, that he habitually dressed in purple. Purple was known as the color of royalty because it was the most expensive dye in the ancient world. Only the upper echelon, and the high priest, could afford it.
We are also told that his undergarments were made of fine linen.
Linen, the lifestyle of the rich and famous.
The other man in the story is Lazarus. How can we describe Lazarus?
Lazarus is homeless. We are told in vs. 20 that he was a cripple. Lazarus barely made it from day to day, living off the leftovers thrown to him by the rich passing by. He is just a survivor, that’s all you can say of him.
As stated earlier, they both die.
It is in that moment we recognize something about death.
Death is a new day for the soul of man. Death does not care about our social standing, our status, our colour, or our place in the community.
The placing of the Funeral Pall on the casket of the deceased is a great reminder of this and the theology behind it. In the eyes of God, at death we are all equal; rich or poor, prince or pauper.
This story has many difficult parts for us.
Difficult in the sense of how God reverses the social standards we are familiar with.
As said earlier, the rich man is never named. As opposed to the poor man at the gate.
To this day, the standards have not changed. It is more likely we would know the name of the rich, and not that of the cripple at the gate begging for food. We are more likely to reference those, so called at the store front in our day, simply as one group like street people.
Yet, in heaven we know this will be reversed.
In God there is a special place for every person, particularly the poor and suffering in the world.
Taking a closer look at the rich man, we know he was not a bad person. It would suggest, he never asked Lazarus to move along, or move out of his way. He never told him to get a job, or to get up, and move along.
What the rich man did do, was a show of indifference.
In many ways, the rich man and Lazarus, although neighbours, they never really met. They were living on two different plains of life.
The part of the incident we have suggests the rich man never really considered Lazarus’ state in life.
Never asked: I wonder if he is hungry, or what his need may be.
Some years ago, Mother Teresa was being interviewed.
As often happens, the interview is broken up by commercials.
It is reported, this was sequence of events played out in the interview.
Here is the sequence of the topics and commercials:
lepers (bikinis for sale):
mass starvation (designer jeans):
agonizing poverty (fur coats):
abandoned babies (ice cream sundaes):
the dying (diamond watches).
The irony was so apparent. Two different worlds were on display--the world of the poor, and the world of the affluent.
Metaphorically, we are often presented with the “Lazarus” of the world at our gate.
At the same time, we have an important, (certainly more important in our mind) engagement at a local restaurant.
Jesus invites us to sit down alongside Lazarus and see the world from their point of view. Then, to imagine the image in a mirror.
What do I see? What is the vision I see of myself in heaven?
These are tough questions.
At the same time, they are real questions for us to reflect upon.
The reality is, too often, we like to close the curtain and not deal with the real situation in the world.
There is a third part to this parable.
This is the moment The Rich Man wants to return to his family and warn them of their fate, if they do not change their ways.
The request is flatly denied.
Abraham says, "your family has the Word of God to warn them, and it is up to them."
It is not unlike in another part of the Gospel when Jesus says: Do you believe me because you have seen me?
What we have described for us is this big gulf between the societies of the world. A gulf which can only be bridged if we put an end to “them and us.”
It is about getting to know our neighbour.
To see the Lazarus’ of the world in a way which is more than simply the landscape of the world.
May we all make the “neighbour we haven’t met” as the “neighbour we know.”
There is a great Gospel Hymn about this very subject. The opening lines of each verse are: 'When I needed a neighbour Were you there, were you there?'
I was hungry and thirsty Were you there, were you there?
I was cold, I was naked Were you there, were you there?
When I needed a shelter were you there?
And the creed and the colour
When I needed a healer Were you there, were you there?
Then the last verse:
Wherever you travel I'll be there,
I'll be there Wherever you travel, I'll be there
And the creed and the colour
And the name won't matter, I'll be there
Thanks be to God. Amen.