29 September 2013

“Lazarus’ rich man and his zombie apocalypse”
Luke 16:19-31
OT 26C
29 September 2013


So what’s the deal with all the zombies, anyway?
It sure seems like, everywhere you turn these days, there’s zombie this and zombie that … zombie movies, zombie TV shows, zombies in commercials … and stories and web sites and internet postings dedicated to “the coming zombie apocalypse” … that’s the day we’ll wake up, and there will be walking dead people all over the place, coming to make us into zombies, too.
I personally just don’t get it. But I don’t get “Grand Theft Auto” or Miley Cyrus or the continued success of the “Survivor” franchise either. (13 years of this reality TV???) A lot of what’s supposed to be popular culture is lost on me. Maybe on you, too.
Now, we all know zombies aren’t real, right? Well, actually they are … a web site titled Cracked.com has a list of “scientific” reasons that zombies could rise up in large numbers and take over the world:

• A huge influx of brain parasites
• A sweeping tide of neurotoxins
• Rampant Mad Cow Disease
• Neurogenesis (that’s the re-animation of dead brain tissue) gone amok
• Nano-bots (microscopic robots which can rewire people’s brains which have been damaged) taken over by a hostile global or alien empire

All of those, Cracked.com says, real scientific reasons, will contribute to the eventual zombie apocalypse that will make all the other feared “ends of the world as we know it” pale – or perhaps, turn a stomach-turning shade of green – in comparison.
Well, if you believe such stuff.
I think what’s behind this rising zombie tide … so to speak … is that some of us feel so overwhelmed by the real things going on in the world which should scare us (political gridlock, economic hardships, weird weather and killer storms, poverty, wars, terrorist attacks, and so on) that we feel like we have to make up something to scare us … but only sort of scare … it’s a fear that goes away as soon as the TV program or movie are over … because we all know there’s not really going to be a zombie apocalypse.
At its root, it’s all about fear … now, the fear here serves as a money maker (all those zombie movies and TV shows bring in big bucks).
But we know that fear is used as a motivator all over the place … by politicians on both sides of the aisle … by big medicine and pharmaceutical companies … by the media, mainstream and otherwise … and by the religious, of many and various stripes, through many eras and times … including our own …
… which brings us to our Gospel text for today.
It’s Jesus’ wrapping up of these chapters … 14, 15, 16 … in Luke’s gospel, which have at their heart a world-reversing Word about wealth, money, stuff.
Jesus’ word to his disciples, the Scribes and Pharisees, all who would listen, is simple … don’t put your trust in worldly wealth. Give your wealth, your possessions, to the poor … or sell them and give the money to the poor … and follow Jesus. Indeed, don’t let anything … stuff, wealth, possessions … block your view of Jesus Christ and his call to follow him.
Now, how Jesus wraps these chapters up is with an old chestnut … a stock script and two characters from Central Casting.
Stories like the Rich Man and Lazarus have been around for millennia, with a central illustrative word of warning to people that “they’d better watch out, or else they’ll get theirs in the end.”
Here, an unnamed rich man lives luxuriously and enjoys his wealth, while poor scabby Lazarus lies at his gate and wishes for even scraps from the table … scraps which it sounds like do not come. Poor Lazarus dies and is carried off by angels to rest in the arms of Abraham … while the rich man dies and goes to Hades, the place of torment.
It’s the old reversal of fortune – and Jesus even has Abraham saying as much – Lazarus had a crappy life on earth, and now he’s in heavenly bliss … but old Richie had it good here, so now it’s his turn to feel the burn.
The rich man seeks some personal relief, but it’s not coming.
So he decides to ask Abraham a favor … send dead Lazarus to his brothers … yeah, that’ll do it … a ghost like old Marley going to Scrooge … no, even better, Lazarus would be real and walking around, a zombie … the rich man’s own private zombie apocalypse … well, for his brothers left on earth, at least … to scare them into straight living, Godly living, before it’s too late.
It’s the old “fear motivator” at work, once again. The zombie apocalypse comes to the rich man’s brothers to scare them into changing their ways before it’s too late.
Ah, but Abraham … he is wise to what’s going on … and he cites some earlier examples of other words, other stories, meant to motivate God’s people into living the way God intended for them.

They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.

We have one of those prophets before us this morning. Amos. He who was called by God to preach judgment in a smooth time, to wealthy people … he gave plenty of warnings to the rich, warnings meant to motivate them to lives of justice, peace, honoring God and caring for their neighbor.
Today’s text is another of those “shape up or else” words … turn around, repent, clean up your ways, live in my Word, or you’ll be the first ones dragged off into slavery.
Well, we know what happened. The people didn’t listen, and this word – Amos’ word, God’s Word through Amos’ words -- came to pass. As it came to pass for all the prophets. Though certainly the prophets’ word was given – and passed on – to increase faith, faith in God and God’s word of promise and hope, faith in the hearts and minds of God’s people – there is most certainly a sense here of “if you don’t do this, these bad things are going to happen” … that old fear motivator once again.
The rich man knows this. He, like his brothers, had the word of the Law … the word of God given through Moses … and the word of God through the prophets. Yet he didn’t listen to it. He doesn’t say why.
But we can guess, by what he wants Abraham to do. He didn’t have enough fear shot into him through the words of Moses and the prophets … and neither did his brothers … but if there was a zombie apocalypse … dead Lazarus walking around, come back to warn his brothers … well, maybe that would change them.
But Abraham won’t buy it.

If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.

Huh? So what’s this all about? Is Jesus saying … remember, this is a story, a story told by Jesus, Jesus putting these words in Abraham’s mouth … is Jesus predicting that even his resurrection won’t change things? That it’s hopeless for the dead rich man’s brothers … and then, by extrapolation, anyone … to change their ways, to repent, to live in the love of Christ and enter into the eternal Kingdom of God?
Well, if it’s through fear, being scared into “choosing” the Kingdom … well, yes; I’d say the answer is yes.
I’m reminded of another Scripture passage here this morning … from the first Epistle of John … the verse which goes, “Perfect love casts out fear.” We had that verse read at our wedding. Except that, the reader at our wedding, she stumbled a little in her reading, and it came out like this:

Perfect fear casts out love.

And we laughed, in the midst of our wedding, at the humor in that accidental reversal … but you know, there is truth in that accident.
Perfect fear does cast out love. Fear is not only a rotten motivator, it’s no motivator at all.
In our world, every day, how often do we see and hear this? There’s a whole lot of fear going on and coming down, every day … we’ve just been through a truckload of it from our elected leaders, in the now-regular gyrations, hyperbole and threat that is the budget-passing process in these United States. How much love toward those to whom Christ calls us to be to and for first and most … the poor, the powerless, the downtrodden, the outsiders, those on the edge of society and the edge of life … how much love do those words of fear, from all sides of the political spectrum, accomplish for them?
None. It’s the same old garbage, day in, day out.
And you know any issue before us today, which you put into the fear blender, it all comes out the same. Guns, marriage, taxes, traffic, environment, terrorism, and so on. Fear is what we hear from all sides, fear that something’s going to happen or something’s not going to happen … but are hearts ever changed?
Of course not. Of course not. And’s that’s because fear is no motivator, fear is no agent of change.
What fear does accomplish, what fear does bring, is chaos.
“When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.”
That’s why I think Jesus puts those words into Abraham's mouth in our text for today. Even the event, the happening which changed God’s course and our course forever … the Cross … Jesus’ dying and rising again … even that … used in fear, used to scare people into repentance … it just won’t, it doesn’t work.
No, what Jesus is looking for here, is not frozen in fear hearts, but changed hearts.
And the only way hearts will change, is if they are sent a living body, not a zombie apocalypse to scare them into a shallow convincing, but a living body, to accompany, to walk alongside, to call and embrace, to mentor, to deeply grow, to disciple others, them, US, into the Kingdom of God.
This is how Jesus does things in the Gospels. This is how the Holy Spirit, after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, works among the disciples, to spread the Good News of Jesus into the world.
This is how we are called … through the waters of Baptism, through the bread and wine of Jesus’ Meal, through the living presence of the Word which is the community of faith, fellow travelers on the discipleship road, the Body of Christ, living and active, into the world … this is how we have come to be here, in this place today.
And it is the same way we are called to go forth in Christ’s name, we, this community of his Cross, into the world. We lead by being servants, we call through our example, we are vessels of God’s love, Christ’s compassion, into the world … not to scare, but to serve in love … Christ’s love.
There most certainly doesn’t need to be more fear, fear which freezes, fear which reeks of death; there certainly doesn’t need to be more fear brought into the world.
No more zombie apocalypses, please.
Just a living, breathing body, the Body of Christ, we, us, called, forgiven, freed, sent into the world God loves, the world Christ lives to save, through us, his called, his chosen ones, called and chosen to live and serve in the love and light of God’s Kingdom, called and chosen to bring that word of the life that really is life into the living hearts and minds and bodies of those who God sends us, in our own lives.
Living, breathing bodies. You and me. Sent by Christ, through his Word of love, to live his Word and do his Work.
What an honor. What a joy. What a blessing. Amen.