Squandered Chances

If you are a sports fan, you know that one of the most important elements in any game is the use of time. A football coach may be a great leader of men and a wonderful crafter of plays, but if he can’t manage the clock, he may well let a game slip away at the end. I remember watching an SEC game several years ago in which that very scenario played out. It was Auburn and LSU and it had been a close game, with the two teams going back and forth in taking the lead. At the end of the fourth quarter, LSU was driving down the field, getting close to scoring but taking a lot of time doing so. As the clock ran down, they ran a play that got into the end zone that looked to be the game-winning touchdown. However, Auburn challenged, and upon review, it was clear that the clock had ticked to zero before LSU had actually snapped the ball, meaning the game-winning play didn’t actually count. LSU had already been celebrating their victory, but it turns out Auburn was actually the winning team.

As a sports fan, there’s a sinking feeling when those kinds of things happen – knowing that what could have been isn’t, because the clock was mismanaged or there was a lack of urgency. The same is true in life. Each of us has only a limited time on earth, but unlike football games, we don’t have a clock ticking down to tell us when that time is up. We have to be careful not to mismanage our time, so to speak, and let time run out on us. 

The Rich Man in Hell, Seeing Lazarus Embraced by Abraham, from The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (1554) by Heinrich Aldegrever

The Gospel for today ends with the same sense of a wasted opportunity, a squandered chance for the rich man to have done what he should have. Instead, he quickly finds that he is on the losing end of things. This story of Lazarus and the rich man is the last in a series of parables that Jesus uses to warn us about the dangers of our possessions. Two weeks ago, we heard the story of the prodigal son, who was so obsessed with his father’s wealth that he demands his share of it and abandons his family. As we remember, he comes to his senses and fortunately for him, his father welcomes him back mercifully. Last week, we heard the difficult parable about the dishonest steward, who realizes he’s about to be fired and utilizes his master’s debts to make friends for himself with the debtors. Jesus encourages us to use our material possessions to benefit those less fortunate than ourselves. 

Looking back at the messages of those Gospels helps us understand today’s parable. Two weeks ago – “Don’t be obsessed by your material possessions.” Last week – “Use your material possessions for spiritual purposes.” What’s the message this week? We might say it is something like, “Your material possessions are not yours alone; the poor and the needy also have a right to them.” That’s a tough message to swallow and Jesus knows it. The parables on possessions these last three weeks have been building in intensity, and to a degree, this week’s is the one meant to irk us the most. 

In a sense, I think Jesus wants us to sympathize a bit with the rich man. After all, he does nothing to abuse Lazarus or make his fate worse. And after his death, the rich man shows genuine concern for his family, fearing that they will suffer the same fate as he. So what exactly is the rich man’s sin? 

Two things, and two that we also need to be aware of. The first is that the rich man is defined by his possessions. Notice that we don’t know his name – his wealth is his identity. That’s a subtle warning that we must not let the same be said of us. Material wealth is not an evil in itself, but it is extremely dangerous spiritually. Most of us may not think of our ourselves as overly wealthy – not as compared to others at least. But do we think of the inverse – that compared to others, in our country and our world, most of us are pretty well off? We know elsewhere in the Gospel that Jesus says material wealth presents an incredible hindrance to heavenly glory – it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom (Mt 19:34). The only solution is generosity – to use our material possessions to “make friends” with the poor, as Jesus said last week. Whatever your state in life, whether you are wealthy or poor, make sure that you are known for your generosity – for your desire to help those in need. 

The second sin of the rich man is that he fails to help Lazarus. Whether intentionally or merely because he was oblivious, the rich man does nothing for a man literally lying destitute at his doorstep every day. Did the rich man have an obligation to help Lazarus? Not a legal one – there’s no law then or now that we must help a particular person with our own hard-earned money. But according to Jesus, he had a moral obligation. The wealth that the rich man had – just like our own wealth – perhaps came through his own skill or creativity or hard work … but ultimately, as with every blessing, it comes from God, and so it must be used for God’s purposes. Does that mean we have an obligation to give to every charity that asks of us, or to every homeless person that we see on the side of the highway? No. But we do have to help someone, and we do have to be discerning about who we are especially obligated to help – those who are within our reach to help. The rich man easily could have done something to help Lazarus, but he was “complacent,” as the prophet Amos calls it. It may well be that, as it was for the rich man, God will remember in our judgments whether we helped or neglected to help those who in need who are right in front of us. 

Friends, as with any sports competition, the clock in life is ticking away and perhaps running out more quickly than we might think. Don’t be caught just short at the goal line, as the LSU team was. The rich man surely would have treated Lazarus differently if he had known that God holds us responsible for the well-being of those around us. The Gospel today ensures that we can’t utilize a similar excuse. Let’s not be oblivious, indifferent, or complacent about the state of others in need – whether materially or emotionally or spiritually. Jesus urges us to be generous with what we have with the poor, and he means with our money, with our possessions. In a broader sense, we also must be generous in the same way with our time, with our concern, with our kindness, with our prayer, with our attention to how others may be in need in any way. All that we have is a gift, and just as God has given freely to each of us, he calls us to give freely in return.