Where does your confidence lie? In the government, family, friends or yourself? In this parable that Jesus tells, it is the one who puts their confidence in God rather than themselves who find true mercy!

Where do we put our confidence? I wonder particularly in the past few weeks whether we have questioned where our confidence is placed? Who or what do we trust in? With the crisis of living and the uncertainties that it feels like we face on a weekly basis in the leadership of our country, having lived through an uncertain pandemic, there are many of us that are feeling the pressures of life and might be feeling burdened and prevented from living a full life. We might even be questioning how can we thrive in this life? If we’re truthful isn’t that what we all want? To thrive not just survive?

That might seem like a bleak beginning to what I want to share with you today but bear with me, it isn’t bleak at all because the parable from Luke’s gospel  reminds us of where our confidence should be placed and how that impacts transforms and changes our lives and the lives of others. The message in this parable from Luke’s gospel is about the confidence we can have in Jesus to help us navigate life and death and life for all eternity.

It’s a really apt parable for today actually as we have welcomed Aiofe into our church family on this day of her baptism. These baptismal promises that have been taken for her are about seeking after a life where Aiofe can flourish, where sin and rebellion against God is turned away from, and a choice is made to submit to Jesus, following His way, acknowledging him as the way, the truth and the life, and living a life of faith and obedience that helps Aoife to flourish.

In John’s gospel 10:10 Jesus spoke these words – I have come to give life, and life  in all its fullness – in all its abundance. That’s what we want for Aoife, that’s what we want for each other. Jesus wants us to thrive.

My question for myself and for all of us this morning therefore is this – Where does your confidence come from in order to thrive? What do we put our trust in and how does that manifest itself in how we live, in what we might say and do.

We would like to think in an ideal world that our systems and structures, with assistance from those with expertise, can enable us to thrive. that systems are in place to allow all to be treated fairly – have the same access to healthcare, hygiene, shelter, heat and food. This can be a challenge. Particularly in current times. It is good to be reminded that No one on this earth is perfect. Leaders can come and go. They are only human. But we would like to think in an ideal world that our systems and structures, with assistance from those with expertise, can enable us to thrive. But what happens when that doesn’t happen?

Where can we put our confidence?

If we can’t always be confident in the authorities and structures that surround us, surely we can be confident in ourselves? In our own skills, our own ability to be a good person, the ability to manage our finances, to manage family life, to get an income, to be successful in our work, in volunteering and serving. These things give us joy and purpose. So Sometimes our confidence in living a full life is because of what we do. But What happens when we don’t feel successful, when we compare ourselves to others, when maybe we become ill and are no longer able to Do things we previously could. What gives us confidence then?

Structures and authorities and even our own abilities can be good things. Please don’t think that I’m saying that they are not. Not every structure is bad. In the Old Testament God put structures in place that were to help his people thrive and be right with him. And God has given each of us amazing personalities and skills unique to each of us. But what I am saying is that these things are temporary and can be far from what God intended because of the sin and brokenness of this world. That is why our confidence for a full life needs to be about who God is. And what he has done for us. 

That is the message within this parable that Jesus told.

He told this parable because there were some around him who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else (NIV), the NRSV says Jesus told it to those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt. 

And it’s into this context Jesus tells this parable.

For some it’s a fairly well known parable – Jesus has two characters one a Pharisee

The other a tax collector.

Luke often uses a caricature image of Pharisees as a villain type – but on the whole the Pharisees genuinely wanted to live well for God. The Pharisees were a Jewish movement that emphasized the importance of obedience to the law of Moses. Living in accordance with torah was a way of making God’s benefits visible and accessible in all aspects of life for all who were Jewish. You could say it helped them thrive.

Jesus here uses The Pharisee to portray the caricature of someone who appears fairly confident in themself and disparaging of others, meaning being unkind, thinking others aren’t as worthy, showing them contempt.

You can just hear it – ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ (NIV  ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’). 

His prayer is a not so humble brag – there is no acknowledgment of his own standing before God, or that he needs anything from God. It’s a list of how great He is, what He has done – he feels comparably better off, compared to the tax collector and is praising himself rather than God.

Jesus didn’t use the parable to villify all Pharisees but to make the point that our confidence is not in what we do but in what God has done.

The bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) – same brush for all. Yet the Pharisee doesn’t acknowledge his sin at all. He appears only confident in his ability to go above and beyond what is normally required of a Jew in terms of fasting and tithing. Jews are required to fast only on the Day of Atonement, and here he is fasting twice a week. Jews are required to tithe only the production of their fields. But here he tithes everything. It’s As if that is how he is saved, how he can have a relationship with God, have an abundant life. By trusting in himself.

Where is the Pharisee’s confidence, his trust? It doesn’t appear to be in God’s love and forgiveness. He thinks it’s in what he can do, he thinks he is so much better than the tax collector – his prayer focuses on himself. And because he’s focussed on himself it affects his attitude towards others. Causing him to disparage them, show them contempt.

The Pharisee had confidence in his own ability to be a good person, a good believer but the tax collector has confidence in Gods mercy, it is the tax collector who acknowledges his own sin and his need for God. And it was this tax collector that Jesus says is the one made right with God

This might well have shocked Jesus’ audience – that the holy Pharisee is seen as a villain type and the tax collector who was seen as a bad egg – working in cahoots with the Romans, is the one seen as ‘right with God’

The parable is showing us, to use the words of one commentator that: ‘All kinds of people—whether publicans, Pharisees, pastors, parishioners, politicians, or perpetrators—are capable of repentance and all kinds of people – whether publicans, Pharisees, pastors, parishioners, politicians, or perpetrators – are capable of thinking less of others, showing others contempt. Those attitudes express themselves in how we view our neighbours and in whether we rely upon God to guide our daily lives.’

This parable isn’t about whether you’re a Pharisee or a tax collector. Not all Pharisees are self-righteous and looking down on others, and not all followers of Jesus are humble servants. In the bible James and John, friends of Jesus, for instance, try to guarantee themselves top billing in the kingdom – their Mum asks Jesus if they can sit in the ruling party in heaven (Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45). 

What this parable is teaching us is that Pride and self-confidence is a trap any of us can fall into and one we should want to avoid because it can lead to having contempt for others, just as the pharisee showed contempt for the tax collector – thinking he was better.

The Message version of the bible translates Jesus’s summing up of the parable in this way – If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.” (Message)

When we acknowledge our need for Jesus and repent of our sin it is then that we become fully ourselves, fully who we’ve been created to be, living life in all its fullness, in all its abundance. We become more than ourselves because our confidence is not in ourselves, in our ability to be a good Christian, it is in what Jesus has done for us, and because of what he has done we can become part of his family, living under Gods rule in Gods kingdom.

The Pharisee was confident in himself, the tax collector was confident in who God is.

If we say we’re confident in who Jesus is, that we trust in him, how does that impact our every day life? And How does that help in a crisis of living? When work is scarce and financial worries are pressing?

The journey to a life of thriving can begin with that simple prayer ‘Have mercy on me a sinner’ – when we are right with God we begin the journey in a life where we can truly thrive.

Being confident in what Jesus has done for us can, should and does transform how we view the problems of this world.

Being confident in God Shifts focus off of ourselves and on to others, not showing contempt but showing love. and if they’re playing their part too it means we have others looking out for us also 

But saying Put your confidence in God can seem on the surface a really twee thing to say when bills are piling up or health is deteriorating

I have a fair few examples of how in my life having put my confidence in God – praying the prayer have mercy on me a sinner, from my baptism until now, has helped in these situations 

I remember the loan of a car, money for a holiday, exciting food parcels, the support given by our church family in many ways through my mums terminal illness, the generosity of others when I was really Ill with covid in providing meals. Yet through all of it I was confident in Gods love and mercy, having prayed have mercy on me. Knowing where I stand before God.

So even in the uncertainties of life today we can be confident in Gods mercy and forgiveness – it is not a twee answer – we can be confident of Gods goodness. Being part of Gods kingdom, his family, helps us to thrive as we are part of something bigger than ourselves and all play our part which began when we said Lord have mercy on me.

Sometimes when we see things from the perspective of the future, we can see warnings for how we live now. In this story that Jesus tells, he wants to warn us from the perspective of life beyond death.

Kwasi Kwarteng

This week we have seen one of the most dramatic falls in recent political history. Kwasi Kwarteng after just 38 days as Chancellor has had a spectacular reversal in political fortunes. From the glory and opportunity of being a brand new Chancellor of the Exchequer in a new government to  a political career in tatters and the ridicule of much of the media.

He has faced the judgement of the markets and public opinion and he is now shut out of government.

Instead Jeremy Hunt, whose political career seemed to be going nowhere having got nowhere in the Conservative leadership contest and not been invited back into Liz Truss’s cabinet now has Kwasi’s job and the opportunity of a fresh start.

If Kwasi could write to himself on the other side of political death…, to the man he was as he set out as Chancellor of the Exchequer, I wonder what he would say. I wonder what warnings he might give himself to help him avoid this tragic reversal of fortunes and being shut out of government?

A Warning Story

In Luke 16, Jesus wants us to hear a warning from the other side of real death. It is a warning not about our political future, but about our eternal destiny, our final destination.

Jesus does so as he often does, by telling a story, a parable. In this story the rich man acts as a warning to us of the fate we might face if we ignore Jesus in our lives.

A Story of Reversals

The story contrasts the life before during and after the death of two people: a rich man and Lazarus.

When they are still alive, the rich man has it all. His life is one of utter luxury and comfort. He wears the top fashion and enjoys wonderful feasts day in day out. In the world’s eyes this man has made it in life, he is living the dream, that is so often presented to us in adverts.

In contrast Lazarus, is utterly destitute. He sits homeless at the rich man’s gate. Rather than fashionable clothes, he is covered in sores. Although he longs for just scraps from the rich man’s table, he becomes food for the dogs who lick his sores.

Then comes death to both of them. Death comes to rich and poor alike. Death comes to us all.

Yet, in death, Lazarus finds honour from God. He is taken by angels and welcomed into God’s eternal kingdom, sitting at Abraham’s side.

Whilst in death, the rich man is honoured by people. He receives a burial. But he does not find a welcome in God’s kingdom. Rather he finds himself shut out from God’s kingdom and in torment in hell.

There has been a total reversal. As Abraham puts it:

“But Abraham replied, `Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.” (Luke 16:25)

So, what does Jesus want us to learn from this Parable. What is the lesson from life beyond death?

Good News for the Poor

Firstly, what happens to Lazarus shows us that this is Good News for the poor. Jesus is saying, that no matter how bad your life turns out now, there is hope for something far greater, when you put your trust in Jesus. As Jesus said at the start of his ministry:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,” (Luke 4:18)

Jesus showed that while on earth, by bringing healing to so many who were suffering from illnesses that would have made them destitute or locked them out of normal society. Yet, this was just a pointer to the greater hope that God can offer of a welcome into his eternal home.

This is not to say that people are saved just because they are poor. Rather uniquely in Jesus’s parables, the beggar in the story, is given a name: Lazarus. This perhaps shows us two things.

Firstly, although this man receives no help or honour from his fellow human beings, he is known and valued by God. His name is acknowledged, even as the rich man remains anonymous.

Secondly, the name means: ‘God helps’. He is someone who trusts in God to help him despite the horror of his earthly existence. He is a man of faith.

Lazarus, then reminds us that from the perspective of eternity, from the view of life after death, no matter how bad this life becomes, there is a certain hope of something far better when we trust in Jesus.

A warning to take seriously?

Yet, the focus of the story is on the rich man. In contrast his fate  is a warning that there is no guarantee that life after death will be better. In fact quite the reverse, it could be one of utter torment.

We might argue that this is just a story, a parable. As in other parables Jesus does not mean us to take all the details seriously. This may be true of some of the specific details. After all it is unlikely Jesus really wants us to believe that Abraham would be hassled by people crying out to him from hell!

Yet, the fundamental facts of the story, fit with and are consistent with Jesus’s warnings elsewhere.

The first is that there will be some kind of ultimate separation, where some will be shut out of God’s Kingdom and left in torment. For example in Luke 13, Jesus says that some will find themselves locked out of the Kingdom of God:

“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.” (Luke 13:28)

Secondly, the idea of reversal is a consistent theme in Jesus’s teaching. Success in this life is no guarantee of success in the next. In fact the reverse is often true. A couple of verses later Jesus warns:

“Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” (Luke 13:30)

Jesus wants us to take these warnings of hell as a place to be avoided seriously. But can we still take them seriously in the twenty-first century?

These days people dismiss warnings about hell as manipulation by religious leaders to try and assert power over others. There is some truth in this. There is no doubt it has been used that way by some religious leaders in the past.

Yet, in the Bible it is Jesus who warns about hell more than anyone else. If you believe that He is God’s Son and that he loves us so much that he came to die for us on the cross and that God validated his identity and mission by raising him from the dead, then this warning is not a manipulation by a power seeking evil man, but a real and serious warning from the one who humbled himself to come down to our level and die a humiliating death on the cross to save us. This is a warning from someone who loves and cares for us deeply. We need to take it seriously and listen to it.

What does it mean to take this warning seriously?

So, what does it mean to take this warning seriously? Where had this rich man gone wrong in life so as to face such a terrible reversal after death? What do we need to avoid?

We could say simplistically, that it was because he was rich. Yet, that alone is not the answer. After all, Abraham was also rich, and he has the honoured place in heaven! There are plenty of heroes in the Bible that were wealthy and yet still seen as truly part of the people of God.

We could also claim that he was a particularly evil or selfish man. Yet this man shows concern for others – his five brothers and wants to warn them. He is not devoid of all good or kindness.

So what is wrong with the man? Ultimately it is his attitude to money and God that is the problem.

Attitude to money

His attitude to wealth is perhaps shown clearly by his stinginess towards Lazarus. Here was a man in utter destitution at his gate and he does not even give Lazarus the scraps from the feasts on the table. This is in contrast with Abraham, who although rich was renowned for his hospitality and generosity. If we are not willing to show hospitality to the weakest in society, then why should God show us hospitality in life after death?

But this attitude to wealth also points to a deeper issue.

Jesus tells this story to some Pharisees that are sneering at his teaching. They actually sneer after Jesus says:

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Luke 16:13)

Jesus is warning them that their love of money puts them at odds with God. This comes after the parable at the start of Luke 16, which talks of the need to use wealth to gain friends for yourself so that you are welcomed into heavenly dwelling. Jesus warns us that how we use our money is a symptom of how we view God. If we won’t invest in God’s Kingdom, then why should God welcome us into that Kingdom when we die?

Following God’s Word

None of this should surprise the Pharisees. Jesus goes on to affirm the Old Testament law and prophets. It is a law that explicitly tells the wealthy to make sure there is something left over the poor – even if it means having less for yourself, something the rich man failed to do for Lazarus. The rich man was not interested in living for God. He saw money as his Saviour. It was an attitude that echoed that of the Pharisees, who Luke says loved money.

In the Parable, the rich man argues that if Lazarus were sent back from the dead, then his brothers would heed the warning. Abraham, however, responds that they already have the Old Testament, if they don’t listen to that now, then they won’t even listen to someone who comes back from the dead. It is no surprise that those who have failed to take seriously God’s teaching in the Bible also fail to listen to God’s Son, the one whom he will resurrect from the dead.

Entering the Kingdom of God

This is the nub of the situation. Are we willing to follow God’s ways, even when it may risk our money, wealth or comfort? Are we prepared to be a part of God’s Kingdom now or not?

In Luke 15 Jesus has made clear that those who have lived outside God’s Kingdom can and are being welcomed in now. More than that God rejoices when sinners repent and join his kingdom!

In Luke 16, however, he is giving a stark warning. If you won’t enter God’s Kingdom in this life and start living for him and using your wealth for his purposes now, then you will be shut out after death like the rich man in the story.

So, where do you stand? What will be your final destiny?

Will you ignore the call to enter God’s Kingdom now. Will you go your own way without concern for God’s teaching or call on your life, looking for the most comfortable way in this life?

Or:

Will you enter his kingdom now? Give yourself and your money over to God’s will and purposes, trusting in his ultimate help?

Perhaps today is the day turn away from a life of sin leading to death, to the gift of God: eternal life in Jesus Christ.