Audio of the sermon is here:

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

            “This, too, shall pass.” Maybe you’ve said that to someone. Or maybe someone’s said it to you. This, too, shall pass. Usually, we say it when someone’s going through a hard time. They’re struggling. It’s difficult, and bad. Then we might say, “this, too, shall pass.” I suppose there might be a bit of comfort there, as long as the situation is not too difficult. There might be aa little comfort, to know that this situation, whatever it is, is not going to last forever. This time is not going to be forever. Maybe even, in the larger scheme of things, this situation will be relatively minor.

            But, of course, it’s not only true of bad, difficult, hard things. If you’re happy, if things are good, if everything is going well for you—this, too, shall pass. Whether it’s good, or whether it’s bad; whether you’re happy, or whether you’re sad: this will pass. It will not last forever; nothing in this world does.

            And so it goes for both Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man has everything he wants, he feasts and celebrates daily, he eats good food, wears good clothes. But this passes. He passes. He dies and is buried. And Lazarus, who is laid at the gates of the rich man, has nothing. He longs to be fed with the crumbs from the rich man’s table, as the lost son longed to be fed with what the pigs were eating. But he got nothing except dogs licking his sores. But this passes. He passes. And he is carried by the angels to the side of Abraham. He is comforted, while the rich man is in torment and pain.

The rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to come and cool his tongue with a little water, but Abraham says that the rich man had his reward in life, while Lazarus had bad things in life. Now Lazarus is comforted, while the rich man is tormented. And besides, Abraham says, there is a gulf, a chasm, between there and here, and no one can go from here to there, or there to here. Well, then, the rich man says, at least send Lazarus to warn my five brothers, so they don’t come here. They have Moses and the Prophets, Abraham says. Let them listen to them. No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. But Abraham says, if they will not believe Moses and the Prophets, neither will they believe even if someone rises from the dead.

We might try to put ourselves into the story, which is what we do with stories. Are we with Lazarus, or with the rich man? With whom do we identify? And maybe you are suffering. Maybe things are difficult, and you’re not sure how you’re going to get out of this situation. Or maybe you’re like the rich man, where everything’s going well and everything’s good. You’re comfortable. But consider that none of us is in heaven or hell at the moment. Neither were Jesus’ hearers at that time. So besides whether we identify or relate to Lazarus or the rich man, what’s more significant is that we are among those hearing these very words; that is, like Jesus’ own listeners at that time, we are among those who will either believe Moses and the Prophets, and so believe the one who rises from the dead; or those who will not believe Moses and the Prophets, and so not believe, even if someone rises from the dead. It goes the other way, also. If you believe the one who has risen from the dead, you will believe Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms, and the Apostles and the Evangelists.

We might try to do what the rich man does: no, Father Abraham, but if they have this sign, they will believe. We might do it for ourselves or for other people: if only God would do this, or that; if only He would show people this, or that, then they would believe Him. I would really believe God if He did this for me. But the answer is the same: if you or they do not believe the words God speaks, then you and they will not believe even if you see someone return from the dead. People did, in fact, see someone rise from the dead, and they did not believe. Jesus was around for 40 days after His resurrection; He was seen by 500 people at once, Paul says, most of whom are still alive, so you can ask them about it. And still, people don’t believe it. Jesus raised the dead, including a guy named Lazarus. Jesus made blind people, even those blind from birth, see again. He made legs work that didn’t before. He made ears hear that did not before. He did all those things, but if we do not believe the words, we will not believe even if we see with our own eyes. And if we do not believe Jesus, risen from the dead, then we will not believe all the words God has spoken through Moses and the Prophets.

That’s what Jesus, risen from the dead, said to the two on the road to Emmaus: how foolish and slow of heart you are to believe everything that the Prophets have spoken of Me! Wasn’t it necessary for the Son of Man to suffer and enter into His glory? And beginning with Moses and the Prophets, He interpreted all the things in the Scriptures concerning Himself. And then He does it again with the other disciples: These are the things I said to you when I was still with you, that everything written of Me in Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled. And He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, that He had to suffer and rise from the dead (Luke 24:26-27, 44-46).

So this cannot ultimately be about rich and poor. It is about the poor man, Lazarus, who believed Moses and the Prophets, and the rich man, who did not. It is about how God laid Lazarus at the poor man’s gate, in order that the rich man might feed and clothe and take care of him, but the rich man ignored both God and Lazarus. But ultimately, it’s about what happens when good things pass away, and bad things pass away. When this passes, or you pass, either way. It will, and you will. What will you have then? Will you have only what you had here? This, too, shall pass. You, like Lazarus and the rich man, will pass. Rich and poor will pass. Good things and bad things will pass. The only question is whether you belong to the one who has come from the dead.

He is the only one who has crossed the great chasm between God and men, who has taken on flesh in this world, who gave up everything that by right was His, to be where Lazarus is, to be among the poor, dead, lost, forgotten, abandoned. And not only to be where they are, but to become what they are. He crossed over, from heaven to earth, and from life to death, and then from death to life again. And that same one who came from the dead then has come from the dead to you. He has spoken to you, forgiven you, joined you to Himself as He joined Victor to Himself, by water and the word. He knows what He has given you for this life, but it is more important what He gives you when this life passes away. Daily bread is important, but the bread from heaven is more important. We live by bread, but not by bread alone. He feeds you with both the bread that perishes, and with the bread that endures to eternal life. He is the only one who will be your life when your life passes away. Heaven and earth will pass away, but, He says, My word will never pass away.

So if your eternal life is taken care of, because He is risen from the dead and will not die again, what about here and now? It means that you might be in the position of the rich man, who has everything he needs for this life, and everything is good. It means you might be in the position of Lazarus and have less, or nothing. Maybe you are the one who is in need of being helped, served, fed, and clothed. Or maybe God has laid some people right at your gates for you to help. Usually, it’s your family, right in front of you. But it might be a stranger, and God serves that person through you, too. Either way, you don’t need to hold on so tightly to the things of this life, because you know that they are passing away. So, Jesus says, make friends for yourself by means of the unrighteous wealth that is passing away, so that when it is gone, Abraham, and Lazarus, and—most importantly—Jesus, along with His angels, will welcome you into the eternal dwellings. This, too, shall pass. But He will never pass away.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. “The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

– Pr. Timothy Winterstein, 9/26/25