Sermon for September 28, 2025: “At the Gate”: based upon Luke 16:19-31

Luke 16:19-31 (New International Version) The Rich Man and Lazarus

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

“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. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
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“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

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     The lines would start hours before the doors opened. I’d noticed that myself when I happened to be driving through Augusta in the late afternoon the first year the overnight shelter was open at South Parish. When I called to check the hours myself so that I could refer someone there, the person I talked with confirmed for me that it was true. If you wanted one of the low-barrier beds, you had to get there early. Some shelters are low-barrier and others have certain standards you have to meet, like, you have to be sober when you get there. Intoxicated people can freeze, too, so it’s good to have some places they can go. There weren’t a lot of places for them to go in Augusta. When the church started thinking about using their building to help people without homes, it seemed important to create a space that was low barrier.

     When you’re trying to figure out how to be a good neighbor, it’s wise to look around and see what is actually needed. It became clear to South Parish, an historic, downtown church, that some people downtown needed some help. And, they had the right kind of space to offer it. And, importantly, they had leadership wise enough to reach out to people who were already doing the work for advice. That’s how they found out about the need for a low-barrier shelter.  It is no small thing to shift how you use a building, particularly if the use involves hosting people overnight. Many wise hands are part of that work. Thank goodness their church was able to work with good partners. They made a plan and got city buy-in. People started sharing money with them. They hired staff and started hosting people overnight.

     They’ve been open three seasons now, and every season they’ve been able to offer more beds. Their center manager Rob told us about some choices they have to make and how the make sure that they are clear on their goals. For example, as I said earlier, there was always a long line of people wanting bed before the doors opened. Center staff knew that the people who couldn’t get in still needed somewhere safe and warm to be. They realized that their primary goal was to have “heads in beds.” So, they shifted how they were using some of the space, removing a lounge area and reworking some other areas, and they made space for more beds. They didn’t have to turn people away because of space concerns after that.

     Not every part of this is easy. Rev. Nate Richards, South Parish’s pastor, Sarah Miller, who helped them organize the logistics of getting the shelter open, and Rob Flannery, the manager, all talked about the process of getting the doors open and keeping them open. Sometimes they have to ask people to leave because of behavior. Rob still tries to help them find the safest possible place to go. He says to them, “tomorrow’s another night. I hope we’ll see you then.” When someone who was asked to leave can come back and participate safely the next night, we’re seeing redemption in action. The warming center is a place of care and a place of consequences. Most importantly, it’s a place of second chances.

     Our siblings in Christ in Augusta looked to see who was at the gate, and figured out how to let them in. This is the core of the Gospel: understanding that God has called us to share our resources. Plenty of public buildings and spaces end up being used in ways that exclude people of the greatest needs. Hostile architecture is installed, giving people few places to sit comfortably and no places to lay down. Encampments where people have tried to make homes and communities are swept away, often taking away deeply impoverished people’s only and most important possessions. Journalists at ProPublica posted listed of things that people had had discarded: vital records like birth certificates, passports, pictures of family, medications, Bibles, letters from relatives, new clothes, even the cremains of loved ones, all gone. Throwing away people’s tents doesn’t suddenly make them wealthy enough to afford rent.

     Jesus talks about money a lot. He probably didn’t have much of it, nor did many of the people who came to hear him preach. Some did have money though. And Jesus had pretty clear instructions for them. Mitzi Smith laid some of them out in her commentary on today’s scripture. He tells them not to take the seats of the highest honor at meals (Luke 14:7). He also tells them to invite the poor, sick, and otherwise marginalized people to fancy parties they want to throw instead of other weather people who can return the invitation (Luke 14:21-24). He goes so far as to invite them to sell everything they have then give the proceeds to the poor (Luke 18:18-25). He commends one rich man who gives away half of his possessions and then makes restitution to the people he defrauded (19:1-10). Comparing the generosity of the wealthy and the very poor, he shames the rich who contribute gifts to the Temple from their wealth but give relatively little compared to what they have, while a poor widow gives more than she can afford to give (21:1-4).  

     Notice that the wealth in these cases is, at best, a tool to help someone else, and, at worst, a distraction. Today’s reading is a parable whereby a nameless rich man uses his money in ways that run counter to everything Jesus recommends. Things do not work out well for him. Had he been following Jesus’ teaching about how to use wealth, when he saw Lazarus begging at this gate, he would have let him in. He would have paid for his wounds to be treated. He would have made sure he had food and something to drink. In his commentary on the text, John T. Carroll points out that the rich man knows Lazarus well enough to know his name. He could have used that name to invite him into any one of his lavish banquets. But, he never did. The dogs offer more comfort than the rich man does.

     Carroll makes what I think is another important point in a commentary of his that Cheryl Lindsay cites. He says, “The separation between these two men, while extreme, is neither inevitable nor necessary and could have been bridged by the initiative of the rich man to open his gate and extend a generous hand.” The separation that began in life continued beyond it. Lazarus dies as many very poor people do, succumbing to starvation and illness likely made more severe by starvation. In death, though, he is comforted. Angels sweep him up to be by Abraham’s side. The rich man dies, too. Money may make it easier to stay alive but it cannot totally fend off death. The rich man ends up in Hades, the Underworld, where it is very hot and he has none of the comforts that made his life easier.
The rich man yells across the divide to Abraham for help, requesting that Lazarus give him few drops of water from his finger. Mitzi Smith notes that even in death the rich man treats Lazarus as a subordinate whose role is to make his life easier. Here comes the hard lesson: Abraham says that the rich man received good things in life and Lazarus had received evil. The reverse will now be true. Smith also notes, “God does not create poverty; human beings do. What humans create, humans can fix, if they so desire.” The conditions of this realm mirror the conditions of the next. This parable shows us that it is clearly better to use your money for care in this realm, at this moment. You absolutely can’t take it with you, and it protecting is likely burdening your soul more than you realize.

     The rich man finally realizes that he can use what he knows to help someone else and asks to be able to go warn his brothers not to be stingy as he was. Abraham declines, saying the brothers have access to all the teachings on justice and compassion that they could use. It is their responsibility to live according to the covenant. Abraham doubts that even someone returning from the dead will convince them to live justly if they’ve already opted to ignore their scripture (16:29-30).

     Our neighbors at South Parish are showing us every day what it’s like to pay attention to who is at the gate, and I am grateful for their witness. Let us not be like the one who refuses to learn from the scriptures set before us. Afterall, everyone in this room is closer to being Lazarus than they are to being a billionaire.  Let us not follow the path of the rich man who doesn’t even get a name in this story. Let us instead follow the example of our neighbors a couple towns over. Let us fling wide the gates, and make sure everyone has a seat at the table.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
​Mitzi Smith: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-26-3/commentary-on-luke-1619-31-6
John T. Carroll: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-26-3/commentary-on-luke-1619-31-10
More information about the warming shelter: https://southparishchurch.com/overnight-warming-center-1
Testimonies about what has been taken in sweeps:
https://projects.propublica.org/impact-of-homeless-sweeps-lost-belongings/
Some examples of hostile architecture: https://www.archute.com/hostile-architecture/
Cheryl Lindsay's commentary: https://www.ucc.org/sermon-seeds/sermon-seeds-comfort-and-agony/