Strong feelings about the county jail on both sides of the issue can be found here in our congregation. I would surely be a fool to say anything one way or another about it--you know, fools rush in where angels fear to tread--but I would like to condemn the threats of violence and intimidation that has been part of it. I'm sure none of you were behind these. But this was not O.K. I think we can all agree on that.

The problem is, I fear, the one who did it may have already justified their action. It got what they wanted. This was wrong. But I can see some people saying, "Well, somebody had to take the bull by the horns." By this, they excuse it. What is this, but calling a sin a virtue? Rather than seeing it as a crime and a sin, it's called conviction, or taking action.

If threats and intimidation of family members is acceptable, then we have to say that the man who killed Dr. George Tiller, the infamous abortionist, the other week is also justified. At least now Tiller isn't killing any more babies. But we wouldn't say this man was justified. We know that two wrongs do not make a right.

I have a feeling the guy who killed Tiller, has justified it in his mind and heart, a long time ago. He probably sees himself as a hero, maybe even a sacrifice, as though he has done God's will. He may willingly go to jail figuring that what he did, he would gladly do again, showing what he thinks may be conviction. But sin is not conviction. He can't say violating God's clear word was what God would have wanted. He can't justify his sin, just as those who threatened the commissioners and their families can't theirs, nor can we ours, and yet we do all the time. I know I do.

As you can tell, this is where I want to go--making sure we don't justify our sins, making sure we examine ourselves. Naturally, we don't like this. This gets us at our very heart and core. And it is very, very sensitive. Maybe it's not a matter of not wanting to do it, as much as not even knowing how. Yet, this is critical as a Christian.

All of us will readily admit we are sinners. "Oh yeah, I'm a sinner." But how? How do we see that we are by looking at our lives? The Lord tells us we are, and we may say we believe it, but when we see the sin in ourselves, we may explain it away, justifying ourselves, and dressing it up with religious talk. We have trouble believing we really are sinners.

To help us see this about ourselves, we will look at the man who thought he was doing right, and see that he wasn't. As the backdrop for this parable we will see that Jesus was speaking to the religious leaders, and this is why He told it. Second, we will look at the blessing of Lazarus and see this is what we are given in Christ. And finally, we will see why we should expect that I, as your pastor, would speak of these things.

Alright, let's tackle this. It's critical to our lives as Christians that we examine ourselves, but I think I sometimes take it for granted that people know what it means. Let's take it apart by looking at a couple verses before our text. Our text starts at v. 19, but listen to vv. 14-15.

The Pharisees who were lovers of money, heard all these things (Jesus had been speaking to His disciples), and ridiculed Him. And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Look at his life. He lived well. He thought he was blessed by God. It is logical to think this because he was so wealthy. When you have all the appearances of being Christian, and you live well, who wouldn't assume that this was a blessing? But it wasn't. That's what comes out later in the parable.

But look at him before he dies and he winds up suffering in hell. On earth, it looked like he had it made. He kept up with the latest fashions. He ate the best foods. We can assume he probably threw awesome parties, and was a great host.

But he was given an opportunity to see his heart. Lazarus, the poor man, was laid at his gate. He is where he could see his heart. What did he give him? Nothing. Nada. Notice the words. Lazarus didn't eat what fell from the rich man's table. He desired it. The dogs ate first. He wouldn't even give him the scraps he gave the dogs. Apparently the rich man wanted to get rid of Lazarus. "Who keeps leaving this beggar on my steps? Can't they see? It's not worth it for them to do this. I'm not giving him anything."

Here's the point: The rich man sees this as good stewardship; even obedience. He looks at it and says, "The Lord has blessed me. He has given me all this wealth. On the other hand, He has cursed this beggar on my steps. Who am I to challenge the Lord? If he has chosen to curse this man, then I shouldn't do anything to reverse the Lord's decision."

How convenient. He tries to get rid of the man who makes him feel guilty. Yes, we can imagine he felt guilt trying to blow him off. But what did he do with the guilt? He tries to explain it away. "Oh, what a burden the Lord has laid upon me. It would be so much easier to let Lazarus have the scraps, but then I would not be respecting the Lord's order."

How convenient. He could actually help this guy. Lazarus is not into abuse of charity. That's obvious with what Jesus shows us about him. But this guy wants to save his money. The rich man may call it good business. The Lord calls it something else--greed. His heart is exposed. And it is ugly.

What happens when we look at our hearts? What do we see? Do we do similar things? Do we explain away sin with pious talk? Do we call sin, virtue? Do we call our greed, merely good business practice? Our vengeance, simply a matter of helping someone learn a lesson about how to treat others? Our self-protection, a matter of serving our family? Our anger, merely having conviction and acting on it? Our gossip, simply being honest or a need to share our burdens?

We know. We know what is behind our actions. This is what it means to examine ourselves. God's Word is called a two-edged sword. That doesn't mean one edge slices, and the other heals. No, it means it cuts both ways down. It cuts right to the division of soul and spirit. It discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. That's what is happening now.

Actually, we are taught to do this as we learn to pray the Confession portion of the catechism. Consider your place in life according to the Ten Commandments. Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife or worker. Have you been disobedient, unfaithful, or lazy? Have you been hot-tempered, rude or quarrelsome? Have you hurt someone by your words or deeds? Have you stolen, been negligent, wasted anything or done any harm? What I've been suggesting really isn't going any deeper. It's just asking do we justify our sin, rather than repent of it, keeping ourselves from seeing our sin, justifying ourselves, rather than letting Jesus justify us?

But now, look at Lazarus. Lazarus may not have looked like he was blessed but he was. The Lord watched over him as everyday he was laid at the poor man's gate. Lazarus was still a sinner. He still had a sinful heart, but there was one thing he had the rich man did not. He had saving faith. By this faith, Christ covered him. The rich man may have used pious talk, but his lack of love for Lazarus showed he had no faith. St. John makes this unmistakable in our epistle lesson. Lazarus, on the other hand, had little way to show he had faith, but he did. This is clear when he dies. He reclines in the arms of Abraham. Where he had no human comfort, only canine companions, while he lived, now he is held as a mother would hold and cradle her dear child.

As a result of the rich man having no faith, despite the show he put on, he had no good works of his own. Christ's righteousness did not cover him, and all that could be seen was his sin and evil. Lazarus on the other hand, because he did have faith, had no bad works to be seen, because he was covered with Christ.

This is explained very clearly by the words in the Athanasian Creed, as we confessed, "At Jesus' coming all people will rise again with their bodies and give an account concerning their own deeds. And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire."

There. The rich man was seen as doing nothing but evil. Lazarus was seen as doing nothing but good.

In Christ, it is the same for you. By your baptism, you have been covered. In Christ, you are seen as though you have done nothing but good.

It's definitely not what we see. We see--or hopefully after we examine ourselves--we see our sin. It is not good if we can't. It's very bad if we can't. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." That's not simply saying, "I'm a sinner." It's seeing how I am a sinner. And when we do, we will see that we have no reason to expect any kind of favors, much less forgiveness. All we can do is cry out like we do in the Kyrie. "Lord, have mercy."

That's when we rely on the glorious message that we are forgiven for Christ's sake. When we hear our Lord say, "You are forgiven," we hear that statement and know it is just what we needed to hear. Abraham believed God's promise and it was counted to Him as righteousness. When you hear God's proclamation to you, believe and know it is spoken to you a sinner.

Which brings us to the point of that speaking. There is absolutely nothing stunning or remarkable about how God speaks to you. It's through me, a called pastor. For that reason, it sure doesn't seem like God speaking.

But that's the issue when the rich man asks for Lazarus to be sent back to warn his brothers. "Send Lazarus to my father's house--for I have five brothers--so that he may warn them, lest they also come into the place of torment." Now, that might seem to catch their attention. A dead guy coming back, but for how long? They might listen to him for a little bit, but if the words were the same as the ordinary way of delivering it, then they would tire of it.

Which is what Jesus says in His parable. "They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them." Moses and the prophets is another way of saying the Scriptures. It's the Old Testament, though. Those men and their families have someone to preach the Old-Testament Scriptures to them. It seems really ordinary, but this is the means God has chosen to speak to His people. In fact, the Apostle Paul calls it foolishness. Preaching does seem foolish because it seems so blah compared to what God could do, but as you can see, God rejects doing the amazing things. He chooses the things that seem blah.

The words of the Gospel message that is to be preached are in the hymns and in the creed we confessed a little bit ago, but it still seems to be just words. But they aren't. It's what the Holy Spirit uses to address our sin and hear the righteousness He has given us. It is the power of salvation to all who believe.

So, we know the end of the story. Most of the Pharisees did not hear what Jesus was saying. They resented Him for it. Then they killed Him. Jesus tried desperately to reach them, but they would not have it. What will you do with the Word that I speak? Will you examine yourself and see your sin? Will you repent for covering up sin? Will you believe the Word spoken to you, the Word that tells you in Christ you are forgiven? If you do, just like Abraham, just like the man in his arms, it will be counted to you as righteousness.

AMEN