St. Paul's Presbyterian Church

Bible Text: Jeremiah 31:1-3a, 6-15 and 1 Timothy 6:6-19 and Luke 16:19-31 | Preacher: Speaker: Kathy Spruit

American theologian Donald Messer tells the story of a rich man who was approached to
contribute to a major financial campaign:

The urgent need and compelling case were stated and the call was made for his support.
The man responded: “I understand why you think I can give fifty thousand dollars. I am a
man with my own business and, it is true, I have all the signs of affluence. But there are
some things you don’t know. Did you know that my mother is in an expensive nursing home?”
Well, no, we didn’t know. “Did you know also that my brother died, and left a family of five and had almost no insurance?” No, we didn’t. “Did you know that my son is deeply religious, has gone into social work, and makes less than the national poverty level to meet the needs of his family?” No, we hadn’t realized.

“Well then,” the rich man said, “if I don’t give any of them a penny, why do you think I’ll
give it to you?”

This rich man reminds me of Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ story “A Christmas Carol”.
Ebenezer cut himself off from his family and friends, and making money was his only concern.
One Christmas, when approached to make a donation to help the poor, Ebenezer refused to
help, saying that he minds his own business and expects others to do the same. He wasn’t
interested in helping anyone but himself.

We see parallels from these two stories with the rich man in our Gospel lesson. The rich
man isn’t interested in the poor man who sits at his gate. The rich man pays no attention to
Lazarus, even though he is sick and starving. The rich man has no sense that his wealth should
be used to help Lazarus. In the rich man’s mind, there is a big wall that separates him from
Lazarus. And he allows poor Lazarus to die in agony, just outside his gate.

It is hard for us to relate to the rich man. “That’s not me”, we think. “There aren’t any
people sitting at my gate, begging for food. I do what I can to help the poor.” But maybe we all have a bit of the rich man in us – and that’s what makes the text so uncomfortable. We all know people who are in need, but we don’t always notice and sometimes we willfully look away.
Did you notice that the poor man has a name? He is actually the only person in all of Jesus’
parables who is given a specific name. The rich man doesn’t get named, but Lazarus does. The
poor are so important to God that God knows them by name!

Even after the rich man dies, he still never learns Lazarus’s name. From Hades he looks
up and sees Lazarus sitting beside Abraham in Heaven. But even in Hades, the rich man shows
no remorse for how he neglected Lazarus. All he wants from Lazarus is something for himself –
a drop of water. There is no change in the rich man’s heart. Before he was separated from
Lazarus by a wall and gate of his own making, but now he’s separated from Lazarus by a great
abyss that cannot be crossed.

Ebenezer Scrooge, however, does change. In a dream, he is shown people whose lives
he can transform while he is still alive. He learns their names, he sees their need – and his heart is changed.

Giving to Presbyterians Sharing is one way that our congregation supports the mission and
ministry work that we do together as The Presbyterian Church in Canada. We support
Presbyterians Sharing through our congregation’s budget and through designated gifts in
offering envelopes. Our gifts encourage and equip congregational renewal and development;
support inner city, native and refugee ministries; support students studying for ministry; equip clergy and lay leaders; send mission personnel to work with international partners . . . and so much more!

Though many of us don’t know the names of the countless people who are supported
through Presbyterians Sharing, we have collectively discerned, as members and adherents of
The Presbyterian Church in Canada, that God is calling us to do this important work. And the
work is important. Even though giving to Presbyterians Sharing can sometimes feel like an
obligation or even a tax, it is a wonderful opportunity to minister to others.

Today, as we remember Lazarus – who was so important to God that God knew him by name –
let us learn some of the names and stories of the people who are ministering on our behalf and
those whose lives are being changed.

The Rev. Deb Rapport is the Director of ARISE Ministry, a mission of the Presbytery of East
Toronto. ARISE offers hope to victims of sex-trafficking and sexual exploitation through a
ministry of outreach, case management and pastoral care. Deb shares a story about Ashley. “Ashley and I have an ongoing outreach relationship.

ARISE has been present with her through her struggles with abusive men, addiction and streetlife. We have helped her get to detox and safety, and talked about the sense of failure she feels in each relapse. One night, as we walked towards Ashley, we could see that she was talking to a male customer. She asked if we could come back later because she really wanted to talk. We were about 20 metres away when she called out, “Deborah, I’m sorry. Can you come back? You’re worth more to me than him right now.” It was a bold statement of affirmation and of hope. Ashley talked about her desperate need for change and her hope that this time would be different. Then she said, ‘You’re doing some revolutionary work and I need to be part of it.’”

Joseph has been at Blantyre’s maximum security Chichiri prison since 2006. Overcrowding is a
critical problem in Malawi’s prisons. At Chichiri there are 2,000 prisoners housed in a space
built for 800. Cell blocks are so crowded that there is no room for them to lie down at night – they must try to sleep sitting up, pressed against one another. It is brutal during the hot summer months, and the unhygienic conditions lead to the spread of illness and disease. There is not enough food, and the food that is available lacks protein and nutritional value. Many of these men have not been given a trial.

Presbyterians Sharing supports the prison’s chaplains and has helped provide sleeping
mats, blankets, soap, hymn books and Bibles to prisoners. Joseph started attending Blantyre
Synod’s weekly Bible study soon after he arrived at Chichiri. The prison’s ecumenical chapel
was built with grants from gifts to Presbyterians Sharing. Before the chapel was built, studies were held outside – a challenge during hot weather, and an impossibility during heavy rains. Joseph shares, “It is by the grace of God that I am alive. I remembered the advice I got from my mother – to pray while I am in prison, as only God can change you. I cannot stop praising God because he is doing great things. Once I finish prison life, I will keep praising God because of what he has done for me.”

Donovan is a member of the Wabaseemong Ojibway Nation. A crown ward from an early age, he ended up homeless after bouncing from foster home to foster home. At the age of 12 he got involved with the wrong crowd and started using drugs and alcohol. Today, Donovan is a participant in Kenora Fellowship Centre’s mentorship program. He has benefitted from life-skills training as well as the centre’s shelter program and residential transition program. Donovan shares, “The staff work hard to make programs which help the people. There have been many times recently I wanted to end my life and the centre has helped me through these times. I am so thankful they cared for me and stood by me during the tough times.”
After Donovan attended Canada Youth – our national youth program – he shared, “I was
very thankful for the experience, met many people and was very encouraged. I enjoyed
listening and talking with Eugene Arcand and thought a lot about my life and family after
hearing his residential school experience. It was truly an awesome experience. I learned a lot, cried a lot, and shared a lot about our community with Canada Youth. It was like I was
supposed to be out there. Thank you to all of you who support the Kenora Fellowship Centre.
You are helping to make a difference in people’s lives, like mine.”

These are just a few names and stories of the many people who receive support through our
gifts to Presbyterians Sharing. It is by learning about our mission and ministry that the stranger at our gate becomes a friend who is welcomed inside and given help.
There are many ways that our congregation can get to know more about people supported
through Presbyterians Sharing: We can learn more about our mission and ministries through resources like mission moments, bulletin inserts and videos. We can invite someone from one of our ministries in Canada to visit us and share their stories, or visit a congregation that has been newly planted or replanted to see how God is at work.

We can plan a trip to visit Winnipeg’s Place of Hope congregation or Kenora Fellowship Centre
and meet some of the people seeking fellowship in the inner city. Or we could go to Prince
Albert and worship with people of the Mistawasis First Nation. We might visit some of our international partners to see how God’s word is proclaimed in a different country and culture, and be inspired to reach out to our community when we return.

Members of our own Church Community, Diana Kemp and Ruth Pollock did just that last year when they visited Guatemala on a mission and return to speak about their experiences at our St. Paul’s Ladies Aid meeting.

We can encourage our youth and youth leaders to attend Canada Youth and to share their
experiences with us. We can get to know students studying for the ministry, learn their names, and pray for them.

Some of us could join a committee of the national church and work with others to help shape
the mission and ministry of The Presbyterian Church in Canada.

When Ebenezer Scrooge realized how important it was to have loving, personal relationships
with others, he opened his heart to them and shared his wealth generously. Our faith in Jesus
Christ starts with a personal relationship with him and with the Creator and the Holy Spirit.
Our congregational life extends our loving relationships to our fellow members. But it
takes even more effort to develop relationships with people who are outside of our gates and
needing our help. Personally knowing people – learning their names and their stories – inspires us to help them generously.

May God inspire us all to reach out to others through our support for Presbyterians Sharing, as we strive to love others as we love ourselves.