Today’s Reading: Luke 16:19-31
Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 27:1-24; John 20:1-18
There was a certain rich man…and a certain poor man whose name was Lazarus. (Luke 16:1-2)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You either have a name or you don’t. The rich man did. Why wouldn’t he? He was rich. He feasted sumptuously, lavishly, luxuriously every day. It even sounds like he lived in a gated community! (Okay, so they didn’t quite have those back then, but you get my point.) He was rich. He lived the part, dressed the part, and ate the part.
But He didn’t have a name. He’s nameless. All his stuff may have made him rich and wealthy, but they didn’t give him a name. All the gods of his possessions were powerless and vain. They couldn’t help this man when “died and was buried.”
Lazarus. He had a name. By what people could see, all he had were the wild dogs. They were his only friends. He had no one. He had nothing. His only desire was to eat the scraps and partially eaten food that fell from that rich man’s table.
His physical eyes may have been focused on the food he needed, but his eyes of faith were fixed on the One who gave him his name—the Lord. Lazarus had faith in Him who saved him. No matter what happened around him, the things the Lord had promised and done for Lazarus were all that mattered. The angels of the Lord watched over him, and when he died, they took him to “Abraham’s bosom,” that is, a way of talking about eternal life.
You have a name. It’s yours in Baptism. There you’re given all that your Savior and Lord and God Jesus has done for you. You receive His suffering, death, and resurrection. Nothing can change that. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He gives you His Word, Moses, and the prophets and the apostles, telling you again what He’s done for you—died and risen. He heals your wounds, feeds you His Body and Blood.
You either have a name or you don’t, and you do. It’s not from your life or stuff or popularity. It’s from Jesus your Savior, and you have it forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
O God, the Strength of all who trust in You, mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing, grant us Your grace to keep Your commandments that we may please You in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for Trinity 1)
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