The seen and the Unseen

Preached at St Mary the Virgin, Little Burstead on 28 September 2025 at 10:30

Prayer

Father God, As we consider Your Word, open our eyes to what is seen and unseen. Teach us to look beyond the superficial, to recognise eternal truths, and to respond with compassion and faith.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Introduction

I’m going to look at the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and the differences that it shows us between those who are seen and those who are not seen in our societies.

This parable is unusual among all of Jesus’ parables in that one of the characters is named. This has led some commentators to believe that this is a true story. It is not. Jesus has made it up to make some important points in his teaching. He has taken an Egyptian morality folk tale and given it a new twist – a different and more useful ending.

Let’s see where it goes.

The Seen man

The rich man is seen. He is dressed in purple – that would tell Jesus’ hearer's that he was indeed rich. Purple was an expensive colour to make, only the very rich could afford it.

My irreverent brain can’t help reminding me that bishops wear purple. I’ll just leave that there.

The rich man’s life was luxurious, good food every day and plenty of it. I therefore picture him as over weight, and perhaps that explains his untimely death, but that would be putting a 20^th century spin on it. In Jesus’ time, being a little portly was considered a sign of God’s blessing – just as was the ability to afford purple robes. They will get him noticed wherever he goes.

The Unseen man (vv. 19–21)

Lazarus is the unseen man. He’s not invisible; he’s repugnant. Everyone notices the sores, and the dogs paying him rather too much attention. He’s probably dressed in rags and as thin as a rake. No-one would want to look at that, never mind don’t go near. Imagine the smell, a cross between rotting flesh and someone who has never washed.

All Lazarus can do is hope that some of the bread that fell from the table would fall his way. We don’t know how far it was from the table to the gate.

After a great feast, where there is a lot of greasy meat, bread would be used to clean your fingers. By this time you are full, so the bread is discarded, on the floor, under the table, wherever it lands.

Lazarus

The name Lazarus means “God Helps”. It seems the only help available to Lazarus comes from God.

The Unseen reversal (vv.22–23)

Both of our characters dies.

Death, t

Expositors Bible Commentary - Matthew, Mark, Luke 

Luke for Everyone - Tom Wright

 Tyndale New Testament Commentaries - Luke, Leon Morris

hey say, is the great leveller. But, that is not the case here. When the beggar dies, he is taken to Abraham’s side. Now, he’s with the man who made the first covenant with God, a place of the greatest honour. The rich man also died, for him though there is the grave and Hades – where there is torment.

Hades

Hades is the Greek culture’s place of the dead. It is ruled over by the Greek god Hades – the god of death and riches. The origin of the name Hades is believed to mean “the unseen one”. Hence, the place of the dead is also known as the unseen kingdom.

Many commentators have used this passage to answer the question “What happens when you die?” We should be careful taking those sorts of lessons from this passage, rooted as it is in Greek and Egyptian myth. The story, as I have said, is told by Jesus to make a very specific point about the living, not the dead – as we will see.

Death does not level.

Expositors Bible Commentary - Matthew, Mark, Luke 

Luke for Everyone - Tom Wright

 Tyndale New Testament Commentaries - Luke, Leon Morris

Death has not levelled the field at all, instead it has reversed the situation. The rich man is in the unseen realm, in torment, and Lazarus is in a place where he is receiving the highest honour.

Against Wealth?

If the parable stopped here, we could see this as simply saying wealth is bad. There are other places in the Bible that talk about wealth. For example, when Jesus is talking to the rich young man and tells him to give up his wealth. The man walks away:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19:23)

and

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, ea

Expositors Bible Commentary - Matthew, Mark, Luke 

Luke for Everyone - Tom Wright

 Tyndale New Testament Commentaries - Luke, Leon Morris

ger for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

In all of these instances, the Bible is warning about the dangers of wealth, not condemning wealth itself.

Justice

What about justice, has justice finally been done? In Hades, the rich man can see Lazarus, enjoying the benefits that he once had. Perhaps if we stopped here, we would say that justice had been done, but there is still more to Jesus’ parable.

The Unseen Chasm (vv. 24–26)

The rich man can see Lazarus with Abraham, and that gives him an idea. He calls to Abraham and asks that Lazarus be sent to him to bring him some relief from his suffering.

Abraham reminds him of the life of privilege and comfort he once led. He also reminds him of the agony that Lazarus had suffered. Then tells him that a great chasm has been set, to prevent either side visiting the other.

Moral Chasm

The chasm is not physical, it's an unseen chasm, a moral chasm. The rich man has, all his life, considered the life of people like Lazarus beneath him. They should be at his beck and call, to provide anything he wants, right when he wants it. He doesn’t see Lazarus as a person, just as a servant.

That’s how he behaved in life, and that’s how he’s behaving still. He has not changed, and there is no indication he is going to. His self-centred arrogance over many years is what built the chasm.

In life, his wealth allowed him to get away with it and probably insulated him from the need to change. That’s why it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The choices we make in life echo through eternity for us as much as for those we live with.

The Unseen Witness (vv. 27–31)

The rich man does, though, see his family as people. He is concerned about them, their lives are clearly going in the same direction as his, and he doesn’t want them to suffer the same long term torment he is going through.

So, he asks that Lazarus be sent to them. Not that he could go himself, he has probably already recognised that that is not an option. So, send the servant Lazarus – see his thinking isn’t changing even now.

^v29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

Moses and the prophets are the unseen (or perhaps unheard) witnesses that the rich man should have been familiar with. And, he probably was, but had not really heard, not really listened to their message.

God’s word is enough. Our conscience is enough. The evidence of our eyes, if we choose to see, is enough.

But all these witnesses were unseen by the rich man and his brothers. Perhaps, he thinks, if someone from the dead goes to warn them, they will repent and change their ways.

‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’

Jesus uses this final line of his parable so that the disciples will know, after the resurrection, that some people won’t believe in Him or his message. Even His witness will not be enough to make people see.

Today - the same rejection

We see plenty of people today who reject Jesus, and reject the message of this parable. There are even some who claim to follow Jesus, but reject the message of this parable.

Living with Eyes Open

If we are going to be those who see the unseen, we will have to:

- See the Lazarus at our gate: Who is suffering within reach?

- See the chasm forming: What habits of indifference are hardening our heart?

- See the witness already given: Are we waiting for a sign, or responding to the Word?

[Repeat questions]

Closing Prayer

Lord, open our eyes to the unseen. Let us not be like the rich man—blind to suffering, deaf to Your Word, and hardened by comfort. Teach us to cross the gate, to close the chasm, and to live with eternity in view.

Amen.

 

References

https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.16.19-31.NIV

https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/hades/ 

https://mypastoralponderings.com/2022/09/24/learning-to-bear-the-beams-of-love-my-sermon-on-luke-1619-31/

https://mypastoralponderings.com/2022/09/24/learning-to-bear-the-beams-of-love-my-sermon-on-luke-1619-31/

https://desperatepreacher.com/sermonbuilder/Pentecost-C/c_proper21-26/homily.htm

https://desperatepreacher.com/sermonbuilder/c_pool/who_is_lazarus_for_us.htm

Expositors Bible Commentary - Matthew, Mark, Luke 

Luke for Everyone - Tom Wright

 Tyndale New Testament Commentaries - Luke, Leon Morris

Copilot was used to assist with the prayers, the outline and the picture. 

I Desire Mercy not Sacrifice

Preached at Christ church, Billericay on 21 September 2025 at 10:30

Recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLIwZDI2kAI from 30:00 to 42:06

Reading Matthew 9:9-13

Prayer

Father God, Thank You for calling us, as You called Matthew, not with judgment but with grace.  Teach us to extend that same mercy to others, seeing them through Your eyes of compassion.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Introduction

Jesus has just healed the paralytic.  He said “Get up, pick up your mat and go home”.  The man did, and Jesus got in trouble with the scribes for blasphemy, as he had started the conversation with the paralytic by saying “your sins are forgiven”.  Only God can forgive sins.  Now He’s being watched!

Calling Matthew

Jesus has moved on, and comes to a tax booth.  These were probably small, open-air stalls or tables positioned by the side of a busy road, near a city gate, a marketplace, or a port—anywhere goods and travellers passed frequently.  They would collect any tax they thought they could, because the tax collectors were under contract by the Romans.  They would be seen as traitors, and most definitely as ‘sinners’.  It’s a very public place.  
Jesus says, “Follow me”.
Imagine you were standing in Billericay High Street, perhaps manning a charity stall, and Jesus comes by and says “Follow me”.  What do you do?
That’s a much easier situation than Matthew faced, but he didn’t hesitate, he just got up and went with Jesus.  Did he take the money he had collected?  What about the records?  Or did he leave everything behind?  We don’t know.
Either way, this scene would have had a major impact on the people who watched it.  The man who obviously had God’s approval, as he had just healed a paralytic, is now inviting traitors to join him.  And Matthew, breaking his employment contract, just leaves his very lucrative job and moves on.

Feast

We know it was a lucrative job, because the next thing he does is hold a celebration for Jesus at his house.  It’s in Luke 5:29:
29Then Levi hosted a great banquet for Jesus at his house.
Levi and Matthew are the same person, it is thought that it was relatively common to have a Jewish and a Greek name.

Pharisees

Matthew’s friends – other tax collectors, and Jesus’s friends – his disciples are all mixed together enjoying the feast.  The Pharisees see what’s going on and question the disciples.  Jesus responds on their behalf. 
Now, to get a better feel of the environment, imagine there were half a dozen bishops in the congregation this morning.  They were asking me questions, and I told them, go and learn what scripture really means.  
Jesus says:

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Well, He seems to have put an end to their argument, but what does He mean by “I desire Mercy, not sacrifice”?

Sacrifice

Sacrifices were offered for all sorts of things in the Old Testament, not just for the forgiveness of sins, but for any agreement or covenant with God, and at many of the festivals celebrating with God.  Sacrifices did not always require an animal, there were grain offerings, drink offerings, and even sweat of the brow offerings.  When they did offer an animal, it had to be a farmed animal, so something that had value to the person offering the sacrifice.  The meat would usually be used at the celebration, or maybe used to feed the priests.  Only occasionally was it totally consumed by fire.
The sacrifice offered had a cost to the person who offered it.
Today, we see our sacrifices as the time and money that we give to support our church and the wider Christian community.

Mercy

Jesus, though, says that more than sacrifice He desires mercy.  What He is saying is consistent with the Old Testament message.  We see in Micah 6:8 it says:
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Mercy is a kindness that allows you to forgive someone – usually someone that you have some sort of authority or power over.  So that they are not punished for their actions.
Here are a couple of examples:

The Gallows Pardon – Iran

Samereh Alinejad’s teenage son was murdered in a street fight. Under Iranian law, she had the right to oversee the execution of the killer. Moments before the sentence was carried out, she stepped forward and removed the noose from his neck. Her act of mercy—choosing life over vengeance—was inspired by a dream in which her son asked her not to take revenge.

Mayor La Guardia’s Night Court Mercy

In 1935, New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia visited a night court in one of the city's poorest districts. He took over the bench and heard the case of an elderly woman who had stolen bread to feed her grandchildren. She broke the law so, La Guardia fined her, but then paid the fine himself and added a donation for the woman. His acted justly, and showed his love or mercy.

My Example

Of course, all acts of mercy are not that dramatic.  Mercy can also be shown for much smaller things.
Many years ago I worked supporting a Mainframe computer – you’ve heard of them I’m sure, they fitted into a very large room, and had about the same processing power as your phone.  The whole of the back office of the bank relied on it to work.  About mid-morning, in trying to solve a problem, I had it shut down and restarted, when I really didn’t need to.  The restart took over 45 minutes.  All my manager said was “You know what you’ve done don’t you!?”  I did.  He could easily have disciplined me, and put it on my personnel record, but he didn’t.
That was an act of mercy that I’m still grateful for.

Your mercy

When was the last time, or the most memorable time, when you were shown mercy?
How did it make you feel?  Relieved, happy, grateful, thankful?

Today’s World

In a world where there is, it seems, increasing hate, and a greater desire for revenge rather than justice, a small act of mercy can go a long way to changing someone's attitude.  Maybe we can turn the tide, not for everyone, but for the few we meet, if we can truly appreciate that God does not want our sacrifices, but wants us to show mercy, as he shows His mercy to us all.

Amen. 

 

References

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M2OgLeqkRLI

https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/i-desire-mercy-not-sacrifice-premium-sermon-on-mercy-40000102

https://mypastoralponderings.com/2023/06/09/mercy-not-sacrifice-my-sermon-on-matthew-99-13-18-26/

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/mercy

https://aleteia.org/2023/10/26/10-ways-to-practice-the-works-of-mercy-with-young-kids/

Bible Doctrine - Wayne Grudem

 https://www.rd.com/list/inspiring-forgiveness-stories/https://www.familytoday.com/family/8-incredible-stories-of-forgiveness-that-will-touch-your-heart/

https://list25.com/25-unbelievable-inspiring-acts-forgiveness/

https://biblehub.com/interlinear/matthew/9-10.htm

https://www.bible-researcher.com/parallels.html

Matthew Part 1 - Tom Wright 

 

The Golden Rule

Preached at Christ church, Billericay on 31st August 2025 @ 10:00  See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBuP57-nAnM from 36:26 to 54:56

Prayer

Father God, we gather today to seek Your wisdom for living in peace with those around us. Open our hearts to Your love and guide us to reflect Your harmony in our words and actions. May these word inspire us to build bridges of kindness and understanding.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Introduction

As we come to the last of our summer series, I’m going to first look at the whole series – to remind you what we have learnt. Then we will look at the final step in bringing God's peace to the world, so that we can be living in peace.

Summer Series

In the first service I started with Shalom, often translated peace, but also having the meaning of well-being and completeness. In the activity, I asked, “What disturbs your peace?” We wrote those things down and stored them in an envelope. We will come back to that later, so if you weren’t here that first week - now’s your chance to think about it. We learnt that Jesus has overcome the world, so that the peace He gives us is not disturbed by the worldly problems we have to deal with.

In the second service, Paul looked at sources of peace. We can get a sense of peace entering a church, or getting a blessing from God. In the activity, we decorated bookmarks with things that bring us peace. There were drawings from nature and scripture, among other things.

In the third service, Christine talked about peace in our community. She looked at Isaac and how he maintained peace for his community. In our activity, we listed the different elements of our community, and divided them up in to 3 categories:

• Fun activities

• Activities with moderate faith input

• Activities with high faith input

We were asked, “Which Christ Church events fall into each category?” Which age groups are missing, and what types of activities might we need to fill the gaps?

Hazel has collected all the feedback, so hopefully the DCC can have a look at it.

On the fourth week, Margaret spoke to us about part of the beatitudes – blessed are the peacemakers. We made peace windmills, to learn that just as a windmill yields to the wind, so we too must yield to the Holy Spirit.

Last week, Margaret talked to us about peace in our hearts, which can only occur when our sins are forgiven. She spoke about Legion possessed by so many demons, being in his right mind after Jesus released him. Our activity saw each of our sins displayed, and a bible verse was read that identifies them, so they can be forgiven. You might like to add any sins that disturb your peace to the list.

[Shredding]

Living in Peace

Today, the last of our summer series services, we’re going to talk about ‘Living in peace’.

In Romans 12:18 Paul tells the Romans

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

As we have seen, he has a lot more to say on that subject later. He starts by telling them to stop judging one another and goes on to say that all food is clean. We could perhaps see this passage as saying “Don’t bring a burger to a vegetarian's birthday party”. That might get the flavour (pun intended) of what Paul is saying. But in Rome at the time it is more serious and more complex than simple thoughtlessness. So what’s going on?

Situation in Rome

It seems that in those days in Rome, there was a group of Roman Christians. Another group of Jews had recently been allowed back into the city, and among these were some Christians – who had joined with the gentile Romans. Now, there were issues with the food that they were eating. While the gentile Romans were not bothered, the Jewish Christians considered many of the foods that were being eaten as unclean.

Grow Up?

We might think that Paul would tell the Jewish Christians to grow up and follow Jesus, as He had already declared all foods clean. That’s in

Mark 7:18b-19 “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

But, he doesn’t, instead he tells the gentile Christians that if they are to show love to the Jewish Christians, and live in peace with them, it is they who have to change.

The strong for the weak

We might phrase it like this:

For all Christians to live in peace with one another the ‘strong’ Christians, those who have freedom in Christ and are not bound by all sorts of petty regulations, must not put stumbling blocks in front of the ‘weak’ Christians, who following Jesus to the letter of the law and believe very strongly that all they do makes them more holy.

It is the strong who must change to protect the weak. It is not the job of the strong to change the weak – that is the way of conflict, not of peace.

All of us will find ourselves in this situation on one side or the other over different issues. Actually, it doesn’t matter which side you see yourself on.

Limits

Of course, there are limits, what Paul is saying only applies inside the church, and only to non-essential doctrines.

Matthew 7:7-12

Perhaps more important is what Jesus is saying in Matthew 7:7-12. He is trying to explain to them that God only has good gifts for those who ask for things from Him. He tells them that even though they are evil, they give good things to their children. Then He gives them another summary of the Law:

¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Golden Rule

“Do to others what you would have them do to you” is known as the Golden Rule. It exists in almost every belief system, here are a few examples:

Greek: "Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you."

-- Socrates (the Greek philosopher), - circa 470-399 BC

Confucianism :Do not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no resentment against you, either in the family or in the state.

Analects 12:2

Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.

Udana-Varga 5,1

Hinduism: This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you.

Mahabharata 5,1517

Islam :No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.

Sunnah

Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow man. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.

Talmud, Shabbat 3id

Taoism: Regard your neighbour's gain as your gain, and your neighbour's loss as your own loss.

Tai Shang Kan Yin P’ien

Zoroastrianism: That nature alone is good, which refrains from doing another whatsoever is not good for itself.

Dadisten-I-dinik, 94,5

21st Century British culture: “Do unto others before they have the chance to do unto you”

Jesus has a slightly different take on this common saying, instead of a negative, He has a positive. “Do to others what you would have them do to you” This is typical for Jesus and entirely consistent with the rest of his teaching.

Problem

But there is a problem with this. It lacks true empathy. Now, I’m certain that Jesus didn’t lack empathy, very far from it, so I can only assume that the words were translated like this correctly, and the nuances of our use of language has changed since. And that just might come from my 21^st Century British culture quote.

As an example, many years ago I was given the gift of a driving experience – I got to drive a Mini Cooper around a racetrack – and I loved it. But I wouldn’t now go and get the same thing for Jo – she doesn’t like driving fast – especially when she’s my passenger!

So to get closer to Jesus’s meaning, perhaps we should say:

“Treat others as you want to be treated”

An Example of the Golden Rule, as it should be: The Stoke Gifford weekend

Here’s an example of how it should work:

Many years ago, we took Liz to her new home, where she was doing a year out, in the Parish of Stoke Gifford, just outside Bristol. I'll remember the weekend for a long time. They had planned it all for us, they took us out to eat on the Saturday evening – and paid the bill. They put us up in somebodies house, and gave us the key so that we could come and go as we pleased. The lady of the house also left breakfast for us.

I think this is an excellent example of the golden rule in action!

Conclusion

If we are to live in peace with those around us, whether from the church, our neighbourhood, our workplace, or our school, we have to make the effort to make the peace we want to live in. We must not be judgemental – within reason, instead we must treat everyone we meet with the respect and love we would like to be treated with.

This is what showing God’s love really means.

Amen.

 

References

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-life/what-is-the-golden-rule.html

https://memosfromgod.com/romans-1413-21-stumbling-blocks/

https://3cephas-notes.blogspot.com/search/label/Matthew%207%3A7-12

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillel_the_Elder