Clothed With Christ
September 28, 2025. Luke 16:19-31. Erin Lussier
Over the past few weeks, we have been confronted again and again with the same topic: money. Last week, Les preached on money, and that we cannot serve two masters. Several weeks ago now, Pastor Ed preached on the parable of the rich fool, that we shouldn’t store up treasures for ourselves on earth. I wrote about it in the August Lutheran Lights. Rick did a devotion on it at the August council meeting. Again and again, Scripture takes money and sets it right in front of our eyes and asks us, what does this mean to you? Why is it so important to you? Why do you love it so much?
Why is money continuously preached on and talked about? We get it by now, don't we? Do we understand? We understand that this life will end, and we cannot take our possessions of this world with us, right? Our precious, precious possessions–our fancy homes and cars and clothes and jewelry and collectible whatever–they cannot come with us! So why do we continue to struggle with it so much?
Really, it comes down to our clothes. So, as we begin, I want you to consider this: What are you wearing?
In the gospel reading this morning, we have a rich man–a rich, rich man. This man wears the finest of clothes, and he feasts and lives in luxury every single day. The combination of his fine clothing and the description of his living portrays an indulgently wealthy man.
So we have this rich man, and then we are introduced to a man who is the polar opposite of the rich man—poor, poor Lazarus. The rich man had a gate, an entryway or doorway to his home, and Lazarus would lie there. Lazarus was sick, covered in gross sores, these oozing open wounds. He probably smelled and looked terrible. He was starving, lying at the gate of the rich man, hoping to eat the very crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. And as he laid there, the dogs–which are scavengers, shameful and unclean–would cme and lick his wounds, and he was unable to fight them off.
And the rich man had become so blinded by his wealth and idolized it so much that he could not see the needs of a destitute, sore-ridden, starving man sitting at the gate of his house. I wonder if Lazarus picked the rich man’s house on purpose. Surely someone with so much would give something, anything, to someone who has so little. But the rich man walked past Lazarus again and again and again, and there is zero mention of him so much as looking at Lazarus. The rich man valued his wealth so much that he placed it above human compassion. A starving man lying at his front door? Good luck buddy. Should’ve made better choices, I guess. I’m hard working and responsible and I deserve to be where I am and have what I have. Sucks to be you!
Are we quick to judge the rich man? Honestly, tell me, if you were this rich man, don’t you think it’d be pretty hard to give up your wealth? Be honest with yourselves, seriously! I can hardly blame him! I mean, if I feasted sumptuously and lived in luxury every day, if I lived in a beautiful home and wore the finest most beautiful linens and robes of the day, it would be pretty hard to give up.
We know that it would be difficult for him to give up this kind of wealth because every single one of us experiences the same temptation to cling to our wealth and keep it for ourselves, regardless of the amount of money we have. I might not be as rich as the rich man in this parable, but when I compare my wealth to what Lazarus has, I realize how rich I am. We are like the rich man, and we are like the Pharisees that Jesus is addressing with this parable. How often do we walk past those in need and hardly even look up? How often do they lie at the gates of our homes and buildings, not unlike the front area of this very church, and we wish they would find somewhere else to lie? There is a serious warning in this passage. Again and again, we are reminded to be wary of the temptations of wealth. Hearts hardened by greed are in danger of turning away from God. But we cling to the things of this life. We make an idol of them. And no matter how many times we read about it or hear about it, we continue to struggle with it, because we are sinners.
The thing about money is that it is more than just money. We don’t turn to it only because we like nice things, although that is part of it. We also look to it for security, for assurance, for comfort. The rich man wore fine linens and purple robes, not just because he liked how they looked, but because his identity was rooted in his wealth, and the clothing he wore was a symbol of his prosperity and social status.
When people looked at him, they respected him because he was a wealthy man, responsible with his finances, hard working, of a good family. His identity was in his wealth, and he wore his identity in the very clothes on his back.
I asked you earlier, “What are you wearing?” So, what are you wearing? What is your identity rooted in? Where do you find comfort and security? Where do you look for assurance? Do you rely on money to witness to your good character, your hard work, your responsibility, and to cause others to respect you? If it is in money that you find these things, it might work for a while. You might gain the respect of your neighbours and your community. But last week, our Gospel reading ended with Luke 16:15, and Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, “You are those who justify yourself before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” Worshipping wealth, money, and the riches of this world might get you a leg up with your friends, but it certainly will not get you anywhere in the eyes of God.
We are not called to wear the purple clothing and fine linens of the rich man. We, the people of God, His children, are clothed not with wealth, but with Christ Jesus Himself. Galatians 3:26-27, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” In Baptism, we receive new clothing, that is, Christ Jesus Himself. We are baptized into His death and resurrection, we are baptized into the family of God, becoming God’s children. In baptism, we receive God’s grace, we are washed clean of our sins, and we receive the Holy Spirit. We receive a new identity. In baptism, I am no longer Erin, dead in my sin, lover of money and of the wealth and things of this world. I am Erin, beloved child of God. In the eyes of God, you are righteous, so that when God looks at you, He sees not your wretchedness. Instead, He sees the holes in Jesus’ wrists and feet, He sees Jesus’ blood poured out for you, and He says, “My dear son, my dear daughter, you are forgiven.”
This parable does not teach us that the rich will go to hell and the poor will go to heaven. For those who are in Christ Jesus, who are clothed with His righteousness, the reward is the same as that of Lazarus. In the struggles that we face, in times of financial struggle, in times of sickness and despair, we too get to hold onto the holy hope that someday, we will be lifted up, carried by the angels, and comforted in a place of perfect peace, along with Abraham and all the saints who have gone before us.
Praise be to God! And praise be to God that he continually reminds us of these promises through His Word, because we so quickly forget, lose sight, or become distracted. Do you ever long for something more concrete? Faith, though an incredible gift, is a difficult thing. We struggle ot understand the ways of God, because He is God and we are not. We struggle to believe in that which we cannot see. Do you ever long for a “sign”?
I’ve noticed that younger Christians, lots around my age, will pray for God to send them a sign! Send me a sign if I should break up with this guy who won’t commit to me! Send me a sign if I should do xyz! Or, send me a sign, Lord, and I’ll even look to Your Word for it! I’ll flip to a random page in the Bible and that will be God’s message to me. So they close their eyes, flip through the pages, drag their finger across the page and then open their eyes when it feels right. Alright, let’s look at what God is speaking to me! And of course it’s some random, out of context verse about Balaam’s donkey or something from Proverbs, like chapter 18 verse 6, “A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating.” Or Job 13:5, “If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.” You get the point.
Another way we might try to seek assurance of God’s love for us in our works. If we do better and try harder, we can know that God is pleased with us. At least we can know that we’re doing better than our neighbour… and pride creeps in.
Or we can look to our emotions for assurance. If I “feel” God, I can be sure of His presence in my life and that He loves me. I remember being 12 or 13, and I just loved Jesus, and I wanted to learn more about Him. So I would listen to Christian podcasts and influencers with no knowledge of their theology, and there was such a huge emphasis on feeling God’s presence and being “on fire” for Jesus. There was a quote that I heard that said, “If you don’t feel close to God, who moved?” I adopted this ideology, and I decided it was time for me to start being serious about being a Christian. I vividly remember sitting in my twin-sized bed with the bright purple bedsheets, praying and praying and praying out loud, adding passion to my voice, really trying to put my heart and soul into it until I “felt” the presence of Jesus with me, right there in my room. And when I didn’t feel him, I would turn to the sticky note I had stuck inside the cover of my Bible, “If you don’t feel close to God, who moved?” This quote taunted me! I felt like such a failure when I didn’t “feel” God’s presence with me, or when I didn’t feel close to God. I wasn’t “on fire” for Christ! I wasn’t trying hard enough! I needed to try harder and do better or I was letting God down.
Show me the Scripture that tells us to seek assurance of God’s promises in our emotions. Show me the Scripture that says our works make us right before God! Our hearts and our emotions and our thoughts and our feelings lead us astray. And we sure can’t rely on our works–if we did, well, I got bad news for you!
Our assurance is in Jesus Christ on the cross. “IT IS FINISHED.” When we look to anything or anyone other than Christ Crucified for assurance of God’s love for us and forgiveness for us, we will be led astray. We may be drawn either into the sin of pride, feeling so proud of ourselves for doing such a great job, and comparing ourselves to others, or we will despair, feeling like we can’t do anything right, God can never love us, and God can never forgive us. These are both lies.
Our assurance is Christ, revealed to us through the Holy Spirit working through the Word, which says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” (Eph. 1:7) The Scripture says, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt. 28:20) It says, “Peace I leave you. My peace I give you. I give not as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (Jn 14:27) How do we know this is true? How do we know God loves us and forgives us? Because He said so! Because God promised it, and God keeps His promises. Not because we feel it, not because of what we do or don’t do, but because God said so.
I understand the temptation. It comes from a place of wanting to know that God is speaking specifically to me, that He cares about me, that He is with me, and that I am forgiven. It comes from wanting reassurance of His love or His promises or of His very existence. We are to be assured of God’s love and God’s promises and God’s existence through His Word, which the Holy Spirit works through to create and sustain our faith.
After Lazarus is brought to Abraham’s bosom and the rich man goes to Hades, there’s a conversation between the rich man and Abraham. First, the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool his tongue, and Abraham says, “We can’t. You had your good things, and Lazarus had his bad things, and now he’s here and you’re there, and there is an impassable chasm between us. We can’t help you now.” And the rich man says, “Well, can you at least please send Lazarus from the dead so that my brothers won’t have to suffer here like I am.”
Just like we search for a sign, asking for something more to prove that God is real or to prove his presence in our lives, the rich man wants something more so his brothers might be convinced to repent. Abraham’s response? They already have everything they need. If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. Jesus Christ rose from the dead! And still we struggle to have faith, and still people do not believe. I’m sure you’ve heard all kinds of arguments against Jesus’ resurrection – He was never really dead, just unconscious and then later woke up; the disciples faked His death; the disciples were hallucinating—whatever. Jesus Christ died and was risen. And in the gospel of John, a man literally named Lazarus was literally raised from the dead. Is everyone now convinced to repent? No. They are not. “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”
When we seek signs from God or assurance from God, we may be tempted to look in the wrong places. But God has given us everything we need in His Word–first through Moses and the Prophets, then through Jesus Christ Himself, then through the New Testament writers. That Word was written and is given for you. The Word was made flesh, Jesus Christ, for you, and died for your sins, and was raised that you might receive forgiveness and life eternal in Him. The clothes of Christ were sewn with great love and given to you in the waters of Baptism as an everlasting sign of your forgiveness and freedom and life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bread and wine at the Lord’s table were given for you as a sign for you to taste on your lips the body and blood of your Saviour, given for you. Our God works in the miraculous, but He also works in simplicity, in the simple water with the Word, baptism, in simple bread and wine with the Word at the Lord’s table.
If I could go back in time to 13-year-old Erin and replace that quote in her bible that said, “If you don’t feel close to God, who moved?”, maybe I would replace it with one of my favourite Luther quotes. When Luther was tempted, he would look to the words he scrawled on his desk. “Baptizus sum–I am baptized.”
We are clothed in Christ. May we go, remembering always not just “who” we are, but “Whose” we are. We are God’s people. May we go with generous hearts, giving of ourselves, our time, and our money, to those who are in need, remembering the Lord who first gave it all to us. And as we go, may we keep our eyes always on the cross and on the Saviour who died there and was raised for you and for me.
Amen.
Copyright © 2025 St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Kamloops
View this sermon presented live here: https://youtu.be/8RdFuO6fosg
