Missed Opportunities
This week didn’t go exactly according to plan. I was supposed to spend three days in Leawood, Kansas at the Leadership Institute at the Church of the Resurrection. Along with about 2,500 other people, I was supposed to listen to speakers discuss the current state of The United Methodist Church and the proposed plans for division or reorganization that are going to be coming up at General Conference next year. I was supposed to hear Adam Hamilton address the gathered participants and join in small group discussions. But none of that happened. Last Sunday afternoon, I ended up in the Emergency Room at New London Hospital with dehydration. After tests and an x-ray and considering that I have had several precious bowel surgeries and issues, the doctor strongly recommended that I not travel last week. So, I spent those three days vegging out in front of the TV or, in short periods, working in the office. I guess it was the smart move, but all I could think of was the missed opportunities.
The story that Jesus told to the people gathered around him that day was a story about missed opportunities. Let’s take a closer look.
There was a rich man who lived in fantastic luxury, wearing fancy, expensive clothes and dining on the best foods. But as he went about his daily, indulgent life, he never even noticed the poor beggar, Lazarus, who lay outside his door, sick and hungry and in pain. It’s interesting to me that Jesus never named the rich man, but the poor man was named. It tells me something about which man mattered the most in the story. Anyway, this rich man had opportunities every single day to do something to help Lazarus. He could have given him something to eat. He could have called for a doctor to treat the Lazarus’s illness. He could have offered Lazarus a soft bed, or at least a blanket to cover himself with. But the rich man didn’t do any of those things. Instead, he just ignored Lazarus, day after day after day. He missed the opportunity to do something that might make a difference in the life of Lazarus.
If we’re honest, we might think to ourselves that we hardly blame the rich man for his behavior. After all, how many times have we walked or driven right past a poor man or women begging on the sidewalk or street corner, making sure to avoid making eye contact with them, lest we have to admit that they are real people? How many times have we told ourselves that there are places they could go for help, agencies that are responsible for taking care of them? How many times have we reassured ourselves that they could find a job if they really wanted one, and they are probably just drunk or on drugs or lazy? We have also missed opportunities to do something to make a difference in someone’s life.
The story goes on. Both the rich man and Lazarus died. Lazarus was carried in the arms of the angels to be with Abraham, in other words, he went to heaven. The rich man was not so fortunate; he went to the place of the dead, in other words, hell, where his soul was in torment. He could see Lazarus from where he was, and he shouted for Abraham to have mercy on him and send Lazarus to bring him some cool water. The irony was not lost on Abraham. He informed the rich man that he had enjoyed all that he ever wanted while he was alive, but poor Lazarus had nothing. Now their roles were reversed, and Lazarus was able to rest in peace and comfort, while the rich man suffered in anguish. Besides that, no one could cross over from hell to heaven.
At that point, the rich man tried to ensure that his five brothers did not suffer the same fate. He begged Abraham to warn them about hell so that they would not end up there when they died. Abraham informed the rich man that his brothers could have read the scriptures any time they wanted, and then they would have known that life involved making the right choices to avoid going to hell when they died. But the rich man knew that his brothers had not done that. They had missed the opportunity that was available to them.
There are people in our day and age who put off taking care of their spiritual lives, too. They have access to the Bible. In fact, the Bible is the book that has the most copies in print around the world. There are more translations and editions and study Bibles than ever before, Bibles for women and men and children, Bibles with concordances, Bibles with maps and study notes and the words of Jesus in red. There are Bibles for those serving in the military, Bibles for nurses, Bibles for mothers and fathers. No one can possibly claim that they don’t have access to the Word of God. But people choose not to read it. People choose to put off till tomorrow what is most important. People miss the opportunity to read God’s love letter to the world that is our scripture, and they never understand the choices that God puts before us regarding our salvation.
Finally, as the story progressed, the rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers, because they would surely listen to someone who came back from the dead. But Abraham said to him, “They won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.” This is in some ways a prophecy about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Even after Jesus was raised from the dead, people did not believe in him or his teachings. They missed the opportunity to get right with God because they missed the powerful truth of what the resurrection of Jesus means: that whoever believes in Jesus will never die.
There are people in today’s world that miss that opportunity, as well. They have heard the story of Jesus and they don’t believe it. Or they don’t understand what it has to do with them in this modern world we live in. They don’t think that something that happened over 2,000 years ago could be relevant. Or they see it as just a myth or wishful thinking. And they miss the opportunity to find salvation through Jesus Christ.
Every day, we have opportunities. We have opportunities to do something to take care of the poor, the sick, the homeless, and the hungry. We have opportunities to read the Word of God and respond to its message. And we have opportunities to claim our salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Have you taken advantage of those opportunities? Or is your life a story of missed opportunities? It’s not too late. Don’t let these opportunities pass you by.