We All Have Names

One powerful aspect of Lutheran Christianity is the conviction that all people are beloved children of God. One way of acknowledging that reality is to remember that everyone has a name and deserves dignity. This week’s Gospel text is, you guessed it, another parable from Luke. It is known as “The Rich Man and Lazarus”.

One of the unique aspects of this text is that in the story the rich man is nameless where the poor person has a name. In my time as a pastor, I have encountered many people who were dealing with scarce resources and in need of money. I haven’t always been able to provide the money they needed, but I have always been able to acknowledge their humanity. I think that it is easy to see a person living on the street and paint them with a label (“poor” or “homeless”). It is easy to forget that every person has a name and a story; that every person deserves to be listened to and known.

Pastor Brian Stoffregen of online preaching resource CrossMarks (www.crossmarks.com) writes about this phenomenon:

“Whenever we generalize people -- the poor, the rich, the elderly, teenagers, the clergy, the laity, etc., we dehumanize them. I was visiting a large church when I heard one of the members state that he didn't like women pastors. This surprised me. I asked him, ‘What about Sally?’ Sally was one of the three clergy at the church. ‘Oh, Sally, . . . she's different!’ was the reply. This female clergy had a name -- and with that, a relationship with this member. That, I think, was the difference.”

Being named helps us to see the value in each other beyond whatever category we get placed in. The poor man in this text is named Lazarus which means “God has helped”. We each are helped by God as people remember our names and our human dignity. Whether we are rich or poor, we are beloved in God’s eyes and deserving of respect. Whatever our name, God is with us and helping us to do a better job of loving each other and living peacefully together.

May God continue to bless you and keep you in Christ’s grace!

Pastor Joel

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