Like Elijah, John rebukes those who forget God. When he sees many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he says,..".Bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor." (Matthew 3)

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (Matthew 3:4)

15Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he set out and went down with him to the king, 16and said ..Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, —is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?

11Again the king sent to him another captain ...He went up and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king’s order: Come down quickly!” 12But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.”

The real Bonhoeffer believed that serving one’s neighbor means taking on their burdens, their struggles, and the evils perpetrated against them..

With this question, he has inspired Christians and non-Christians around the world to work for a society based on solidarity and humanity.

“Who is Christ for us today?” With this question, Bonhoeffer teaches us that Christ is to be found in the presence and suffering of the neighbor, whether across the street or across the border.

In a sermon in New York, he warned that Christians should never forget that they have brothers and sisters not only in their own people, but in every people.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer promoted justice and care for the neighbor, especially those who are suffering. He recognized the dangers of Christian Nationalism and spoke against it as early as 1930.

Implications:

SAY HIS NAME. When we can’t do enough, we get others to say His Name. SAY HIS NAME (LAZARUS)!
WHAT DOES IT MEAN? SAY IT: “GOD IS HELP!” “GOD IS OUR HELP!”

Whenever we SEE THE GAPS, we’re called to FILL IN THE GAPS. When we do so, we do it not because we HAVE TO. We do it because we GET TO. We have seen the poor man, and we know his name. His name is LAZARUS.

Jesus comes so that WE MAY TAKE HOLD OF LIFE THAT REALLY IS LIFE. Like it or not, RICH and POOR alike are products both of NATURE and NUTURE. BLESSINGS DON’T FLOW FROM OUR PRIVILEDGES; Our very PRIVILEDGES FLOW FROM OUR BLESSINGS.

In Jesus’ Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, LAZARUS is the only human character named in any parable. Lazarus is a form of another name we hear in the bible: ELIEZER. It comes from 'Eli'ezer,” which means "God is help" or “God of help.”

Scriptures, time and again, remind us that With GREAT WEALTH comes GREAT RESPONSIBILITY. Part of the role of the wealthy in the ancient world was to provide ALMS FOR THE POOR. Whenever they SAW THE GAPS, they did what they could to FILL IN THOSE GAPS.

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