Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.11UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.04UNLIKELY
Fear
0.07UNLIKELY
Joy
0.57LIKELY
Sadness
0.58LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.33UNLIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.62LIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.6LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.61LIKELY
Extraversion
0.08UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.45UNLIKELY
Emotional Range
0.68LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Introduction
[VIDEO]
Can you imagine waking up one day at 14 and not be able to see
It’s not as if he had time to prepare
Life suddenly changed
He was engaged with life and now it was different
It would be so easy to give up
He wanted to be engaged with life [wanted purpose] [found it]
He didn;t want to just exist and neither should we
Do we just go about our daily lives existing
Let’s choose to live [thrive]
God has given us a purpose and we will not truly thrive until we follow that call to live
Text
The Divide Between Rich and Poor
Ancient Societal Status
The divide between the rich and the poor was different than it is today
Many of the wealthiest people today earned their money
Today wealth can be earned [many
[Bill Gates with Microsoft] [Steve Jobs with Apple]
Some began with humble beginnings
Steve Jobs with Apple
Jesus is talking in a class-system society
The ruling elite were a tiny percentage of the population
Some who served the elite shared in trickle down prosperity [respect]
[tax-collectors] [government suppliers] [priestly class]
The working class were the lower echelons of society
[artisans] [shopkeepers] [lived a life of subsistence]
The peasantry was the largest percentage of the population
[farmers] [laborers]
Daily existence was a struggle against need and starvation
The Rich Man
The first character in the parable was the rich man
He was at the top of the class-system
The Rich man dressed in purple and fine linen
Only the wealthy dressed in purple [expensive]
He was clothed in the best of the best [beyond the means of most people]
The rich man lived in luxury every day
The phrase “lived in luxury” can be translated...
[being glad] [enjoying oneself] [being merry] - and to do so luxuriously
The NRSV translates it [feasting sumptuously every day]
1 pound of meat every day of the year = employing 30 workers
This man did not want - He had everything he wanted - at the top of society
Lazarus
Lazarus sat by the gate to his estate
Every time he left and returned the rich man would see Lazarus
Lazarus was starving and longed for the scraps the rich man threw away
He was starving just outside the house where this rich man was feasting
He was covered with sores that the dogs would lick
People didn’t keep dogs as pets [they were unclean]
Dogs were seen as the lowest form of animal life
To touch one would be seen as unclean [Lazarus is among the dogs]
Lazarus only had want - he had nothing - at the lowest end of society
Going to the Afterlife
Role reversal in death
They both die and he roles are reversed.
Lazarus has a place of privilege
Lazarus is in paradise [he’s receiving the promise of Abraham]
Lazarus was in want and now he had everything
The rich man had everything and now he was in want
Lazarus was carried away to Abraham’s side and the rich man was sent down to Hades
Sheol, Hades, Gehenna
What exactly is hades [hear about it in Greek mythology]
Hades was the Greek god of the underworld, but it was also a place of half light where the dead dwelt
Residents had no memory of their past
They experienced a slowly expiring existence [sadness] [hopelessness]
In the Old Testament the word for the afterlife was Sheol
Sheol was very similar to the Greek concept of Hades
It’s sometimes translated as “Hades” in our English translations
The word for hell is different than Hades [Gehenna]
Hell is a place of supreme suffering for the wicked [lake of fire]
The Great Chasm
The Great Chasm
The rich man was in Hades, a place of suffering and there was a great chasm that separated him from Lazarus in paradise
In life Lazarus was at the gate longing for the scraps
In death the rich man was in hades longing for Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool his mouth
In life he had the choice to help Lazarus, but now there was no choice
Focus
Our Identification
Who do we identify with, the rich man or Lazarus?
Many of us might relate to the rich man
For some, money might be available for us to indulge in
Choosing not to work might be an option
There might not be a care in the world
I’m betting that is not the case for anyone here today
Money isn’t burning a hole in your pocket
You might be thinking that you have nothing in common with this rich man
Money might be something you have to work hard for
The problem wasn’t the money he had but that he didn’t show love to others
He had the capacity to help someone who was hurting and he chose not to
Have we ever chosen to seek our own comfort over loving someone else?
Some of us might relate to Lazarus
There are some of us who are struggling financially [we aren’t beggars]
We have a roof over our head [Lazarus spent his time out at the gate]
We will have dinner today after church [Lazarus longed for scraps]
We don’t consider ourselves as the lowest in our society [Lazarus was]
Lazarus represents something that is a theme throughout the Bible [humility]
He is the opposite of the rich man [someone who had everything]
Have we truly given everything and taken up or cross?
[are we holding back]
Our Purpose
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9