Book of Common Prayer

The God of all comfort

¹³ We have the same spirit of faith as you see in what is written, “I believed, and so I spoke.” We too believe, and so we speak, ¹⁴ because we know that the God who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us with Jesus and present us with you. ¹⁵ It’s all because of you, you see! The aim is that, as grace abounds through the thanksgiving of more and more people, it will overflow to God’s glory.

¹⁶ For this reason we don’t lose heart. Even if our outer humanity is decaying, our inner humanity is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ This slight momentary trouble of ours is working to produce a weight of glory, passing and surpassing everything, lasting forever; ¹⁸ for we don’t look at the things that can be seen, but at the things that can’t be seen. After all, the things you can see are here today and gone tomorrow; but the things you can’t see are everlasting.

A house waiting in the heavens

5 For we know that if our earthly house, our present “tent,” is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house no human hands have built: it is everlasting, in the heavenly places. ² At the present moment, you see, we are groaning, as we long to put on our heavenly building, ³ in the belief that by putting it on we won’t turn out to be naked. ⁴ Yes: in the present “tent,” we groan under a great weight. But we don’t want to put it off; we want to put on something else on top, so that what is doomed to die may be swallowed up with life. ⁵ It is God who has been at work in us to do this, the God who has given us the spirit as the first installment and guarantee.

The judgment seat of the Messiah

⁶ So we are always confident: we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷ We live our lives by faith, you see, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, and we would much prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So we work hard, as a point of honor, to please him, whether we are at home or away. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of the Messiah, so that each may receive what has been done through the body, whether good or bad.

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was once a rich man,” said Jesus, “who was dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted in splendor every day. ²⁰ A poor man named Lazarus, who was covered with sores, lay outside his gate. ²¹ He longed to feed himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²² “In due course the poor man died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. ²³ As he was being tormented in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.

²⁴ “ ‘Father Abraham!’ he called out. ‘Have pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue! I’m in agony in this fire!’

²⁵ “ ‘My child,’ replied Abraham, ‘remember that in your life you received good things, and in the same way Lazarus received evil. Now he is comforted here, and you are tormented. ²⁶ Besides that, there is a great chasm standing between us. People who want to cross over from here to you can’t do so, nor can anyone get across from the far side to us.’

²⁷ “ ‘Please, then, Father,’ he said, ‘send him to my father’s house. ²⁸ I’ve got five brothers. Let him tell them about it, so that they don’t come into this torture-chamber.’

²⁹ “ ‘They’ve got Moses and the prophets,’ replied Abraham. ‘Let them listen to them.’

³⁰ “ ‘No, Father Abraham,’ he replied, ‘but if someone went to them from the dead, they would repent!’

³¹ “ ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets,’ came the reply, ‘neither would they be convinced, even if someone rose from the dead.’ ”