Luke 16: 19-31
| There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and live in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table, Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The beggar died and the angels caried him to Abrham’s bosom (side). The rich man died and was buried. In the place of the dead, where he was in torment, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus was at his side. The rich man called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus. Let him dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in agony of fire.”
Abraham replied, “Son, remember that during your life you had many good things. Lazarus, on the other hand, had bad things. Now, he is in comfort here, and you are in agony. Besides this, there is a great chasm between you and us. We cannot go from here to there, nor can you cross over from there to here.”
The rich man among the dead responded to Abraham, “Then, at least, send Lazarus to my family. I have five brothers. Let Lazarus warn them, so they will not also come to this place of torment.” But Father Abraham said, “Don’t they have Moses and the other prophets? Won’t they listen to them?”
“No, they won’t,” the rich man said. “But if someone from this place of the dead goes to them, they will listen and repent.” But Abraham replied, “If they do not listen to Moses and the other prophets, they will not heed the warnings of someone who rises from the dead.”
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Jesus told many stories and parables in his teaching ministry, and this is one of them. It is a story of a rich man and a poor man; it is therefore relevant to all social situations in every century as the dynamics between the rich and the poor are the same everywhere.
Both the rich man and the poor man died. Each went to his own place after death, the poor man to a place of beatitude and the rich man to a place of torment. When the man in torment cried out for help, he was told: “You had all you needed during your life; in fact, you had more than you needed. Yet you did not share with others who need it. You had your opportunity to do good, to be merciful, and generous, and kind. But you did not. You were stubborn, and selfish, and indifferent to the needs around you. Now it is too late. There is no way now to give or receive the good gifts of life.”
The dead man was tormented by three things: the physical pain caused by the fire, his regret at failing to do what was right, and his concern for his brothers—that they might practice charity and justice before it was too late. But Abraham pushed back: “It is not too late for them; they can heed the wisdom of the prophets (and, we will add, the apostles, the pastors, the parents, and friends everywhere). It is clear to everyone, even if they don’t have access to Holy Scripture or wise counsel; they have their own conscience and their own reason and their own eyes and ears. That is enough to know to do right.”
In every age and every place, including our own, those who have much are expected to share with those who have little. It is what it means to be in community: the human community and the Christian community. Sadly, too often wealthy people gained their riches by mistreating others, especially the poor; and they often hoard their wealth instead of sharing it with their neighbors. What is needed is both charity and justice: charity is the individual acts by which some share their abundance with others, while justice is the social structures by which the many ensure that everyone receives what is needed for safe and healthy living.
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