There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man's table.
We tend to look down on proponents of the so-called health and wealth Gospel, the idea that wealth is a sure sign of God's favor and blessing. And this rich man clearly demonstrates that, at least sometimes, the very opposite can be true. Certainly the wealth of the rich man could have been a blessing, but only if it was used to bless. But wealth that is only used to insulate one's comfortable lifestyle and causes blindness to the needs of others can only be regarded as a curse. This wealth did no good for the soul of the rich man, and was not used for the potential good of Lazarus.
Brothers and sisters, we return to the uncomfortable truth that most of us have a lifestyle that would seem to those in the time of Jesus as fabulously rich, like that of kings and queens. And yet, all around us, on our very doorsteps are countless numbers of the poor. It is one thing, perhaps, to not spend all of our money investing in the myriad causes and charities around the world which the internet now makes available to us. But whom are we ignoring, all but stepping over as we go on our way? What of the suffering that is so close to home, suffering which we could do something to ameliorate or at least mitigate somewhat? Are we terrified because we recognize anything we might do is vastly insufficient to the need that surrounds us? Let us not on that account do nothing. Let us at least begin, so that we, like the early Christians can become known for our love (see John 13:35). Will the poor always be with us? Jesus said they would (see Matthew 26:11), implying that his followers would have always the opportunity to help them, and that they would in fact take this opportunity. It is not required of us that we discern how to definitively and forever solve the problem. What is asked of us is that we stop ignoring Lazarus at our door.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
How interesting that this most transient and inconsequential figure of poor Lazarus is the one whose name was preserved and the rich man was known only according to the category to which he belonged. He who seemed like nothing in the eyes of the world was revealed to be precious to God at his death. God himself was more than able to comfort Lazarus far in excess of whatever he endured, which, in the grand scheme of things was a brief momentarily affliction (see Second Corinthians 4:17).
And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.'
The rich man, by contrast, had solidified a character of selfishness, and even from his place of torment he could still only act in accord with the character he had developed throughout his life. Now that he was finally forced to recon with Lazarus he still seemed to think that Lazarus ought to serve him. Even though he had clearly been judged and found wanting and Lazarus had been judged and shown mercy he could only assume that those Lazarus was somehow obligated to him in a way in which he had chosen never to be obligated to Lazarus. It was not that those in the bosom of Father Abraham would not share their current blessings if they could. It was rather that there was a great chasm, a chasm that the rich man ultimately chose for himself, that was now fixed and final and could not be breached.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established
to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go
from our side to yours or from your side to ours.
Let us learn the lesson Jesus was teaching, for we have not only the testimony of Moses and the prophets, but someone has indeed risen from the dead. We see that even the reality of this resurrection is no guarantee. We must use our blessings to bless, and the mercy we have received to show mercy, or we ourselves will be accountable.
Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called
when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.
We have been entrusted with immense wealth, beyond even whatever material prosperity we enjoy, in that we have given our own noble confession to the testimony of Jesus Christ, the way the truth and the life. The world is even more starved for this testimony than by the poverty the afflicts it. And it is indeed only by the power of this testimony to change hearts that we can hope to scale our attempts to address physical poverty to the size of the demand. We must therefore also consider, whom are we stepping over on our way without feeding them with this precious bread of truth with which we have been entrusted. For the Gospel is indeed true wealth, but to truly be so for us we must share it.
Blessed is he who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
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