C Lectionary 26
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas
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When reading today’s parable about
the Rich Man and Lazarus, it is good to remember the purpose of the parables of
Jesus. Dr. David Lose is the President of our ELCA seminary in Philadelphia,
and he is a prolific Lutheran biblical commentator. In his explanation of this
parable, he reminds us that the parables of Jesus don’t give us the whole
picture, but rather just a glimpse of the Kingdom of God[1].
So, the parables are not meant to
be predictive, but rather they reveal to us some greater truth about God and
God’s kingdom. In the case of this parable, which only appears in the Gospel of
Luke, the greater truth that is revealed is God’s concern for the poor.
The Gospel of Luke, more than the
other three gospel books, tends to focus on reversals of expectations. It
begins back in the first chapter of Luke, with the Song of Mary – which we call
the Magnificat. Mary says that God has scattered the proud in the imagination
of their hearts, that God has brought down the powerful and exalted the humble,
and filled those who are hungry and sent the rich away empty. All reversals of
expectations…
Later in chapter one, it is
Zechariah – the father of John the Baptist – who says that God will give light
to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. It is in the Gospel of
Luke that we find Jesus the most focused upon the poor, the sick, the
demon-possessed – those whom society has cast out or forgotten - those who lie
at the gates of the rich, ignored and passed by.
That was Lazarus in our story
today. We are given grotesque details about his health, and while we might
think of dogs as being cute and cuddly, in Jesus’ time, dogs were seen as
filthy animals, not fit to spend time around humans. The dogs licking Lazarus
is a part of the story meant to underscore his extreme poverty. He is not only
poor, but he is exceedingly poor.
Contrast this with the rich man –
the rich, unnamed man – who dresses in purple and fine linen. These details
show us that he is very rich indeed, for only the most wealthy people could
afford to wear purple, which was an expensive color to produce. Jesus says that
the rich man eats his fill and then some every single day – he has more than
enough. He is not only rich, but he is exceedingly rich.
Jesus uses these strong images to
describe these two men in order to set them apart from one another – far apart
– across a great chasm.
When they die, another chasm exists
between the two men. Lazarus now knows only comfort, and the rich man now knows
only torment – a reversal of expectations. The rich man begs Abraham to send
Lazarus to warn his five brothers who are still living – to warn them not to
make the mistakes he did. He wants Lazarus to tell them to pay attention to the
poor among them, to care for the poor as he did not during his life.
But Abraham reminds him that Moses
and the prophets have plenty to say about caring for the poor – maybe his
brothers should listen to them. The rich man knows his brothers won’t listen to
Moses or the prophets, so he wants a more powerful witness than that – send
them Lazarus! Send them someone who has died and come back to life! Surely they
will listen to someone who has risen from the dead!
And Jesus ends his parable with one
heck of a punch line: If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.
In listening to this parable, we
can feel sorry for Lazarus at the beginning of the story and for the rich man
at the end of the story. But beyond our sympathy, we should also realize that
we are like the five brothers of the rich man. We are the ones who are still
living. We are the ones who still have a chance to listen to the voice of one
who has risen from the dead. We are the ones who are called to listen to the
voice of Jesus, who says that the greatest commandments are to love God and to
love our neighbor.
The chasm between rich and poor
still exists and has only grown wider since Jesus’ time. But more concerning
than that is another chasm that exists, even among Christian people: there is a
chasm between those whom we think are worthy of our compassion, and those whom we
think are unworthy of our compassion.
And yet we are all bound together
as one human family, and as Christians, we recognize that we are loved by a
compassionate God who, in turn, calls us to extend compassion to others –
through our prayers for them, our understanding of their sufferings, and our
loving deeds on their behalf.
St. Gregory the Great lived in
Italy in the 6th century - a time of great upheaval. A plague swept
across the region, killing close to a third of the population. There was
tremendous political unrest, as well. Yet in these most difficult of
circumstances, Gregory realized that we are all connected, one to another. He
said, “When we are linked by the power of prayer, we…hold each other’s hand as
we walk side by side on a slippery path, and thus by the bounteous disposition
of love, it comes about that the harder each one leans on the other, the more
firmly we are riveted together in brotherly love.”
It’s an interesting image, isn’t it
– the image of two people leaning into one another while they walk on the edge
of a slippery slope? I feel as though so much of our public discourse today
focuses more on giving that other person a good shove, instead. And yet,
Gregory the Great has captured beautifully the image of the Christian life as
it should be – individuals, who are linked by prayer, which binds us together
in the great love of Christ.
As for you, pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the
faith. To God be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
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