Luke 16:19-31

            Luke 16:19-31 is a story about a great chasm between two men. We could go down some interesting paths that would divert us from the point. We could discuss the immortality of the soul, as did Irenaeus in Against Heresies 2.34. We could discuss paradise, hades, heaven, and hell. Yet, I think the parable is directing us to some far more personal matters, related to how you and I live today.

Jesus goes into some detail to show how sumptuously and elegantly the rich man lived. Then, Jesus paints in sharp contrast a picture of how the poor man lived in complete, disgusting, utter misery. It depicts a scandalous scene of complete indifference of a rich man to the plight of a poor man. 

            Jesus says the poor man lay at the gate of the rich man. He would gladly have feasted upon the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Because of the gate, securely locked, there was no way for the poor man to intrude upon the rich man's sumptuous table.

The story condemns the rich man for his indifference, not because he is rich. Luke's particular presentation of the Beatitudes of Jesus dwells upon the material nature of poverty and oppression - for example, "Blessed are you who are hungry, for you will be filled" (Luke 6:21). These claims of blessing are later matched by claims of woe, for example: "woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry" (Luke 6:24-25). In many ways, the story of Lazarus in Luke 16 provides a brief narrative summary of these important theological and eschatological themes.

In verse 22, the parable takes a turn. Both men die. The angels take Lazarus to the bosom of Abraham, the bearer of the promise in the Old Testament. When the rich man's life ends, he finds himself in hell. It is only then that the rich man seems to notice the poor man, Lazarus. Now he recognizes that he, the rich man, and Lazarus, the poor man, are both children of Abraham. Now he sees the bond that unites them. This seems ironic. After all, the poor man lay at the rich man's gate. He had to see him as he went in and out of his house. He must have seen him. The rich man seeing how wrong he has been in his judgment of the world, realizing now that God's world is not meant to be structured the way our economic systems have structured the world, pleads with Father Abraham to send someone back from the dead to warn his rich brothers of their peril. He wants them to see, before it is too late, what he now sees.

There, in Hades, we begin to get a sense of the rich man's regrets.

Regret Number 1. I wish that I had cared for the people around me. The poor man Lazarus was lying at his gate, covered with sores and the rich man stepped over or around him each time he left his home. Every single day, the rich man missed a chance to help Lazarus by simply giving him the leftovers from his table.

Regret Number 2. I wish that I had listened to Moses and the prophets. The rich man realizes in death that he had not paid attention to the word of God as it came through Moses, "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). He had not heeded the prophet Isaiah, who commanded, "share your bread with the hungry ... bring the homeless poor into your house" (Isaiah 58:7).

Regret Number 3. I wish I had had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. Every day, the rich man ignored poor Lazarus, fully aware of the teachings of Moses and the prophets. However, he did not have the courage to live a life of integrity, one in which his actions were in line with what he observed and what he believed. 

            Father Abraham is not buying. He comments to the rich man that surely his brothers have read the Bible and have heard what Moses and the prophets say about the great peril of riches and God's great love for the poor and the oppressed. If they could not see what was so plainly displayed in the Scriptures, how will they see even if someone comes back from the dead? Return from the dead, in this sense, would be like a magic trick, or a pure demonstration of God's power. Abraham corrects the man. True piety does not come through such demonstrations, but through faithful attention to hearing God's call and claim on our lives. The traditions of Moses and the prophets contain what is needed on this score. Despite a dramatic parable that captures our imagination, it is possible to miss -- or worse, disregard -- the central tenet of any lesson. In this tale of extremes, Jesus reminds the Pharisees, and all of us, to listen to Moses and the prophets, that is, "to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8), which is the enduring challenge.

The parable teaches an important lesson of how to live faithfully to God's call today. The poor and the rich are connected to one another, and righteous living acknowledges our relationships and works for justice and peace among all of God's children.