St. Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 16: 19- 31 (the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus)
These are the words of Jesus as he tells this story.
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived 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 time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades (Hell), where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham very far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
But Abraham replied, ‘Son remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you is a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
He (Rich Man) answered, ’Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
Abraham replied, ’They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
‘No, father Abraham’, he (Rich Man) replied, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
He (Abraham) said to him, ’If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
All of us have listened to sermons based upon a parable. The parable is ripe fodder for much theologizing about the described life circumstances and God’s intentions for his creation. The resulting sermon is an expansion of the intended point that Jesus was making and the trip around the barn is what the church has excused with the term of allegory. This interpretive method maintains that the parable has many layers of meaning to be exposed and that the biblical soothsayer will bless the hearer who is much less informed and able to understand. There were times in church history when this was a much greater problem than it is today but it still happens.
Today’s reader is looking for one obvious message from each parable. In an article entitled “Parable” by Ronald S. Wallace in the Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, he states, “A parable, however, is constructed so as to present to the hearer a real, familiar life situation in which he can make a judgment often about one main point, and by this judgment on the total impression made by the parable he can be led to understand the one main message which the parable was designed to convey to him.” Archibald Hunter in his little book, “Interpreting the Parables” says, “in the parable there is one chief point of likeness between the story and the meaning, and the details simply help to make the story realistic and so serve the central thrust of the parable---like the feathers which wing the arrow.” (p.10) This opinion is shared by most modern scholarship.
Let us give the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus a go. What one main message does Jesus want to convey to those of us who hear? What in this story is window dressing? Through this story was Jesus saying that earthly riches are evil to be punished beyond death? Did Jesus send the message that earthly poverty is a blessed state to be rewarded in paradise with God? Did Jesus say to us that selfishness that blinds one to the needs of others will be punished by God? Did Jesus warn that earthly death is man’s last chance? Did Jesus mean to say that God will only allow the perfect to inhabit paradise? Was Jesus warning us of the God designed destination for the selfish, a forever flaming place of torment?
We may be able to classify some of these questions as nonsensical by asking another question. What message did the Rich Man want Lazarus to give to his brothers, if that were possible? Considering his spiritual acuity the rich man’s message may well have been, avoid the flames, feed the poor, don’t die, build a clinic, there really is a God, give all away, fear the judgment of God. All of these messages miss the point of the parable and prove that the rich man is brain and heart dead, wanting only to escape the pain of his selfish decisions. The rich man amongst the flames remains self involved.
Again, what is the one message of this parable? You can duck and cover through life, avoiding your God given inheritance but your self indulgent decision making will be challenged on the other side of death by difficult circumstances. All other theological conclusions, including the stereotypical picture of hell, are beyond the scope of this parable. The chasm that separated the rich man and Lazarus was not necessarily the end of the story. It should be noted that there remained sight and communication across the divide. There may be opportunities beyond the curtain of death to heed the words of Moses and the Prophets, to surrender to the will of the Father.
It is instructive that Abraham addresses Lazarus as "son", it is my hope that that little word was dripping with empathy for Lazarus. An empathy that would give hope to each of us who are in the throws of self indulgence because it reveals the heart of God. Other parables like the Good Shepherd and the Prodigal Son indicate the heart of the Father that will not give up on anyone, at any time. Amen!
G.Goslaw
Landers, Ca
