“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” Luke 16:19-31

“Whom does this rich man represent, this man so richly dressed, who enjoyed all those daily banquets? Is it not the Jewish people [or in another sense, hypocritical, false “Christians”, for that matter], who made a cult of exterior things, using the delights of the law which they had received, for vain motives, not for true profit? And whom does Lazarus signify, covered in wounds, if not the Gentile peoples? These, when converted to God, were not ashamed to confess their sins, that is to say, they had many wounds and open sores.” (St. Gregory the great, Pope of Rome)

The other Lazarus of the bible is a poor man. He has remained at the gate of the rich man for many years – the same man who never showed any kindness to the poor man – even to throw him some scraps from the table.  It is apparent that the dogs have been treated better by the rich man in comparison. I once was asked by a girl, probably in 5^th grade, if I believed that there was a place called Hell. I replied that I believed that evil existed, but, according to Paul and his theology, once Jesus comes again, those who believe will be saved, and those who don’t will just cease to exist. She then referred to this text to see if this confirmed that Hell existed. I replied that some will want to look to this text to bolster their argument that Hell exists.  But I believe that this text is a metaphor for the chasm that exists for people who choose not to have a relationship with G-d – and that relationship begins with loving G-d and then doing acts of love to those who are the last, least, lost and little of our society.

If we put all of our trust in this world, and the things that we have or accumulate, and do not live our lives within the reality of loving G-d and neighbor, including having a heart of giving to those in need, then there is a chasm that exists between us and G-d – a chasm that explains the true essence of who we are. Loving material goods, in my mind, is an empty existence, one that even a ghost could not change. But, then again, I am reminded of Ebenezer Scrooge…..

Pastor Dave