The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and 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 but you are in agony.  Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who 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 them, if they have not listened to Moses and the prophets neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.
Luke 16:19-31

We are just underway with the lectionary in Sunday School and we have encountered two difficult texts neither of which are commonly found in Children's Story Bibles. This weeks story of The Rich Man and Lazarus presents us with some vivid images that can be unsettling to children and adults alike.  I think it is the type of story that Charles Dickens or Flannery O'Conner might have appreciated.  The first image in this story is that of a very wealthy man with an extravagent lifestyle - dressing in fine purple linens as royalty would and feasting every day; juxtaposed with Lazarus - a poor, hungry man covered in sores, laying at the man's gate.  This poignant image stirs our own emotions and leaves us with a sense that something has gone terribly amiss.  Why should one human should suffer so miserably while just inside the gate another carries on such an indolent and self indulgent lifestyle?  What do we do about this disparity?  What do we do about our wealth?  What do we do about the needs of our neighbours? These questions all need to be grappled with but the most arresting aspect of this image is the way in which Lazarus is invisible to the rich man.  We are dismayed that a man could have such little regard for fellow humanity. But before we get too judgemental of this man we can feel the question being asked of the hearer: who do I walk by almost every day without ever once looking in the eye? What am I afraid to see in someone else and in myself?

Greg and I lived in a neighbourhood that at one time had a lot of prostitution and I struggled mightily with the women who stood on street corners, waiting.  I had such intense and deeply conflicting emotions - empathy for these women, used on so many levels and embroiled in systemic injustice, frustration with the vehicles slowly creeping around the neighbourhood, with men leaning out their windows to proposition women, with the fear this sometimes created in me, with a sense of just how lucky I was to have healthy relationships with men.  As a result of this torrent of emotion I really struggled to engage these women, my neighbours.  It never got easier - to look them and smile just seemed to emphasize the disparity between us and almost rub it in.  To quietly walk by with my head down was to ignore them - as if they were not a part of the neighbourhood at all.  I often wondered how Jesus would look at these women and how they would see him.  I longed for his presence for them and for me; I longed for freedom from the sex trade for all of us: workers and neighbours.

The second image that grabs us is that of the rich man, suffering in flames, begging for water and Lazarus who is brought by the angels to the side of Abraham finally out of pain and receiving the comfort he never knew on earth. The tables have been turned but this is not because of any misfortune that has come upon this rich man - he is being judged and Jesus is not holding back with us. We don't hear Lazarus begging in this parable but, we do hear the rich man begging for water, from Lazarus.  Did you notice that - even from his new vantage point in Hades, he wants Abraham to ask Lazarus to get him water!  Does he still see himself as somehow better than Lazarus or as someone who should be served?  Stories such as this were not uncommon in Jesus day however, in most stories a message was sent back to serve as a warning.  Not so in this story.  Just as the gate to the rich man's house was like a chasm that could not be crossed - that kept Lazarus firmly on the outside - so it was that the chasm between Abraham and the rich man could not be crossed.  Not even a message could be sent back: "if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."  Maybe the whole story hinges on this line; maybe Jesus is hinting at his own death and the refusal of the Pharisees to receive him - even though he will rise from the dead.  The pharisees never wanted Jesus; "they were satisfied with linen suits and sumptuous feasts when God wanted to give them the kingdom.  They were content to live in a world with beggars and "boys" when God wanted to give them brothers and sisters.  They were happy to live with parts of the Bible that backed up their way of life when God wanted to give them a new life altogether."(Barbara Brown Taylor, A Fixed Chasm).  It's a sorry choice with a dreadful result. And while some have used this parable to focus on the after-life I think that is to miss the bigger picture. This is a story about life, which for us, is not over; we have Moses and the Prophets and Jesus risen from the dead to convince us it is true.  But how will we live?

Luke takes great effort to show us that the new exodus ushered in through Jesus Christ is for all people of all races; in his stories about Jesus he helps us to see the love of Christ for the most marginalized.  Think of how Dickens can tell a story about characters derided by society and go on to uncover their humanity and ours and illuminate wrongful deeds and corruption as the tale unfolds.  Luke tells stories, some of them shocking and difficult, all of them waking us up to the Kingdom of God and inviting our participation in it.

You don't have to be as down and out as Lazarus to feel invisible, to have your humanity taken from you bit by bit each day.  Some of our children know that feeling all too well and they deal with feelings of worthlessness and shame as a result. As we tell this story this week I trust we all will encounter a God who notices us, just like he noticed that one missing sheep and went looking for it - a God who knows, loves and values us - his children; made in his image. I hope that this story will also remind us to notice the face of God in those among us who are overlooked. Perhaps students will think of kids in their classes, in the hallways or in the neighbourhood who are often alone or shut out of the gates like Lazarus and maybe this mindfulness will be the beginning of crossing chasms and reaching out to people.  Though these stories are challenging to the hearer may they shape a right understanding of God and ignite a holy imagination for how to live as God's people here and now.

May God be with us as we share the gospel with children this week.