25th September: Luke 16:19-31 ‘Rich Man & Lazarus’.

Last Sunday’s Gospel reminded us of what economics according to God looks like – it spoke of a redistribution of wealth by a manager who realised that material wealth is only temporary; what we do with that wealth and how we distribute it is more important. Today’s parable is on a similar theme. The rich man is sorry but it is too late for him. He had not come to his senses as the manager last week had done. The rich man is unwilling to change; even in the afterlife he wants Lazarus sent, ordered, to go to his brothers to warn them. It is not proof or special signs that they need. Their vision has been blinded by wealth. They need to ‘see’ the poor who are at their gates.

God’s economics means striving for a world where the poor man Lazarus can sit down at the same table as the rich man. It is not simply enough to comfort the poor and say to them that they will be rewarded in heaven. This misses the point. Luke is pointing us to a great reversal that is so central to this Gospel, a call to turn the world as we know it upside down.

 ‘It is not God’s will for some to have everything and others to have nothing’. Oscar Romero

The Rich Man and Lazarus Luke 16:19-31

A major theme in Luke’s Gospel is ‘reversal’. We see a clear example of this in today’s Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Notice how the rich man is not given a name. This is significant as names were important for people who were considered to be of high status, it gave them recognition. It is the poor outcast beggar who does have a name – Lazarus. Names are significant. Lazarus means “God helps”. The lives of these two men are radically different. The rich man wears purple robes, the most expensive colour dye at that time, and he feasts every day. A gate also separates these two men, the rich man is far above Lazarus in terms of status and wealth. The rich man does not even see Lazarus. When they die, their situations are completely reversed and we are reminded of the Magnificat in the first chapter of Luke (1:52-53) “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty”. The rich man is unwilling to change, even in the afterlife he wants Lazarus sent, ordered, to go to his brothers. It is not proof or special signs that they need. Their vision has been blinded by wealth and dreams.

“The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out” (James Baldwin).