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"There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.' Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' But he said to them, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"
- Luke 16:19-31
In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery."
"There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried." My study bible tells us that "Abraham's bosom" means heaven. We note the difference between the two men, the rich man and Lazarus. Lazarus is ultimately even more greatly humiliated by the dogs licking his sores.
"And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and you are tormented.'" My study bible reminds us that this conversation is not between God and the rich man, but between Abraham and the rich man. We again note the contrast, only the situation is reversed. The poor man Lazarus wanted only the crumbs from the wealthy man's table in this world, and the dogs licked his wounds. Here the wealthy man desires that Lazarus may dip the tip of his finger in water for a drop to cool his tongue, and is tormented by flame.
" 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.' " My study bible says, "A great gulf between Lazarus and the rich man signifies there is no possibility of transfer between heaven and hell after death. It should also be noted that neither poverty nor riches, in themselves, gain Lazarus and the rich man their irreversible places. The rich man goes to hell because of his hardness of heart; Lazarus to heaven because of his faith." In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave us the contrast between the true riches of the Kingdom and mammon, and the different perspectives they create for us on how we relate to others, depending on what it is we ultimately trust in. Here, the "great gulf" indicates that while all live side by side in this world, ultimately that will not be the case. The time is now, the message tells us, for taking care how we relate one to another.
"Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' But he said to them, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'" A note reads, "Moses and the prophets, that is, the Old Testament Scriptures which testify to God."
Let us consider this "great gulf" that exists between Lazarus and the rich man after death, and my study bible's note about "transfer." It's an interesting thing to ponder communication and dialogue. While we're in the world, as the parable of the wheat and the tares tells us (see Matthew 13:24-30), we're all side by side. We don't really know the Judgment, this isn't up to us. But how we communicate with one another, how we relate to one another, becomes for us a matter of choice. And Jesus' recent teachings (including yesterday's reading) give us the understanding that so much depends on what it is that we trust in, which riches we put our faith in. Do we value the riches of the Kingdom, which are linked with values like love and care, love for God and trust in God, or do we value a material perspective, trust in material wealth (the mammon in yesterday's reading)? This is really what it comes down to. The wealthy man basically trusted in his wealth to care for his life, and didn't care for other "wealth" -- the treasures of the kingdom -- to trust in, like, for example, how he treated Lazarus who was right outside his door. When the time comes and we move on into "another place" to put it a certain way, then the implication is that there won't be a capability for going back and changing these relationships or doing them over again; what we've failed to build up in the world we'll lack in the next somehow -- or at least the opportunity for healing particular relationships just won't be the same. We will be living different lives than the ones we live in the here and now. We don't really know all that entails, but elsewhere in the Gospels we're given hints of this change, such as Jesus' teaching on marriage in the afterlife, given in answer to a question about a woman who was married to seven brothers. Jesus taught: "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." Therefore we learn of changed conditions; eternal life is implied here, and a different life in which marriage as a social institution is not the same -- and especially the notion of women's role in marriage at that time. (In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave the teaching against divorce, reflecting a different value system for relationship than one of possession.) So, in addition to these hints, the story of Lazarus and the rich man enforces an understanding of the gulf between those who attain one place, and those who fail to do so. Whatever way we think of it, it is certain that the life to come, the age to come, is one in which all is changed; our circumstances are changed and it becomes the values of the Kingdom which rule our lives, one way or the other depending on how we have embraced such treasure, where we've placed our faith. Jesus, through this parable, is emphasizing what He taught in yesterday's reading: "You cannot serve God and mammon . . . what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." The great gulf is in this teaching; let us remember how we apply His values and how we are to live. The question, answered in Luke's Gospel in a unique way, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, begs to be asked, "Who is my neighbor?"
