If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead

Icon of the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, circa 1800.  Palekh School.  Found at Ruzhnikov

 

"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 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 , '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 him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' " 

 

- Luke 16:19-31 

 

Yesterday we read that 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 crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores."  We can see the great contrast between the rich man, clothed in purple and fine linen, and who fared sumptuously every day, and the poor beggar named Lazarus who was full of sores, was laid at his gate, and simply wanted to be fed with crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.  There could not be more of a marked difference between the two.  The sores all over Lazarus' body no doubt torment him, as did those of Job (Job 2:7-9).  We also read of Lazarus that moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.  This may seem entirely cringe-worthy even today, let alone in the Middle East where dogs of the streets are viewed in an entirely negative light.  But we'd be surprised by the commentary of St. Cyril of Alexandria, who writes, "Yes, it says that even the dogs licked his sores and did not injure him yet sympathized with him and cared for him. Animals relieve their own sufferings with their tongues, as they remove what pains them and gently soothe the sores. The rich man was crueler than the dogs, because he felt no sympathy or compassion for him but was completely unmerciful."

"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 comments that Abraham's bosom means heaven.  Abraham is mentioned among all the righteous, it says, because, in stark contrast to the rich man, Abraham showed hospitality to strangers (Genesis 18:1-8).  That the rich man . . . was buried is seen in patristic commentary as illustrating the state of his merciless soul, which was buried by the pleasures of the flesh.  My study Bible quotes from St. John Chrysostom, that the rich man was already buried in life by "couches, rugs, furnishings, sweet oils, perfumes, large quantities of wine, varieties of food, and flatterers."  That the rich man remains unnamed indicates that he is ultimately forgotten (see Psalm 9:6).

"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 , '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.' "  The rich man's appeal to Abraham as a spiritual father isn't rejected, my study Bible tells us.  Rather, Abraham accepts the role, calling the rich man son, and showing himself to be compassionate even towards the wretched of men.  The great gulf, my study Bible explains, isn't a geographical divide, but the complete separation between virtue and wickedness.  This is a separation, it says, that cannot be overcome after death.  His own torments have not changed the rich man's heart.  He still sees Lazarus as a servant who exists for the sake of his own comfort.  Moreover, this account by Christ teaches us the communion of the saints.  That is, a man who is not even a believer, calls out from Hades and converses with Saint Abraham.

"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.'"   My study Bible reports that some patristic writers see this parable as set after the final judgment, and they cite the punishment and reward being received by these two men.  Others see this parable set at a time after death, but before the second coming of Christ (and the Judgment), as the man seeks to intercede on behalf of his brothers who are still living.  My study Bible says that the torment he experiences would be only a foretaste of his final state.  From this perspective, we learn that the souls of the departed have awareness of and concern for the state of those still alive on earth (see Luke 9:30-31, Matthew 2:18, 2 Maccabees 15:12-16) -- but also that even the intercessions of a wicked person are heard, although they avail nothing (contrast to James 5:16).  

 

"But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' "   My study Bible quotes St. John Chrysostom on this passage:  "The ignorance of Scripture is a great cliff and a deep abyss.   It is impossible for anyone to be without benefit if he reads continually and with attention."  Moreover, it says, the rebellious were not persuaded even when people did rise from the dead (Matthew 28:11-15, John 12:9-11). 

One thing we do know from this parable, it illustrates that the consciousness of these two men remain alive after physical death, and both experience an afterlife.  There also is Abraham, paternal ancestor of the Jews, who is seen as a spiritual elder by the rich man.  As my study Bible notes, it's significant that the rich man never has a name mentioned in the Scripture; it means that he will be ontologically "forgotten."  At its heart, this story is about compassion, and about empathy.  Even in some sense, the stray dogs -- lowest of creatures in the historic mindset of the peoples of this region -- display an empathy and have compassion on Lazarus.  They lick his sores as they would lick their own to heal.  In this sense, although what they can give is meager indeed, they offer this hurt man full of sores what they can.  But the rich man does not even offer the crumbs from his table, showing ultimately his complete lack of concern and utter abandonment of the stranger outside of his door.  It's a kind of neglect that is so absolute that it is an extreme example of self-centeredness, selfishness.  Clearly the rich man is concerned only with himself.   He still sees Lazarus beneath him in a hierarchy, as if he were his servant.  But it is too late even if Lazarus were to seek to fill the request, and Abraham make that request for the rich man.  There is a great gulf fixed between them.  It is while we remain in this world that repentance has great effect.  While we are in this world the reconsideration of our ways of thinking is so important in a spiritual sense.  Let us recall that this parable is taught immediately after the teaching that we cannot serve God and mammon (in yesterday's reading, above).  The 'laws' of material things seem to declare that the more we accumulate and use for ourselves the better, while the gospel of the kingdom would teach us that it is important to practice mercy if we desire mercy, that we we "make friends" for the kingdom of heaven by good use of what we have in this world.  Abraham is known for his hospitality.  It is to Abraham that St. Paul refers when he writes to the Hebrews, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels" (Hebrews 13:2).  The story of Abraham intertwines with the story of Lazarus and the rich man particularly around this notion of hospitality.  It is not so much his lack of sharing of his goods, but his complete lack of awareness of the unwanted person outside of his door, the outcast whom only the dogs offer care or attention.  And this makes an extremely important point, because it makes us clear where real selfishness or self-centeredness leads.  It teaches us about the real depth of meaning in charity, that is not simply about not distributing what we have, but really about the lack of concern or awareness of another human being at all, that others have souls that need communion and belonging.   The rich man seems to make a little progress if only because he seems to consider his brothers and their ignorance of the reality he now faces.  But even that is to no avail, for his brothers also have what he always had:  Moses and the prophets.  And let us not forget that it is the Pharisees to whom Jesus speaks now, who derided Jesus for His teachings on using resources to "make friends" for the kingdom of God.  In today's reading, we're also reminded of the parable of the Good Samaritan, who used his own resources to "be a neighbor" to another whom he happened to pass along the road.  In each of these cases, the concepts of hospitality, charity, neighborliness, and using resources to help others all intermingle to contrast with what it means to abandon others, to have no awareness nor empathy for those around ourselves.  This is the fundamental conflict between Lazarus and the rich man, not simply that one is rich and one is poor.   Even the dogs show a character of charity or empathy by their nature and offer what they can.  I have heard it said that to be created in the image and likeness of God is to be endowed with the potential for grace, and to express it.  Ultimately it is simple power of acknowledging others, of kindness and what is historically understood as graciousness, that makes for truly God-like behavior, the kind of character that is compatible with the energies of God in heaven.  All it takes is a word or a prayer, an awareness, a sense in which another is a neighbor.  Ultimately, it is the capacity to care that makes a distinction in this story, and the will to act on it, the compassion that makes one a neighbor.  And there are some who will remain unpersuaded though One has risen from the dead.