Proper 21 (26) (Year C)
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James Janknegt: The Rich Man and Lazarus
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19“There was a certain rich man who clothed himself in purple and fine linen, and who feasted luxuriously every day. 20At his gate lay a certain poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21Lazarus longed to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Instead, dogs would come and lick his sores.
22“The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23While being tormented in the place of the dead, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham at a distance with Lazarus at his side. 24He shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I’m suffering in this flame.’ 25But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things, whereas Lazarus received terrible things. Now Lazarus is being comforted and you’re in great pain. 26Moreover, a great crevasse has been fixed between us and you. Those who wish to cross over from here to you cannot. Neither can anyone cross from there to us.’
27“The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father’s house. 28I have five brothers. He needs to warn them so that they don’t come to this place of agony.’ 29Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They must listen to them.’ 30The rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone from the dead goes to them, they’ll change their hearts and lives.’ 31Abraham said, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, then neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”
Other readings: Jeremiah 32:1-3, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16; 1 Timothy 6:6-19
Prayer:
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus the Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Our Gospel Lesson today is another one of those stories that pretty much everyone knows if they’ve ever been to Sunday School or Vacation Bible School for any length of time. But people make the point of the story about all sorts of things that it isn’t really about. For example, in some translations verse 22 refers to “Abraham’s bosom” which leads some people to state, “Abraham’s bosom … is a way to refer to heaven.”[2] This, then becomes a story about heaven and hell. Furthermore, some people are quick to point out that “hell” is a place of conscience torment as is “shown” by the description of the rich person being alive and in anguish. It’s also claimed that a person’s state after physical death is permanent because verse 26 states there’s a “great chasm separating” the rich person and “Lazarus” that “no one can cross over” (NLT).[3] And on an on it goes.
But here’s the thing — the story of the rich person and Lazarus is not about any of that. Besides, upon further inquiry, one can see that those lines of thought fall apart.[4] To start with, Jesus is telling a story, a fable, if you will, to make a point. The point of Aesop’s fable, The Hare & the Tortoise, for example, is not the talking animals or that they’re running a race! It would be silly, then, if we created a doctrine (dogma might be the better word) about talking animals. Likewise, if we’re creating doctrines based on certain elements of Jesus’ story here — people being tortured by “flames,” for example — we’re missing his point, too.
If the Lesson isn’t not about people being tortured in “hell” for all eternity with no way of repentance then what’s it about?
To understand Jesus’ point in this story, we’ll have to look at the context. And, in this case, the context starts way back in Luke 15.
In Luke 15 and 16, Jesus has been telling stories that shine a spotlight on the hypocrisy of the Religious Elite of his day. In 15.1-2, we read, “All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. 2The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” Jesus responds by telling the crowd a series of stories — the Lost Sheep (vv. 4-7); the Lost Coin (vv. 8-10); the Prodigal Son (vv. 11ff) — that culminates with the tale of the “Unjust Manager” (Luke 16.1-13). The meaning of the “Unjust Manager” is, “You can’t serve God and wealth” (verse 13).
And the Religious Elite get it.
In the verses right before our Lesson today — the verses the Lectionary left out — we read:
14The Pharisees, who were money-lovers, heard all this and sneered at Jesus. 15He said to them, “You’re the ones who justify yourselves before other people, but God knows your hearts. What’s highly valued by people is deeply offensive to God. 16Until John, there was only the Law and the Prophets. Since then, the good news of God’s Realm is preached, and everyone’s urged to enter it. 17It’s easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest stroke of a pen in the Law to drop out. 18Any man who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and a man who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery” (emphasis added).
We see from verse 14 (and 15.1-2), that the Religious Elite were in the group of Jesus’ listeners. They heard all of his stories — stories that contrasted their way of being and acting versus God’s way of being and doing. In verse 14 we see that they understood they were the object of Jesus’ stories. They “sneered” at him because they put themselves — their power, position, and wealth — above the needs of others. They continued to “justify” their actions before others, “but God knows [their] hearts” (verse 15).
It’s with all of this backdrop that we finally come to the text for our Lesson today. And all of that’s important if we’re wanting to get some insight into what Jesus is talking about.
The “rich man” in this story represents the Religious Elite of Jesus’ day; those who had sided with Rome and did whatever it took to maintain their position, power, and wealth. In other words, they had sold out to “the man.”
By contrast, the character of “Lazarus” represented the people — the “tax collectors and sinners” — who were flocking to Jesus. These were the people whom the Religious Elite rejected. They were the “lost sheep,” the “lost coin,” the “prodigal son,” and the debtors in Jesus’ other stories. In other words, these stories, and the one specifically from our Lesson, are aimed directly at the Religious Elite of Jesus’ day. The point, then, is a point Jesus made time and time again throughout his ministry — God’s Realm is about a reversal of the systems of the world. While those systems — both political and religious — seem more concerned about taking care of the elite, God’s Realm is about taking care of the outcasts, the ones whom society and religion deem unworthy to even exist, except for exploitation. Jesus is saying that those people — the outcasts and sinners — will be the first ones whom are comforted in the age to come while the elites will have some explaining to do. In another place, Jesus plainly told them, “I assure you that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering God’s Realm ahead of you” (Matthew 21.31; adapted). We’ll come back to this in a moment.
Do I think there will actually be literal torment in the next age?
I don’t know how literal it will be but, yes, I do believe we’ll all have to give an account for our lives. Jesus said in another place that he’ll “repay each one for what that person has done” (Matthew 16.27). Paul echoed that sentiment when he wrote, “ … we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what’s due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5.10; NIV; adapted; cf. Acts 10.42; Romans 2.16, 14.10; Ephesians 6.8). And in another place, Paul wrote:
13 … each one’s work will be clearly shown. The day will make it clear, because it will be revealed with fire — the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. 14If anyone’s work survives, they’ll get a reward. 15But if anyone’s work goes up in flames, they’ll lose it. However, they themselves will be saved as if they had gone through a fire.
But also notice that, contrary to the insistence of some people, the place of torment is not permanent. Some parts of the place for the dead, Gehenna, is a picture of being cleansed before one enters into God’s Realm. Notice again what Jesus said in Matthew 21.31, “I assure you that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering God’s Realm ahead of you.” This means that the Religious Elite will eventually enter God’s Realm.
Think about it like a decontamination station. Suppose someone has been exposed to some disease, they aren’t just cast out never to interact with their families again. No. They have to go through a decontamination station to get clean from all the toxic bacteria. Then, once they’re clean, they can be released to be with their families.
That’s what Jesus is meaning here. Everyone will eventually be part of God’s New World but we’ll all have to make a stop first at the decontamination station. Depending on how badly we’ve been exposed to — and held on to — toxic things (selfishness, greed, etc.), will determine how long we’ll have to stay there. But when we’re finally rid of the toxins, we’ll be free to be with everyone else.
The point of the story is not that people won’t eventually enter into God’s Realm — they will — it’s that it’s better to get cleaned up now before one dies than to go through the decontamination station of Gehenna. We’re given ample opportunity to do so in this world’s realm and it would be better if we took advantage of that.
This story, then, while directed primarily at the Religious Elite of Jesus’ day, has an insight into what lies ahead for all of us. The questions we must ask ourselves are: Our actions tell us a lot about ourselves; do they line up with what we profess to believe? What are we doing to ease the suffering of others? Are we doing enough to help those people whom society and religion deem as unworth?
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In the Love of the Three in One,
Br. Jack+, LC
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[1] Scripture quotations marked (CEB) are taken from The Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible.
[2] See the study note in the NLT Study Bible.
[3] Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation, Inc. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
[4] Jesus is said to have gone to Gehenna and proclaimed the Gospel to the disobedient imprisoned there (1 Peter 3.19-20).
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