Luke 16:19-31
Real and Permanent Good
‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who 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, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might 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 him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” ’
Two thoughts come to mind when reading this passage. There is the overall message and a more subtle message that some might take and run with.
For all intents and purposes, I believe this reading is about how we should be generous and caring in this life, using the talents and treasures we have been entrusted with to help others who are not as fortunate as we are. Certainly not to let a beggar live on our doorstep, begging for scraps and have dogs licking at his wounds. What a horrible picture. This was a not a rich man living in this gated house, it was simply a horrible person. Yet many of us do overloof the obvious in life.
There are people in our community, people we work with who are barely making ends meet, who have to make decisions about having food or medicine, heat or eat? If we are able, we should make a conscious effort to help these people in some way. And most important, it should not be done without any thought of reward or wish to be repaid. There is joy and reward just in the giving. For the gay community especially, knowing how difficult it is for gay youth to come out. Coming out often means being disowned. They are often thrown into a situation of homelessness, if not helplessness, at a time when they have virtually no means of supporting themselves, no foundation for a good job all while trying to accept and revel in who they are. If the gay demographic is correct and we have more disposable income than most, then we certainly should be doing more for these youths and certainly more overall than most.
The second portion of this reading that Luke portrays is the one of the dynamics of heaven and hell. The Gospel writers, whoever they were, wrote to a specific group of people, a community they were familiar with. They used imagery that the community would understand so that their message would come across. Here Luke speaks of the fires of Hell and a chasm that cannot be transversed. While thiscertainly is the word of God and it does convey truths, how many of us would want to take the picture Luke presents and make a verbatim Gospel truth of it? If there is a Hell and if there are people there, or souls, can you actually see those in Heaven from Hell? Is heaven a physical place? Is there a physical chasm that cannot be transversed? These images, these words I think are more for the benefit of the audience that Luke is speaking to and NOT a truth. This is where many religions and preachers get in trouble. They take the Bible literally. There is not only a problem with verses that contradict each other but also puts God in the position of having created a flawed document which I don't think is reasonable. Perhaps even insulting.
The truth here is how we live and what we are called to do in the here and now. If we are blessed with riches, use them for good. Enjoy life but help others enjoy life too. Help the poor. As Andrew Carnegie would say, use te money 'for real and permanent good'.
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