Word to the Wise
Thursday, March 8, 2007 - THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT
[Jeremiah 17:5-10 and Luke 16:19-31]My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.
The story of Lazarus and the Rich Man (whom tradition has given the name, "Dives," which means rich) raises more than one question. Was Dives an evil person? He is not represented as such. Was Lazarus a particularly good person. The text doesn't say. Then why does the story have the outcome that it has? Why is Dives in a place of torment and Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham! One way (certainly not the only way) of looking at it is that Dives never "gets it." He has the meaning of the gospel right on his doorstep and he is unaware because he is "dining sumptuously, etc." In short, Dives moves further and further away from the truth that is staring at his door until a great chasm is established between him and that truth! This passage is almost the equivalent of Matthew 25: 31-46: "Lord, when did we see you hungry, etc....?" Failure to respond to those in need when we know or should know of that need is a failure to respond to Christ. We make choices that bring us "closer" or "separate us further" and we will be held responsible for those choices. In this sense, Dives and Lazarus each become a symbol of an altogether common and tragic problem, which the Gospel of Luke constantly underlines. Wealth and prosperity do not guarantee eternal life. In fact, they can be very dangerous obstacles. In the social ethic of Jesus' time, Dives failed because it was incumbent on any wealthy person to be generous to those less well off. He would have known of this obligation and failed to fulfill it. Another way of interpreting it is that Dives was blinded by his situation which made him, perhaps unwittingly, insensitive to Lazarus. It seems to me that on both an individual and societal and even global level that either way of interpretation is just as destructive. The season of Lent offers the opportunity to open the door of our consciousness and awareness as well as the physical door of our home and discover our brother or sister on the doorstep! AMEN
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