RBWords

     A person who seems totally unaware of something obvious is said to "not have a clue!"  This might be said of the Rich Man (in tradition, called, "Dives") in regard to Lazarus.  We are not told that he was a mean person or refused to help Lazarus.  He just seemed completely unaware of Lazarus because he (Dives) was distracted by all his worldly possessions and activities.  Lazarus was at his doorstep but Dives seems never to have left the house!  He only understands once it is too late!

 

     It helps in understanding this parable to place it alongside the one from last Sunday about the Dishonest Steward.  In both cases, the target audience seems to have been Pharisees who found Jesus' teaching about the dangers of wealth to be nonsense.  Wealth, to them, would be a great blessing, not a curse.  In their eyes, Dives was blessed and Lazarus was cursed.  As Jesus points out in the story, they have ignored what Moses and the prophets taught about care for the poor.  The Dishonest Steward knew that he had to do something with the ill-gotten gains he had, and when his job came to an end he had a good place to go.  Dives fails to do anything with his wealth except to enjoy it, and his fate was eternal torment.  Which one of them "had a clue?"

 

     I sometimes wonder if our own culture and the "gospel of prosperity" have blinded us to Jesus' teaching about the dangers of wealth and the importance of caring for the poor.  We not only have the teachings of Moses and the prophets, but we have the teachings of the One who rose from the dead!  Are we both collectively and individually allowing that "great chasm" to be established which is mentioned in the parable?  If we allow that chasm to take place, we'd better have a clue about which side we really want to be on!  Jesus is offering the clue which may be on our doorstep of our home or on the edge of our awareness.  We have only to open the door or open our eyes!   AMEN