Thursday of the Second Week of Lent: A scary thought

Readings: Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1:1-4, 6; Luke 16:19-31

I find this one of the most uncomfortable passages in the Gospels, and I expect you do, too. I feel far closer to the ‘rich man’ than to the poor man, Lazarus, who has nothing to eat or drink and lies helpless and in pain. The problem is heightened, in fact, when we notice that Jesus is not moralising about the situation. Jesus does not explicitly say that the rich man has done wrong towards Lazarus, nor that Lazarus is a good man. He simply juxtaposes their wealth and poverty, and shows a terrifying reversal of fortunes in the afterlife.

Is it any comfort to realise that all who hear this parable are supposed to identify with the rich man? If we are hearing it, then we are probably not lying outside a rich man’s gate, presumably crippled, with dogs licking our sores to get some meagre hydration under the boiling sun. Lazarus is a desperate man, utterly helpless. So, the hearers of the parable are almost certainly in the relative position of the rich man vis-à-vis someone like Lazarus. Practically all of us are in the same boat. 

Hendrick ter Brugghen, The Rich Man and the Poor Lazarus

And what can we do about it? Yes, you could ‘sell everything you have and give to the poor’ (Lk 18:22). But such dramatic gestures are not appropriate to all. What is required of us all is a firm commitment to social justice. We must not ignore the needy and helpless in our society. That is one of the basic attitudes of the Old Testament, and it is the standard according to which the rich man was judged (Lk 16:29-31). The rich man did indeed do wrong to Lazarus. But it is not only about social justice.

Jeremiah shows us what the Old Testament attitude means: we must love and serve God, and this will flow into our actions towards our neighbours. ‘Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord...He is like a tree planted by water...it does not cease to bear fruit.’ (Jer. 17:7-8) In the end, like the rich man, the Lord will ‘give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.’ If that is a scary thought, let us now turn to the Lord again, turn to our neighbour in need, and we will find a blessing.